Understanding and improving subject searching in online library catalogues is the focus of this study. Against the backdrop of current research and developments in online catalogues an analysis of the problems and prospects for subject access in the expanding online catalogue is presented. Developments in recent information retrieval theory and practice are reviewed, and a case is made for a new model of information seeking and retrieval that more closely describes much of the subject searching and browsing activity actually conducted by library users. The center piece of this study is the experiment that was conducted using an experimental online catalogue developed to investigate and evaluate the effect of alternative browse and navigate search methods on overall retrieval effectiveness and subject searching performance. The objectives, methodology, and findings of this online catalogue search experiment are discussed. The primary aim of the experimental study was to evaluate the usability and retrieval performance of a pre-structured "navigation" approach to subject searching and browsing in library catalogues. The main hypothesis tested was that the provision and use of a navigation search and browse function would significantly improve overall OPAC retrieval effectiveness and the subject searching performance of OPAC users. The OPAC used in the study was designed and implemented by this author using the database management and retrieval software known as "TiNMAN", provided by Information Management & Engineering, Ltd. TINMAN employs an entity-relational database structure which permits the linking of any field in the stored bibliographic record to any other field. These linkages establish browse and navigation pathways among data fields ("entities") and citations to support guided but flexible searching and browsing through the collection by users. Thus, a rudimentary form of hypertext is provided for the users of the OPAC. The test database consisted of 30,000 Library of Congress MARC bibliographic records selected at random from all LC catalog records for publications through 1988 in the English language in the LC classes HB-HJ (Economics, Business, etc.). For each record, the verbal description of the assigned LC class number found in the printed schedules was added as a subject descriptor to augment the subject cataloging provided by the Library of Congress. Three different OPACs were tested for comparison purposes. The control OPAC lacked the navigation feature. The other two OPACs supported related-record navigation, one on title words only, the other on subject headings only. Searchers were encouraged to use the OPAC's features and search options in whatever manner they wished. Subjects in Group-I were permitted to navigate only on the subject headings from the controlled subject vocabulary assigned to the work cited (augmented by the verbal meanings of the Library of Congress class number). Subjects in Group-2 were permitted to navigate, but only from title words of the work cited and displayed. Navigating from one of these title words would result in the retrieval of all works whose titles had at least one occurrence of the selected word. Subjects in the control group were not permitted to navigate; that is, it was not possible for them to point to a selected data element in a displayed citation to move on to related terms or citations associated with that data element. The positive value of related-record navigation in improving subject searching in OPACs was not clearly determined. The navigation groups performed significantly better than the control groupon the first search task, but all three groups performed nearly equally well on the second search task. Navigation on subject headings or title keywords resulted in higher recall scores, especially among first time, novice users of the system, but precision suffered significantly in title-word navigation. In fact, the control group achieved higher precision scores on both search tasks. Navigation did not seem to aid subject searching performance after greater familiarity with the system was achieved, except perhaps to increase recall in persistent searches without much decrease in precision. Online bookshelf browsing seems to improve recall without a significant decrease in precision, and may be a more positive factor than navigation on either subject headings or title words.

An Evaluation of Structured Navigation for Subject Searching in Online Catalogues

Research shows children in an online environment often search by browsing, which relies heavily on recognition and content knowledge, so catalog systems for children must use effective symbols or pictorial representations, which correspond with children's own cognitive schema and level of recognition knowledge. This study was designed to look at the success of young children (ages 5 to 8) in searching 3 online public library catalogs designed for them, and it focused specifically on the pictorial representations and text descriptors used in the systems' browsing hierarchy. The research sought answer whether young children (ages 5 to 8) are really poor searchers because of cognitive development and lack of technology skills or if system design is the major reason for poor search results; i.e., Do current children's online catalog designs function in a manner that is compatible with information seeking by children? Although these results can not be generalized, this study indicates that there was a disconnect between the cognitive abilities of young users and catalog design. The study looked at search success on the 3 catalogs in relation to the catalog characteristics and individual user characteristics and makes 3 significant contributions to the field of library and information science. The first contribution is the modification of an existing model posed by Cooper and O'Connor and modified by Abbas (2002). The second significant contribution is the proposal of a new model, Creel's second best choice (SBC) model, that addresses the cognitive gap and design flaws that impact the choices participants made. The third significant contribution is that this study addresses and fills a gap in the literature.

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Are Online Catalogs for Children Giving Them What They Need? Children's Cognitive Development and Information Seeking and Their Impact on Design

Classification is a fundamental tool in the organisation of any library collection for effective information retrieval. Several classifications exist, yet the pioneering Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) still constitutes the most widely used scheme and international de facto standard. Although once used for the dual purpose of physical organisation and subject retrieval in the printed library catalogue, library classification is now relegated to a singular role of shelf location. Numerous studies have highlighted the problem of subject access in library online public access catalogues (OPACs). The library OPAC has changed relatively little since its inception, designed to find what is already known, not discover and explore.
This research aims to enhance OPAC subject searching by deriving facets of the DDC and populating these with a library collection for display at a View-based searching OPAC interface. A novel method is devised that enables the automatic deconstruction of complex DDC notations into their component facets. Identifying facets based upon embedded notational components reveals alternative, multidimensional subject arrangements of a library collection and resolves the problem of disciplinary scatter.
The extent to which the derived facets enhance users' subject searching perceptions and activities at the OPAC interface is evaluated in a small-scale usability study.
The results demonstrate the successful derivation of four fundamental facets (Reference Type, Person Type, Time and Geographic Place). Such facet derivation
and deconstruction of Dewey notations is recognised as a complex process, owing to the lack of a uniform notation, notational re-use and the need for distinct facet indicators to delineate facet boundaries. The results of the preliminary usability study indicate that users are receptive to facet-based searching and that the View-based searching system performs equally as well as a current form fill-in interface and, in
some cases, provides enhanced benefits. It is concluded that further exploration of facet-based searching is clearly warranted and suggestions for future research are made.

Deriving and applying facet views of the Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme to enhance subject searching in library OPACs

This study explores the concept of "quality" in library cataloging and examines the perception of quality cataloging among catalogers who work in academic libraries. An examination of the concept of "quality cataloging" in library science literature revealed that even though there is some general agreement on how this concept is defined, the level of detail and focus of these definitions often vary. These various perceptions were dissected in order to develop a framework for evaluating quality cataloging definitions; this framework was used to evaluate study participants' definitions of quality cataloging. Studying cataloger perceptions of quality cataloging is important because it is catalogers (particularly original catalogers) who are largely responsible for what is included in bibliographic records. Survey participants (n = 296) provided their personal definition of quality cataloging as well as their opinions on their department's cataloging, their influence upon their department's policies and procedures, and the specific data that should be included in a quality bibliographic record. Interview participants (n = 20) provided insight on how their opinions of quality cataloging were formed and the influences that shaped these opinions.

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A study of the perception of cataloging quality among catalogers in academic libraries

This study uses the framework of domain analysis to suggest a model by which modern studies of catalog use might be approached. Future studies using this model may provide a tool for evaluating and developing cataloging codes based on empirically-assessed user needs. A survey of music students at a small liberal arts college was followed by interviews and a focus group from the same population. Content analysis of the data was used to determine the elements of bibliographic information needed by this particular domain of users, and those needs were then compared to the elements of bibliographic information provided by Resource Description & Access (RDA) cataloging. The questions to be explored included: What attributes of information should be represented in a library catalog to serve the needs of music students at a small liberal arts college? To what extent do catalog records created according to RDA include sufficient representation of those needed attributes? And what changes, if any, would need to be made to RDA to accommodate the needs of users in this particular domain? Maurine W. McCourry August 8, 2014 RDA AND THE MUSIC STUDENT vi Table of

RDA and the Music Student: A Domain Analytic Approach to Catalog Needs

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines research as “studious inquiry or examination; especially: investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision...

Salman Haider

Papers

Library Cataloging, Classification, and Metadata Research: A Bibliography of Doctoral Dissertations