Discovering the library: finding the hidden barriers to success using the catalog

Over the past two years, the Catalog Committee at the University of Texas at Dallas used a verbal protocol analysis to research how students use the catalog system to find known items, to locate materials on a subject, and to evaluate the design and appearance of the interface. The research is attempting to evaluate the thought process and effectiveness of how students use the catalog system. The Library is conducting its third session to evaluate the changes made in the discovery process. During these sessions, the Library will incorporate a means to collect both the audio portion of the person’s oral thought processes and a capture of the links tried in answering a question. The testing covers a range of levels of undergraduate students many who have received basic library instruction