Next Generation Catalogue: A User’s expectation

Abstract

Since the days of Cutter, tools to access the resources of libraries are changing their structure and interface rapidly and dramatically to fulfill the dynamic user needs. Today almost every library user comes with expectations set and defined by their experience of using the Web. So the catalogues, which are offered by the libraries, need to operate at the same level of sophistication as other popular Web destinations. The “next generation” library catalog is a tool designed to fit into this shifting environment and move librarianship into a more active role when it comes to increasing the sphere of knowledge. The purpose of the paper to examine the present developments and explores the likely future developments in re-designing the OPAC to support resource discovery. The different ongoing developments follow a unique approach, but one thread that is common in all of them is that they involve a desire to go far beyond the capabilities of legacy catalogues and give library users more powerful and appealing tools.