Search results

In recent years, aceted search has been a well-accepted approach for many academic libraries across the United States. This chapter is based on the author’s dissertation and work of many years on faceted library catalogs. Not to hope to be exhaustive, the author’s aim is to provide sufficient depth and breadth to offer a useful resource to researchers, librarians, and practitioners about faceted search used in library catalogs.

The chapter reviews different aspects of faceted search used in academic libraries, from the theory, the history, to the implementation. It starts with the history of online public access catalogs (OPACs) and how people search with OPACs. Then it introduces the classic facet theory and its relationship with faceted search. At last, various academic research projects on faceted search, especially faceted library catalogs, are briefly reviewed. These projects include both implementation studies and the evaluation studies.

The results indicate that most searchers were able to understand the concept of facets naturally and easily. Compared to text searches, however, faceted searches were complementary and supplemental, and used only by a small group of searchers.

The author hopes that the facet feature has not only been cosmetic but the answer to the call for the next generation catalog for academic libraries. The results of this research are intended to inform librarians and library information technology (IT) staff to improve the effectiveness of the catalogs to help people find information they need more efficiently.

The chapter aims to present a case study of what is involved in implementing the VuFind discovery tool and to describe usability, usage, and feedback of VuFind.

The chapter briefly documents Western Michigan University (WMU) and University of Richmond’s (UR) experience with VuFind. WMU Libraries embarked on a process of implementing a new catalog interface in 2008. UR implemented VuFind in 2012. The usability result and usage of Web 2.0 features are discussed.

The implementation processes at WMU and UR differ. At WMU, users’ input was not consistent and demanded software customization. UR strategically began with a very focused project management approach, and intended the product as short-term solution. The usability and feedback from several sites are also presented.

The benefits of using open source software include low barrier and cost to entry, highly customizable code, and unlimited instances (libraries may run as many copies of as many components as needed, on as many pieces of hardware as they have, for as many purposes as they wish). With the usability studies presented, VuFind is proved to be a valid solution for libraries.

The chapter provides a unique account of library’s experience providing an alternative catalog interface using open source software. It also uniquely reports on VuFind usability and initial testing results and evaluation.

This chapter helps us to understand the staffing and workflow ramifications of Linked Data. A survey of the current state of metadata work, compared to the possibilities and intentions of Linked Data modeling and technology, allows us to make a needs assessment for future planning. Findings are that current trends in metadata work – distributed production alongside centralized management, iterative and collaborative resource description – are appropriate in a Linked Data environment, and should be further cultivated. A plan for training staff on the conceptual modeling of Linked Data is also outlined, together providing a launching pad to begin organizational planning for Linked Data.

This case study describes how one library leveraged shared resources by defaulting to a consortial catalog search.

The authors use a case study approach to describe steps involved in changing the catalog interface, then assess the project with a usability study and an analysis of borrowing statistics.

The authors determined the benefit to library patrons was significant and resulted in increased borrowing. The usability study revealed elements of the catalog interface needing improvement.

Taking advantage of an existing resource increased the visibility of consortial materials to better serve library patrons. The library provided these resources without significant additional investment.

While the authors were able to identify other libraries using their consortial catalog as the default search, no substantive published research on its benefits exists in the literature. This chapter will be valuable to libraries with limited budgets that would like to increase patron access to materials.

This chapter outlines how search engine technology can be used in online public access catalogs (OPACs) to help improve users’ experiences, to identify users’ intentions, and to indicate how it can be applied in the library context, along with how sophisticated ranking criteria can be applied to the online library catalog. A review of the literature and the current OPAC developments forms the basis of recommendations on how to improve OPACs. Findings were that the major shortcomings of current OPACs are that they are not sufficiently user-centered and that their results presentations lack sophistication. Furthermore, these shortcomings are not addressed in current 2.0 developments. It is argued that OPAC development should be made search-centered before additional features are applied. Although the recommendations on ranking functionality and the use of user intentions are only conceptual and not yet applied to a library catalogue, practitioners will find recommendations for developing better OPACs in this chapter. In short, readers will find a systematic view on how the search engines’ strengths can be applied to improving libraries’ online catalogs.