Search

This paper elaborates on the absence of features for classification-based searching in the present (Aleph-)OPACs and presents two examples of such features locally created by member libraries of the Austrian Library Network for their online catalogues (Vienna University of Applied Arts; Vienna University of Technology). In the second part of the article, the authors's own newly implemented features for searching and displaying classificatory elements in the Austrian Union Catalogue are described, the respective classifications being the ZDB classification scheme and the RVK (Regensburg Classification Scheme). In the case of both schemes the Aleph "services" feature is used for linking the class numbers shown in the full record display to the web-site of the relevant classification system, in order to explicate the meaning of the respective class number. Furthermore, a hierarchical search option for the ZDB scheme has been implemented in the serials catalogue of the Austrian Library Network.

This paper presents the options for classification-based display and retrieval in the OPAC of the Austrian Library Network and that have recently been implemented in the course of a version change. First, a brief status report is given on the classification numbers present in the records of the central catalogue. What follows is a presentation of the OPAC's features for dealing with notations of the classification of the (German) Periodicals Database (ZDB), the Regensburg Classification Scheme (RVK), and the Mathematics Subject Classification (MSC). Furthermore, a strategy for establishing the MSC as an authority database is discussed, which might also be used for the implementation of the German version of the Dutch Basic Classification (BC) in the near future.

Los catálogos de acceso público en línea son sistemas automatizados de recuperación a los que se recurre ante necesidades informativas. No obstante, aún no proporcionan los servicios que se espera de ellos, tanto en la recuperación como en la interacción con los usuario de la biblioteca. Su evolución los ha llevado de simples buscadores por algunos campos a auténticos portales interactivos. Se han ideado formas de “expandir” el OPAC en este sentido: enlaces hipertexto, formación de usuarios...Proponemos la inclusión de cuestionarios de usuarios en nuestro OPAC, para incrementar la comunicación entre el usuario y la biblioteca, estableciendo un flujo ágil y constante de información que mejore la gestión de la biblioteca. Presentamos un cuestionario tipo, así como la información que nos proporcionaría y estudiamos su viabilidad desde distintos puntos de vista: calidad de la información, aspectos relativos a su implementación informática, cuestiones relacionadas con la privacidad de los datos, repercusiones en la toma de decisiones de la biblioteca.

Summary of the author's MSc dissertation (University of Central England, Birmingham, UK, 2002). Investigates card-image public access catalogues (CIPACs), i.e. online library catalogues based on databases of digitized catalogue cards and more or less sophisticated mechanisms for browsing or searching. Solutions of this kind have been implemented by a number of libraries in various countries since the mid-1990s, mainly as inexpensive alternatives to a full retrospective conversion of their old catalogues. The general aim of the study is to build up an informed view of this area, by looking at the present spreading of CIPACs, their characteristics and navigational features, the problems and issues interconnected with their creation and implementation, and the awareness, behaviour and opinions of CIPAC users. In order to achieve these goals, several approaches were used. First, a comprehensive survey of existing CIPACs and their characteristics was undertaken; this also included the implementation and updating of an international CIPAC web-page. Second, the main issues in CIPAC creation and implementation were identified and discussed, based both on the relevant project literature and the answers of 23 libraries to a short unstructured questionnaire. Third, a webbased qualitative survey of 320 users of eleven CIPACs in four countries was conducted. The study shows that the CIPAC approach has to offer much to libraries that cannot afford to convert their large old catalogues as fast as they might wish. However, the absence of sophisticated search options, the problems that users often have with the interfaces offered for navigation, and the features of a past and mostly outdated generation of reference tools that these computerized card catalogues inherently carry suggest that they are at best acceptable as short or medium-term, but not as permanent alternatives to "real" OPACs.

Automation of the library processes and their interconnection in networks is the imperative of modern times. Libraries in Serbia automated their working processes partly on the local level and partly by building cooperative systems. Software used on local level will in the next few years become technologically so obsolete that it will become an obstacle for further development, so building cooperative systems is the only right way for development. A review of existing software packages used in Serbia is given and some elements that should not be overlooked in the process of deciding which cooperative system to join are emphasized. User expectations are changed, more and more they expect from libraries not just electronic catalogues, but electronic documents.

MAI (MetaOPAC Azalai Italiano) is a virtual union catalogue of Italian libraries developed through co-operation between the Italian Library Association (Associazione Italiana Biblioteche, AIB) and the Consorzio Interuniversitario Lombardo per l’Elaborazione Automatica (CILEA). This paper presents the components of the MAI and the organisational, management, planning and implementation tools developed by the team since 1999. MAI provides access to Italian OPACs, offering a directory and metasearch functionality. The search engine, Azalai, performs metasearching, which also involves a converter as part of the system. The architecture of the system, the search engine and converter, is based on a database in which all the Italian OPACs are recorded. Three different interfaces, designed for specific types of users, provide access to the system. Members of the MAI Editorial Board are responsible for keeping the database updated and this automatically generates the Directory of Italian Online Catalogues. MAI is divided into five distinct sections, integrated with a range of tools and services intended for different categories of user.

The paper presents the French union catalogue of serials and its historical development over the past two decades. The authors have described the environment and the governance structure of the union catalogue. Presented is the information system which enables the processing of collections in libraries and documentation centres of French universities.

This article reports on a new database of Austrian libraries and information institutions. In particular, the following points are discussed: The creation of the database based on two differently structured data sources; the data format and data elements used, with detailed reference to the modifications applied to the provisional standard "MAB-ADRESS"; the integration, unification and updating of the data; some aspects of database parameterisation under Aleph 500; the update features implemented for the Austrian Library Network and the options for other institutions; the interfaces for data input and web-based retrieval including the parameterisation for searching and for displaying the results. The article concludes with considerations of future perspectives such as further improving and updating of the data, and the implementation of better options for subject searching.

This article proposes a range of indicators for measuring and evaluating opac quality, with regards to aspects such as the storage and structure of information or the simplicity and suitability to user needs. An analysis is provided of several of the web interfaces implemented in Spanish libraries, such as Unicorn (WebCat, iLink), Innopac (Fama), Vtls and Absys.

In the 1990s the German MILOS projects examined the suitability of an automatic linguistic indexing technique for library OPACs. Following this approach, an empirical investigation was conducted that aimed at assessing and evaluating the use of automatic indexing for the OPACs of the Austrian Library Network. As most users prefer to do their OPAC searches in the basic index the study focused on the effects of enriching this index with automatically generated terms. For this purpose an Aleph 500 OPAC consisting of a representative random sample of records drawn from the Austrian Union Catalogue was used for searching 100 queries in the basic index before and after adding the new index terms. The results include an increase of relevant hits at only moderately lower precision, the reduction of zero-hit results and insights into the role of existing subject headings.

This article identifies and discusses the issues and problems that need to be considered in the process of planning and implementing card-image public access catalogues (CIPACs). CIPACs are online library catalogues based on databases of digitised catalogue cards with more or less sophisticated mechanisms for browsing or searching. Solutions of this kind have been implemented by a number of libraries in various countries since the mid-1990s, mainly as inexpensive alternatives to full retrospective conversion of their old catalogues. Based upon a questionnaire and relevant literature, the article looks at the following aspects: cost, conversion speed, universal access, saving of space, preservational aspects, software selection, preparing the card catalogue for conversion, scanning and quality control, image standards, optical character recognition, manual and intellectual input, technological aspects, administrative tools, organisational aspects, peculiarities of old catalogues, presentation of CIPACs to the users, and life expectancy of card-image catalogues.

Relevance ranking is rarely used in OPACs. The Austrian Library Cooperative's Aleph 500 system has a ranking option, used in its catalogues. An attempt is made here to provide information on the current state of ranking option use in OPACs generally as well as on concrete examples of Aleph 500 (as well as systems from other vendors) use elsewhere. Relevance ranking use may be limited as yet because several problems are still involved.

This paper surveys card-image public access catalogues (CIPACs) – online library catalogues based on databases of digitised catalogue cards and more or less sophisticated mechanisms for browsing or searching. Solutions of this kind have been implemented by a number of libraries in various countries since the mid-1990s, mainly as inexpensive alternatives to a full retrospective conversion of their old catalogues. The article presents a Web page dedicated to CIPACs, identifies and describes four main categories of interface software for such catalogues, and provides a comparative overview of 50 CIPACs in 11 countries, looking at aspects such as geographical distribution, growth and size, software, number of catalogues, processing and index creation, navigation, image formats, and other features.

The paper gives a historical account of the development of OPACs. The main features of online catalogues are described briefly through three phases of their development.

SFX is an XML-based product designed to inter-link electronic resources with other resources in a context-sensitive manner. SFX was first developed at the University of Ghent by Herbert Von de Sompel and has been released as a commercial product by Ex Libris. Use statistics garnered from SFX's statistics module since its implementation in July 2001 are discussed in the context of an academic research library environment. The results from usability testing conducted at Washington State University are reported. These usage statistics demonstrated a pattern of increasing use and exceptional use from FirstSearch databases.

Some guidelines are given in order to design a next generation catalogue that improves the actual performances and integrates all the library information resources and services.

Internet development has driven the implementation of OPACs in that environment. Changes of these new OPACs as referred to catalog structure, management, and maintenance, retrieval systems and user interface are analyzed. The survival of traditional practices in the information structure and organization avoids them to be considered an innovative tool. The database structure is studied as well as the traditional principles that govern their elaboration. Effects of keeping using rules and formats designed for a manual environment, which is absolutely different from the present day technological environment are analyzed.

Reports on the results of the web-based survey of 320 users of card-image public access catalogues (CIPACs) in four countries, as described in part 1 of this article. CIPACs mainly attract users ("regulars") in the humanities. However, their search interfaces are not always easy to use, particularly for student users. CIPACs that offer alphabetical indexes for searching are accepted best; other features rated favourably are keyword searching of (OCR-processed) catalogue records, options for subject searching, and some sort of interface to circulation. Many users are not fully aware of the options their CIPACs offer. CIPACs are not seen as easier to handle than the old card catalogues; they are not used as frequently as "normal" OPACs. Obviously, the main advantage of CIPACs is their universal availability over the web.

Using the 9 areas identified by the ISBD as a guide, the paper proposes a descriptive comparison between the choices carried out by the authors of RDA and REICAT. Two different ways of understanding the basic entities of the bibliographic description are shaped through a detailed analysis of individual choices, and accordingly to this, two different perspectives for the future organization of resources. REICAT are even linked to the organization "on board", to punctuation and to the concept of the catalog, while the RDA is outlined as a new structure, designed for full flow of data through a semantic platform.

This paper highlights an overview of the conceptual approach to e-resource discoverability in academic libraries with a focus on research on the assessment of library catalog performance in the Patron-Driven Acquisitions (PDA) model for e-book collection development. Although the published literature stresses the key role of the library catalog in the PDA model for e-book acquisitions, the findings in this paper show that, until now, there has been a lack of research on users’ e-resources searching behavior and PDA. As a conclusion, the authors think that in such a large universe of digital information on the Web, a new branded local catalog could be the way to visualize a more “tangible” experience between users and e-book collections.

CIPACs (Card-Image Public Access Catalogues) are often introduced as interim or long-term alternative solutions to retrocataloguing. They originated in the USA in 1994, then spread to Europe. Little is known about user reactions, so in 2001 an exploratory survey was carried out on the WWW among 11 libraries in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia. Themes covered, questionnaire construction, implementation and fieldwork are described. Results were stored in a large data file.

This article describes and analyses the systems currently used by libraries to provide their users with access to free web resources and it explores the major obstacles for identifying and retrieving these resources. The ways in which libraries organise web resources can be described by three models: making lists, creating databases, and incorporating them into the opac. This study concentrates on the description, identification and characteristics of the latter two approaches, focussing on major experiences with special attention given to the following features in each case: selection criteria, types of descriptions, indexing and classification systems, information retrieval methods, and maintenance policies. Finally, current trends are discussed and considerations are offered as to how Spanish libraries might approach the organisation of web resources.

The 21 September 1999 marked the launch of WebVoyager, the HTTP interface for access to Voyager, the new Library of Congress catalogue. This article describes the characteristics and peculiarities of the new OPAC, its contents and access modalities (available interfaces), making comparisons with the old system on IBM mainframe, LOCIS (Library of Congress Information Systems), which closed on 12 August 1999. Voyager contains almost 12 million records for monographic works, serials, computer files, manuscripts, cartographic material, sound and video material, including the over 4.7 million records from the PREMARC file. At the moment Voyager includes information from more files than the old LOCIS system. The BOOKS files (LOC1, LOC2 and LOC3) include the materials catalogued from 1898 to 1975. With respect to the old LOCIS, Voyager does not include records from other research libraries and records from bibliographies and data bases for materials not held at the Library of Congress. LOCIS "aggregated" the old systems that were separated from one another, with over 30 different files, some of which dated to the end of the Sixties, or the beginning of the Seventies. The Library of Congress decided to break up and locate outside the boundaries of the new OPAC much of that material which was previously described within the catalogue. That material can be accessed from the LC Web site in an integrated way to the OPAC; for example the old Copyright file produced by the Copyright Office, which include bibliographic records and information for documents from 1978 to the present day, can now be consulted from the set of Web pages available on the site; the same is true for the GPO (Government Printing Office) documents, the legal documents and the photographic collections on American memory. The records from the files that include Braille and audio material can be accessed from the Web-BNLD catalog on the LC site of the National Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The catalogue includes over 2700 electronic volumes in Braille, recently placed on the net for users authorized to access the National Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The new OPAC can be accessed, as well as from WebVoyager, also through Z39.50 in two ways, simple (keyword) and advanced (with the use of Boolean operators), and in just a textual way (ASCII) of the telnet type. The search and browse capabilities offered by the new OPAC Web are numerous, Subject Browse, Name Browse, Title, Serial Title, Call Number Browse, Guided Keyword, Command Keyword, Keyword, grouped into four modalities: Subject-Name-Title-Call#, Guided Keyword, Command Keyword, Keyword. There are four possible choices for the display of the record: Brief Record, Subject/Content, Full Record, MARC Tag. Various also are the functions available that make the new OPAC a flexible and refined instrument: Limiting Searches, Search History, Boolean Searching, with the offer of a complete set of tools for the refinement of the search, including the use of Boolean operators of specific codes for searching in indexes, of various filters for limiting the search, and a powerful system of relevance ranking to evaluate the items retrieved. Copies of the bibliographic records can be printed, saved or sent to a postal mailbox, one record at a time or as a whole set. Many help screens can be reached from various points of the catalogue and from various search or browse modes.

The purpose of this article is to describe the development and first start up of MAI project, occured on 1999, due to a Partnership between AIB and CILEA. MAI was born with the aim of getting support and improving the AIB-WEB “OPAC Italiani” Index, a detailed html list gathering 268 Italian OPACs. They are single queryable, each one from his interface. The Strenght of MAI is immediately clear. It allows to contemporarly query more than one OPAC getting as a result only one Page. This is allowed to AZALAI Search Engine (developed from CILEA) and to MAI Dbase, managed with Informix system. In the Article the main Aspects shown on MAI First Releaseare are finally described.They are shortly reported below: MAI Dbase, OPAC Selection Interface, Querying Form and Result Page.

The Integrated Library Sistems (ILS, known as Library Management Systems LMS, too) are software composed by different modules corresponding to the different library management needs. In the continuous technological evolution, especially for Web technologies, libraries must be able to supply groundbreaking services around their peculiar functions. For this reason, the choice of the management system must be careful and supported by a specialist and technically skilled partner as CILEA, with over 30 years of experience in the field.

This article comments to the excitement caused by release of “On the Record,” the final report of the Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control. The article notes the challenge of maintaining user-supplied tags in the absence of an agency responsible for their upkeep. It also refers to the chaos emerging from the convergence of enriched catalogs, WorldCat Local, and federated tools, all of which are vying for library search.

This article comments on a paper written in 1982 in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS). The piece describes persistent challenges faced by the cataloging community. It includes comments made during the ALCTS 50th Anniversary National Conference as a means of placing these challenges in historical context.

This article describes the uncertain future of the online catalog, and the tension that exists between creating a cataloging code that meets user needs while adhering to principles deemed important by the cataloging community. Underscoring this tension are the provocative questions posited by the Taiga Steering Committee, which call into question the future of libraries.

Brief report on the growth and extent of the web-directory, "The International CIPAC List", that has been online since 2001.

This article describes the uses of digital signatures with- in Euskadi (Basque country) library services. In particular it fo- cuses on their use for the librarians’ networked activities, in which they can access the single server where both bibliographic and user data are stored. Additionally, mention is made of the use of a digital certificate as a single membership card allowing members to access the services (such as circulation, internet, etc.) that are offered by municipal libraries making up the online network of the National System of Libraries of Euskadi.

This contribution presents the following usage statistics for the new web gateway to the union catalogue of the Austrian Library Network (from September 1996 to the end of May 1997): queries per month, queries per weekday, queries by time of day, origin of queries (by web domain), use of search forms, use of specific functionalities, use of online help.

This article seeks to provide support for decision making, hardly taking advantage of all the resources that may be at the time of this work, it should not only be to conduct a quick count of what exists, but must involve more factors this activity should be seen as an opportunity to start building a culture of continuous improvement within the library.

This article presents a search interface of version 3.07 of the software MicroISIS. MicroISIS, or Micro CDS/ISIS is a software package distributed by Unesco to non-profit making organisations, free of charge. It is suitable for handling non-numeric, variable length, textual information. This article proposes a modified search interface in relation to user friendliness, user instructions and output control, addressed to novice users.

The article describes a new web gateway to the union catalogue of the Austrian Library Network. The gateway was implemented by the authors at the Vienna University Computer Centre in September 1996 in order to provide a user interface that is more comfortable than the original Bibos-2-OPAC. Nevertheless, the web gateway depends on the basic functionalities of that OPAC. It is designed as a temporary solution until a new software system for the consortium of Austrian libraries will be implemented.

Article presents a comparison of patron use of two interfaces to the Yale Library catalog: faceted (Yufind) and non-faceted (Orbis). The authors explored if the use of subject headings would be greater in Yufind than Orbis due to facets. From January to May 2011 subject facets were used in 5.1% of all Yufind searches while In Orbis subject headings were used in 6.4% of searches. Facets led to less use of subject headings than following links in records in either interface. Searches were initiated more often in Orbis than Yufind (8.2 times) and most often Yufind sessions started in Google.

Purpose: This paper presents the results of an analysis of 20 free and open source ILS platforms offered to the library community. These software platforms were subjected to a three step analysis, whereby the results aim to assist librarians and decision makers in selecting an open source ILS, based on objective criteria. Methodology: The methodology applied involves three broad steps. The first step consists of evaluating all the available ILS and keeping only those that qualify as truly open source or freely licensed software. During this step, we measured the correlation between the practices within the community and the terms associated to the free or open software license. The second step involves evaluating the community behind each open source or free ILS project, according to a set of 40 criteria in order to determine the attractiveness and sustainability of each project. The third step entails subjecting the remaining ILS to an analysis of almost 800 functions and features to determine which ILS are most suited to the needs of libraries. The final score is used to identify strengths, weaknesses and differentiating or similar features of each ILS. Findings: More than 20 open source ILS’s were submitted to this methodology but only 3 passed all the steps: Evergreen, Koha, and PMB. The main goal is not to identify the best open source ILS, but rather to highlight which, from the batch of dozen open source ILS, librarians and decision makers can choose from without worrying about how perennial or sustainable each open or free project is, as well as understanding which ILS provides them with the functionalities to meet the needs of their institutions. Practical implications: This paper offers a basic model so that librarians and decision makers can make their own analysis and adapt it to the needs of their libraries. Originality/value: This methodology meets the best practices in technology selection, with a multiple criteria decision analysis. It can also be easily adapted to the needs of all libraries.

The article deals with the topic "Open Data" focussing on the library world. It covers the history, definition and licensing of open data. In the end the open data activities in the library consortium around the North Rhine-Westphalian Library Service Center are outlined.

This is a research based on some aspects of the Online Centralized Catalog of the public libraries of the City of Buenos Aires Government (OPAC). Its characteristics, the availability, the information provided to the user, the functionality, and the maintenance, provide an overview about the current instrument’s performance and about the related institutions involved in its development, who act as culture disseminators in the City of Buenos Aires. It consists of four chapters, and it begins with a brief history on goals, roles and types of catalogs. It shows the changes occurred since the introduction of the computer element, lists the units comprised in the net of public libraries of the City of Buenos Aires Government and provides details of the functions and departments within the Book and Reading Promotion Headquarters (Dirección General del Libro y Promoción de la Lectura). The data collection involved 9 out of 26 libraries comprised in the net. The data was obtained by qualitative and quantitative techniques: direct observation, surveys and interviews. Some of the results obtained by these data analysis are as follows: 39, 58% of the surveyed people use the OPAC; the main problems experienced when using the OPAC are due to mechanical, conceptual and cultural aspects (reasons). Most of the surveyed people think that the online centralized catalog is a complete, user-friendly recovery tool. However, there are negative aspects such as lack of equipment in the units of information, low budgets and non-payments to Internet servers, which are the main causes leading to problems of administrative nature. The role of librarians in charge is essential, as information disseminators. They eagerly deal with these problems on a daily basis.

"Make it more like Google" is a refrain that is often heard by students at academic libraries when asked how library catalogs can be improved. According to the annual Beloit College Mindset list for the class of 2010, the word Google has always been a verb. It is not surprising students today turn to the web when conducting research as it is what they are familiar with and what they know. How can academic libraries handle the challenge of changing user expectations? Can open source software be used to meet this challenge? Can library vendors be convinced that systems need to be changed now? This paper will look at the next generation’s expectations of the academic library online public access catalog and possible solutions.

The OPAC (On Line Public Access Catalog) from a library is an essential tool for users. In recent years, with the rise of participatory technologies that are emerging tools for using the social web, it has been thought in use and apply to libraries to communicate, educate and inform, integrate the user in the services. Following is the 2.0 or OPAC OPAC social: the transformation of rigid traditional catalog more familiar to the user, a catalog that leverages the advantages of the web. The new exchange is the implementation of 2.0 technology enabling greater reuse of content and user participation. This concept has been studied previously by many authors and can be understood as the application of technologies and the attitudes of Web 2.0 to the library catalog. It is important to justify the need for this type of application and identify what can you bring to the web OPAC. This paper makes a reflection about what today would be the online catalog of a library and not what actually is in most cases: a search box with some possibilities hypertext whose philosophy is based on a library tradition basically conservative. The evolution of OPACs became stagnant with the appearance of the website and even suffered a severe setback to the existing systems in the early 90s. Surprisingly not been done almost nothing in terms of design even though the extraordinary evolution undergone in the World Wide Web since 1995. Having reviewed the current proposals and existing models and based on the literature analyzing the desirable features of an OPAC 2.0.

CCF (Common Communication Format), a bibliographic record record model promoted by Unesco may be a key tool to multiply the accessibility of cataloging information contained in various types of bibliographic records in machine readable form. The current Spanish situation , with the recent development of a full IBERMARC format, encourages to address analytical studies leading to the development of software for converting IBERMARC to CCF and vice versa. This article examines the possibilities offered by CCF and presents a comparative analysis of the specifications of both formats, which has been conducted as a prerequisite to the development of conversion software IBERMARC-CCF.

This paper will review the integrated library systems (ILS) that are being used in Spain, the basic concept and origin of “Authority control” and the new OPAC features.

Brief report on the new design of the web-directory, "The International CIPAC List".

This study explains the concept of bibliographic heritage, analyses the role played by libraries in the preservation and access to it, and presents catalogues as fundamental tools to carry out both functions. The paper classifies the catalogues according to their characteriological affinity and offers a number of significant examples of catalogues that include historical heritage, such as the Spanish Bibliographic Heritage Union Catalogue and others belonging to the Association of Latin American States for the Development of National Libraries in Latin American Countries (ABINIA).