The GUI OPAC: Approach with Caution

An intersting study of the OPAC GUI.

Instead of concentrating on user-system interaction we should become less fond of system features and focus, rather, on "user-information" interaction. The authors argue that "effective information access involves rich interactions between users and information residing in diverse locations." [24] A goal of interface designers should be to increase the "quality of the interactions between users and information in an information workspace." [25] In other words, the design goal should be to provide an intuitive interface that permits more direct, informed interaction on the part of the user with the interrelated stages or levels of a search as it is displayed and seen in context. Unlike the linear, straightjacket, no rear-window approach of earlier OPACs, GUI online catalogs can simultaneously present multiple levels of the search territory and permit the user to flexibly pursue his or her own course as his or her interest dictates.

The GUI OPAC: Approach with Caution