This 2007 D-Lib Magazine article is a good read, in terms of understanding why library catalog search systems fail to meet the expectations of current users.
Karen Markey provides a numbered list of items that describes, in her view, why library search systems failed to keep up with current technology and user expectations. These reasons stand out to me:
"failure of the library staff issuing the Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to act in concert about needed system improvements"
My take: Lack of recognition of the severity of the problem.
"the failure of ILS vendors to monitor shifts in information-retrieval technology and respond accordingly with system improvements"
My take: a natural consequence of the point above.
"the focus of the technical services department on other priorities, e.g., retrospective conversion, cataloging backlogs, authority control, etc."
My take: In this meta-article on library systems, Mark Andrews notes the focus of libraries and librarians upon traditional work led to the overall problem with discovery systems (recognition of a problem, forcing changes in RFPs...). This appears to me to be a sound conclusion.
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