The online public access catalog (OPAC) is the most prevalent form of information access and retrieval in the majority of libraries, regardless of domain, audience, or location. Today, almost any library’s OPAC can be accessed remotely, as well as from within the library itself. In an attempt to improve user success and satisfaction and minimize frustration, confusion, and failure rates, this project aims to produce a synthesis of the existing theoretical and empirical work done with users and catalog displays.
The study will critically examine existing suggestions and frameworks that can be applied to OPAC design. The primary research question asks, “does the ratio (quantity) and content (quality) of the first-level bibliographic display to the complete, individual bibliographic record affect user success and failure rates at the OPAC?” In order to better understand the “quantity” element of a display, the Resnikoff-Dolby 30:1 rule and its function in knowledge organization and the recently proposed guidelines for OPAC display will be analyzed. The quality or content of information to be included in a bibliographic record display will be analyzed and evaluated based existing empirical research on OPAC-user feedback and the International Standards for Bibliographic Displays (ISBDs). Finally, traditional cataloging rules and objectives describing the function of the catalog will inform all levels of this study.
“Information is power” is an axiom largely accepted throughout the information science field and many other disciplines. In an effort to provide people from all walks of life with the information they want and need, information scientists must constantly strive to improve information systems for user success. To that aim, this study, through an exploration of theoretical and empirical research, will result in implications for OPAC design, therefore empowering OPAC users (and potentially information system users at large) with rigorously and systematically designed information access tools.