wiki « Thoughts of a [wannabe] librarian

Google Introduces Customised Searching

November 22, 2008 at 1:51 pm | In Search engines | Leave a Comment
Tags: Google, Search engines, user generated content, Web 2.0, wiki

Another day, another Google innovation. Those people at Google have now introduced a tool that allows users to customise their search results. At the moment only those with a Google account can actually take advantage of the new search engine, but it is an interesting step in the evolution of Google. This new tool enables users to move search results up and down the rankings to suit their own needs. Once results have been moved, when the user next conducts a search using the same terms, the results will be ranked as previously stipulated. It will also enable logged in users to write comments next to web links which would then be displayed to other users.

The potential for this tool is huge. Search results have the potential to be far more relevant to the user than they are at the moment. By ensuring that search results are customisable, it also ensures that users can relevance rank according to their own individual needs, rather than simply accept the processes of Google’s search engine. Greg Sterling of SearchEngineLand.com, hints at the possibilities:

“Lots of people have tried so-called ’social search’, combining algorithmic search with human editorial input, because the perception is that humans have the ability to craft a better result in any given situation because they can make distinctions machines can’t.

“So this could be quite dramatic if they get a lot of people participating because it could improve the algorithms of the process and serve up better search results.”

It will be interesting to see how Google’s latest venture catches on over the coming months. Could this be the future of internet searches¹?

¹ Have you used the new customisable search engine by Google? If so, what are your thoughts?

Catalogue Solutions

October 16, 2008 at 8:22 pm | In Cataloguing | Leave a Comment
Tags: Cataloguing, customer services, library management systems, Public libraries, reference, Search engines, staff support, wiki, Zoho

So, as you may be aware, I have been spending some time working on a solution to our un-catalogued items. Well, I have had to pass on my work to someone a bit higher up the ladder (guess I should have done that before I had done so much work on it!!), who is going to have a look at what I have been doing and see if it is either useful or an avenue worth exploring. Hopefully I will get the all clear to continue as I think it could be a really useful resource. If not, well, it’s back to the drawing board I guess!!

Cataloguing on a Wiki

October 3, 2008 at 8:18 pm | In Cataloguing | 1 Comment
Tags: Cataloguing, customer services, database, library management systems, Public libraries, reference, Search engines, staff support, Web 2.0, wiki, Zoho

As I noted on a previous post, I have been working on solving a few practical problems at work. As part of my drive to catalogue materials that are not on our library management system, I have been adding our collection of maps onto a wiki I have set-up at Zoho. Up until now, the maps have been catalogued on a spreadsheet several pages long. This meant that searching for a specific map was laborious to say the least. To make the search process easier I split the maps up in to different areas and gave each area its own wiki page. This meant that when a search was conducted, it would at least narrow it down to a general area. However, the process hasn’t been without its blips.

The main problem has been with the hit-and-miss nature of the search engine. When entering one particular search term, the engine threw up no results, even though I knew the term was in the database. Thankfully, the guys at Zoho have been very helpful. After encountering the problem, I decided to get in touch with a member of the team. Impressively, they got back to me the very next day and said they would look into it. It turned out there was a fault with the software and they assured me that they would rectify it. They also asked of there were any features that would make the service easier to use. I suggested that it would be useful if when a search is conducted, instead of just directing you to the page, the search terms could be highlighted on the wiki page. Again I got an email the very next day, and they said they would look into it. Impressive service!

I am really hopeful that this will make it easier for members of staff to use and I am hoping to build it into a one-stop shop for help with reference queries. It will provide a wealth of information specific to our library that is easily searchable. For example, a page would be created with copyright information on maps so that (as inevitably happens) when members of staff struggle to remember the technicalities of copyright laws, they can find the information via a simple search engine on the database. It will take a lot of time to get to this stage, but I am confident that using a wiki in this way will make it much easier for staff to provide a quality service and, after all, that is what we should be aiming for.

Replacing Card Catalogues

September 23, 2008 at 9:46 pm | In Cataloguing | Leave a Comment
Tags: Cataloguing, local studies, OPAC, reference, wiki

Our library has a wide range of local studies materials (newspaper cuttings, maps, microfiche etc etc) and I have recently been racking my brains to come up with a way for staff to find relevant material quickly and efficiently. Unlike our book stock, the vast majority of these materials are not on our OPAC and are therefore difficult for inexperienced staff to find. Consequently, there is an over reliance on more experienced members of staff who know exactly where everything is (I am as guilty of pestering them as anyone!). The ultimate objective is to eliminate this problem and make everything easy to access to enable even the most inexperienced members of staff to deal with the more complex queries we face.

With that in mind, I have been experimenting with a Zoho wiki to enter details of the materials we have. The idea is that, once everything is added, members of staff will be able to conduct a search and then find all the materials we have on that search term. By clicking on a search result, the member of staff would be directed to exactly where the material would be kept. At this moment in time I am not sure how useful (or user friendly) this system will be, but I would be interested in hearing alternatives. As it needs to be set up at a local level, the option of bells and whistles databases and catalogues is out of the question. It needs to be free and it needs to be user friendly. If anyone has any ideas, drop a line in the comments box. Or else, I will just persevere with the wiki (and that looks like a lot of work at the moment!!).