Consider the following scenario:
You would like to purchase a "small portable fan that runs on batteries" You call a large chain store such as K-mart or Target and ask if they have a such a fan. To what department do they refer you to?
Electronics?
Yes such a fan is that.
Small Appliances?
Yes such a fan is that
Hardware?
Is it that? Could it be in that department??
Camping?
Think about that one!! There are special portable camping fans that hang from the tent.
Automobile Accessories (but you did not tell them you wanted it for a car)?
Well there are special fans JUST for cars.
Could such a fan could be "assigned"or "placed" in any or all of these departments? Such is the nature of assigning "subject headings/controlled vocabulary terms/tags" to a particular information resource.
The store makes a decision to place an item in a particular department or even in more than one department (which may or may not be the best choice/choices) much as the cataloger makes the decision to assign subject terms.
As we move on to examine library catalogs, examine the subject headings that are assigned to the books that you locate.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Hmm, seems very subjective. I wonder if there are committees that decide this, or if just a few people get together from companies and decide. I wonder how organized the process is. I'll be interested to explore this matter further.
I never thought of the complexity of setting up a retail business, I am beginning to see the world in a whole different way, now when entering a huge store such as Target for some random odd item I can use strategies that I am learning in this course. I know that is not the intent of this post, but the ability to use these strategies in real life will make us better researchers in the classroom also.
I really like the way you describe information...you seem to always put it into a context that I can understand well.
it's like what 'ol Gertie Stein said - "a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose" - so, a fan is a fan is a fan is a fan is a fan! YESSSSS. they should all be in the fan section. thats right!! a speciial section designated for all, and nothing but fans!!! keep it simple!!!! common sense is key...people ( or retailers, or libraries, or LC catalogers) complicate things merely to make themselves appear to be important.
In a large retail store, it would depend on how many customers are actually buying such a fan to justify a separate area for fans. Just not enough space really. In the case of library catalogers, it IS all about providing as many access points as possible to the relevant information in the subject. It is not a case of librarians acting out an ego trip it is we believe a concern for patrons gaining access to information on a particular subject. Granted, as we discussed earlier, many of these tags are out of date and often do not address how patrons actually use the information. Should there be a subject tag in the library catalog entitled "Small Portable Battery Operated Fans?" Well, that would get you to specific information. Look up the existing possibilities for this topic in the book catalog. What are the results?? See BROWSE link in Classic MnPals.
jj
i would imagine that placing items in specific departments is based upon the amount of customers. The more customers shopping for items in the same location/ and or for the same purpose would have a great effect on which department that company decides to place it in. Much the same as books and library's i would hope to imagine
The obvious advantage of the subject heading system is that books can be categorized by virtually any heading, without having to be stored in multiple locations.
This is, unfortunately not the case in a retail store, where, as you mentioned, Jane, things need to be put into a section with other things if they do not sell well enough to justify being placed into their own section.
As an aside to this topic: the ability to use keyword and subject heading searches has become an invaluable part of making purchases in retail stores. Inside the enormous IKEA store in Bloomington, customers are provided with a large catalog, full of laminated sheets which contain pictures and lengthy descriptions of the items in the store. But many items are grouped not by the type of furniture or fixture that they happen to be, but by the arbitrary names that IKEA gives their products, separating whole product lines from each other.
This kind of catalog may be good for browsing, or identifying which items are to be matched, but not for finding simple lists of similar kinds of items, say 'coffee tables'.
Thankfully, placed right next to the paper catalogs is a computer terminal, with a workable, hierarchy-employing search function, making it easy to see options and locate them within the store. Each item has many keywords associated with it, so you can find all of the coffee table options, and cross-reference the product line in order to find out other things that will look good with them.
Thus has the electronic database become indispensible in the choice of home furnishings.
In organizing retail goods the goal is to not just help you find things you're looking for but also to find the things you didn't know you were looking for.
By placing a portable fan in a camping aisle the retailer may be hoping to get an impulse buy.
At target they have flashlights in the camping aisle, but other flashlights are located by the electrical items.
This is an example of multiple points of access. Whether you think that flashlights will be by camping items or you think it should be by the light bulbs you'll still find your flashlight.
Post a Comment