6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Searching and browsing multiple subject gateways in the Renardus Service Michael Day UKOLN, University of Bath RC33 6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, August

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Outline Subject gateways The Renardus Service –Cross-searching –Cross-browsing Issues Future potential

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 What are subject gateways? (1) Discovery services that give access to high-quality Web resources: –Selective (published criteria) –Typically based on resource description (metadata) –Provides users with search and browse facilities –Use subject classification systems for subject browsing

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 What are subject gateways? (2) An example: –Resource Discovery Network (UK) –Includes the Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG) –Pioneer of the subject gateway concept –Now a mature service (>25K resources) run by the Institute of Learning and Research Technology (ILRT) at the University of Bristol –

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 RDN Social Science Information Gateway (August 2004)

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 What is the Renardus Service? –A broker service that integrates access to European subject gateways (all subjects) –Developed by a research project funded by the European Commission as part of its Information Society Technologies (IST) programme –Since 2002, managed by participating gateways through the Renardus Consortium –Operational service hosted by the Goettingen State and University Library (SUB) –

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Services participating in Renardus DAINet - German Agricultural Information Network DE Denmark's Electronic Research Library (DEF)DK DutchESS - Dutch Electronic Subject ServiceNL Finnish Virtual Library (FVL), NOVAGateFI Online dissertations (Die Deutsche Bibliothek)DE Resource Discovery Network (RDN)UK SSGFI gateways at SUB Goettingen (Anglistik Guide, Geo-Guide, History Guide, MathGuide) DE

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Cross-searching Searches across all participating services: –Uses the Z39.50 protocol –Services provide metadata that conforms to the Renardus "application profile": Based on the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DCMES) Added element: Country (of origin) Mandatory elements:Identifier, Title, Description, Subject, …

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Cross-browsing (1) Renardus needed to provide subject browse access across all services –Subject gateways use many different subject schemes for browsing Some 'home-grown' Others based on (or adapted from) standards (e.g., DDC, LCC, UDC, MSC, Nederlandse Basisclassificatie) –Also some variation in the depth of browsing structure (between 1 and 5 levels), although most are shallow

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Cross-browsing (2) Renardus chose to map local schemes to a universal classification scheme - the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC): –Available online (WebDewey) –Covers all subjects, is frequently updated, has global use, etc. –The project negotiated a research license from OCLC Forest Press

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Classification mapping (1) General approach: –Mapping to local browse system, not to individual resources –The mapping is one-way only, from the DDC to the local browsing system –Mappings move from top levels of browse structures before moving progressively down it

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Classification mapping (2) Mapping relationships: –Simple equivalence between terms not expected –Five mapping relationships Fully equivalent Narrower equivalent Broader equivalent Major overlap Minor overlap

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Classification mapping (3) Syntax: LN (Local classification notation) LC (Local classification caption) RL (Relationship code, i.e. =, >, <, MJ, or MN) DN (DDC notation) DC (DDC caption) UR (Local browsing URL for the class) NT (Notes) :RE: (Record end)

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Classification mapping (4) Technical solutions: –Mapping tool developed by the German CARMEN project (CarmenX) –Participating gateways provide a machine- readable version of the classification scheme in use –The tool (together with WebDewey) facilitates the production of the mapping information in the correct syntax

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 [Renardus Mapping Tool]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Using the mapping information In Renardus, the DDC mapping information provides: –The basis of the cross-browse feature –Information for the advanced search feature, e.g. search by DDC Classification The DDC browse structure forms the core part of the Renardus Service Web page [Next slide …]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Cross-browsing in Renardus Based on a two-step process –first browsing within the DDC structure on the Renardus Web pages –Then linking directly to the browse structures in local gateways –Called "Browse and jump" Interface issues –Visual inconsistency –No clear path back to Renardus from the local gateways

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Navigational support Need for additional navigational support in large browsing structures Renardus developed some experimental features: –Searching for a different start page –Graphical navigation overview –Merge

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 [Graphical Navigation Overview]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Issues Sustainability –EU-funded project, no significant funding to develop the service further Technology developments –Renardus cross-search currently based on Z39.50 –New distributed search technologies now available: SRW Search/Retrieve Web Service OAI-PMH - already used for cross-searching within the RDN

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Future potential (1) Multilinguality –Because DDC has been translated into many languages, it is possible to add other language versions of the browse system into Renardus Automatic classification support for the mapping process –Managing the mapping information is a big commitment for participating services Terminology services –Web services that combine knowledge organisation systems and vocabularies - could replace custom-built mappings in Renardus

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Future potential (2) Web archiving initiatives –Not just describing Web resources, but collecting them for future use (long term preservation) –Two main approaches to collection: Selective approach –Selection, negotiation of rights, harvesting –Used by some national libraries and archives, also for special collections (e.g. political parties, elections) Automatic harvesting approach –Robot-based –Used by the Internet Archive, some national libraries, etc.

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Future potential (3) Web-archiving (continued) –The selective approach has some commonality with current subject gateway practice e.g., The need for selection criteria and descriptive metadata –This may be a possible area for collaboration in the future … and of interest to social scientists

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Further information: Renardus Service: Social Science Information Gateway: UKOLN:

Thank-you for your attention!

Examples 1. Simple and advanced searching

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Search example Simple search for "palaeontology" –Renardus searches each participating gateway using the Z39.50 protocol –Retrieves hits from multiple gateways: RDN (129) Geo-Guide (123) NOVAGate (2) DutchESS (1) FVL (1) –Displays results (detailed or brief)

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Linking to resources –The results display the URL of the described resource as a hyperlink –Users can also refer to the richer metadata record provided by the participating gateway –The level of detail varies … –Examples from DutchESS and RDN (Biome) follow … [Next two slides …]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 [Record from participating gateway (DutchESS)]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 [Record from participating gateway (RDN Biome)]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Advanced searching (1) Search options –Simple Boolean AND/OR searching on the content of individual elements Title, Subject, Description, Creator, DDC Classification, Document Type –Term selection help For the elements: Title, DDC Classification, Subject and Type, a "term selection window" opens in some browsers to indicate terms that are already included in gateway indexes

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Advanced searching (2) Other options: –Limit (filter) search by Document Type, Language, or Country –Display options and search timeout –Select which gateways to search

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Browsing example (1) Browsing for information on 'mineralogy': –Select "science" in first browse level Note broader equivalent mapping to "Technology and Natural Sciences" (DEF) –Then select "chemistry" … Again, note narrower and broader equivalents … [Next three slides …]

Examples 2. Cross-browsing

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Browsing example (2) –Then select "mineralogy" Fully equivalent to "Mineralogy: General" in GOK (Geo-Guide), "Mineralogy" in FVL A narrower equivalent is "Mineral paragenesis" in GOK (Geo-Guide) Major overlap with "Mineralogie, Boden-, Gesteins- und Lagerstättenkunde" in DDB online dissertations [Next slide …]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Browsing example (3) –Selecting the link takes the user to the relevant part of the browse hierarchy in the local gateway –This is known as "browse and jump" –Examples of the relevant local browse hierarchies in FVL and DDB online dissertations follow … [Next two slides …]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 [Finnish Virtual Library]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 [DDB]

Additional information on navigation support features in Renardus cross- browsing

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Navigational support (1) Need for additional navigational support in large browsing structures Renardus developed some experimental features: –Searching for an start page –Graphical navigation overview –Merge

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Navigational support (2) –Finding a different start-page It is possible to find a different page in the browse structure, by entering a term in the search box available on each browsing page This takes you to a results page that links to the HTML and graphical overview versions of the Renardus browse hierarchy [Next three slides …]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Navigational support (3) –Graphical Navigation Overview Gives a 'fisheye' view of the DDC browse hierarchy Allows users to see the browse term (highlighted in red) together with related terms in surrounding classes Terms with content (highlighted in blue) link to the relevant page in the Renardus browse hierarchy [Next slide …]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004 Navigational support (3) Merge –A short cut to viewing individual resource descriptions from all related collections –Similar to "DDC Classification" search in advanced search feature [Next two slides …]

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004

6th International Conference on Social Science Methodology, Amsterdam, 2004