An Annotated Bibliography
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Mark Andrea Standards in Single Search: An Annotated Bibliography Mark Andrea INFO 522: Information Access & Resources Winter Quarter 2010 Mark Andrea Introduction and Scope The following bibliography is a survey of scholarly literature in the field of metasearch standards as defined by the Library of Congress (LOC) and the National Information Standards Organization (NISO). Of particular interest is the application of the various protocols, as described by the standards, to real world searching of library literature found in scholarly databases, library catalogs and internally collected literature. These protocols include z39.50, Search Retrieval URL (SRU), Search Retrieval Web Service (SRW) and Context Query Language (CQL) as well as Metasearch XML Gateway (MXG). Description Libraries must compete with the web to capture users who often do not consider the wealth of information resources provided by the library. This has only been an issue in the last decade. Prior to that, most users, and that includes academic and specialty library users such as corporate users, went to a physical library for their research. With the rise of web-based information, users have become accustomed to easy keyword searching from web pages where sources can range from known and established authority to completely the opposite. Libraries have responded with attempts to provide easy search interfaces on top of complex materials that have been cataloged and indexed according to controlled vocabularies and other metadata type tools. These tools have enabled users for decades effectively find information. In some cases it’s merely an issue of education that most researchers are lacking. So are these metasearch systems ultimately a step backward to accommodate the new search community or do they really address the need to find information that continues to grow exponentially. Mark Andrea Summary of Findings The topic was chosen out of interest to become more familiar with the origins of these metasearch technologies and how they start off as published standards to eventually become working products that serve users daily. The articles detailed below tend to range from very technical discussions concerning the implementation of the standards to specific case studies where a metasearch system was implemented to solve specific issues. A few articles were examinations of user behavior in the context of experimenting with metasearch systems. The knowledge gained from such studies enabled further program development that better suited the particular needs of that user population. (Jung 2008 entry 2). In the end, despite best efforts, users were still drawn to the search tools provided by Google rather than the tools provided by the library with the knowledge that, when users are educated in library databases, they will be more drawn to using the library, rather than the web. So this a crucial point since large amounts of money and time are spent trying to make searching easier or like the web, when, in some cases it might not be the payoff that everyone is looking for. Conversely, there is so much literature being produced, that the standards and protocols that are being implemented as metasearch are only improving to the extent that the merger of precise results and ease of use might soon become a reality. The problem is certainly understood by those working in this field and the use of metadata to address the problem continues to advance. Some articles found, but were not included in this bibliography, would be of use to those interested in the topic but would not be considered academic scholarship. These would be articles found in publications like Computers in Libraries and even the Library Journal which focused more on personal accounts of the technology and opinions of the tools provided by vendors etc etc. These are helpful in getting to know what is out there and would be the source of Mark Andrea another type of bibliography but were not really appropriate for this project. When to exclude a paper was not always easy though needless to say. Bibliography Entry 1 A.K. Tyagi, Madhavi M. Dhanwantari, Aparna Raghuraman, and Priyanka D. Kalbhor (2009) Improving Visibility of Libraries through SRU Journal of Library & Information Technology 29 no3 12-15 My 2009 Annotation: The paper discusses the need for a single search interface and common results format to multiple library databases based on the Search Retrieval over URL (SRU) and Search Retrieval Web Service (SRW) standards issued by the Library of Congress. These standards provide a web based communication method for queries and responses that provide an application framework for building multiple database search applications. This framework is known as a gateway that facilitates communication between the user application and the database. The databases must be enabled by SRU or SRW. The article goes into details about how this gateway can be implemented. The authors also discuss test case scenarios with library various SRU compliant library catalogs. Abstract: Library users nowadays expect digital libraries to be searchable through a single search form. The ultimate goal is to provide a high ranking search quality to enable access to documents containing relevant information from all participating libraries. The Information Centre and Library at the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Deemed University (DU), at Pune, aims to ensure wide dissemination of knowledge, through an innovative pilot project and achieve a gradual change towards indigenous knowledge storage. The present work is intended to develop a client gateway using search and retrieval via URL (SRU) protocol for searching SRU-compliant databases, keeping in mind trials done in information retrieval in the 1980s and 90s. The client has been developed, tested and implemented successfully with some limitations. Efforts are on to extend the facility for searching DSpace that conforms to industry standard for developing IR's. We are in the process of developing and implementing a server for DSpace to make it SRU compliant. The client part however, has been developed, and tested successfully, though with some limitations. Keywords: Information retrieval standards, digital libraries, client gateway, databases Mark Andrea Search Strategy: I chose LISA (Library and Information Science Abstracts due to the subject focus of the database. I started with a keyword search, and then narrowed it down based on descriptors in the most relevant records. Database: Library and Information Science Abstracts LISA [Dialog] Method of Searching: Keyword searching Search String: SRU? OR SEARCH()RETRIEVAL(2N)URL OR FEDERATED()SYSTEM? AND (CHALLENGE? OR DIFFICULT?) Entry 2 Seikyung Jung (2008) LibraryFind: System design and usability testing of academic metasearch system Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 59,3,375-389, 2008 Abstract: Using off-the-shelf search technology provides a single point of access into library resources, but we found that such commercial systems are not entirely satisfactory for the academic library setting. In response to this, Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries designed and deployed LibraryFind, a metasearch system. We conducted a usability experiment comparing LibraryFind, the OSU Libraries Web site, and Google Scholar. Each participant used all three search systems in a controlled setting, and we recorded their behavior to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of each search system. In this article, we focus on understanding what factors are important to undergraduates in choosing their primary academic search system for class assignments. Based on a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results, we found that mimicking commercial Web search engines is an important factor to attract undergradu-ates; however, when undergraduates use these kinds of search engines, they expect similar performance to Web search engines, including factors such as relevance, speed, and the availability of a spell checker. They also expected to be able to find out what kinds of content and materials are available in a system. Participants' prior experience using academic search systems also affected their expectations of a new system. Annotation: The paper studies the behavior of undergraduate students with respect to finding information electronically. OSU attempted to build a Google like simple search interface to multiple local and third party licensed databases Mark Andrea to draw students into using library materials instead of the web exclusively. The study found students wanted a simple single search interface that quickly returned relevant results. After building LibraryFind, which incorporated metasearch elements as well as results recommendations, students with limited library database searching knowledge found Google Scholar to be easier to use and preferred it over LibraryFind and the Library’s web site which served as a gateway to the databases directly. Search Strategy: Related Record in Web of Science. Database: Web of Science Method of Searching: Keyword field search with recommendation Search String: federated search in the title Entry 3 Kennedy, P. (May 2008). Manifestations of metadata: from Alexandria to the Web--old is new again. The Australian Library Journal, 57, 2. p.128(19). Retrieved March 13, 2010, from Academic OneFile via Gale: Abstract: This paper is a discussion of the use of metadata, in its various manifestations, to access information. Information management