Findability Is Not Access: Coping With Shortcomings In Automated Information Systems

Automated information systems (AIS), including inter library loan (ILL) systems, aggregated databases, institutional repositories, and artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced search engines provide the information seeker with many more tools and opportunities to identify information of interest in libraries more quickly and easily than was previously possible. However, although identification of resources may now be easier, there can still be multiple barriers to information retrieval, both technological and human. This paper follows up on the project presented at a previous CULS conference on the necessity of human interaction to ensure the success of ILL transactions (Smith and Velasquez, 2023), and presents new findings on the many ways in which automated information systems by themselves and in conjunction with human decisions or misunderstanding of the automated systems can hinder accessibility to information that is apparently freely available. Topics covered include cataloging and metadata, especially the need to update metadata to reflect the digitization of older materials in the collection; “open access” materials that are embargoed or partially embargoed; “open” repositories that are restricted to users from the degree-granting institution; conflicting policies on retrieval and lending of items from off-site storage; and again the extensive human interaction required to obtain access. The paper highlights the need for librarians at both ends of the information transaction to overcome the access barriers that can be created by automated systems. It also offers an opportunity for academic librarians to reflect on the ways in which the increased findability of library materials, particularly older library materials, creates an information demand that can be frustrated by the way in which automated information systems in the library are configured, by library policies that do not take into account the new information environment, and by lack of librarian understanding, all of which can frustrate the successful retrieval of desired information.