User Instruction
On-site training and online documentation can help make it easier to use OPAC. With the advent of information literacy, the shift in library instruction from procedurebased query formulation to question-being-answered has taken place. At CSULA, instruction for entry-level classes focuses on formulating a research statement and then identifying keywords and alternate terms. The instruction sessions that follow the initial-concept formulation are short and focus on how to enter keyword or subject, author, and title, and the use of Boolean operators. This
approach may improve success until the systems provide the tools to improve search strategies or accept an untrained user’s input. As an increasing number of users access online library catalogs remotely, assistance needs to be embedded into intuitive systems. “Time invested in elaborate help systems often is better spent in redesigning the user interface so that help is no longer needed.” Users are not willing to devote much of their time to learning to use these systems. They just want to get their search results quickly and expect the catalog to be easy to use with little or no time invested in learning the system.