One-Stop Metasearch Tools: Friendly Time Saver or Confusing Quagmire?

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One-Stop Metasearch Tools Friendly Time Saver
or Confusing Quagmire?

• RUSA/MOUSS Catalog Use Committee
• ALA Annual Conference
• June 22, 2003
• Ed Tallent
• Boston College Libraries

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One-Stop Metasearch Tools Friendly Time Saver
or Confusing Quagmire?

• RUSA/MOUSS Catalog Use Committee
• ALA Annual Conference
• June 22, 2003
• Ed Tallent
• Boston College Libraries

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Research Style The Issues

• Searching approach
• How do students start their research?
• Knowledge
• How do they learn about available resources?
• Choosing resources
• What motivates them to use the resources they
  use?
• Resistance to change
• Students deal with change in the library very
  well, but does their behavior change?

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Searching approach

• On their terms only keyword dominance.
• Ignore subject structures, use basic searches
• Trial and error.
• Work with results, try different terms, do not
  use Refine options
• Resource blur.
• Not interested in librarian distinctions between
  database and e-journal content is supreme.
• Dont make me think! In and out.
• Interface needs to be clean and basic.
• Do I need to look in all those volumes?
• As in the print world, there is a desire to
  follow the path of least resistance, not put too
  much time into the research, to be satisficed!

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Knowledge

• They didnt read the news today, oh boy.
• Screens are not read, they are scanned too much
  text is not helpful.
• Time is not on their side how to learn?
• Information overload cannot keep up with the
  pace too many pressures to take the time to
  learn about new library resources.
• I know what I know (and thats enough) utter
  pragmatism.
• So, they will stick with what has worked in the
  past not risk takers when it comes to using
  library resources
• OPAC
• Yes, users understand pretty well what an OPAC
  does. Can we capitalize on this or at least learn
  from this experience?

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Choosing resources

• Reading lists.
• Choosing other resources from course readings,
  reserves and required readings.
• Recommendations from ________.
• Teacher, roommate, parent, .
• References from readings.
• Follow up on readings, links from footnotes and
  bibliographies.
• Whats in the library?
• Students tend to have a somewhat conservative
  impression of what resources the library has,
  will sometimes seek information outside of the
  library that can be more easily (and thoroughly)
  accessed via the library search engines used
  more heavily to locate resources.
• Where is the library in this picture?
• Its not a discovery tool the way it should be
  too often it is used when the student want to
  find know items

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Resistance to change

• Do what works until.
• Students will work with something until it doe
  does not work or it fails what do they do then?
• Non-experimental.
• The approach to resource use is conservative not
  willing to take a chance on using resources that
  might not succeed
• Work vs. leisure split.
• Their attitude toward library resources is
  pragmatic they do not want bells and whistles,
  but resources that are utilitarian and efficient
  the amount of time they want to spend on the use
  of library research tools is budgeted

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MetaQuest The Issues

• Dealing with pragmatism Ive logged in, what do
  I gain?
• Immediate benefits of MetaQuest are not obvious
• Too much text, too many steps.
• Again, reading the screen is not a priority
• Youre making me choose!
• Students want to start searching right away
• Whats so special?
• We offer other ways to search multiple databases
  simultaneously we need to make clear why the
  MetaQuest approach is worth their while. See the
  following examples.

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Issues, continued

• Minimal personal customization.
• For example, only one profile and limited options
  on determining the number of records to display
  on each screen.
• Merging search results.
• Given the way students, search the maximum number
  of records that can be merged is too low.
• Display issues.
• Displays of full text etc can vary from vendor to
  vendor this can frustrate the student.
• Lack of alerts.
• These are important if we want to keep MetaQuest
  in the students mind
• Lack of statistics.
• We need to know what is being used
• Database choices.
• Some disciplines offer more resources to search
  than others the library needs to commit to a
  resource like this and, for example, make Z39.50
  access a high priority

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What Works?

• The concept.
• Students want this service students want a way
  to begin students need to be exposed to more
  resources the library needs to respond to
  interdisciplinary searching
• Quick and easy searching.
• A basic approach to starting a search is valued
• Brief result with citation (local enhancement).
• There is a desire for as much information as
  possible immediately up front
• Title for more information almost intuitive.
• SFX service and content.
• Linking to full-text, the library catalog, etc
  saves the time (and clicks) of the user and is
  valued
• Linking out.
• The link to the native interface is always
  available and is always an option for those who
  need more in-depth searching

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Where are we headed?

• Simplicity and a quick search.
• The new release will offer a quick search of 10
  resources and will be less texty
• Deep linking.
• We are experimenting with linking into MetaQuest
  from other parts of the web site list of online
  databases, Research Guides, etc
• Deal with blur.
• Adding e-journals to the next release of MetaLib
  is a step forward, but again students do not make
  the distinctions libraries do we need to
  continue working on this integration
• Database decisions.
• The library needs to think differently about
  database decisions and think about Z39.50 and
  Open URL more seriously
• MetaQuest in the Library services context.
• How do we present this tool in our package of
  overall library services?
• A discovery tool!
• This is desperately needed and we need to move
  aggressively in this direction.

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