Visualize The Perfect Search

摘要

Studies show that people start with a search engine like Google when they need information. As early as 2004, in a focus group for one of my research studies, a college freshman bemoaned, "Why is Google so easy and the library so hard?"rnThe Google interface works so well because of the powerful algorithm that lies behind the simple interface and the massive amount of content it covers. Google shows that bringing together millions of indexed web sites and their relative importance based on human judgment (inbound and outbound links) can be a powerful relevance indicator.rnThe latest to try to get it right by making complexity seem simple is Summon from Serials Solutions (owned by Pro-Quest), introduced at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting this year. Though currently only in beta tests at Oklahoma State University and Dartmouth College libraries, Summon is already getting lots of attention.