Electronic pathfinders in academic libraries: An analysis of their content and form

Forty-five electronic pathfinders were selected from nine Canadian university libraries to assess their degree of conformity to suggested guidelines in the existing literature about pathfinders. The content and the format of the chosen pathfinders were assessed in terms of consistency and scope. Also considered were overall readability and whether they were effectively constructed to be used as starting points for further search. The analysis revealed that the guidelines were not followed, leaving some pathfinders more complex and less useful than others. Further, it demonstrated that specific guidelines must be created for electronic pathfinders because they pose particular problems that are not addressed in the current literature about pathfinders in general.