RE: [IUG] System Mgt People in Short Supply?

["Carolyn McDonald" <C dot McDonald at murdoch dot edu dot au>]

But that assumes all our users want a complete result. For many undergrads they are happy to get any book (or paper) on the topic, as long as it gives them enough information to answer their current assignment. No doubt our researchers certainly want complete results, but they are a small percentage of our total users, so are we spending all this money for them?


Carolyn

-----Original Message-----
From: innopac-bounces at innopacusers dot org [mailto:innopac-bounces at innopacusers dot org] On Behalf Of Elisheva Schwartz
Sent: 28 September 2006 4:08 AM
To: sowder at andrews dot edu; innopac at innopacusers dot org
Subject: Re: [IUG] System Mgt People in Short Supply?

Try to do a search for a subject--and be sure that you have a complete result.
Amazon won't even come close. For that you need a controlled vocabulary, and cross-referencing--even if you're using a keyword search!
Finding a specific, known title is about the easiest thing to do. Not such a surprise that Amazon is up to the task.
Elisheva
 
 
 
Elisheva Schwartz
Cataloger
NYU Law School Library
40 Washington Sq. S.
New York, NY 10012-1099
212 998 6333
schwartz at juris dot law dot nyu dot edu 
 
"Toutes les fois qu'on verra tout le monde tranquille  dans un Etat qui se donne le nom de république, 
on peut être assuré que la liberté n'y est pas" 
--Montesquieu


>>> sowder at andrews dot edu 9/27/2006 3:40:03 PM >>>

Susan Jurist wrote:
> On Sep 22, 2006, at 8:30 AM, Gimon, Charles A wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> And I disagree that you need to talk to librarians to find out what
>> users want. Forget that--talk directly to the users, and cut out the
>> middleman.
>
> ok. then that's easy. Just buy the google search engine & let the 
> users fend for themselves ...
>
Most users do exactly that or even better, use Amazon.

> I agree, we pay too little attention to the user, but they don't know 
> that there is more to life than Google, so you need to talk to us too.
But they don't talk to us. They don't even feel the need. Why would they 
if they don't know this other side is even here? The only reason they 
use our nicely constructed OPACs is because they _have_ to. If the 
contents of our databases were available to Google they would not use 
our OPACs.

So, our default search is _keyword_ because that is what Google is and 
pretty much what web surfers (read "patrons") expect. Read the papers on 
user expectations.

I haven't heard many complaints of _not_ finding a book on Amazon.  And 
Amazon doesn't even use AACR2.
>
> From the other side, having worked with my share of programmers, 
> sometimes systems people do things just because they can - not because 
> it would make something better to the end user. I think you call all 
> supply your own examples here.
Oh yes. And I am a systems person.

Steve Sowder                                                     Systems 
Librarian
sowder at andrews dot edu                                      Andrews University

--
This message was distributed through the Innovative Users Group INNOPAC list
Public replies:  INNOPAC at innopacusers dot org
Update your subscription options: http://innopacusers.org/mailman/listinfo/innopac






--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
---
--
This message was distributed through the Innovative Users Group INNOPAC list
Public replies:  INNOPAC at innopacusers dot org
Update your subscription options: http://innopacusers.org/mailman/listinfo/innopac