Educating Online Catalog Users: The Protocol Assessment of Needs
| Pages | 11-19 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047591 |
| Date | 01 February 1985 |
| Published date | 01 February 1985 |
| Author | Patricia Sullivan,Peggy Seiden |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Educating Online Catalog Users:
The Protocol Assessment of Needs1
Patricia Sullivan and Peggy Seiden
Traditional methods of studying
and evaluating the use of online
public
access
catalogs (OPACs) are
discussed
and compared to the
protocol method. Verbal protocols
are spoken records of people
describing their
work;
they
uncover detailed data about
what people are thinking
as
they
attempt to solve problems. The
results of the Carnegie-Mellon
University protocol study of OP AC
users are discussed.
A few years ago, librarians who wanted to imple-
ment an online catalog worked closely with a com-
pany or group of programmers to build the system.
The library could ask for changes and expect re-
sponses. Today, an increasing number of libraries
are buying online catalog systems rather than de-
veloping them in-house. Selecting an existing system
has many advantages, from standardizing catalog
input to reducing routine evaluation studies. But the
ready-made online catalog is also less open for mod-
ifications that might aid users in a particular library
community.
The challenge of educating people to use an
online catalog that cannot be substantively changed
is formidable. Educators must carefully assess how a
particular user population interacts with a particular
online catalog and must construct an education
program that teaches the library community how to
use that online catalog successfully. Since the online
catalog cannot be substantially changed, the user
must be taught, and taught well.
In the best situations, previous research about
user behavior can be used as a guide for user educa-
tion, and the materials prepared by the catalog's
vendor can be tested and slightly modified. But
frequently, as in Carnegie-Mellon University's ex-
perience, neither have the specific users been care-
fully observed using the adopted online catalog,
nor have appropriate educational materials been
developed. In these cases, the educators of users
need to assess user behavior on the online catalog
and construct goals for user education based on that
Sullivan was a Doctoral Candidate in the Rhetoric
Program and Instructor of Professional Writing at
Carnegie-Mellon University at the time this article
was written. Seiden is Educational Software Li-
brarian, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.
1.
This research was partially funded by the Andrew
W. Mellon Foundation.
ISSUE 10 11
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