Successes and Failures of Patrons Searching the Online Catalog at a Large Academic Library: A Transaction Log Analysis.

Abstract

When Smart People Fail was the apt title of a 1989 article by Thomas Peters that discussed the successes, failures, and problems of patrons trying to search the online catalog at a large academic library.1 The study indicated that people still expe rience many of the same problems found in studies done ten years ago when online cat alogs were new. This article reports on a transaction monitoring study conducted at North Car olina State University. The purpose of the study was to provide additional informa tion on patrons' searching behavior and the problems patrons experience when us ing the online catalog. By adding to Peters' findings, we hope to create a better under standing of where our systems are causing smart people-our patrons-to fail. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE