Mental models of the bibliographic universe. Part 1: mental models of descriptions

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.