Spelling Errors in the Database: Shadow or Substance?

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine the extent of spelling errors in the University at Albany’s online catalog, whether these errors seriously affect users’ access to library materials, and what effect spelling errors will have on the group database planned for the State University of New York. Using standard database tests, I studied the catalogs of the four University Centers (Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Stony Brook) as well as two comparison catalogs: the New York State Library’s Excelsior and the University of California’s Melvyl. The results of these studies show that misspellings are unavoidable due to the way that most catalogs were built. These errors, however, are rarely an impediment to retrieval. I conclude with suggested ways to find and correct misspellings without expensive large-scale efforts.