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Abstract

Mooers'Law,widelyreferencedintheliteratureofLibraryandInformationScience,hasgenerallybeenmisinterpretedasconcludingthatcustomerswilltendnottouseInformationRetrievalsystemsthataretoodifficultorfrustrating,wheninfactthelawaddressesthereluctanceofcustomerstouseanytypeofIRsystem,regardlessofitsfaultsormerits,withinanenvironmentinwhichhavinginformationrequiresmoreeffortthannothavingit.AnexpansionofMooers'originallawisproposed,basedupona"ScaleofInformationRetrievalEnvironments,"whichincludesnotonlythosetypesofenvironmentsaddressedbyMooers,butthoseinwhichapremiumisplaceduponhavinginformation,aswellasthoseinwhichtheeffortrequiredfromhavinginformationvs.nothavingitisfairlyevenlybalanced.

1.Introduction

In1959,CalvinMooers,oneofthepioneersofInformationRetrieval,setforthwhathecalleda"contradictoryprinciple"ofthefledglingscience,andattachedhisownnametoit:Mooers'Law:Aninformationretrievalsystemwilltendnottobeusedwheneveritismorepainfulandtroublesomeforacustomertohaveinformationthanforhimnottohaveit<Mooers

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959b

,p.1>.

Sincethattime,hislawhasbeenwidelyreferenced,especiallyinrecentyearsasInformationRetrievalhasbecomemorecentraltooursocietyandourindividuallives;aby-no-meansexhaustivesurveyoftheWorldWideWebandtheliteratureofvariousdisciplines<Business,Education,ComputerScience,andLibraryScience>revealsseveraldozencitationsfromthelastdecadealone.AninterestingthinghashappenedtoMooers'Law,however,alongthewaytoacceptance:thelawthatisbecomingwidelyheldastruebyinformationprofessionalsisnotthesameonethatMr.Mooersproposed.

Thedifferencebetweentheactuallawanditsmutationcentersspecificallyuponamisinterpretationoftheword"have,"amisinterpretationwhichperhapsresultsprimarilyfromreadingthelawexcerptedfromtheoriginalarticleinwhichitappeared,andapplyingittoaconcernthatisdistinctlyseparatefromtheoneMr.Mooerswasattemptingtoaddress.Whatfollows,then,isanefforttocompareandcontrastwhatarereallytwoverydifferentMooers'Laws,whichforthepurposesofthisdiscussionwillbecategorizedas"In"and"Outof"context.

2.TheLawinContext

Mr.MooersoriginallyproposedhislawduringapaneldiscussionattheAnnualMeetingoftheAmericanDocumentationInstituteatLehighUniversityinOctober1959;theremarkshemadetherewere"excerpted,withmodifications"fromhisInformationRetrievalSelectionStudy,PartII:SevenSystemModels,writtenearlierthatsameyear.ThelawthenappearedinprintasabriefpaperinZatorTechnicalBulletin136inDecember,andasaneditorialthenextyearinAmericanDocumentation<1960>.Morerecently,ithasbeenreprintedinTheScientist,bothinpaperformatandonline<1997>.

Mooers'Law,asheexplainsit,focusesonthe"painfulandtroublesome"aspectsofhavinginformationinhandandthereforefeelingobligatedtodosomethingwithit;inhisestimation,givenwhathecallsthe"presentintellectualandengineeringclimate"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959b

,p.1>,thecustomermightjustaswellwishnottohavetheinformation,evenifitisreadilyavailable.For,henotes,"Ifyouhaveinformation,youfirstmustreadit,whichisnotalwayseasy.Youmustthentrytounderstandit.Todothis,youmayhavetothinkaboutit"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959b

,p.2>.InMr.Mooers'ownwords,whatheissettingforthisa"principle…ofbehavior"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959b

,p.1>,andhisconcerniswithchangingaclimateinwhichthatbehaviorismoreoftenrewardedthanpunished.Theabilityofaninformationretrievalsystemquicklyandefficientlytoplaceinformationinthecustomer'shandsisnottheissue;indeed,thatiswhatMr.Mooersislamenting.

Inthebuildingandplanningofourinformationhandlingandretrievingsystems,wehavetendedtobelieveimplicitly,andtoassumethroughout,thathavinginformationeasilyavailablewasalwaysagoodthing,andthatallpeoplewhohadaccesstoaninformationsystemwouldwanttousethesystemtogettheinformation.Itisnowmysuggestionthatmanypeoplemaynotwantinformation,andthattheywillavoidusingasystempreciselybecauseitgivestheminformation[emphasisinoriginal].<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959b

,pp.1–2>

InhisoriginalSevenSystemModelsstudy,hegoesevenfurther,settingforththefollowingasacorollarytohisas-yet-unnamedprinciple:"Whereaninformationretrievalsystemtendsnottobeused,amorecapableinformationretrievalsystemmaytendtobeusedevenless"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959a

,p.34>.ThisisnotonlydifferentfromtheMooers'Lawthatappearssofrequentlyintheliteratureoftoday,butgivenaparticular"intellectual…climate"suchastheonehedescribes,distinctlyatoddswithit.

.TheLawoutofContext

Mooers'Law,asitisnowpopularlyperceivedamongwhatmightbetermedthe"InformationCommunity",focusesupontheeffortthattheuserofaretrievalsystemmustputforthtoacquirethedesiredinformation.J.MichaelPemberton,ostensiblyquotingMooers,hasrestatedthissuccinctlyasfollows:"Themoredifficultandtimeconsumingitisforacustomertouseaninformationsystem,thelesslikelyitisthathewillusethatinformationsystem"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1989

,p.46>.RogerK.Summit,ChairmanEmeritusofDIALOGInformationServices,phrasesitanotherway:"Mooers'lawtellsusthatinformationwillbeusedindirectproportiontohoweasyitistoobtain"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1993

,p.16>.

Thisinterpretationofthelawisgenerallyusedasacautionarytaletothosewhowouldprovideaccesstoinformation:Ifyoubuildit,andmakeittoohard,theywillnotcome.Toanyonewhohasusedadifficultsearchengineordatabaseinterface,thishastheringoftruthtoit,andthatmaybewhyMooers'Law,onceremovedfromitsoriginalcontext,hasresonatedontheInternetandwithintheliteratureofInformationScience.Here,itseems,istheoriginalarticulationofmanyofourcurrentfrustrations.Althoughthosefrustrationsmayindeedbevalid,theyarenotthesameonesthatledMr.Mooerstocomposehis"contradictoryprinciple":theInformationCommunityoftoday<andyesterdayaswell,accordingtoMooers>assumesthatuserswantinformationandwouldacquireitifitwereeasyenoughtoobtain;hereflectsthat,sadly,thismaynotalwaysbethecase<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959a

,p.1>.

Bothconcerns—thatcustomerswillnotuseIRsystemsbecausehavingtheinformationistoomuchtroubleandbecausegettingtheinformationistoomuchtrouble—areultimatelybehavioralinnature,andbothadheretowhatEstherG.Bierbaumsetsforthasa"unifyingprinciple"forlibraryandinformationscience<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1990

,p.18>,namelyZipf's"PrincipleofLeastEffort",whichcontends"thattheentirebehaviorofanindividualisatalltimesmotivatedbytheurgetominimizeeffort"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1949

,p.3>,buttheyareclearlyseparateproblems,withseparatesolutions.We,thatis,theInformationCommunityoftoday,assumethatthereisatechnicalsolutiontoourconcern:ifwecanbuildsystemsthatarefaster,moreintuitive,andprovidethecustomerwithresultsthatmorenearlymatchwhatheorsherequested,thenthosesystemswillbeheavilyused.Mooerssuggeststhatthesolutiontohisconcernliesinchangingtheculturethatcreatedit,andacknowledgesthatthisis"noeasytask"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959a

,p.39>.Again,itisimportanttoemphasizethatthissolutionliesoutsidetherealmofhardwareandsoftware;intheconclusionofhisSevenSystemModelsstudy,Mooersclearlystatesthat,inaculturesuchastheonehedescribes,"theamountofuseofaretrievalsystemdependsupontheintellectualenvironmentorsocialclimatesurroundingthesystem,andnotuponthefaultsormeritsofthesystemitself"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959a

,p.39>.

4.TheContextofEnvironment

Mooersacknowledgesthathislaw,iftrue,isa"pessimistic…evenacynicalconclusion"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959a

,p.32,

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959b

,p.1>,andatfirstglancesuchaconclusionwouldseemtopainthisentirecareer,andthoseofothersinthefield,asafutileendeavor,butforthefactthatthelawisrestrictedtocertain"userenvironments"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959a

,p.2>.Thisturnsouttobeanimportantpoint.ThespecificenvironmentthatMooerswasaddressingwasonethathebelievedexistedwithin"manycompanies,laboratories,andagencies"ofhisday,anenvironmentinwhich"rewards,insteadofpunishment,gowithnotusinginformation"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959b

,pp.1–2>.Heacknowledges,however,that"therearesituationswherethediligentfindinganduseofinformationisstressedandrewarded,andwherefailuretofindortouseinformationisseverelypunished"andnotesthat"insuchplaces,wecanexpectretrievalsystemswillbeactivelyused"<1959b,p.2>.InhisSevenSystemModelsstudy,hecites"thebestofthechemicalorpharmaceuticallaboratories"asexamplesofthistypeofenvironment,onesinwhich"management…iswellawareofthedollarcostsandlegalhazardsofnotmakinguseofinformation"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959a

,p.33>.Earlierinthesamestudy,hepointsoutthat,inanenvironmentsuchasthis,"wheretheneed[forinformation]ishighenough"even"fundamentallypoorsystemsmaybewellused"<p.5>.

Basedontheseobservations,then,whatmightbetermedaScaleofInformationRetrievalEnvironmentssuggestsitself.Ononeendofthescalethereareenvironmentsinwhichitisfarmorepainfultohaveinformationthantonothaveit;ontheotherend,theexactoppositeistrue.Whatisinterestingabouttheseextremesofthescaleisthatineithercase,atleasttheoretically,theperformanceoftheIRsystemwillnotaffecttheamountofitsusesinceintheonenoimprovementsindesignorefficiencywillenticetheusertoacquireinformationthatwillcausehimsuchinconvenience,whereasintheother,noamountoffrustrationinherentinusingthesystemwilldeterhimfromdiscoveringinformationthatheknowsisabsolutelyvitalto<forexample>hiscontinuedemployment.Surely,though,mostenvironmentsthatincludeinformationretrievalarenotateitherendofthescalebutrathersomewhereinbetween,anditseemslogicaltosuggestthat,withinthis"inbetween",systemperformancedoesmatter.Indeed,itmightbearguedthat,asoneapproachesthemidpointofthescale,performancebecomesthecriticalfactorinwhetherornotthesystemisused.

Ifoneacceptsthis"ScaleofInformationRetrievalEnvironments",thenperhapsitcanfinallybeseenhowtheMooers'Lawthatis"incontext"cancoexistwiththatwhichisnot:thefirstwouldholdtrueinenvironmentsatoneextremeofthescale,whereasthesecondwouldholdtrueatornearthemidpoint.Itfollows,aswell,thatifweweretocombinethesetwolawswithyetathird,oneaddressingtheotherextremeofthescale,thenitmightbepossibletoarticulateasetofprinciplesthatwouldgoverntheuseofsystemsinanysuchtypeofIRenvironment.

5.Mooers'LawExpanded

ItseemsunlikelythatMooers,despitetheattentionhefocusesuponenvironmentsinwhichIRsystemstendnottobeused,wasunawareoftherestofthescale;hisobservationsabout"thebestofthechemicalorpharmaceuticallaboratories"acknowledgetheoppositeextreme,whereastheverystudyinwhichhislawisfirstmentionedseemstoexistprimarilytoaddresstheneedsofthoseenvironmentsthatareinbetween.Indeed,earlyoninthisSevenModelSystemsstudy,hemakesastatementthatverycloselyresembleswhathislawhasnowbecome:"Iftheburdenontheusersoftheinformationbecomestoohigh,eitherintheretrievalprocessorinthelaborofdelineatingnewmaterial,theuserswillgivethesystemupandtrytogetalongwithoutit"<

\o"Linktobibliographiccitation"

1959a

,p.6>.Clearly,though,thisstatementhasnomeaningwithineitheroftheenvironmentsthatlieattheextremeendsofthescale;itmakessenseonlyifappliedtothemiddle.Thus,itwouldseemthatanexpansionofMooers'originallawwouldbeinorder:

Mooers'1stLaw:Inanenvironmentinwhichitismorepainfuland