Bibliographic relationships and FRBR : an examination of user needs in the music library

Abstract

This study examines the user needs of music students when searching for materials within the larger academic library catalogue. It looks specifically at their own perceived uses and desired uses of bibliographic relationships to collocate groups of items. The ability to collocate items has been a fundamental function of the library catalogue since its inception, though many agree there are few catalogues that execute this task well. Another essential task of information organization is to fulfil user needs. As user needs and information seeking become more specialized the amount of information created grows, it becomes increasingly necessary to create and apply new catalogue structures that can accommodate these changes. This study looks at the abilities of one specific group of users to obtain information according to their academic needs. It seeks to determine the value of bibliographic relationships to the academic music student and if a catalogue structure based on these relationships would better serve their needs. The overall purpose ofthis study is to determine ifthe use of bibliographic relationships and/or the FRBR model can be used to better fulfil the needs of music students who use a larger academic library catalogue to find materials for their studies. By first determining the bibliographic relationships most required by music students, the next step can be taken towards improving the catalogue structure in a way that more effectively incorporates and displays them.