Subject Searching in Two Online Catalogs |
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| Abstract: | This study compares the results of subject searching in two online catalog systems, one system with authority control, the other without. Transaction logs from Library A (no authority control) were analyzed to identify searching patterns of users; 885 searches were attempted, 351 (39.7%) by subject. One hundred forty- two (40.6%) of these subject searches were unsuccessful. Identical searches were performed in a comparable library that had authority control, Library B. Terms identified in "see" references at Library B were searched in Library A. One hundred five (73.9%) of the searches that appeared to fail would have retrieved at least one, and usually many, records if a link had been provided between the term chosen by the user and the term used by the system. |
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