Next Generation Library Catalogues

Using Map-Based Visual Interfaces to Facilitate Knowledge Discovery in Digital Libraries

by Olga Buchel

Co-authored with Professor Kamran Sedig

In recent years there has been growing interest in supporting knowledge discovery activities using map-based visual... more In recent years there has been growing interest in supporting knowledge discovery activities using map-based visual interfaces. The goal is promising and ambitious, but not very easy to achieve due to the lack of understanding of cognitive factors involved in how information is transformed into knowledge. In this paper we present a map-based visual interface, VICOLEX (VIsual COLlection Explorer), aimed at facilitating and supporting knowledge discovery and users’ cognitive activities by means of integrated visual representations coupled with interactions.

Online catalogue and repository interoperability study: Appendix 2: case studies in two higher education institutions

by Kathleen Menzies

New evidence on the interoperability of information systems within UK universities

by Kathleen Menzies

Use of controlled vocabulary and thesauri in UK online finding aids

by Candida Fenton

Journal of the Society of Archivists, 2010 31 (2) pp 187 – 205

Little attention has previously been paid to the use of controlled vocabularies and subject keywords for indexing... more Little attention has previously been paid to the use of controlled vocabularies and subject keywords for indexing archival finding aids in the UK. Qualitative and quantitative responses to a questionnaire of UK repositories concerning the use of subject keywords and controlled vocabularies are presented. Clear patterns of thesaurus usage emerge from responses, and diverse opinions are put forward. Issues raised include retrieval by free text versus controlled vocabulary, strengths and weaknesses of different thesauri, lack of suitable thesauri, use of multiple thesauri, retrospective conversion, consistency of indexing across repositories and consistency of indexing across networks. Possible ways forward for the subject indexing of finding aids are identified.

Will social classification replace traditional forms of organising information on the web?

by Izabella Warner

This paper looks at the evolving concept of social classification on the web and, contrasts it with traditional... more This paper looks at the evolving concept of social classification on the web and, contrasts it with traditional techniques of organising information. It analyses the rise of this concept, its advantages, and the challenges posed by individual users creating information collections. It illustrates that social classification provides a useful tool through which the growing number of information resources on the web can be given personal meaning. However, the current short -comings of the system give it a complementary role to traditional forms of information classification. It is proposed that before social classification can take a stronger foothold on Information Architecture, and organisations begin to structure content differently for their clients, social classification needs to evolve further along its current emerging trends of: greater structure, auto-manual components, leveraging community effects and incorporating user-generated innovation. Following this transformation social classification will change the way digital information is presented, and shared understanding is created and communicated on the web.

Let Me See That Ebook -- Managing Cataloguing and Access through Collaboration

by Aron Wolf

Co-authored with Aaron Wood, Anne Harris and Jim Shetler. Presented at 2009 Charleston Conference.

This paper covers the challenges that the University of Calgary has faced with electronic book cataloguing and digital... more This paper covers the challenges that the University of Calgary has faced with electronic book cataloguing and digital access and its new-found success in managing these activities by partnering with Serials Solutions, Yankee Book Peddler (YBP), and ebrary. The focus is on the collaborative efforts made by all of these parties to make electronic resources available on a mass scale through the library catalogue and beyond.

Implementing Web-Scale Discovery for the Ansari Paper Map Collection

by Tod Colegrove

Poster presented at the MSU Emerging Technologies Summit, 2011
Co-authored with Zachary Newell, Google Engineering

The nearly 200,000 printed paper maps of the Ansari Map Library was in desperate need of a viable discovery mechanism;... more The nearly 200,000 printed paper maps of the Ansari Map Library was in desperate need of a viable discovery mechanism; the aging card catalog filled with notes understandable only to the map librarian was of little use to the majority of the customers of the library. Although the MARCIVE records for the collection had been purchased more than five years previous, with the manual task of editing/correcting each record ongoing for much of that time, the long-term prognosis of the project was poor. The decision was reached to leverage the existence of authoritative metadata through the USGS website to programmatically construct catalog records, and semi-automate the process of integrating the map barcodes along with relevant metadata into the OPAC; simultaneously implementing a user-friendly Google Maps web interface for discovery, linked directly to the records in the library catalog. Details associated with the metadata crosswalk, along with the relatively straightforward task and workflows involved are presented, in conjunction with a live demonstration of the web interface.

L'OPAC de la Biblioteca de la UOC, avançant cap a l'OPAC social

by Xavier Duran Albareda

Co-authored with March-Mir, Francesc; published in XII Jornades Catalanes d'Informació i Documentació

The UOC Library has added a series of improvements to your OPAC. The aim has been to incorporate the benefits of... more The UOC Library has added a series of improvements to your OPAC. The aim has been to incorporate the benefits of social OPAC a commercial product, such as Millennium. These improvements help enrich the information provided by the record and give users tools to share the library, its services and content. This poster details the implementation of the tools of Wikipedia, Google Books, LibraryThing for Libraries and AddThis the Millennium OPAC.

Portal de Descoberta: um OPAC com vida social e algo mais

by Filipe Bento

Co-authored with Lídia de Jesus Oliveira da Silva, presented at the 10th BAD National Congress in Guimarães, 7-9 April 2010, Day 1, Theme 3, Session 2 (16h)

[Original in Portuguese]
This article presents the basis of an innovative bibliographic information search... more [Original in Portuguese]
This article presents the basis of an innovative bibliographic information search system, where not only the document is the point of reference, but to a new extent, the user himself and all its surrounding (activities and information associated with his/her profile or community to which he/she belongs), assuming a crucial dimension of generating additional information by the users of the system (enhanced by computer agents aggregators of information), fostering social networks and communities of practice.
Taken as the central point is the bibliographic collection of University of Aveiro’s libraries and the "ecosystem" of users and their use of the same, added with, to the extent where it is feasible, information from other sources.

KEYWORDS: Information integration, information search and discovery, participatory media, collective intelligence, social networks, user communities.

Resumo:
Nesta comunicação são abordados alguns pontos fulcrais do novo modelo de pesquisa, descoberta e partilha de informação que se visa implementar nos Serviços de Biblioteca, Informação Documental e Museologia da Universidade de Aveiro, integrando o OPAC (Online Public Accessible Catalog, catálogo de pesquisa bibliográfica) e os seus acervos bibliográficos, agregando conteúdos de fontes externas e contribuições dos seus utilizadores. Neste modelo, não apenas o documento é elemento de referência mas, para além dele, deverá ser também o utilizador em si e toda a sua envolvente (actividades e informação associada ao seu perfil ou comunidades a que pertença), assumindo uma dimensão crucial na geração de informação adicional pelos próprios utilizadores do sistema (potenciada por agentes informáticos agregadores de informação), promovendo comunidades e redes sociais entre utilizadores e documentos.
Propõe-se o modelo cujos conceitos base são abordados nesta comunicação como um meio eficaz das Bibliotecas de Ensino Superior desempenharem o novo papel que Bolonha atribui às mesmas - espaço complementar de aprendizagem informal, facilitada socialmente pelos seus utilizadores, potenciando a descoberta e partilha de informação, tendo especial atenção para alguns aspectos concretos e pragmáticos, como por exemplo o facto de no cenário das Bibliotecas de Ensino Superior, mais do que efectuarem pesquisas individuais, os utilizadores pesquisarem em comunidade. Acresce a este cenário a crescente tendência de computação ubíqua (portáteis, PDA, telemóveis), sendo que o novo sistema de pesquisa e descoberta de informação proposto deverá, idealmente,  contemplar esse cenário específico (por exemplo com interfaces de pesquisa adaptados a ecrãs de dimensões reduzidas como os dos telemóveis).

PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Integração de informação, pesquisa e descoberta de informação, media participativos, inteligência colectiva, redes sociais, comunidades de utilizadores.

Sistema Inteligente de Localização de Exemplares (SILO – Items’ Intelligent Localization System)

by Filipe Bento

Co-authored with Diana Silva and Cecília Reis; support paper for the poster with the same title presented at the “9º Congresso Nacional BAD – Bibliotecários, Arquivistas e Documentalistas” Congress (IX National Congress of Librarians, Archivists and Documentalists), 28th – 30th March 2007, Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, Ilha de São Miguel, Açores, http://www.apbad.pt/9CongBAD/

Sistema web de localização de exemplares nas Bibliotecas da UA.
A constante dificuldade dos utilizadores na... more Sistema web de localização de exemplares nas Bibliotecas da UA.
A constante dificuldade dos utilizadores na localização de livros nas estantes das Bibliotecas da UA, foi a principal motivação para o desenvolvimento deste serviço web, disponível numa primeira fase desde Novembro de 2004.
Este sistema assenta sobre uma lógica de regras e excepções, mantidas numa base de dados própria, permitindo o acesso a uma planta com a localização física do item (biblioteca, piso, estante), na área dos “Exemplares” de um determinado registo bibliográfico (OPAC web). Caso o exemplar não esteja em livre acesso, o sistema responde com uma informação de contexto em relação àquele item.
O sistema é mantido regularmente via alertas e-mail de localização não encontrada para um determinado exemplar.
De um universo de mais de 200 mil exemplares, o sistema e a sua base de inteligência, ligeiramente superior a mil regras e excepções, atinge uma taxa de sucesso superior a 98% na localização da publicação pretendida.

PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Sistemas de Informação, Bibliotecas – Automatização, Bibliotecas – Apoio ao Utilizador.

URL: http://www.apbad.pt/9CongBAD/Programa.htm

Implementing Endeca When You're HIP

by Nora Gaskin

Gives a user interface perspective on how McMaster University Library implemented an Endeca front end for its... more Gives a user interface perspective on how McMaster University Library implemented an Endeca front end for its Horizon-based catalogue from a cold start in October 2006 to a "soft launch" in March 2007, and beyond. Describes some of the decisions, issues and tradeoffs we had to consider, what worked and what we'd do differently, and how our users are responding to the new interface.

Considering New Discovery Layers

by Nora Gaskin

Co-authored with Martha Whitehead, Queen's University Library, Allan Bell, University of Waterloo, Sian Meikle, University of Toronto, Tom Adam, University of Western Ontario

Academic libraries have numerous options for new discovery layers designed to improve our users. experience of... more Academic libraries have numerous options for new discovery layers designed to improve our users. experience of searching our catalogues and other information sources. Explore the factors considered by several university libraries in arriving at their decisions, and what was learned from user research and the implementation process. The discussion will be of interest to anyone selecting or implementing a discovery layer system or next generation catalogue.

Panizzi, Lubetzky, and Google: How the Modern Web Environment is Reinventing the Theory of Cataloguing

by Karl Fast

Campbell, D. G., & Fast, K. V. (2004). Panizzi, Lubetzky and Google: How the Modern Web Environment is Reinventing the Theory of Cataloguing. Canadian Journal for Information and Library Science, 28(3), 25-38.

This paper uses cataloguing theory to interpret the partial results of an exploratory study of university students... more This paper uses cataloguing theory to interpret the partial results of an exploratory study of university students using Web search engines and Web-based OPACs. The participants expressed frustration with the OPAC; while they sensed that it was “organized,” they were unable to exploit that organization and attributed their failure to the inadequacy of their own skills. In the Google searches, on the other hand, students were getting the support traditionally advocated in catalogue design. Google gave them starting points: resources that broadly addressed their requirements, enabling them to get a greater sense of the knowledge structure that would help them to increase their precision in subsequent searches. While current OPACs apparently fail to provide these starting points, the effectiveness of Google is consistent with the aims of cataloguing as expressed in the theories of Anthony Panizzi and Seymour Lubetzky.

Academic Libraries and the Semantic Web: What the Future May Hold for Research-Supporting Library Catalogues

by Karl Fast

Campbell, D. G., & Fast, K. V. (2004). Academic libraries and the Semantic Web: What the future may hold for research-supporting library catalogues. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 30(5), 382-390.

This paper examines how future metadata capabilities could enable academic libraries to exploit information on the... more This paper examines how future metadata capabilities could enable academic libraries to exploit information on the emerging Semantic Web in their library catalogues. Whereas current metadata architectures treat the Web as a simple means of interchanging bibliographic data that have been created by libraries, this paper suggests that academic libraries could use the Semantic Web as a source of rich metadata that can be retrieved and inserted into bibliographic records to enhance the user’s information searches and to expand the role of the academic library catalogue as a research tool rather than a mere locating device. The paper uses examples from the fields of rare books, literary criticism, and film studies to illustrate how academic libraries, by shifting their emphasis from cataloguing standards to Web information evaluation, can play a new and exciting role in the development of electronic information services.

“I Still Like Google”: University Student Perceptions of Searching OPACs and the Web

by Karl Fast

Fast, K. V., & Campbell, D. G. (2004). "I still like Google": university student perceptions of searching OPACs and the Web. Proceedings of the 67th Annual Meeting of ASIS&T (Vol. 41, pp. 138-146). doi: 10.1002/meet.1450410116.

This paper reports on an exploratory study of how university students perceive and interact with Web search engines... more This paper reports on an exploratory study of how university students perceive and interact with Web search engines compared to Web-based OPACs. A qualitative study was conducted involving sixteen students, eight of whom were first-year undergraduates and eight of whom were graduate students in Library and Information Science. The participants performed searches on Google and on a university OPAC. The interviews and think-afters revealed that while students were aware of the problems inherent in Web searching and of the many ways in which OPACS are more organized, they generally preferred Web searching. The coding of the data suggests that the reason for this preference lies in psychological factors associated with the comparative ease with which search engines can be used, and system and interface factors which made searching the Web much easier and less confusing. As a result of these factors, students were able to approach even the drawbacks of the Web—its clutter of irrelevant pages and the dubious authority of the results—in an enthusiastic and proactive manner, very different from the passive and ineffectual admiration they expressed for the OPAC. The findings suggest that requirements of good OPAC interface design must be aggressively redefined in the face of new, Web-based standards of usability.