Janet Hill said:
"Many library users say that they do not use the library's catalog, when in fact, they are using databases that the library subscribes to and provides access to in some manner. The users don't think of this as library use, or catalog use, because the linkage is relatively invisible to them, but it is."
I've seen many instances of this over the years...students using library databases and thinking they are accessing "free" internet resources.
But I was talking specifically about the library's online catalog, not library subscription databases. And I was talking about people who know what catalogs are, and how to use them, but who only use them in a very limited way to check for the availability of an item they have discovered elsewhere.
Bernie Sloan
Sora Associates
Bloomington, IN
--- On Mon, 2/16/09, Janet Hill <Janet.Hill_at_COLORADO.EDU> wrote:
> From: Janet Hill <Janet.Hill_at_COLORADO.EDU>
> Subject: Re: [NGC4LIB] Personal perspectives on catalog use
> To: NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
> Date: Monday, February 16, 2009, 11:28 AM
> Many library users say that they do not use the
> library's catalog, when in
> fact, they are using databases that the library subscribes
> to and provides
> access to in some manner. The users don't think of
> this as library use, or
> catalog use, because the linkage is relatively invisible to
> them, but it is.
>
> janet
>
> Janet Swan Hill, Professor
> Associate Director for Technical Services
> University of Colorado Libraries, CB184
> Boulder, CO 80309
> janet.hill_at_colorado.edu
> *****
> Tradition is the handing-on of Fire, and not the worship of
> Ashes.
> - Gustav Mahler
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Next generation catalogs for libraries
> [mailto:NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of B.G. Sloan
> Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 3:11 PM
> To: NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
> Subject: [NGC4LIB] Personal perspectives on catalog use
>
>
> Inspired by the thread on the value of cataloging, I had an
> interesting
> discussion recently with a colleague regarding library
> catalog use. This
> person is a former instruction librarian and understands
> how to use library
> catalogs. She is in academia now (but not in libraries).
> She makes extensive
> use of books in her research and visits the library fairly
> regularly.
>
> When asked about catalog use, this person indicated that
> she basically just
> uses the catalog to see if the library holds a physical
> item she's learned
> about elsewhere. (This person has developed multiple
> effective ways of
> learning about items of interest that I won't go into
> here).
>
> Anyway, this person's use of the catalog is pretty much
> limited to doing
> known-item searches. If the book is available, she goes to
> the library and
> picks it up. If it's not available she uses the catalog
> to initiate an ILL
> request. That's about it as far as catalog use.
>
> Upon further reflection, I have to admit that that's
> also pretty much how I
> use the library catalog these days. And I was a librarian
> for 35 years.
> Sure, I'll occasionally do some keyword searching on
> the catalog, but by and
> large I've developed information-seeking behavior that
> requires minimal use
> of the library's catalog. I wasn't always like
> this...I used to use the
> catalog extensively. But my behavior evolved as
> increasingly more
> information-seeking resources became available online.
>
> I'm not saying that libraries are superfluous...I'm
> a big library supporter.
> I guess I'm saying that library catalogs have failed to
> evolve much over the
> years. Online catalogs were first developed back when
> libraries were still
> pretty much the only game in town (or on campus) when it
> came to information
> access. And library catalogs still seem to reflect that
> "only game in town"
> mentality, in an age where many alternatives exist.
>
> Bernie Sloan
> Sora Associates
> Bloomington, IN
Received on Tue Feb 17 2009 - 15:55:54 EST