In this study, the author compares the use of a new OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog),and the card catalog, looking primarily at the area of subject access.
The author asked Library Science students to fill out a questionnaire containing 11 questions, including:
1. The propotion of subject search (classification number searches, and keyword searches) to that of known-item searches on an OPAC and on a card catalog;
2. The success rate of catalog searches;
3. How to use an OPAC compared to the card catalog;
4. Librarian assistance needed with catalog searches, and
5. Knowledge of the Nippon Decimal Classification.
As a result, even among Library Science students, the ratio of classification number searches is only 2 percent in the OPAC, compared with 10 percent in the card catalog. Direct-stack searches also rapidly dropped, from 35 percent in the card catalog, to 19 percent in the OPAC.
The introduction of OPAC capabilities leads to an increase in the number of users. But the search method is no longer the classification number search; it is the keyword search. A keyword is defined as a word that appears anywhere in the description of an item including title. Therefore the keyword search can not adequately describe the subject contents of an item.
The author also examined the OPAC user's knowledge about the classification scheme: very few students fully understood the classification scheme, and less than 10 percent were able to transform a subject to the classification number. This tendency is even greater for general students (non-Library Science students).
The author strongly feels that the existing user-friendly OPAC still needs improvement, especially in the area of subject searches, in order to serve effectively.
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