Boxed in: a set of search boxes

May 10, 2008  •  Categories: Search , Websites: design and role

Libraries have major challenges in developing their websites. Think just of the information resources they provide access to. There are locally managed resources: a catalog, a repository or two, informational pages, and so on. And there are many remote resources: licensed databases, links to web pages, and so on. And there are pages which try to pull these together: resources organized by subject or department, for example.

These resources may be different in scope (reference, discovery, full-text or other content, ...), in type of content, in terms and conditions, in specialization, and so on.

Abstracting up to that single - or small number of - search boxes that are presented as a goal is not straightforward. And indeed it is still common to see various searches/entry points offered: the catalog, metasearch, a list of databases, a search of the library website, ....

In this context I was interested to see Suzanne Chapman's "search box round-up".

She does a nice job of commenting on several approaches, and has a companion Flickr set of search box pics.

Incidentally, over time I reckon that 'single search' alternatives to 'metasearch' for general article access will emerge. By this I mean that services will consolidate article level metadata to facilitate access. This is not to say that there will not be target markets where niche databases continue to exist, rather that alternative solutions for general article searching seem inevitable. And of course, we are also seeing integrated search solutions for local resources emerge, Primo for example. In this way, the multiple resource challenge may get simpler, but will continue to exist in some form.

Related entries;

• The simple search box and the rich texture of suggestion

• Comparing single search environments
• What is the catalog
• Federated search that doesn't very well
• Metasearch: a boundary case
• From metasearch to distributed information environments
• Metasearch, Google and the rest
• Three stages of search
• Systemwide discovery and delivery
• The one-stop-shop that isn't
• Landscape versus brandscape

• Library websites again
• The library website

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Flakes

April 29, 2008  •  Categories: Websites: design and role

I think the Pageflakes grab-bag approach works better for some things than others. Anyway, here are three sites that have come over my horizon recently.

1. My colleague Karen Smith-Yoshimura alerted us today to a page of library blogs assembled by British Library staff. I was interested to see the classification employed. There was I thinking that this blog had become much more general in recent times, and I see it classified under 'web and library technology'. There are some interesting videos under the photos/videos tab.
2. There is always something useful on the BBC Internet Blog page.
3. I worked in Dublin City Public Libraries many years ago and so was pleased when Eddie Byrne got in touch a while ago. Here is the page he has put together showing library resources.

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