HUMAN HELP AT OPAC TERMINALS IS USER-FRIENDLY - A PRELIMINARY-STUDY

Extensive research has been done on the development of OPACs, and significant advances have been made. Although research has focussed almost exclusively on enhancing OPAC technology, users are experiencing many of the same problems found in studies done ten years ago when online catalogs were new. The research reported here examined the provision of in-person help to users who are seeking information on OPACs. The study identified a significant change in the demand for service when there was a change from offering traditional from-the-desk service to point-of-use help at the OPAC terminals. The kind of help most given by librarians was procedural. How to deal with information overload was identified as a fairly frequent problem. The results suggest that while it is important to continue to improve the technology there remains an ongoing need for human support. Research into human help is supportive of library practice, which values the provision of high quality service to users who are not yet self-sufficient on OPACs.