Graphical vs. Command User Interface: An Exploratory Study of Undergraduate Students' OPAC Interface Preferences

This paper presents the findings of a study designed to identify the user library catalog interface style preferences of undergraduate students and to attempt to identify factors that contribute to these preferences. Twelve participants from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill used two different OPAC interface styles (graphical and command line) to complete ten tasks and an exit questionnaire. The results of the study suggest that undergraduate students prefer the graphical user interface style. The study was performed with a small sample of convenience and should be considered as exploratory in nature