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Metasearch requirements for MIT. Deborah Helman Tracy Gabridge ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004. What’s taken so long?. MIT user community is unique MIT Libraries needed a vision for resource management and access. Why now at MIT?.
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Metasearch requirements for MIT Deborah Helman Tracy Gabridge ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004
What’s taken so long? • MIT user community is unique • MIT Libraries needed a vision for resource management and access ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004
Why now at MIT? • More evolved metasearch tools • Complexity of information environment continues to increase • Feedback indicates strong desire: • undergrads • interdisciplinary researchers • Increasing user self-sufficiency made a priority in our vision for reference services ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004
Goals for our Metasearch Tool • Simplify search and discovery • Educate users about appropriate resources • Replicate reference interview • Provide prioritized results • Provide a scalable system ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004
Discovery/ Metasearch Analysis Group • Coordinate the efforts functional requirements groups. • Identify products and solutions that might meet each set of requirements. • Recommend a solution • Database Discovery Tool Group • Specify functional requirements for ‘resource’ discovery • Metasearch Group • Specify functional requirements for metasearch ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004
Database Discovery Tool • Purpose: • Allow users to efficiently narrow their cross-database search to only relevant resources • Teach them along the way • Show more than just electronic databases • Capture skills of a reference librarian • Similar to Smart Database Selector project at UIUC (Tim Cole and Wei Ma) ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004
Database Discovery Tool How to make it work • More metadata about our resources • Hierarchical subjects Engineering Civil Engineering Transportation • Scope of the user’s project short paper, dissertation, background information • Types of information sought peer-reviewed articles, books, facts, reviews • Dates of coverage • Member of what community MIT main campus, MIT Lincoln Lab, alumni, visitor ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004
Database Discovery Tool Faceted Browse Demo browse.html ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004
Metasearch Requirements • Defined target audience • Reviewed current state of industry • Adapted from “Portal Functional Requirement for the Library of Congress,” July 15 2003 draft • Prioritized requirements ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004
DDT/Metasearch Analysis Group (DMAG) Process • While functional requirements are progressing • Who are the vendors in metasearch? • First pass of vendors, cut the list in half • What resources are the most important for cross-searching? What test cases do we want to set up with the vendors? • Second pass of vendors, get down to 3 • After requirements are reviewed and ready • Invite vendors, go through scenarios and test cases, gather feedback, make a recommendation ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004
Next steps • June 2004 – Choose 3 vendors • July 2004 - Final review of requirements with stakeholders • Fall 2004 – Final recommendation ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004
Questions? • Deborah Helmandhelman@mit.edu • Tracy Gabridgetag@mit.edu ASEE 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT June 22, 2004