Implementation of a faceted Implementation of a faceted catalog search solutioncatalog search solution

Kristin Antelman & Emily LynemaNCSU Libraries

Feb. 7, 2006

OverviewOverview

• Purchase decision• Implementation team• Technical overview• Features• Interface decisions• The future…

Purchase DecisionPurchase Decision

• Lots of broad topical keyword searches• Authority infrastructure underutilized• No relevancy ranking of results• Opportunity to partner with Endeca

Implementation TeamImplementation Team

• Andrew Pace, Systems, Chair• Cindy Levine, Research and Information

Services• Emily Lynema, Systems, ex officio (tech lead)• Erik Moore, Systems, ex officio (ILS librarian)• Charley Pennell, Cataloging• Shirley Rodgers, Systems• Tito Sierra, Digital Library Initiatives

Technical OverviewTechnical Overview

• Endeca ProFind co-exists with SirsiDynix Unicorn ILS and Web2 online catalog.

• Endeca indexes MARC records exported from Unicorn.

• Index is refreshed nightly with records added/updated during previous day.

Endeca ProFind OverviewEndeca ProFind Overview• Endeca’s ProFind software is responsible for…

– Ingesting and indexing reformatted NCSU data.– Creating a back-end service that responds to queries with

result sets.• NCSU is responsible for…

– Reformatting MARC records into something Endeca application can parse.

– Keeping these reformatted records up to date.– Building the web application that users see.– Sending queries to Endeca back-end service and displaying

results.

Data ExtractionData Extraction

• First extract MARC data for import into Endeca.

MARC to ??MARC to ??

• Endeca doesn’t understand MARC records.

• MARC flat text file(s) for ingest by Endeca.

• Creates opportunity to manipulate data on the back-end.

Formatted ExtractFormatted Extract

Nightly UpdateNightly Update

• Each night a script updates the data indexed by Endeca:– Exports updated or new MARC records

from Unicorn.– Reformats and merges these records with

those already indexed.– Starts Endeca re-index – completely

rebuilding index for the catalog.• Process requires about 7 hours.

Quick DemoQuick Demo

• http://catalog.lib.ncsu.edu

Interface DecisionsInterface Decisions

• Search interface pages• Full view holdings display• Order of dimensions

Search Interface PagesSearch Interface Pages

• Problem: How to provide Endeca keyword searching and Web2 authority searching while keeping the search interface as close to the ‘one box’ approach as possible.

Pre-Endeca Catalog SearchPre-Endeca Catalog Search

• 6 search tabs• 14 radio buttons• 1-4 drop down

boxes

Endeca Catalog SearchEndeca Catalog Search

• 3 search tabs• No radio

buttons• 2 search boxes• Keyword search

default

Option 1: Links within Search tabOption 1: Links within Search tab

Right-hand links to 3 pages under Search tab too confusing

Option 2: Single drop-downOption 2: Single drop-down

• Too many options in drop-down overwhelm user

• Keyword and authority searching lead to completely different interfaces

Option 3: Separate tab for Option 3: Separate tab for authority searchesauthority searches

Anybody know what Begins With… tab does?

Full-View Holdings DisplayFull-View Holdings Display

• Problem: Communicate whether a resource is available and where it is located in a usable fashion.

Pre-Endeca Results ListPre-Endeca Results List• Too many boxes, lines, and

shaded areas.• Elements for a single

record not visually grouped.

First version of results page wireframe (~8 total iterations).Ideas drawn from Web2, RedLightGreen, Amazon, etc.

5th Revision: Attempt to aggregate holdings information by call number. Particularly confusing for online resources.

Brief view vs. Full view gives user choice about displaying holdings.

8th (and Final) Revision: Aggregate holdings information by library.

Reduces complexity of continuing and online resources.

Endeca Results ListEndeca Results List

Dimension DisplayDimension Display

• Problem: With 10 dimensions to display on the results page, where should they appear (and in what order)?

• Goal: Give high visibility to dimensions that will be most valuable to users, but also highlight useful dimensions that may represent new concepts.

LCC and Availability dimensions – first draft

10. Library of Congress Classification

9. Availability

1. Subject: Topic2. Subject: Genre3. Format4. Library5. Subject: Region6. Subject: Era7. Language8. Author

Future PlansFuture Plans• Ongoing tweaks:

– Relevance ranking algorithms & spell correction thresholds– Display fixes/enhancements– Additional browsing options

• Endeca 2.0 ideas– FRBR-ized display [more later]– Build detail page in Endeca with live item data from Oracle– Shopping cart functionality for email/export of records– Enrich records with supplemental content – more usable

TOCs, book reviews, etc.

FRBR & RollupFRBR & Rollup

• Explore Endeca’s built-in rollup functionality.• Need to create a single text key to ‘roll up’

individual records for different editions into a single work result.

• Looking at using author/title keys as outlined in the Library of Congress FRBR display tool algorithm.

Single aggregate record represents 73 actual records — different editions of Iliad with Homer as author

Users performs keyword search for ‘iliad’

Click on ‘See all editions’ to view individual publication and holdings information for each aggregated result.

More questions?More questions?