Next generation electronic catalogs in Polish libraries. Usability and information architecture

Abstract

The latest generation of electronic directories, called the third or next, was founded, among others, as a result of use of principles of usability in the design of websites. To the characteristics of the directories of third generation in technological terms belong: optimization to meet the needs of users, application of metasearch, interconnection of data into one system. Among the features offered by the new OPAC we have: auto-complete, federated search, faceted search, and personalization. In Poland, among the systems that support new functionalities, we can mention: Virtua CHAMO (Main Library of the Pedagogical University of Cracow), KOHA (Main Library of Cracow University of Technology), Primo Exlibris (Main Library of Silesian University of Technology), Summon ProQuest (University Library of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun) and Prolib Integro (Katowice CINiBA). The aim of the article was to compare these systems in the field of applications of modern mechanisms (patterns) of designing the search systems. None of the analyzed retrieval systems contained all available functionalities to facilitate finding information. The least number of functionalities was found in Virtua CHAMO, the most – in the systems of the type of “discovery” (Primo, Summon and Prolib).