I won’t lie, cataloguing class was not something that I enjoyed. I will admit to wanting to burn the AACR2 on more than a few occasions out of frustration. So it’s ironic that for work, I end up thinking about metadata and FISO. All of the time. And I like it.

Recently I’ve been analyzing and categorizing the search queries in a public library database and was blown away by the types of queries I came across. Although there were a few truly bizarre and amusing search strings – nothing new, having perused the search strings for my own website – what fascinated me were the common mistakes. The instinct that many people have developed to type keywords in the most prominent and available search box. The use of natural language (e.g. How do I grow herbs?). Operators that don’t apply. The infrequency of searching by using metadata. And so on. Ultimately, we’re going to try to put research findings to good use to improve search for public libraries.

I still remember the day I was assisting a grad student research articles in Japanese studies. I hadn’t applied to my Masters program yet but was familiar with the catalogue he was using. He had no idea that there were a number of different databases to search on his topic and that each database had its own structure and logic. That’s when it dawned on me that I think and research differently than other people, although at that time I didn’t realize that I was thinking like a librarian!

Ariadne, the woman who guided Theseus through the labyrinth of King Minos

For so many years, we’ve been told how the internet has made libraries obsolete but it seems to me that being able to guide others through our ever growing sea of information will prove to be one of the most valuable skills needed in any field of employment.

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