Modifying LibX Toolbar to Enhance Library Research

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Modifying LibX Toolbar to Enhance Library
Research
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Search engines vs. Library Resources

• We know that students use search engines instead
  of library resources.
• So, lets offer a tool to help provide shortcuts
  back to library resources AND lets make it
  happen with the least amount of effort.

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LibX Wikipedia entry tweaked a bit.http//en.wiki
pedia.org/wiki/LibX

• LibX is a free, open source scholars' extension
  for the Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers
  that lets people use services offered by their
  library. Users can search their library
  catalog(s) and databases through a search bar or
  through a context menu. The context menu is
  adaptive (changing depending on what the user
  selected) and configurable (allowing the user to
  include any configured resource.) LibX supports
  the catalogs of all major library vendors. In
  addition, any resource that can be searched using
  an http GET request can be included, similar to
  Firefox's smart keywords.
• Resources can also be accessed using
  auto-generated links for DOIs, ISBNs, ISSNs, and
  PMIDs. Links are also placed in specific pages,
  such as book vendor sites or book review sites.
• To support off-campus access to resources, users
  may reload a current page or follow a link
  through a proxy server. LibX activates COinS with
  the library's OpenURL resolver.
• LibX supports a "magic search" functionality,
  which creatively integrates use of the Google
  Scholar service. LibX searches Scholar, performs
  a heuristic similarity analysis to determine if a
  match was found, then redirects the user to the
  user's OpenURL resolver to obtain an accessible
  copy.
• Librarians as well as ordinary library users can
  create a LibX edition through an AJAX-based web
  interface, called the LibX Edition Builder. This
  interface allows anybody to create, edit,
  maintain, and distribute an edition. As a
  starting point, users can clone an existing LibX
  edition and modify it, or start from scratch. The
  LibX edition builder makes heavy use of
  auto-detection of resources through global
  registries such as OCLC WorldCat or OpenSearch.
  It includes a revision control system for
  editions and facilities for multiple maintainers
  to share ownership of an edition. The LibX
  edition builder was built using the ZK AJAX
  toolkit, by Tilottama Gaat and Godmar Back.
• LibX is produced by Virginia Tech, which hosts
  customized versions of the extension for over 256
  different libraries (as of Dec 2007). Annette
  Bailey and Godmar Back, the creators of LibX,
  have won the 2007 LITA/Brett Butler
  Entrepreneurship Award for their work on LibX.

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So, what can it do?
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Search library catalog (single multi-term
searches). Can be configured to support multiple
OPACs simultaneously.
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Localization (i.e., library cues (graphics)
display on web pages
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providing links back to library resources.
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Right-click Context Menu
Heuristics (i.e., rules) changes the order of the
first and last name to increase the chance of an
exact match. So, you could select the following
names on any web page in their entirety - James
Joyce- Joyce, James- Joyce, J and then
right-click and select "Search SPC Library
Catalog for Author and be guided to the
catalog.
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Highlight citations in PDF documents and search
via Google Scholars Magic Button
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providing links to Google Scholar and
eventually back to library-owned resources.
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WorldCat.org cues via COinS (ContextObjects in
Spans)
COinS (ContextObjects in Spans) embeds citation
metadata in HTML. (ISBN and ISSN Autolinking)
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Search journal titles via SFX
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How do you make a LibX edition for your library?
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Edition Builder
Visit www.libx.org and find/modify an existing
edition.
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Auto Detection
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Test Revision Before Making Live
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For more technical LibX information

• Visit http//libx.org
• The Dawn of the Embedded Library Integrating
  Library Services into People's Trusted Networks,
  Oct 3, Somerville, MA, 2006.
• Download source and configure LibX yourself
  (libx.mozdev.org)
• Create a config file (XML) and send it to
  libx.org_at_gmail.com