Patron use of an online circulation system in known‐item searching

Jerry Specht

Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 1980, vol. 31, issue 5, 335-346

Abstract: Patron use of the University of Illinois' online circulation system (LCS) was studied by interviewing and observing sample patrons at public terminals. It was found that 56% of the “original known‐item searches” (searches in which the user had not obtained any information from the card catalog) were successful—with 16% failing as a result of error in using LCS—and that 86% of the “location searches” (searches in which the user had obtained the call number of the item from the card catalog and was looking for the location) were successful—with 8% failing as a result of error in using LCS. It was also found that the way in which graduate students use the system is significantly different from the way in which undergraduates use it. It is suggested that the greatest increase in user success per dollar expended is likely to come from the addition of online user aids. It is also suggested that the evaluation of patron use of online catalogs will continue to rely on sample interviews.

Date: 1980
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