THE KNOWN IN KNOWN-ITEM SEARCHES - EMPIRICAL SUPPORT FOR USER-CENTERED DESIGN

Traditionally, the catalog record for an item has been based on the ca taloger's inspection of the item and has contained a complete descript ion of the item. An alternative approach-user-centered design-would re quire the study of user behaviors and cognition related to interaction with the catalog and using the results of those studies to inform des ign decisions. To support known-item searches, one would need to study users' conceptions of the item being sought, what the user knows abou t the item, and which pieces of known information are viewed by the us er as most appropriate for inclusion in a search. A pilot study was co nducted to develop methods that can be applied to these questions. Dur ing the three phases of the study 103 catalog users described 386 sear ches. Any written information known by the searchers was photocopied. The searchers generally knew the title, publication date, page numbers (particularly for journals), and/or the author (particularly for book s). The information known by the searcher was usually accurate. Result s from the study indicated that the method was feasible and valid, and provided a preliminary picture of known-item searching in one library 's catalog.