Vinh-The Lam, M.L.S.
(A
Chapter of Saving the Time of the Library User Through Subject Access Innovations:
Papers in Honor of Pauline Atherton Cochrane / edited by William J.
Wheeler; published by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2000; p.
162-172)
ABSTRACT
Subject access to monographs through online public
access catalogs (OPACs) has
always been a
major concern for large research and/or
academic libraries. Academic library practice of
providing subject access to
monographs has proved
inadequate, especially in case of
composite
works. Many techniques have been
proposed to enhance subject treatment of monographs in
OPACs. This paper briefly reviews
these efforts in
the past and presents the case of
adding Table
of Contents as one of the most
useful and probably
also one of the most
cost-effective ways of
improving subject access to monographs in an academic environment.
Several decades ago, Ranganathan affirmed as the First Rule of Library
Science that "Books Are For Use." In order to help users make good use of
"books", the library catalog should be able to provide a good
representation of the books' contents. This goal set for the catalog has always
been elusive. The library world has been struggling to make it a reality. With the first-generation online public access
catalog (OPAC) coming on the scene in the late 1970s replacing the traditional
card catalog, librarians had great hopes for improved access in general and
improved subject access in particular.
But before long the library community realized that the OPAC was, in
this area of subject access, not much netter than its predecessor, with all the
same limitations.
