[WEB4LIB] Re: Two steps forward, three steps back

[K.G. Schneider]

> Perhaps a better discussion would be on what are good defaults for a
> library catalog search. What are patrons expecting? I believe many
> users will presume a keyword search is a Boolean AND search not a
> phrase search. I also think that when they do a title search they will
> expect it to search within the title, not requiring them to know the
> first word in the title. Does any libraries have studies on their
> patron's search behaviors? I'd love to see it. I only have what I've
> seen while helping people to go by.

(John Kupersmith, you around?) 

One of my propositions is that a prominent subject search hurts more than it
helps, at least in non-academic systems. I don't know if this has been
tested. Actually, I would assume it hasn't been since so many ILS
prominently offer a subject search (without explaining what a "subject" is).
That's not a vendor problem (assuming my proposition is correct). 

> I agree that rerunning the search as a Boolean AND if there are no
> results is a good idea. This feature has come in handy multiple times.

This is a fabulous idea--one worthy of adding to a search engine RFI.

Karen G. Schneider
kgs at bluehighways.com