The common user interface in academic libraries: myth or reality?

Academic libraries have long desired one‐stop shopping for their customers and, in this electronic age, their customers are demanding it: a way to search from a single point at any physical location, and retrieve information from the library catalog, citations from journal indexes, and full text information from electronic resources. Academic libraries have explored ways to provide this access, as have library vendors of electronic databases, indexes, and integrated online library systems. The various components for a universal common user interface are in use and available, but have yet to be combined into a single system interface, adaptable enough to include any electronic resource, yet still powerful and versatile enough to provide a powerful and expert search engine. This article discusses the integrated facets as well as the system components that should be built into the ideal electronic library interface, taking into account the information needs of everyone from the newest freshman to the most erudite scholar and their expectations with regard to access, functionality and personalization.

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