Awareness and use of OPACs in five Delhi libraries

PurposeThe objective of this study is to establish the opinion of users with respect to the awareness and utilisation of, as well as their satisfaction level with, the use of the online public access catalogue (OPAC).Design/methodology/approachThe paper deals with the applicability and utility of OPACs in five libraries in New Delhi, namely the Indian Institute of Technology; Jawaharlal Nehru University Library; Dr Zakir Husain Library, Jamia Millia Islamia; National Information System for Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR); and the Defence Science Information and Documentation Centre (DESIDOC). A questionnaire was developed and distributed randomly to 128 users including undergraduates and post graduate students as well as MPhil. and PhD scholars. Users returned 115 completed questionnaires of which 100 were selected for analysis.FindingsThe paper finds that the OPAC system has changed the traditional concept of access to library resources. It allows simple as well as complex searches. Document access is still one of the most important approaches of users to visit the library, and a study of the effectiveness of an OPAC is useful in this respect. Regarding results, sometimes users face problems of recall and precision. However, in some searches users are not able to find relevant documents on account of various factors. Data show that a high percentage of respondents are utilising the OPAC as a search tool for retrieving documents. Also, most of the users handle the OPAC themselves. Significantly, the satisfaction level of users was high with the OPAC facilities. Nevertheless, not many users are aware of the expert searches provided by OPAC.Originality/valueThe paper focuses on many aspects of OPACs, particularly those in India. Librarians, especially those from developing nations, may choose their library automation software packages keeping in view the user's expectation with respect to OPACs.