Purpose -The paper aims to present the results of the first two tasks of a user study looking into mental models of the bibliographic universe and especially their comparison to the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) conceptual model, which has not yet been user tested. Design/methodology/approach -The paper employes a combination of techniques for eliciting mental models and consisted of three tasks, two of which, card sorting and concept mapping, are presented herein. Its participants were 30 individuals residing in the general area of Ljubljana, Slovenia.Findings -Cumulative results of concept mapping show a strong resemblance to FRBR. Card sorts did not produce conclusive results. In both tasks, participants paid special attention to the original expression, indicating that a special place for it should be considered.Research limitations/implications -The study was performed using a relatively small sample of participants living in a geographically limited space using relatively straight-forward examples. Practical implications -Some solid evidence is provided for adoption of FRBR as the conceptual basis for cataloguing. Originality/value -This is the first widely published user study of FRBR, applying novel methodological approaches in the field of Library and Information Science.

Purpose -This paper aims to establish how the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) conceptual model, which holds a lot of potential in theory, works in practice. It also aims to identify, and if possible, give solutions to problems found in two of the existing prototypes. Design/methodology/approach -An independent evaluation and comparison of two of the most recent FRBR-based prototypes, OCLC FictionFinder and the LibraryLabs, was carried out in January 2007. Findings -FictionFinder focuses almost exclusively on the concept of work, while the LibraryLabs prototype applies an FRBR-like structure only as part of a larger group of experiments. Neither of the prototypes fully follows FRBR, owing to issues associated with current cataloguing practice and the model itself. These barriers also cause some practical shortcomings for these prototypes, however new results displays clearly enhance the user experience.Research limitations/implications -The prototypes may not be representative of the whole population of FRBR-based implementations. Also, technical aspects of the implementations were not taken into account, as user experience was given full priority. Practical implications -The identified problems and any given solutions should help not only the authors of the two prototypes, but also other researches in the field. Originality/value -This paper offers a rare published independent evaluation of two FRBR-based prototypes, giving pointers towards improvement and establishing the position of current FRBR implementation relative to what is expected in the future.

Purpose -The paper aims to provide some insight into mental models of the bibliographic universe and how they compare with functional requirements for bibliographic records (FRBR) as a conceptual model of the bibliographic universe. Design/methodology/approach -To get a more complete picture of the mental models, different elicitation techniques were used. The three tasks of the paper were: card-sorting, concept mapping and comparison task. The paper deals with comparison task, which consisted of interviews and rankings, and provides a discussion of the results of the paper as a whole. Findings -Results of the ranking part of the comparison task confirm the findings of concept mapping task. In both cases, while there are individual differences between mental models, on average they gravitate towards FRBR. Research limitations/implications -This is a small study and it provides only a glimpse of the implications of using FRBR as a conceptual basis for cataloguing. More FRBR-related user studies are needed, including similar studies on different groups of individuals and different types of materials, as well as practical studies of user needs and user interfaces. Practical implications -The results of this study are the first user-tested indication of the validity of FRBR as a conceptual basis for the future of cataloguing. Originality/value -This is the first published paper of mental models of the bibliographic universe and uses a unique combination of mental model elicitation techniques.

Purpose -This paper aims to build on of a previous study of mental models of the bibliographic universe, which found that the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) conceptual model is intuitive. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 120 participants were presented with a list of bibliographic entities and six graphs each. They were asked to choose the graph they thought best represented the relationships between entities described. Findings -The graph based on the FRBR model was chosen by more than half of the participants and none of the alternatives stood out. This gives further indication that FRBR is an appropriate model of the bibliographic universe from users' standpoint.Research limitations/implications -The study only looked at the textual part of the bibliographic universe. Further research is needed for other types of materials. Practical implications -This research suggests that there should be a more positive attitude towards implementation of FRBR-based catalogues. Originality/value -This is one of only a handful of user studies relating to FRBR, which looks to be the backbone of catalogues for years to come. As such, the results should be of interest to everybody involved with catalogues, from cataloguers to the end-users.

Purpose -An overview of the contents and design of web pages of the European national libraries. Design/methodology/approach -The theoretical part features the concepts, problems and guidelines for design related to web sites of national libraries. Based on this knowledge, an expert evaluation was carried out, including a brief overview of all homepages of European national libraries, accessible from the Gabriel server in 2004, as well as a much broader survey of web sites of nine national