Next Generation Library Interfaces Marshall Breeding Director for Innovative Technologies and Research Vanderbilt University Web Managers Academy Internet Librarian Monterey, CA Oct 2007

The best Library OPAC?

Troubling statistic Where do you typically begin your search for information on a particular topic? College Students Response: 89%Search engines (Google 62%) 89%Search engines (Google 62%) 2%Library Web Site (total respondents -> 1%) 2%Library Web Site (total respondents -> 1%) 2%Online Database 2%Online Database 1% 1% 1% Online News 1% Online News 1% Online bookstores 1% Online bookstores 0% Instant Messaging / Online Chat 0% Instant Messaging / Online Chat OCLC. Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources (2005) p

Common tools for access to local collections Library OPAC (ILS module) Library OPAC (ILS module) Links to aggregators, publishers Links to aggregators, publishers Cross linking via OpenURL Cross linking via OpenURL Journal finding aids (Often managed by link resolver) Journal finding aids (Often managed by link resolver) Metasearch engines Metasearch engines All loosely coupled All loosely coupled

Metasearch Distributed query model inherently problematic Distributed query model inherently problematic Not Immediate Not Immediate Relevancy ranking extremely difficult Relevancy ranking extremely difficult Lack of deep results Lack of deep results Interim solution Interim solution

Change underway Widespread dissatisfaction with most of the current OPACs. Many efforts toward next- generation catalogs and interfaces. Widespread dissatisfaction with most of the current OPACs. Many efforts toward next- generation catalogs and interfaces. Movement among libraries to break out of the current mold of library catalogs and offer new interfaces better suited to the expectations of library users. Movement among libraries to break out of the current mold of library catalogs and offer new interfaces better suited to the expectations of library users. Decoupling of the front-end interface from the back-end library automation system. Decoupling of the front-end interface from the back-end library automation system.

Working toward next generation library interfaces Redefinition of the library catalog Redefinition of the library catalog More comprehensive information discovery environments More comprehensive information discovery environments Better information delivery tools Better information delivery tools More powerful search capabilities More powerful search capabilities More elegant presentation More elegant presentation

Comprehensive Search Service More like OAI More like OAI Problems of scale diminished Problems of scale diminished Problems of cooperation persist Problems of cooperation persist

Web 2.0 a good start A more social and collaborative approach A more social and collaborative approach Web Tools and technology that foster collaboration Web Tools and technology that foster collaboration Blogs, wiki, blogs, tagging, social bookmarking, user rating, user reviews Blogs, wiki, blogs, tagging, social bookmarking, user rating, user reviews

Web 2.0 supporting technologies Web services Web services XML APIs XML APIs AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) Microformats Microformats OpenSearch vs SRU/SRW OpenSearch vs SRU/SRW

Redefinition of library catalogs Traditional notions of the library catalog are being questioned Traditional notions of the library catalog are being questioned It’s no longer enough to provide a catalog limited to print resources It’s no longer enough to provide a catalog limited to print resources Digital resources cannot be an afterthought Digital resources cannot be an afterthought Forcing users to use different interfaces depending on type of content becoming less tenable Forcing users to use different interfaces depending on type of content becoming less tenable Libraries working toward consolidated search environments that give equal footing to digital and print resources Libraries working toward consolidated search environments that give equal footing to digital and print resources

Interface expectations Millennial gen library users are well acclimated to the Web and like it. Millennial gen library users are well acclimated to the Web and like it. Used to relevancy ranking Used to relevancy ranking –The “good stuff” should be listed first –Users tend not to delve deep into a result list –Good relevancy requires a sophisticated approach, including objective matching criteria supplemented by popularity and relatedness factors.

Interface expectations (cont…) Very rapid response. Users have a low tolerance for slow systems Very rapid response. Users have a low tolerance for slow systems Rich visual information: book jacket images, rating scores, etc. Rich visual information: book jacket images, rating scores, etc. Let users drill down through the result set incrementally narrowing the field Let users drill down through the result set incrementally narrowing the field Faceted Browsing Faceted Browsing –Drill-down vs up-front Boolean or “Advanced Search” –gives the users clues about the number of hits in each sub topic. Navigational Bread crumbs Navigational Bread crumbs Ratings and rankings Ratings and rankings

Appropriate organizational structures LCSH vs FAST LCSH vs FAST Full MARC vs Dublin Core or MODS Full MARC vs Dublin Core or MODS Discipline-specific thesauri or ontologies Discipline-specific thesauri or ontologies “tags” “tags”

Current Next-Gen catalog products

Common characteristics Decoupled interface Mass export of catalog data Alternative search engine Alternative interface Decoupled interface Mass export of catalog data Alternative search engine Alternative interface

Endeca Guided Navigation North Carolina State University North Carolina State Universityhttp:// McMaster University McMaster Universityhttp://libcat.mcmaster.ca/ Phoenix Public Library Phoenix Public Libraryhttp:// Florida Center for Library Automation Florida Center for Library Automationhttp://catalog.fcla.edu/ux.jsp

AquaBrowser Library Queens Borough Public Library Queens Borough Public Library –

Ex Libris Primo Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt Universityhttp://alphasearch.library.vanderbilt.edu University of Minnesota University of Minnesota ary/libweb/action/search.do?vid=TWINCI TIES ary/libweb/action/search.do?vid=TWINCI TIES University of Iowa University of Iowa

Encore from Innovative Interfaces Nashville Public Library Nashville Public Library Scottsdale Public Library Scottsdale Public Library pp pp Yale University Lillian Goldman Law Library Yale University Lillian Goldman Law Library

VUFind – Villanova University Based on Apache Solr search toolkit

OCLC Worldcat Local OCLC Worldcat customized for local library catalog OCLC Worldcat customized for local library catalog –Relies on hooks into ILS for local services Washington University Libraries Washington University Libraries University of California Melvyl Catalog University of California Melvyl Catalog

Library-developed solutions eXtensible Catalog eXtensible Catalog University of Rochester – River Campus Libraries University of Rochester – River Campus Libraries Financial support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Financial support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation