This document provides an overview of Web OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog). It begins by explaining how OPAC systems improved upon traditional card catalogs by allowing users to search library collections via computer. It then defines key terms like catalog, OPAC, and Web OPAC. The document discusses the history of OPAC systems from 1st to 3rd generation and compares features of OPAC and Web OPAC. It also outlines searching capabilities, access points, advantages, and limitations of Web OPAC before concluding with examples of Web OPAC implementations in India.

1. WEB OPAC
PRESENTED BY AKASH KURMI - M-01
BUI THI HOANG THANH - M-34

2. INTRODUCTION
Gone are the days of searching through
endless drawers of the card catalogue,
trying to perform cross-references on a topic
through different subject-headings typed on
index cards. Information technology
changed the entire environment of the
library including resources, techniques,
services, etc. OPAC (Online Public Access
Catalogue) changed the traditional card
catalogue system.

3. In the new system, data can be spread
within computer and then the required entry
can be retrieved immediately through OPAC
system in any format. Now, user can search
for information via OPAC and most recently,
the internet, that is also known as the WEB
OPAC.

4. DEFINITION OF CATALOGUE
• The word ‘catalogue’ has been derived
from the Greek expression ‘kata logos’. It
means a list, register or complete
enumeration of something.
• Dr. S. R. Ranganathan has defined the
term library catalogue as a list of the
documents in a library or in a collection
forming a portion of it.

5. DEFINITION OF OPAC
ALA Glossary defines OPAC as, "A
Computer based and supported library
catalog (bibliographic database) designed to
be accessed via terminals so that library
users may directly and effectively search for
and retrieve bibliographic records without
the assistance of a human intermediary
such as specially trained member of the
library staff.”

6. DEFINITION OF WEB OPAC
According to ODLIS, “An Online Public
Access Catalogue (OPAC) that uses a
graphical user interface (GUI) accessible via
the World Wide Web, as opposed to a text
based interface accessible via Telnet.
In other words, it utilizes the World Wide
Web protocol to deliver a library's catalog.

7. According to Washington University in St.
Louis, “A Web OPAC interfaces, which uses
the World Wide Web protocol to act as an
OPAC.”
Simply stated, A Web OPAC is a library
catalog on the Web or Internet. Users can
search the required information by
connecting to Uniform Resource Locator
(URL) of Web OPAC anytime during the
day and from anywhere in the world.

8. Card catalogue vs OPAC
Basis of
comparison
Card Catalogue OPAC
Access
points
We have limited
access points in it.
Such as-author,
title, series,
heading, call
number.
There are so many access
points besides those are
available in traditional card
catalogue.
Such as-ISBN, ISSN, LCCN,
Author/title keyword etc.
Search
tools
Not available. Boolean operators such as
(and, or, not) and user can
also limit the search results by
language, date of publication
and type of document, etc.

9. Visual
clues
The card catalogued its size
provides the visual clues to
understand the size of the
collection of the document
being searched.
The OPAC screen
offers no visual
clues to indicate the
size of the collection
and database being
searched.
Result The card catalogue never
produces zero result without
offering some clues that the
search strategy may have
caused point to alternative
strategy.
Sometimes an
OPAC user gets
zero result, but does
not know what
caused it.

10. OPACs provide users with many more means
of searching and accessing information in
various formats than the traditional card
catalogues. With OPACs, for the first time in
the history of libraries, users can interact with
the catalogues; alter search methods and
information displays in order to optimize search
results, based on their own information needs.
The OPAC-user interface design is of utmost
importance since it can have a decisive
influence on the relationships between the
OPAC and its users.

11. Generations of OPAC
1st
generation 2nd
generation 3rd
generation
Appeared in early
1980s
Appeared in late
1980s
Appeared in late
1990s
Based on circulation
system records and
gives only non
bibliographical
details
Based on simple
MARC records
OPAC with GUI
interface and
Z39.50 protocol
support
Only left anchored
searching
Keyword searching It offers both phrase
and keyword access
searching
Limited access
points
Increased number
of access point
(using Boolean
operators)
It also offers many
access points.
Non interactive Partly interactive Interactive

12. OPAC vs Web OPAC
OPAC and Web OPAC are same in some
aspects like searching and browsing in
techniques and tools.
They differ from each other in some below
aspects.

13. Diffirences

15. Infrastructural Needs of
Web OPAC
The Web OPAC essentially implies the
availability of the following three things:
•Web Technology: it covers HTML, ASP, XML
Web server programming etc.
•Computer Networking Technology: it
includes LAN, WAN, Internet, and Intranet.
•Computer Readable Catalogue: any type of
database accessible through computer.

16. Features of Web OPAC
• It is accessible through Internet,
• It is possible to search independently by
"Author", by "Keyword" in title or "Year ",
• Combination of search keys - as Author +
Year, or Keyword + Year is possible,
• Wildcard search for year is possible,

17. • Displays complete bibliographic information
as appeared on reprints,
• The corresponding author get highlighted in
all search results those are displayed,
• To select search keys Author and Year
drop-down list-box has been provided, and
• Standardization of search key "Author" takes
care to search all the related reference.

18. SEARCHING FEATURES
• Types of searches-
a)Simple.
b)Advanced.
• Full search capability on conventional access
points-
Title, Keyword anywhere, Keyword (using and, or,
not), Publisher name, Publish place, Publish date,
Series, Author or editor or organization, Subject,
Class number (or call number), ISBN/ISSN,
Theses, Notes, Abstract, Table of contents.

19. • Provision for Boolean search
• Provision for truncation
• Provision for exact matching
• Provision for phrase searching
• Word proximity operators
• Provision for field directed searching
• Multimedia searching
• The user can start a search anywhere
• The user can select return to a previous screen
and change a selection
• Search for new items
• Language translation
• Related items

20. • Hypertext links in full bibliographic record
display:
(a) Authors
(b) Subject
(c) Call number
(d) Series
(e) Location map

21. • Provision of browsing capabilities
(a) Browsing by authors
(b) Browsing by subjects
(c) Browsing by series
(d) Browsing by publishers
(e) Browsing by call number
(f) Browsing for new titles
(g) Browsing by type
(h) Browsing by title

22. • Provision for single search interface
• Meta search functionality
• Provision for a visual map
• Course reserves
• Faceted navigation ability
• Thesaurus search

23. ACCESS POINTS
• Author
• Keyword in author
• Title
• Keyword in the title
• Subject heading
• Keyword in subject heading
• Publisher
• Class number

24. • ISBN/ISSN
• LCCN
• Series
• Barcode number
• Provides name authority control
• Provides subject authority control
• Supports cross-references
• Provision for the copy location
• Notes/Abstract

25. Advantages of Web OPAC
• It is world wide and all the time accessible,
• The status of any book may be known as
book issued or not, lost/transferred, etc.
The status of an acquisition order may be
available at both staff and public terminals
located throughout the library,
• It is possible for users to send reprint
requests immediately by e-mail,

26. • There is no limitation of space and time
for searches of any documents. Any
person can search a document of not
only his/her library but also any
networked library,
• Updating can be done quickly, and

27. • Importing bibliographic records from the
Web OPAC and online bibliographic
databases helps the libraries to catalogue
the documents in a standardized way. It
reduces typing errors, costs and time
involved for the cataloging. The cataloguer
only requires minimal professional skills,
to manage the records according to local
variations.

28. Limitations of WEB OPAC
• Do not provide sufficient assistance in the
translation of the query terms into the
vocabulary used in the catalogue, e.g.
Laxmi~Lakshmi.
• Do not rank the retrieval sets in decreasing
order of probable relevance to the user’s
search criteria.

29. • Do not provide sufficient information in the
retrieved bibliographic records (e.g. table
of contents, book reviews) to enable the
user to judge the usefulness of the
documents.
• Do not provide suggestions to users as
like search engines i.e. google.

30. Suggestions of the usability
improvements for web OPAC
Following suggestions are to contribute to
improving of web OPAC usability, by
enhancing functionality and extending
accessibility:
•help system – preferably for different levels
of user experience in searching,
•using XHTML or similar modern markup
languages for content delivering layer,

31. • using environments like AJAX for improving
user interface, and make web application
more useful and user-friendly,
• providing user keywords hierarchical lists
(serving as an index of catalogue),
• full-text searching, at least within description
fields if not for whole documents, contents
(readers got used for full-text Internet
searching and expect similar functionality
form their OPACs),

32. Web OPAC in India
• Indian Institute of Science Library, Bangalore
http://anagha.library.iisc.ernet.in/
• Indian Statistical Institute Library, Delhi
http://www.isid.ac.in/~library/new_search_lib.html
• American Centre Information Resource Centres in India
http://americanlibrary.in.library.net/
• British Council Libraries in India
http://library.britishcouncil.org.in/simplecatsearch.asp
• Cochin University of Science and Technology Library
http://opac.cusat.ac.in/
• Health Education Library for People
http://www.healthlibrary.com/search.html

33. • Indian Statistical Institute Library, Kolkata
http://library.isical.ac.in/
• Indian Institute of Technology Library, Mumbai
http://www.library.iitb.ernet.in/pustak/Display5.jsp?commo=&pco
• Indian Institute of Technology Library, Kharagpur
http://www.library.iitkgp.ernet.in/lssearch.html
• Indian Institute of Technology Library, Delhi
http://www.iitd.ernet.in/search/index.html#site
• Indian Institute of Management Kolkata
http://203.197.126.103/BCRoylibrary/catalog.asp
• Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research Library,
Mumbai
http://www.igidr.ac.in/lib/opac.htm

34. Conclusion
OPAC is an interactive search module of an
automated library management system. Any
record is searched directly from a node
within a database of the organisation or
remotely through national and international
networks. Thus finally we see that a lot of
cataloguing work due to availability of
various Web OPACs is reduced.

35. Web OPACs improve the quality, speed and
performance of the services offered by the
libraries. The inter-library loan becomes
easier with the use of e-mail and web.
Members can see the collection and issue
status of each document of the information
centre. They could reserve or request online
for the document of their interest.

36. References
1. Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science
(ODLIS).
http://vlado.fmf.uni-lj.si/pub/networks/data/dic/odlis/odlis.pdf
2. The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science.
American Library Association, Chicago, 1983.
3. Margam Madhusudhan Shalini Aggarwal, (2011),"Web-
based online public access catalogues of IIT libraries in India:
an evaluative study", Program, Vol. 45 Iss 4 pp. 415 – 438.
Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00330331111182102

37. 4. Madhusudhan Margam & Aggarwal Shalini. Online public
access catalogue of selected university libraries in Delhi: an
evaluative study. World digital libraries - An International
journal, vol. 7, No. 2 December 2014, pp.145-156.
5. Rashid Husain & Mehtab Alam Ansari. From card
catalogue to web OPACs. DESIDOC Bulletin of Information
Technology, Vol. 26, No. 2, March 2006, pp. 41-47.
http://publications.drdo.gov.in/ojs/index.php/djlit/article/view
File/3679/2091

38. 6. Nagabhushanam Chintha. A study of web-based OPACs
services in India. e-Library Science Research Journal, Vol.
1, Issue. 4, February 2013, research papers.
http://egranthalaya.nic.in/24.pdf
7. Piotr Malak. OPACs' Users' Interface – Do They Need
Any Improvements? Discussion on Tools, Technology, and
Methodology. 16th BOBCATSSS Symposium 2008. Zadar,
Croatia. pp. 228-233.
http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/conferences/bobcatsss2008/
8. www.ignou4u.in/ignou-blis-04-study-materialbooks/
Sep 10 2016.

39. Thank you!