How researchers are using the OPAC of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research Library Network

The importance of online public access catalogues (OPACs) has changed in recent years, mainly due to the large number of electronic resources now available. The aim of this study is to learn about and evaluate the use made by researchers of the OPAC of the library network of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research, the largest research institution in Spain.

To this end a questionnaire was drafted with questions pertaining both to the system and to the users themselves. The information gathered was supplemented by data obtained from the transaction logs.

The results have revealed the use made of the OPAC and the characteristics of the searches performed. Users are still confronted by classic problems of information seeking: information overload, errors in subject searching, and the predominant use of the system's simpler options. The results show that the OPAC is broadly used by end‐users not only for obtaining printed material, but also for connecting to the electronic resources subscribed to by the library.

The OPAC should continue to occupy an important position in the library's overall information environment, interacting with other information systems.