Selden Deemer wrote that "Our users would probably be better served if we
got rid of all choices save keyword, author, and title."
But I am a member of that group of users that knows how to use all the
other features besides keyword, author, and title effectively.
Am I better served if you reduced my range of options, especially in those
cases, which for me is often, when keyword, author, and title prove to be
insufficient? How many times should users search by subject or series
or in order to justify their existence as potential search options? Is
there some target number?
Undergraduate students, which we seem to focus on to the exclusion of all
others, eventually grow up to become more thoughtful about how they
approach their search for information. At least I did. Can we not
accommodate the range of strategies that different groups of users bring to
their searching?
Bryan Campbell
Library Assistant
VDOT Research Library
530 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903
Ph: (434) 293-1903 FAX: (434) 293-4196
Email: bryan.campbell_at_VDOT.virginia.gov
Email: classz696_at_yahoo.com
Received on Tue Feb 05 2008 - 10:39:35 EST