Understanding user-system interactions

Abstract

This paper presents findings of a study that examines how the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) of the University of Dar es Salaam library is used; the extent to which users succeed in locating information; and the reasons behind search failure. OPAC transaction logs were collected unobtrusively between January and December 2015, which were then subjected to transaction log analysis. The results indicate a relatively low use of OPAC, with default keyword search, author, title and subject terms being the most preferred access points. Only 102,037 (19.2%) of the search queries received zero hits. Reasons for search failure were multiple. They included spelling mistakes, use of wrong syntax, searching in inappropriate search fields, users’ lack of knowledge of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and materials unavailability. Thus, the paper suggests redesigning OPAC interface to include features of the ‘next generation’ catalogue and exposing users to evidence-based information literacy.

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