The value of alphabetically-sorted browse displays in information discovery

Browse displays are information retrieval displays that alphabetically sort individual metadata elements such as author, title, and subject and lead searchers to desired information in a database or in a library. Browse displays are becoming a less common means of displaying search results in favor of relevancy-ranked displays. But browse displays have many benefits and add great value to information retrieval. Before libraries and repositories abandon browse displays, they should consider the value and benefits these displays offer, including structured search results, cross references, and simplicity.