The level of exploitation of Universal Decimal Classification in library OPACs: a pilot study
Aida Slavić · UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) · 2006
The paper reports on a pilot study observing the level to which library classification, Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) specifically, is exploited in searching and browsing library OPACs. The study was conducted in 2004-2005. A selection of 30 Web OPACs using UDC from 22 countries were observed. The OPACs were representative of 5 in-house and 10 vendor library systems. Interface areas examined were: UDC access points, searching, browsing and display. In total, 23 designated interface functionalities were identified. From these observations, it transpires that there is a great discrepancy in the number of functions available, ranging from two to sixteen. The majority (87%) of OPACs have between seven and sixteen UDC related access points and functions enabled. Only four out of thirty catalogues offer top/down systematic browsing (i.e. knowledge area browsing), and only fourteen catalogues have a classification number in the bibliographic description hyperlinked to allow access to other titles in the same class. The study shows that Web OPACs offer different selections and a different number of functions in supporting searching or browsing UDC- even if libraries use the same vendor system. This study is only a pilot and does not analyse the differences between interface options in relation to the 'strength ' of library systems and does not rank them according to their importance in IR. However, the study provides an insight into this, usually neglected, segment of library OPACs and