OPAC Queries at a Medium-Sized Academic Library

Heather L. Moulaison

Abstract


Patron queries at a four-year comprehensive college’s online public access catalog were examined via transaction logs from March 2007. Three representative days were isolated for a more detailed examination of search characteristics. The results show that library users employed an average of one to three terms in a search, did not use Boolean operators, and made use of limits one-tenth of the time. Failed queries remained problematic, as a full one-third of searches resulted in zero hits. Implications and recommendations for improvements in the online public access catalog are discussed.


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5860/lrts.52n4.230

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Copyright (c) 2008 Heather L. Moulaison

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