URLs in the OPAC : comparative reflections on US vs UK practice

To examine whether placing URLs into library OPACs has been an effective way of enhancing the role of the catalogue for the contemporary library user

Evaluating Users’ Satisfaction With Landmark University’s Online Public Access Catalogue

This study evaluated users’ satisfaction with online public access catalogue (OPAC) of Landmark University, Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. The target population were 200 students, which were purposively selected to participate in the study. Questionnaire were distributed to all the purposively selected undergraduates and all the 200 questionnaire were returned and found valid for analysis, thereby, giving a response rate of 100%. The findings revealed that users of online public access catalogue at Landmark University were highly satisfied with the performance and functions of the OPAC. Further, findings revealed that “use of library study skills and information communication technology course” created the necessary awareness on OPAC. In addition, findings revealed that 64.0% did not search OPAC for course materials. Overall, the respondents indicated a high knowledge level of OPAC. This study made recommendations to improve OPAC use

On invisibilities and blindness: Failures in retrieval of information from books

The difficulty of gathering information from databases not indexed by search engines is the origin of what is called the deep or invisible Internet. In bibliographic and cataloguing systems, lack of description of book contents leaves users with a kind of blindness. Search technologies are being developed that try to index and provide access to this invisible content. Bibliographic and cataloguing systems, such as ISBN, must take measures to gather and process book contents, particularly specialized texts, and make them accessible to readers. It is proposed that these systems be modified to provide gateways, using protocols similar to Z39.50, that support the capture of book chapters, summaries or synopses of literary works so that the information can be incorporated into the corresponding areas of bibliographic records in online catalogues

How researchers are using the OPAC of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research Library Network

Abstract Purpose – The importance of online public access catalogues (OPACs) has changed in recent years, mainly due to the large number of electronic resources now available. The aim of this study is to learn about and evaluate the use made by researchers of the OPAC of the library network of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research, the largest research institution in Spain. Design/methodology/approach – To this end a questionnaire was drafted with questions pertaining both to the system and to the users themselves. The information gathered was supplemented by data obtained from the transaction logs. Findings – The results have revealed the use made of the OPAC and the characteristics of the searches performed. Users are still confronted by classic problems of information seeking: information overload, errors in subject searching, and the predominant use of the system’s simpler options. The results show that the OPAC is broadly used by end-users not only for obtaining printed material, but also for connecting to the electronic resources subscribed to by the library. Originality/value – The OPAC should continue to occupy an important position in the library’s overall information environment, interacting with other information systems.Peer reviewe

Determinación de las causas de búsquedas sin resultados en un catálogo bibliográfico en línea mediante el análisis de bitácoras de transacciones : el caso de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú

The present investigation is aimed at determining the causes of searches with zero results in the OPAC of the Sistema de Bibliotecas Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru during 2012 year. For this purpose, a log transaction analysis of the OPAC´s searches was done as a methodology. Three causes of searches with zero result were found: 1) Terms mismatched: words or phrases written correctly in search statements which do not match those used in the bibliographic description and subject terminology assigned to each bibliographic record. 2) Wrong writing in search statements due to typographical and spelling mistakes. 3) Wrong index selection: when a user selects a wrong index for his/her search statement. A more detailed analysis was done for each OPAC's index. Suggestions are offered regarding to reinforcement in OPAC searches training, improve search engine interface, and use of log transactions analisys of OPAC´s searches as a methodology to detect library materials demand not in its physical and virtual collections.El presente trabajo de investigación está orientado a determinar las causas de las búsquedas sin resultados realizadas durante todo el año 2012 en el catálogo en línea del Sistema de Bibliotecas de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Para este fin se hizo uso del análisis de bitácora de transacciones de búsqueda como metodología, tras el cual se llegó a identificar tres causas que generaron recuperación vacía en las búsquedas: 1) Términos no coincidentes: palabras o frases escritas correctamente en las fórmulas de búsqueda que no coinciden con las usadas en la descripción bibliográfica y terminología temática asignada a cada registro. 2) Escritura incorrecta: referida a los errores tipográficos y ortográficos en las fórmulas de búsqueda. 3) Elección del índice incorrecto: cuando el usuario selecciona un índice no pertinente para su fórmula de búsqueda. Se hizo un análisis más detallado para cada uno de los índices de búsqueda que ofrece el catálogo en línea. A la luz de los resultados, se sugieren aspectos a reforzar en las capacitaciones de uso del catálogo en línea, mejoras en la interfaz de búsqueda y uso de las bitácoras de transacciones de búsqueda para detectar demanda de recursos bibliográficos que las colecciones no satisfacen.Tesi

Academics' experience of and perceptions of the role of the academic library in research at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Magister Bibliothecologiae - MBiblThe study investigates the role of CPUT libraries in supporting research and how academics perceive this role. CPUT is a new university of technology and aims at improving its research record. Research is crucial to South Africa to develop economically, socially and to compete globally. Research is fundamental to the existence of universities. Universities of technology libraries face the challenge of providing support for research. Previously the colleges / technikon libraries provided support for undergraduate and underdiplomates only. Today, they have to provide support for researchers at masters, doctoral, and post-doctoral levels. Questions arising from the research problem are: • How much and what kind of research is being conducted by academic staff at CPUT? • What programmes does the library have to meet the needs of the researcher? • How do academic researchers use the library at present? • What do researchers see as the inhibiting and encouraging factors for their research with regard to library services? • How do they perceive the role of the library in their research? There were two phases in the research design: an in-depth interview with the recently appointed Research Librarian at CPUT libraries whose job it is to plan and implement library support services to researchers and to run the Research Information Support Centre (RISC) and an electronic survey of researchers on the academic staff of CPUT. The purpose of the interview was to explore the library plans for research support. Nine themes were highlighted during the interview with the Research Librarian for example: • Librarians should be researchers, research support is a whole-library responsibility • Postgraduate degree research is the core function of RISC. The purpose of the survey was to investigate what researchers need and want from the library as well as their perceptions and attitudes towards the role of the library in research. A questionnaire consisting of mixed questions (qualitative and quantitative) was sent by email to all 602 academics at CPUT across eight campuses. The aim was to achieve a representative sample across all six faculties. The final sample was 102 with one faculty underrepresented. The study made the following findings: • 52% of respondents strongly agree that research is essential to their job and that CPUT needs to build a stronger research culture. • PhD and Masters degree research dominates. • For a University of Technology the low proportion of industrial-sponsored research is perhaps surprising. • The average time percentage spent in a working year on research is 23.4%. Several comments in the final open-ended question point to heavy workloads. • 65% of respondents have not published any articles in accredited journals in the past three years. • 57% of respondents do not agree that they source information directly from the Internet and so no longer need the library. • Most respondents, 95 of the 102, make use of the library for research support. However, RISC is not their number one choice for research support. RISC is perhaps underused. The three library services being extensively used by respondents are eresources, borrowing print resources and Inter-library loan services. Quite a high number of respondents, 27 (28%), are undecided whether the Digital Knowledge Repository at CPUT, a library project, is important to them. However, comments in the final open-ended question indicated that respondents are unaware of this service. • The number one on researchers’ wish lists for library research support services is to be kept informed of new research in their field – thus the traditional current awareness services of libraries. • The ICT infrastructure has been highlighted as critical. The main reason for low rating of the library is that the network / databases are too slow. • There seems to be fairly strong doubt that librarians have adequate subject knowledge to support research with 27% agreeing that librarians lack subject knowledge. • The cross tabulations suggest that there might well be some differences among faculties in terms of responses. But statistical tests of significance would be needed to confirm this suggestion. The study had a few limitations. The survey left the researcher with some questions. It only focused on one institution. Postgraduate students who are not staff members were excluded from this study. Some of the recommendations coming from the study are: • ICT infrastructure needs to be improved • Library current awareness and alerting services must be improved • The Digital Knowledge research repository must be made more visible to academics • Document delivery and inter-library loan services should be made more efficient and faster • Collection development processes need to be geared more closely to the needs of researchers. The aim of the project was to gather information for CPUT libraries to develop further their services to form a part of the research culture. The study might make academics and researchers aware of the potential role the library plays in contributing to their research needs. If South Africa is to progress to a knowledge society, its universities will have to increase research output. Universities of Technology have a particularly important role to play as South Africa urgently needs scientific and technological research. Therefore their libraries have a special responsibility to support their efforts to improve their research culture and production. It is hoped that this study will contribute some insight into how University of Technologylibraries might enhance their research support.South Afric

Information-seeking behaviour at Kuwait University

Information technology is constantly changing, and if academic users are to make best use of these resources, they must sustain efficient information-seeking behaviour. This study explores the information-seeking behaviour of graduate students at Kuwait University, and investigates the factors influencing that behaviour. The population also includes faculty members engaged in teaching and supervising graduate students, and academic librarians. Adopting Wilson's information-seeking model (1999) as the theoretical framework, the study identifies factors influencing graduate students' information behaviour and formulates hypotheses that illustrate the relationship between the different variables. The use of this model provides useful insights into determinants of the information-seeking behaviour patterns of students in a multidisciplinary graduate context. The research uses a mixed method approach, comprising questionnaire survey, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Application of the Critical Incident Technique method provided in-depth data about the patterns of information-seeking behaviour of both graduate students and faculty members. Logistic regression revealed that significant factors related to library awareness, information literacy, organisational and environmental issues, source characteristics, and demographics act as determinants of the patterns of students' information-seeking behaviour. Uneasiness on the part of graduate students towards using the library and consulting its personnel reflects a broader negative perception of the role of the library in shaping students' information-searching patterns. The clearest finding that emerged from the analysis of the students' information literacy dimension was that the majority of graduate students still face difficulties in finding the appropriate information resources, particularly when using resources that need advanced search strategies. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed a heavy reliance on the information resources that require least effort (search engines, Internet websites, and personal contacts). Further, results revealed that graduate students are overwhelmed by an information overload, which leads them to become anxious about finding the appropriate information resources. Based on the results of the research, recommendations are made to further explore the information-seeking behaviour patterns of graduate students in order to enhance their information literacy skills. Improving information-seeking behaviour and enhancing the information literacy of students require interventions on various fronts: faculty members, academic librarians, the university administration, and graduate students themselves.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A multiple case study exploration of undergraduate subject searching

Subject searching—seeking information with a subject or topic in mind—is often involved in carrying out undergraduate assignments such as term papers and research reports. It is also an important component of information literacy—the abilities and experiences of effectively finding and evaluating, and appropriately using, needed information—which universities hope to cultivate in undergraduates by the time they complete their degree programs. By exploring the subject searching of a small group of upper-level, academically successful undergraduates over a school year I sought to acquire a deeper understanding of the contexts and characteristics of their subject searching, and of the extent to which it was similar in quality to that of search and domain experts. Primary data sources for this study comprised subject searching diaries maintained by participants, and three online subject searches they demonstrated at the beginning, middle, and end of the study during which they talked aloud while I observed, followed by focused interviews. To explore the quality of study participants’ subject searching I looked for indications of advanced thinking in thoughts they spoke aloud during demonstration sessions relating to using strategy, evaluating, and creating personal understanding, which represent three of the most challenging and complex aspects of information literacy. Applying a layered interpretive process, I identified themes within several hundred instances of participants’ advanced thinking relating to these three information literacy elements, with evaluative themes occurring most often. I also noted three factors influencing the extent of similarity iii between the quality of participants’ advanced thinking and that of search and domain experts which reflected matters that tended to be i) pragmatic or principled, , ii) technical or conceptual, and iii) externally or internally focused. Filtered through these factors, participants’ instances of advanced thinking brought to mind three levels of subject searching abilities: the competent student, the search expert, and the domain expert. Although relatively few in number, I identified at least some advanced thinking evincing domain expert qualities in voiced thoughts of all but one participant, suggesting the gap between higher order thinking abilities of upper-level undergraduates and information literate individuals is not always dauntingly large.Ye