the view through the public portal brenda bailey-hainer colorado state library niso metasearch...
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The View through the Public Portal
Brenda Bailey-HainerColorado State Library
NISO Metasearch Initiatives MeetingMay 7, 2003
Background – public portals Public libraries & consortia creating
portals for users Metasearch capability critical for
success
Background – public portals Portal – guided information gateway for
the public Portal provides access to resources
Library catalogs Online databases – both commercial &
locally created Full text from journals, books, newspapers Digitized materials from local collections Selected websites Dynamic GIS maps Community information
Background – public portals
Provides access to interactive services Virtual reference services Online homework help Online classes State government services Circulation systems Interlibrary loan requesting Purchasing materials
Background – who uses it? Serves many diverse audiences
General population Adults Young adults Children Students Lifelong learners Professionals Business community English language learners Multiple cultures
Background – success factors? Characteristics
Easy to use, intuitive, transparent to end user Fast Reliable, consistent Everything delivered right now! Customizable Aggregates information in understandable groupings Adaptable at institution, group, state level Personalizable at user level Recognizes different types of authorization/authentication Recognizes users in different roles Easy to maintain at personal, institution, group, state level Statistics for evaluation – both output and outcome
purposes
Metasearch Use – tools today Portal interface/searching software Integrated library system software Authorization/authentication
software Resource sharing systems Virtual reference software
Metasearch Use – Historical View
In the beginning, there were… OPACs – alone OPACs – in packs Online databases – segregated Marriage of OPACs and online databases Extended family – digitized materials,
websites Password required to join the party
authentication/authorization More services, more resources
Metasearch Use – the future 18 months out:
Transparent federated searching Statistics
3 years out: Think beyond federated searching Seamless integration of searching and
services Integration with digital government Integration with new perspectives, e.g. GIS
Metasearch Use – impact Success of portals – and underlying
metasearch capabilities – critical for survival of libraries
Illustrates the value of libraries/librarians in making sense of information, the Web
Challenges Speed Inconsistent implementation of standards Aggregating/presenting results from
disparate resource types Addition of cultural heritage institution
resources Maintenance Integrating multiple software packages
