Accessing information in a parliamentary environment: is the OPAC dead?
| Date | 06 March 2009 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830910942900 |
| Pages | 42-56 |
| Published date | 06 March 2009 |
| Author | Roxanne Missingham,Rina Brettell,Shirley White,Sarah Miskin |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
THEME ARTICLE
Accessing information in a
parliamentary environment:
is the OPAC dead?
Roxanne Missingham
Australian Parliamentary Library, Parliament House, Canberra, Australia
Rina Brettell
Department of Parliamentary Services, Parliament House, Canberra,
Australia, and
Shirley White and Sarah Miskin
Australian Parliamentary Library, Parliament House, Canberra, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – Access to library collections in an era where users want to “get” rather than “find” offers
particular challenges. This paper seeks to explore users’ needs for bibliographic records in a primarily
full text environment.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes the need for access to parliamentary and
library information from the Australian Parliament and its use by Senators and Members. It then
outlines the approach taken to develop and implement a new search system, ParlInfo, which applied a
repository and search system that provides integrated access to bibliographic and full text
information. Launched in September 2008, it offers facets, alerts, RSS feeds and other Web 2.0
functionality to both the Australian public and Parliamentary Network users accessing library
collections and parliamentary collections.
Findings – The paper offers insights into solutions which meet the information needs of Senators
and Members and the public; and the application of library/web 2.0 solutions. It is relevant to
organisations seeking to offer a single gateway to their collections.
Research limitations/implications – The paper offers an approach based on understanding the
whole needs of users, rather than applying a traditional assumption that resource discovery should be
based only on catalogue records through an OPAC.
Practical implications – The paper provides a model based on integrated access to resource
through metadata, full text “crawled” from web sites and full text resources, such as Hansards, that
can be applied in many organisations.
Originality/value – The paper’s value is in thinking about how the catalogue can be “turned inside
out” for the twenty-first century users’ needs.
Keywords Parliament, Libraries, Information management, Australia
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
With the emergence of a vast range of information resources available as a mouse click,
libraries have sought to review how access can be provided to their traditional services
and products through the online environment over the past decade. Collections have
been developed over decades or longer and contain resources in a multiplicity of
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
LHT
27,1
42
Received 3 October 2008
Revised 11 November 2008
Accepted 20 November 2008
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 27 No. 1, 2009
pp. 42-56
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378830910942900
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