Research paper (M.L.I.S.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1995. / "95-22916." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 328-332).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Virginia, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-70).

Thesis (M.A. (Information Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) plays a critical role in assisting library patrons to effectively and efficiently locate information resources from the academic library. This study examined awareness and usage of the existing OPAC functionalities and capabilities among undergraduate students at the University of Venda (UNIVEN). The research methodology for the study was guided by the adoption of quantitative research approach and descriptive survey design. The data collection tool used was a google forms questionnaire, through which the link was distributed to all undergraduate students at UNIVEN via e-mail. Systematic random sampling method was used to arrive at a sampling frame of five hundred and sixty-three (563) participants represented in all eight (8) schools that comprise UNIVEN academic structure. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of undergraduate students rated their level of awareness as average. Their major source of awareness of OPAC is library training. Most of respondents were not aware and familiar with OPAC functionalities such as Boolean operators, truncation marks and advanced search. The study further revealed positive attitudes and promising perceptions towards OPAC. In terms of usage, the findings show that most of the respondents occasionally use OPAC, and the majority use a title search entry to conduct their search on OPAC and they prefer to use a simple search option. Furthermore, most of participants showed that their purpose of OPAC usage is to locate books in the library. The major challenge encountered by respondents in using OPAC was slow internet connectivity and their lack of skills in searching information from OPAC. Based on these findings, this study recommends that librarians ought to promote the importance of using all OPAC functionalities to improve awareness and optimal usage of the OPAC functionalities as an information retrieval tool. There is a need for intensified training on advanced search options, such as Boolean operators, Truncation marks and advanced search, through one-on-one instruction and Lib-guides.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

Thesis (M.A.)(Hons)--University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 1996. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (M.A.)(Hons)--University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 1996. / Includes bibliography.

The purpose of this study is to investigate if three scientific articles concerning the cataloguing of alba amicorum written in the 1980’s and early 1990’s had any influence on the cataloguing of alba amicorum. Another purpose is to investigate the similarities and differences between the catalogues from the late 1980’s and onward. The focus lies on the categories used when cataloguing the alba. Alba amicorum are catalogued on two levels: on a general level, i.e. the album as a whole is catalogued and in addition all the inscriptions in the album are cata-logued separately, the so-called leaf cataloguing. The study uses a comparative method. First the three scientific articles are compared with each other, then nine catalogues of alba amicorum from 1988 and onward, five printed and four online ones, are investigated regarding which categories are used respectively not used in the different catalogues. Then the categories pro-posed in the scientific articles are compared with the ones used in the catalogues. One result of the study is that the differences in the cataloguing on the general level between the printed catalogues are small but that the variation is larger amongst the online ones. The same patterns cannot be seen regarding the leaf cataloguing; here the variation between the catalogues is generally somewhat larger but the most central categories can be found in all catalogues. Another result is that some of the categories in the cata-logues reflect the printed or online form of the catalogue. The study shows that it is hard to define exactly which influence the scientific articles had on the catalogues but that it probably hasn’t been that large. Many of the categories occurring in the catalogues have been used when cataloguing alba amicorum since the early 1900’s. Maybe one could say that the alba themselves are con-stituted in such a way that it is more or less natural which categories should be used when cataloguing them. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies.

Introduction. Studies have been conducted on serendipitous encounters in the physical library environment. In this study, we aimed instead to look at features in the online library catalog that can lead to serendipitous en-counters. The aim was also to see if libraries took active steps to promote serendipity in their online library cata-logs. Method. A heuristic evaluation of four online library catalogs was conducted. The set of heuristics used was based on previous research, with the aim of identifying facets of a serendipitous environment. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with librarians from three of the researched libraries. The results from the heuristic evaluation and the transcripts of the interviews formed the data for the analysis. Analysis. Thematic analyses were carried out on the data. The data from the heuristic evaluation and the interviews were analyzed and presented separately, leading up to a joint summary. Results. Most of the online library catalogs had features like "Similar items" and book recommendations, which can lead to serendipitous encounters. Librarians often experience a lack of influence over their online library catalogs. Librarians identified problems such as patrons expecting their online library catalog to function more like a web search engine, for example, Google Search. Conclusion. The online library catalogs have features that promote serendipitous encounters but we identified problems in how they are best designed. Using an integrated interface for the online library catalog and the library's website was one way to give the librarians more influence over their interface, which increased their likelihood to provide it with more information and content. We suggest further research with an extensive approach of serendi-pitous encounters not only in the online library catalog but also in other digital library environments such as web-sites, social media, blogs and apps. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

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.