Another article that may be of interest to folks here appears in the
March 2008 issue of Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL)
called "Revitalizing the library OPAC: Interface searching, and
display challenges".
The article's strength lies in the studying of the public interfaces
to library OPACs and enumerating search results display
characteristics. The article then outlines how we got to where we are
in these regards:
1. system limitations
2. not fully exploiting the functionality
already in ILS
3. the unsuitability of MARC standards to
online bibliographic display
The article concludes, "Academic librarians cannot afford to be
considered irrelevant in the information-seeking world. The future of
academic libraries relies on effective OPACs. This is one of the most
pressing tasks that must be accomplished."
The article also lists a number of best practices, and the University
of Notre Dame came out on top with regard to including the search
keys and search terms in search results. ("Go Irish!")
--
Eric "Enough Professional Reading For One Day" Morgan
Head, Digital Access and Information Architecture Department
Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame
(574) 631-8604
Received on Thu May 15 2008 - 15:37:21 EDT