Creating web guides for a library portal

Jackie Wickham – Intutejacqueline.wickham@nottingham.ac.uk

Martin Gill – University of Leedsm.r.gill@leeds.ac.uk

Introduction

Case Study – how the University of Leeds integrated Intute resources and services to create its subject guides to electronic resources.

Presentation Outline

What is Intute Intute’s Integration services Background to Case Study Implemetation Results and benefits

What is Intute

Intute is a national Internet service guiding you to useful Web resources for education and research.

It offers an online catalogue and interactive subject tutorials.

It is a free service aimed at the UK’s higher and further education sectors and is relevant to students, lecturers, researchers and teachers.

Intute was formerly known as the Resource Discovery Network (RDN).

Funded nationally by the JISC

Network of specialists

Four subject groups comprise Intute: Arts and Humanities Health and Life Sciences Science, Engineering and

Technology Social Sciences Hand selected, quality assured

content – Best of the Web

The big headache!

Too many resources on Net

Keeping up to date with new ones

Link checking existing content

Assuring quality of resources

How Intute can help

Put Intute search box on your library Web page, eg. for Intute: Social Science resources

Put Intute search box on your library Web page, eg. for Intute: Social Science resources

Create your reading

lists from Intute

resources

Create your reading

lists from Intute

resources

List latest resources added to

Intute, on your library Webpage

List latest resources added to

Intute, on your library Webpage

Integrate the Intute Search Box

Search results

RSS feeds

Creating customised e-resource lists

Use MyIntute to Create your own account Save records Tag records with your own keywords Export data into your web pages Get automatic updates Choose from Intute and add your own

resources

Customised e-resource lists

Links imported into blog from MyIntute using Javascript

A link to a resource not in Intute but added by the user in MyIntute.

Leeds in the mid 1990’s

Pre Google Yahoo was a directory site Subject gateways in their infancy

Developed a ROADS database to list subject databases and websites

Broken down to a subject or even module level

2006

Server needed replacement Software no longer supported Database indexes full

Workload issues of maintaining links Databases now integrated into our

catalogue Wanted to avoid flat webpages of links

Approached RDN as they were re-launching as Intute for advice

Pilot Project

To use MyIntute to embed Intute records in our website

Sample subjects: Education, Law, Engineering, Dentistry, East Asian Studies

Looked at: Workload Availability of Intute records Technical integration

Project results

Workload MyIntute very quick and easy to use

Availability of records Most subjects had few problems Searching Intute found us better websites in

many cases Some issues of scope, some language issues

Technical integration Accessibility issues

Intute Search BoxIntute Search Box

Records from Intute catalogue

Records from Intute catalogue

IntuteRSS Feeds

IntuteRSS Feeds

Cost savings (estimated)

No server replacement (£2k) No software purchased (£10-20k) Minimal systems development

(£10k) No link checking, no content

checking

Working with Intute

Very helpful and flexible Accessibility issues addressed Local resources – MyNonIntute

records

2007

MyIntute rolled out to all subjects Replaced our general website

listings ROADS server decommissioned

Questions?