Next Generation Library Interfaces : Random notes by David Lee King

ALCTS President’s Program: Breaking Down the Silos: Planning for Discovery in Library 2.0 - an ALCTS Midwinter Symposium

Posted: 24 Jan 2009 12:43 PM PST

David Lee King is Digital Branch & Services Manager at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library http://www.tscpl.org/

Marshall Breeding - title of his presentation: Next Generation Library Interfaces: Overview of concepts and a brief tour of commercial and open source products started with OCLC Perceptions stat - where do you start an info search?

• 89% search engines… library catalogs, 2%

• usage of library websites is going down, everything else is going up … hmm…

• aside - that makes a good case for sticking library content on blogs… users will find you that way

Crowded landscape of info providers on the web - google, amazon, us, etc…

• Nobody has to go to a bibliographic instruction class to use Amazon… Nice.

• Amazon is so easy to use - Marshall accidentally bought a book during a presentation, it’s so easy

Demand for compelling library interfaces:

• urgent need for libraries to offer interfaces their users will like to use

• move into the current millenium

• search in line with how the current web works

Inadequacy of ILS OPACs:

• OPAC modules … failing to meet customer needs - it’s not really built for customers

• Change is Underway! Lots of movement to break out of the current mold of library catalogs

• Marshall hopes the back end will be redesigned, too, to be more modern

Next-Generation Interfaces:

• redefinition of the library catalog - the word “catalog” is not a good one

• more elegant presentation (think amazon)

• more comprehensive info discovery environments

• no longer enough to provide a catalog limited to print resources

• digital resources cannot be an afterthought

• systems designed for e-content only are also problematic forcing users to use different interfaces depending on types of content becoming less tenable federated search currently operates as a plug-in component of next-gen interfaces

web 2.0 flavorings:

• strategic infrastructure + web 2.0

• a more social and collaborative approach web tools and tech that foster collaboration integrated blogs, wiki, user reviews, etc.
  

• avoid 2.0 info silos - don’t have separate blogs, wikis, etc - make sure it’s integrated

2.0 supporting tech:

• web services, xml apis, ajax, relevancy-based search engines, social networking tools and concepts

scope of the next gen library interface:

• attempt to collapse silos or draw appropriately from each silo

• unified user experience

• single point of entry into everything

• print + electronic

• local + remote

• locally created content

Functions and features:

• Interface features/user experience:

• simple point of entry - optional advanced search

• relevancy ranked results

• facets for narrowing and navigation

• query enhancement - spell check, etc

suggested related results / recommendation service

• enriched visual and textual content

• single sign-on

Relevancy Ranking:

• Endeca, Lucene do a good job

• web users expect this! - the good stuff should be listed first

• users tend not to delve deep into a result list

• good relevancy requires a sophisticated approach

new paradigm for search and navigation:

• users drill down through the result set and faceted browsing

• faceted search - gives users clues about eh the number of hits, etc - it’s more like an online store’s faceted/guided navigation

• more visual, has navigational bread crumbs

• talking about boolean - walmart doesn’t teach their customers to do fancy boolean search to get to their products… we shouldn’t do this either!

• Amazon doesn’t say “no results found.” Did you Mean and other features instead validated spell check have More Like This recommendation service
  

• goal - make the query and the response to it better than the query provided

appropriate organizational structures:

• LCSH vs FAST (faceted application of subject terminology)

• full marc vs dublin core or MODS, or unstructured data discipline-specific thesauri or ontologies
  

“tags”

• enriched content - book jacket, summaries, etc

• personalization/single sign on

deep search:

• entering post-metadata search era

• web searches full text. Google print, google publisher, open content alliance, etc

• high quality metadata will improve search precision

• commercial search providers already offer search inside the book

• library search doesn’t do this!!!

Beyond discovery to fulfillment / delivery: this is the harder part - harder than discovery

Enterprise integration:

• ability to deliver content and services through non-library apps

• courseware, portals, social networking environments, etc

Great Benefit, Great Cost

We’re WAY TOO SLOW. Time on the web moves quickly! We need to catch up.

ideas to buy/use:

• Endeca - one of the first

Widely used in the commercial world high-dollar approach aquabrowser:

• LibraryThing for Libraries:Wow - they are now distributed exclusively by RR Bowker

• Primo: tailored for academic libraries

• Encore from Innovative Interfaces (Nashville Public Library uses it)

• Worldcat Local

• TLCs LS2 (Shanandoah Public Library) good visual design

• SirsiDynix Enterprise. not aware of anyone actually using it yet ; it’s a hosted product does relevancy well uses chilifresh for book reviews
  

Marshall’s example is very ugly! Sirsi really needs a visual designer!

Scriblio:

Wordpress - looks great
Marshall’s not sure how it will scale same stuff - faceted search, relevance, etc

VUFind:
production cat for the National Library of Australia - that’s pretty big.
open source, looks great

BiblioCommons
focuses on social networking, tag, review, comments, etc oakville public library in ontario - in production. Looks great!

Summon serials solutions product eXtensibe Catalog

Polaris, Koha, Evergreen - doing well with providing next-gen features too

Q/A:

question/comment: We have a next-gen catalog, our faculty don’t get it - don’t understand faceted search, don’t know what a tag cloud is, etc - how do you get around that?

Answer: well, Amazon doesn’t seem to need to explain their faceted search, tag, etc stuff… ouch!

Source: http://www.davidleeking.com/2009/01/24/next-generation-library-interfaces/

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