Radical Notions in Libraries: Dotcom Internet Solutions

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Radical Notions in Libraries Dot-com Internet
Solutions

• Integrating Business Web Solutions into Library
  Web Services

Removing Business Web Problems from Library Web
Services
Andrew K. Pace NCSU Libraries April 4, 2002
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Who is this guy?
and why is a systems librarian talking about
public services, anyway?

• Graduated from library school in 1996
• Innovative Interfaces, 1996-1999
• first year on the Help Desk
• Product Manager WebPAC, Z39.50, KidsOnline,
  Ereserves, etc.

• NCSU Libraries, 1999-
• bring up new library Web catalog
• Systems liaison to Digital Library Initiatives
• self-appointed library ombudsman

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Radical Notions in Libraries

• Vortals and Portals and Gateways, oh MyLibrary
• Yahoo-style subject categories
• Google-style quick-search options
• Amazon-style online catalog
• The next generation of library web services

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The worst level of Internet service that users
will accept is the best level of service they
have ever seen.
-paraphrased from Ron Dunn, International Thomson
Publishing National Online 1999
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I think when people get on the Internet, their
common sense may be weakened, if not suspended.
-Charles Harwood, FTC
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Follow the money.
-Deepthroat All the Presidents Men
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The Empirical Evidence
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The State of the Web

• 6 terabytes of data on millions of Web sites
• More than 3 billion web pages
• 110 million Internet users in the U.S.
• 509 million email inboxes in the world
• 60,000 USENET groups
• 80,000 listservs

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By tomorrow afternoon...
32,983,802,238,938,871,012,845
Almost 33 gazillion websites out there ! ! ! ! !
!
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Portals and Vortals
Customization based on your area of interest
Cornell
California Polytechnic
University of Washington
Virginia Commonwealth
University of Toronto
North Carolina State
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Portals and Vortals

• INFORMATION
• OVERLOAD

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User Focus

• Library
• Academic Disciplines
• Library Promotion
• Paid Subscription Access
• Current Awareness
• Personalized Links

• Business
• Credit Card Processing
• Chat
• Calendars (with user postings)
• Classified Ads
• Surveys / Polls
• Personalized Links

vs.
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Organizational Focus

• Business
• Money
• Money
• Money
• IPO
• Chapter 11
• Library Want-ads

• Library
• Teaching and Learning
• Information Literacy
• Careful Selection
• Human Contact

vs.
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MyGod.what have we created ?!?!?
Tangible suggestion in approximately 1237
...I Promise
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Yahoo-style Subject Categories
A given users like to browse
To enable a person to find a book of which either
is known author, title, or subject. -
Charles Cutter, 1904
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True Browse no keyboard required
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Librarians Give it a Try
(sort of)
Electronic and Web Resources Only
Why ?
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Vendors Give it a Try
(sort of)
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Dot-coms Do It for Real
(pretty much)
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Dear Library Users, We apologize for making this
so difficult...
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Radical Notions

• Canned Browse index searches for popular searches
• LCSH subsets and Local Subjects
• Indexing
• Thesaurus Building
• Faceted Classification
• Integrated Taxonomic Information Systems
• Systems for the Intellectual Organization on
  Information
• Knowledge Management

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Radical Classification
1999-2000 Local Subject Browse Added 123
increase in Electronic Resource Usage over
1998-1999
1998-1999 / 1999-2000 18 increase in Electronic
Resources
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Radical Classification
Electronic Theses Dissertations

• Local Browsable author index

• CORC Pathfinders allow users to store local
  subject headings and URLs on OCLC servers

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Radical Classification
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Radical Notions ?
Re-invent the catalog?
shistoryyear1990-1999langengmatbook locma
insortrelevance
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The Google Toolbar
Finally, something I can use...
ocument.selection.createRange().text)for(i0icument.frames.lengthi) qdocument.framesi.do
cument.selection.createRange().textif(q!'')break
if(q'')void(qprompt('Enter text to search
using Google. You can also highlight a word on
this web page before clicking Google
Search.',''))if(q)location.href'http//www.googl
e.com/search?clientgoogletq'escape(q)" Google
Search s.length?''document.selection.createRange().text)
for(i0iqdocument.framesi.document.selection.createRan
ge().textif(q!'')breakif(q'')void(qprompt('
Enter text to search the catalog. You can also
highlight a word on this web page before clicking
Search.',''))if(q)location.href'http//catalog.l
ib.ncsu.edu/Web2/tramp2.exe/do_ccl_search/guest?SE
TTING_KEYFilesservers1homeindexdefaultquery
'escape(q)"Catalog Search HREF"javascriptq(document.frames.length?''docu
ment.selection.createRange().text)for(i0ient.frames.lengthi) qdocument.framesi.docum
ent.selection.createRange().textif(q!'')breaki
f(q'')void(qprompt('Enter search for
E-journals. You can also highlight a word on this
web page before clicking search.',''))if(q)locati
on.href'http//databases.lib.ncsu.edu/colmgmt/ser
ials/titleresults.cfm?title'escape(q)"E-journal
Finder s.length?''document.selection.createRange().text)
for(i0iqdocument.framesi.document.selection.createRan
ge().textif(q!'')breakif(q'')void(qprompt('
Enter text to lookup a word. You can also
highlight a word on this web page before clicking
search.',''))if(q)location.href'http//www.m-w.c
om/cgi-bin/dictionary?bookdictionaryva'escape(
q)"Dictionary Search
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Google-Style Quick-Search
ecology
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Google-Style Quick-Search
Open Archives Initiative
ecology
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WebFeat
Muse Global
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Amazon-style Online Catalogs
To assist in the selection of a book. -
Charles Cutter, 1904
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Amazon-style Online Catalogs
Added Value?
LCSH !
Browsable Catalog!!!
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Are we losing the feature war?
LIBRARIES
AMAZON

• Phrase/Keyword search

• Go!

• View MARC record

• Who cares?

• MARC minutia

• Cover photos Book jackets

• Other authors links

• Alternate format links

• Type your search

• Browse best sellers, prize winners, and subjects

• You should also search...

• Customers also bought...

• Trust us, its a good book

• Editorial/Customer reviews

• Just arrived

• Previews / Coming soon

• Shelf-browsing book sales

• Bargain books online

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Title Availability a war of words?
LIBRARIES
AMAZON

• On Shelf

• 24 hours

• Checked Out

• Ships in 2-3 days

• Check Shelf

• Out of stock

• Recall / Hold / Request

• Special Order

• Interlibrary Loan

• Hard-to-find

• Free (usually)

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Baby Steps Toward Catalog Enrichment

• Enhanced Hitlist Displays
• Enhanced Record Displays
• Added Value Content
• Getting Outside the Box

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Explicit more like this option
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Catalog Enrichment
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PREPARE YOURSELF FOR DEBATE
FROM THE MARC 505 !!
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What can we do?
Subtitle what should we demand from our vendors?

• Relevance Ranking
• Sort titles by most checked out
• at least show number of circulations!
• Reviews, Book Flaps, TOCs, Cover Art
• Online Book Sales
• Build browsable catalog links
• Build the Get it for me button
• Rev up to Internet Speed

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Whos already doing it?
TLC
Booksense
SIRSI iBistro / iLink
InMagic
ExLibris - SFX
Innovative - Millennium
Syndetics
Tacoma Public Library
Endeavor - ENCompass
Fretwell-Downing
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The Competition Stacks Up

• The Partners
• SIRSI - iBistro
• ExLibris - SFX
• Syndetics
• Booksense
• InMagic

• The Competition?
• Amazon
• eBrary
• AskJeeves
• work.com
• FatBrain
• Google
• Questia

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One last radical notionThe next generation of
library web services
New Library Product!
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Product Management
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Library Product Management
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There is no honor in being right. There is only
honor in doing right. -Andrew K. Pace
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I feel a lot more like I do now than when I
first got here.
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Radical Notions in Libraries

• Full Presentation available at
• http//www.lib.ncsu.edu/presentations/nelinet/
• Andrew K. Pace
• Head, Systems
• NCSU Libraries
• andrew_pace_at_ncsu.edu