MIT 144F
Week8: Libraries, Library Catalogues and Networks.


Study Notes for the Wallace (1993) Article

The actual facts and figures found in the Wallace article are not the what my notes focus upon. Rather, I have used the article as a starting point for drawing up some suggestions for improving our use of OPACs.

Three Important Points taken from Wolf and Wolf (1993)

My notes present three important points that I believe user must understand if they are to use OPACs effectively: the structure of MARC records; the Library of Congress Subject Headings; and the nature of Boolean searching. Do not forget to take a look at the Boolean searching examples that I created.

Further Exploration

Take a look at the WebCats site at http://library.usask.ca/hywebcat/ for access to many other OPACs. See how other library systems approach the implementation of their OPACs.

For Next Week

I want to explore the ideas of RECALL and PRECISION next week. Take a look at http://instruct.uwo.ca/gplis/601/week1/review.html. It might not make sense now but that is why we will discuss it next week!

Page creator: J. Stephen Downie
Page created: 27 October 1997
Page updated: 28 October 1997