Subject enhancement: Report on an experiment

Abstract

This report describes an experiment in subject enhancement conducted at an academic research library. Subjects and contents notes were added to online catalog records for a group of previously uncirculated social science essay collections, and circulation was monitored over one academic year. A control group, plus a third group with added contents notes but no extra subjects, were also monitored. Results showed an improvement in recorded use for the subject-enhanced titles, but not for titles that only had added contents notes. Vie effects of browsing, keyword searching, and OPAC display are discussed, and suggestions made for further research in this area.