Chapter 7. Stakes and Prospects of Heuristic Visualization for OPAC Use
7.2. Sense and visualization
7.2.1. The multidimensional space of a library
Numerous studies [POI 05, BPI 03, DUJ 85, LEM 90] show that the rules on how libraries are structured and function are unknown to their users. The negative image users have of a library is often based on an autodidactic approach towards libraries and documentation centers. Municipal libraries often neutralize reflexive approaches towards multiple layers of informational macro systems. They therefore do not create logical links between the different subject areas:
11 SUDOC for example condenses hypertextual mechanisms of links that are found in different technical manuals. Choosing one or several words that appear in the title leads to documents which are on the SUDOC index and whose title includes at least one of the keywords entered. The activation of a link representing a certain author also enables the user to obtain all works by this author contained in the SUDOC index. Other links describing the editor or the collection lead to documents that contain the name of the editor or the name of the collection.
12 See the works of Vannevar Bush (As we may think) and Douglas Engelbart (Augment/NLS) when it comes to the possibilities of increasing cognitive capacities by using hypertext.
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– information systems13. Managing the structure of libraries is based on information systems of documentation (LIS) or integrated library systems (ILS).
These IT tools supply data used for the management and acquisition of data as well as for the processing of documents [MAI 03]. They are integrated into the global IT systems of universities and digital working environments that are open to students, researchers and teachers;
– system of organized knowledge. Professional librarians working in the field of acquisition that is linked to scientific research14 manage the collections and the global coherence of the documents in stock [JAC 04];
– the place where intellectual work is carried out and progress is made in personal knowledge and different ways of thinking. The diversity of the different ways in which research can be carried out as well as the multiple resources and documentation services make the library an instrumental system that combines intellectual, conceptual, technical and cultural aspects [FEO 99, COU 97];
– this social space [POL 01] of co-operation, exchange, meetings and discussions creates a link between the two main communities within a library, i.e. professional librarians and the users of a library.
The library unites different aspects (e.g. techniques, documents and cognitive aspects), approaches (e.g. organizational, educational, institutional and scientific) and features (e.g. social, cultural, economic and futurology). All of these aspects are integrated within the same global system of organization [DER 77].
7.2.2. Accessing the stock of documents via metadata
The digitization of information systems in libraries urgently requires standardization and guidelines in processing, organizing, describing and classifying the documents in stock. “Standardized descriptive data” is required to insure compatibility (e.g. by using the Z39.50 protocol). Data exchanged based on ILS can therefore be imposed rapidly. However, explanations on the functioning of these rules mainly respond to professional needs and do not make them more comprehensible for users who are unfamiliar with these technical and professional dynamics.
13 Online catalogs allow for partial visibility.
14 In the framework of common documentation services (CDS) representatives of different disciplines taught at the university, laboratories, groups and teams of researchers, and bibliographic requests by lecturers will all influence the institute’s decisions in the field of acquisition.
Stakes and Prospects of Heuristic Visualization 109 Creating access to material while also explaining how the organization of a library works represents a challenge. This challenge requires the sorting and transmitting of essential knowledge from the abundance of information to enable the user to work with a search tool of his/her choice. Once users are able to use these search tools on their own they can choose a tool that corresponds best to their individual profile. This profile might vary for professional librarians, students, researchers, lecturers, etc. Their usage surpasses the level of “resourcefulness” that Martine Poulain mentions in the preface to Joëlle Le Marec’s [LEM 90] book. This tool redirects the user in an ingenious as well as constructive way and therefore increases the properties that its creators have integrated into this tool.
In the field of ergonomics the notion of catachresis represents the fact that users are moving away from initial applications that were introduced by the creators of a tool and now use it in a different way. This change in usage is an indicator of the success of a project as the functions of a tool change [RAB 95]. The user might discover new functions that were not integrated into the tool intentionally. Different ways of carrying out research are given below. The list starts with very precise search entries and moves down to very vague ones:
– searching for a precise reference;
– searching for complementary elements in relation to a topic (authors, books, vocabulary, articles etc.);
– searching for a notion or concept that has still to be defined;
– searching for interdisciplinary proximity or topics that overlap one another;
– visibility of intellectual organization, i.e. an entire collection is being explored;
– using the catalog as a source of inspiration or for brainstorming;
– usage of the catalog to create a profile that will automatically update new information.
Even though this system is very complex, libraries always represent coherence [JAC 04] and the expertise of professional librarians can be guaranteed. This large variety of structures is the key to accessing collections. However, with the democratization of web access and the publishing of online catalogs, Unimarc structures, and classification systems such as LCC, Dewey and UDC as well as the main subject fields [MIN 05, LAH 97] are accessed by users who lack any kind of competence in this field.
Librarians therefore need to explain what has remained rather difficult or even impossible for the majority users to understand. Finding a way that enables all users to understand how a library is organized and which rules are applied could re-
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establish a dialog with its public based on a better comprehension of how the library functions. Furthermore, the image of professional librarians could be improved by this pedagogical approach towards the library’s users [CHA 05].
7.2.3. Improved online catalogs – they lead to an increase in unintended applications
The catalog plays a central role in a library and has more to it than the capacity to provide the required descriptive notes. It contains organizational information that reveals a distinct and empirical logic. Users often underestimate this logic as well as the importance of the actual catalog:
– architecture: the most recent library buildings make free access to collections easier. Even if the localization of a certain book is indicated in the descriptive note (precision might vary) it never explains to the user how collections are organized and why they are put into a particular room, or into different places;
– organization (and classification) as well as standardized descriptions of knowledge (RAMEAU, unified encyclopaedic directory on authorship and topic in alphabetical order). A classification system offers access that is based on different categories. This form of access is hardly used and difficult to introduce into reading rooms. Alphanumeric encoding is useful due to the fact that it is very concise, but, it does not provide any information about the variety and the intellectual organization of collections;
– policies on documentation reveal the library’s system of acquisition and the value that is attributed to different collections.
Catalogs have, of course, benefited from the progress made in web applications.
However, online catalogs still follow the traditional microfiche models. According to Christine Borgman this procedure no longer corresponds to user behavior when searching for information. “ … we argue that most current online catalogs are based on card catalog design models, that this model does not map well onto online systems, and that the model is not based on information-seeking behavior” [BOR 96].
7.3. Visualization and the trail of knowledge