Inquiry of online catalogs at the BPI

Presentation of the quantitative results of a survey held about the use of online catalogs at the Bibliothèque publique d'information. The study applies to the GEAC catalog and LISE CD-ROM holding the whole collection of the library. From the outset, the catalog is often seen as a Minitel, actually as an information service about the library. During the inquiry, the public tends to stand in a dialogue situation and expects too much from the machine : either the understanding of a complicated request, or the possibility of handling the situation with only a very general request. The inquiry is disjointed, screen by screen, with neither possible browsing nor scanning of several information levels in one glance. Some use the catalog like a labyrinth, some like a game.
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