I wonder if it's save to assume that:
- search by title ==> check the availability of a known item
- search by keyword ==> resource discovery
If it is, it would make the statistic analysis a bit easier.
ranti.
On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 6:39 PM, B.G. Sloan <bgsloan2_at_yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I've noticed this when talking with grad students and faculty. They don't use the catalog as a resource discovery tool. They tend to use the catalog to check the availabilty of an already known item: Does the library own it? If so, is it on the shelf? Heck, I do it myself, and my job used to entail working with online catalogs.
>
> Granted, I'm not talking about a representative sample of catalog users, but it is pretty common for people I know (some who are quite familiar with how to use online catalogs) to use other tools for resource discovery and use the catalog just to check availability.
>
> Bernie Sloan
> SORA Associates
> Bloomington, IN
>
> --- On Wed, 5/6/09, Ed Jones <ejones_at_NU.EDU> wrote:
>
> From: Ed Jones <ejones_at_NU.EDU>
> Subject: [NGC4LIB] Searching
> To: NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
> Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 5:37 PM
>
> I'm going to make a confession here. Typically when I'm looking for a
> library book for my own use, I will search for it (via Google) in
> Amazon.com or Google Book Search. Then when I find it--which I almost
> invariably do--I click on its ISBN, an action which automatically
> triggers a search (via LibX and xISBN) in the local National University
> Library catalog for that edition and any closely related editions.
> While this strategy doesn't work for older in-copyright books (or the
> dwindling number of contemporary books published without ISBNs), it
> works in an overwhelming number of cases. So much so that it's become
> my default search strategy.
>
> Ed Jones
> National University (San Diego, Calif.)
>
>
>
>
>
--
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Received on Wed May 06 2009 - 19:23:47 EDT