A clickstream data analysis of Chinese academic library OPAC users' information behavior

- Open public access catalog clickstream data were analyzed at the footprint, movement, and pathway levels.
- Users relied heavily on the single-box simple search interface.
- Users seldom involved themselves in an exploratory search process.
- Users preferred page navigation over search refinement when viewing results.
- The catalog was used as a lookup tool and personal information management tool instead of discovery tool.

Chinese academic libraries have been devoting great effort into introducing next-generation online public access catalogs (OPACs) in order to provide a better user experience. However, there is a lack of empirical research on their usage. In this study, a transaction log file from a typical next-generation OPAC, the Wuhan University Library OPAC, formed the basis for an investigation of users' information behavior, using a clickstream data analysis framework. The 26,732,368 clickstream records in the original log file were cleaned, parsed, coded, then analyzed at the footprint, movement, and pathway levels. The results showed that the users relied heavily on the single-box simple search interface, seldom involved themselves in an exploratory search process, and preferred page navigation over search refinement when interacting with search results. The OPAC was used as a lookup tool to locate known academic resources and as a personal information management tool to utilize basic library services, instead of as a discovery tool as intended.