I envision the entry page to a library OPAC to look much the same as Google: an empty text box just waiting for the patron’s request. The OPAC I envision has a link underneath providing “advanced” searching – the more familiar keyword or Boolean searches. The default, however is that the patron enters his free-form question in the box, and the software is capable of taking that question, translating it into terms that the software can use to search all available library resources, and then displaying a list of materials within the library collection (including books, serials, and any digital material) that intelligently provide the information the patron requests.
This is what the patrons expect … Read More on theberdinka.com.
Advertisement
It seems google has advantage over opacs in these areas
1) different type of metadata
E.g social signals (tweeted, shared links, inbound links etc) , user data (location, desktop or mobile) and more leading to more sopshicated search algothriml
2) searches full text rather than just surrograte metadata
#1 isnt impossible for libary resources for example for articles there is citation data, some libraries or library wide system like librarything for libraries or bibcommons have usage data to provide recommender systems etc
If you could only have 1 of the 2 which would you prefer?
I would take full text + fairly standard tf-idf techniques.
By: Aaron on July 8, 2011
at 9:21 am
[...] Catalog is an open source software project that has the potential of meeting the needs of the 21st Century OPAC. The eXtensible Catalog (XC) is open source, user-centered, next generation software for libraries. [...]
By: The eXtensible Catalog « Thoughts on Technical Librarianship on August 15, 2011
at 7:55 am