Conceptual models and users

The paper presents an analysis of user tasks in the conceptual models, with an overview of the objectives and functionsof the catalogue from Cutter to the International Cataloguing Principles, a critical reflection on user tasks and a proposalfor a rethinking of these. The user tasks as presented in the conceptual models present critical aspects, in particular theydo not bring out some important aspects concerning the users’ motivations for searches and the users’ competences. Thepresentation of some critical aspects of user Ttasks is followed by an initial proposal for a more complex reflection on howusers use catalogues to carry out searches of different kinds.