Developing a Thematic Library Integrating Drupal, Google and the ILS Ildegardo Jesus Elizondo Alejandro Garza October 14, 2008

Roadmap What triggered this thematic library? What triggered this thematic library? Development process Development process Technology involved in the project Technology involved in the project What is expected of the thematic library? What is expected of the thematic library?

What triggered this thematic library? OPAC Internet Digital Library ?? Journal?? Encyclopedia? E-book??

Dead ends Dead ends Unhelpful “No results found” screens Unhelpful “No results found” screens Metasearch problems Metasearch problems Lack of recall, slow execution Lack of recall, slow execution Search is not “Googleized” Search is not “Googleized” Expect simpler interface Expect simpler interface Do quick search variations Do quick search variations

Development process Mock ups and prototypes Mock ups and prototypes Questionnaires to faculty Questionnaires to faculty Usability tests Usability tests

Wanted feature list Faceted search Faceted search Which fields become facets? Which fields become facets? User ratings/reviews User ratings/reviews Lists of favorites Lists of favorites Tables of contents Tables of contents Integration with Millennium Integration with Millennium

Using HILCC Developed at Columbia University. Developed at Columbia University. Groups Library of Congress classification numbers into a hierarchical vocabulary Groups Library of Congress classification numbers into a hierarchical vocabulary similar to Conspectus groupings, open similar to Conspectus groupings, open Drupal custom module Drupal custom module Automatic item categorizaztion upon harvesting Automatic item categorizaztion upon harvesting A

What it looks like Multilingual Multilingual Catalog search Catalog search Subject browse Subject browse Metasearch Metasearch Popular items (most viewed recently) Popular items (most viewed recently) News / Blog News / Blog

Facets Facets HILCC HILCC Tables of contents Tables of contents Stemming Stemming work = working, works work = working, works Ecommerce = e-commerce, e commerce Ecommerce = e-commerce, e commerce Results from subscription databases and select sites Results from subscription databases and select sites

Item Record Realtime status Realtime status Similar items Similar items Details Details

Technology involved in the project Drupal Drupal Extensible open source CMS. Extensible open source CMS. Apache Solr search Apache Solr search Integrates with Drupal, fast faceted search. Integrates with Drupal, fast faceted search. Google Custom Search Engine Google Custom Search Engine Powers our federated search Powers our federated search Library Server Millennium ILS Google Drupal Apache MySQL PHP Solr Item records Patron records Current item status WebOpac Index Custom Search Engine A

Architecture Library Server Millennium ILS Google Drupal Biblio records Subscription database records Tags Users Search Apache MySQL PHP Solr Item records Patron records Current item status WebOpac Index Custom Search Engine Authentication Item status EZ- Proxy Book images Subscription Databases Page Harvest Secure Access MARC harvest A

Why Drupal At the time of project planning, the library already had some experience with Drupal. At the time of project planning, the library already had some experience with Drupal. Drupal: Drupal: Is extensible—hundreds of modules. Is extensible—hundreds of modules. Had solid performance. Had solid performance. Is supported by the community (IRC, online docs, forums) and commercially (books, paid services) Is supported by the community (IRC, online docs, forums) and commercially (books, paid services) Is used in libraries. Is used in libraries. Free and Open Free and Open A

Libraries using Drupal At least 33 university and public libraries At least 33 university and public libraries 5 using Drupal to replace or intergrate with OPAC 5 using Drupal to replace or intergrate with OPAC Slideshow of Drupal libraries: Slideshow of Drupal libraries: Drupal Library Groups Drupal Library Groups A

Why Apache Solr? Dedicated search software Dedicated search software Competes/replaces commercial solutions Competes/replaces commercial solutions Open Source Open Source Features: Features: Faceted search, synonyms, stemming, spellcheck Faceted search, synonyms, stemming, spellcheck “More like this” and spellchecking “More like this” and spellchecking Powerful item ranking options Powerful item ranking options Replication Replication Free and Open Free and Open A

Why Google? Some subscription databases already indexed by Google. Some subscription databases already indexed by Google. Google Custom Search Engine allows building a search for only desired domains/URLs. Google Custom Search Engine allows building a search for only desired domains/URLs.Plus: Users are used to Google’s interfaces Users are used to Google’s interfaces Google search technology and branding Google search technology and branding Google Co-op tools Google Co-op tools Free Free

What is expected of the thematic library? Better relationships with students and faculty Better relationships with students and faculty Drag new users to the library from Google searches Drag new users to the library from Google searches Users will more easily find what they want Users will more easily find what they want

Other features Google Books preview. Google Books preview. Include Google results alongside library. Include Google results alongside library. RSS feeds. RSS feeds. Magazine A-Z listings, by subject (HILCC) Magazine A-Z listings, by subject (HILCC)

Results so far Traffic from search engines Traffic from search engines In August, 94% of total traffic was from search engines and from cities other than Monterrey (91%). In August, 94% of total traffic was from search engines and from cities other than Monterrey (91%). Average visit times and pages viewed from users in Monterrey are much higher (3:37 and 4.66 pages/visit) versus the average (1:06 and 1.94 pages/visit). Average visit times and pages viewed from users in Monterrey are much higher (3:37 and 4.66 pages/visit) versus the average (1:06 and 1.94 pages/visit). Item records in google.com.mx are high for some items, which appear in second or third places—ranking above bookstore results. Item records in google.com.mx are high for some items, which appear in second or third places—ranking above bookstore results. At least one academic department is closely following our implementation. At least one academic department is closely following our implementation.