Wanted: an efficient and user friendly library catalogue

Many people find great challenges in using library catalogues. Current OPACs have developed from the traditional card catalogue structure while the MARC formats have primarily provided coding conventions for the traditional bibliographic description.Cataloguers invest significant effort in preparing catalogue records. Yet some studies show that the product of their work is not as useful as it could be. OPACs and their users efficiently use only a fraction of data present in catalogue records. We will explore which parts of the catalogue record are useful and which are not. We will analyze how an alternative catalogue record, based on Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records, would aid in maximizing the catalogue record’s usefulness.