Organizing Information in the Digital World

Organizing Information in the Digital World Search result relevance in online library catalogs and Internet search engines

by Kate E. Gukeisen

CC Image "Dibrary" courtesy of Mosman Library on Flickr

Originally written in 2011 for Dr. Jian Qin’s IST616 Information Organization and Access Syracuse University

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Library catalogs and Internet

Through this evaluation and

search engines, though organized

comparison, I will attempt to show

differently, are both subject to the

the success of each system in

same expectations by users that

delivering relevant results and to

they will yield quality results. For

demonstrate the different emphasis

many users, the perceived quality of

of each system as well as the ways

search results is directly related to

in which the systems complement

the relevance of those results to their

each other.

query (Lewandowski, 2009). Meeting

It is important to recognize

user expectations of relevance plays

that while online library catalogs and

a large role in the satisfaction of

Internet search engines may find

users with library catalog systems

themselves in competition now, they

and internet search engines, so it is

have evolved from different

important for librarians to consider

information needs. Library catalogs

ways in which to offer better search

developed as an information retrieval

experiences to their patrons. In this

system created to organize the

paper I will present, evaluate, and

information objects held by a library

compare search results from both

(Lewandowski, 2006). The

the New York Public Library System

advantages to library catalogs have

online catalog and the Internet

been long been their specificity,

search engine Bing for the work The

quality, and organization. The

Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

disadvantages to library catalogs

have been that they are limited to

library database currently are not,

resources owned by the library and

there is just not currently a way to

that they provide a linear search

classify this sheer volume of

experience, which is “useful only if

information for serendipitous

you already know exactly what you

retrieval. One potential tool libraries

want” (Parry, 2010, p. 55). Internet

could employ to leverage the

search engines developed to help

advantages of both information

people find information on the

retrieval systems is a “library search

Internet, which is home to a

engine” that assigns rank to user-

constantly changing, open

weighted criteria and searches both

“inventory” of information. This large

library-controlled resources and

and ever-changing collection of

remote sources (Lewandowski,

information defies classification.

2009).

Indeed, the biggest complaint

To illustrate the differences

regarding digitization of library

between the two information retrieval

collections is the loss of serendipity

systems, I will compare the first

in shelf browsing (Mann, 2005).

twenty results of a keyword search

Internet search engines are

for <the book thief> in the internet

developing to offer a multi-

search engine Bing with the first

dimensional search experience that

twenty results for the same keyword

makes related materials browsable

search in the New York Public

in the way that items on a library

Library System’s online catalog. I

shelf are, but that items in an online

approached this search from the

perspective of a library patron who

Taylor, Zhang, and Amadio:

had heard of the book and entered

matching of key words; accuracy;

the title into a key word search with

quality; credibility; and obtainability,

no more defined purpose than

or whether the result included

“wanting to look it up.” I assigned

information that would assist in

each search result a score for

locating a physical or digital

relevancy based on the following

manifestation of the work. The

criteria, which I adapted from the

following rubric illustrates the weight

2009 article Examination of

that was given to each consideration

relevance criteria choices and the

in this rating scheme:

information search process, by

Keyword Matching <The book thief> Accuracy Quality

Not Relevant

Somewhat Relevant

Relevant

0 Points No matching words.

0 Points The work is not a topic included in the results.

0 Points None or very little detail.

1 Point Some matching words.

1 Point The work is one of the topics of the results.

1-2 Points Contains some detail about the work.

2 Points Includes all words.

2 Points The work is the main topic of the results.

3-4 Points Contains specific detail relating to the work.

1 Point The information is cited or provided by a credible source.

Credibility

0 Points No indication this information can be trusted.

Obtainability

0 Points None.

Assessment: 0 Points-Not Relevant

The resultant data paints a picture that reflects commonly held

Assessment: 1-5 Points-Somewhat Relevant

1 Point Contains a link or instructions to locate a physical or digital manifestation of the work.

Assessment: 6-10 Points-Relevant

conceptions about the strengths and weeknesses of each informaiton

 retrieval system. In general, the

internet search engine provided

results reflect that each information

results of a much wider variety and

retrieval system does what it is

scopeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including everything from

intended to do. The online library

book reviews and sales information

catalog search results include

to student book reports and blogs

information about particular

about the work. The following page

manifestations of The Book Thief

includes the results of the keyword

along with physical descriptions and

search in each information retrieval

holdings information regarding the

system and the relevancy rank

items of that work held by the library,

assigned to each result.

and the location of those items. The Order in Original Results 1

Bing Search Engine Results

New York Public Library Catalog Results

Relevancy Rank Assigned Wikipedia entry for the novel The Book Thief 9

Relevancy Rank Assigned Zusak, Markus. The book thief 10 1st Knopf trade pbk. ed. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2007 Zusak, Markus. The book thief [electronic resource] [New York, N.Y.] : Listening Library,2006 10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_Thief

2

Amazon sales page for hardcover novel The Book Thief 10 http://www.amazon.com/Book-Thief-Markus-Zusak/dp/0375831002

3

Bing image results page for The Book Thief 5 http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+book+thief&qpvt=the+book+thief&FO RM=IGRE

4

Goodreads book review page for The Book Thief 10 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19063.The_Book_Thief

5

Publisher web site for the novel The Book Thief 10 http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/

6

Barnes & Noble sales page for The Book Thief 10 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book-thief-markus-zusak/1100189892

7

Publisher sales page for the Book Thief 10 http://www.randomhouse.com/book/196153/the-book-thief-by-markus-zusak

8

9

The March 2006 New York Times book review Stealing to Settle a Score With Life by Janet Maslin for The Book Thief 8

Zusak, Markus. The book thief Large print ed.

Waterville, Me. : Thorndike Press,2006 10 Zusak, Markus. The book thief New York : A. A. Knopf : Distributed by Random House,2006 10 Zusak, Markus. The book thief [sound recording] New York : Random House,2006 10 Zusak, Markus. The book thief [electronic resource] New York : Alfred A. Knopf,2005 10 The Author of Roger turn'd book-thief; or, The history of a pilferer, considered [electronic resourc Cork : [s.n.],1752 1

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/27/books/27masl.html

Zusak, Markus. Book thief. Chinese Tou shu zei = The book thief Di 1 ban. Haikou Shi : Nan hai chu ban she,2007 10

Schmoop literature review for students for The Book Thief 9

Rey Rosa, Rodrigo, 1958- Severina 1a ed.

Madrid : Alfaguara,2011

http://www.shmoop.com/book-thief/

10

Reading Group Guide for The Book Thief 9 http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_B/book_thief1.asp

11

UK Publishers website for The Book Thief 9 http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/thebookthief/

12

Bing Shopping Results for The Book Thief (with results for numerous other titles that included similar keywords 7 http://www.bing.com/shopping/search?q=the+book+thief&qpvt=the+book+thief&F ORM=HURE

13

Reading Group Guide for The Book Thief (13, also the same result as 10) 9 http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_B/book_thief1.asp

14

The May 2006 New York Times book 8 review Fighting for their lives by John Green for The Book Thief

1 Bartlett, Allison Hoover.

The man who loved books too much : the true story of a thief, a detective, and a world of literary o Large print ed.

Detroit, Mi. : Gale Cengage Learning,2010 2 Zusak, Markus. Book thief. SpanishLa ladrona de libros 1. ed. Vintage Español.

Nueva York : Vintage Español,2010 10 Bartlett, Allison Hoover. The man who loved books too much [electronic resource] : the true story of a thief, a detective, and New York : Riverhead Books,2009 2 Bartlett, Allison Hoover. The man who loved books too much : the true story of a thief, a detective, and a world of literary o New York : Riverhead Books,2009 2 Kaufman, Charlie. Adaptation : the shooting script 1st ed.

New York : Newmarket Press,2002 1

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/books/review/14greenj.html

15

Australian Book Review by Peter Pierce, September 2005 8 http://www.theage.com.au/news/reviews/the-bookthief/2005/09/08/1125772645161.html

16

Blog about the novel The Book Thief 8 http://bookthieffall10.blogspot.com/

17

About.com review of The Book Thief in Classic Literature 9 http://classiclit.about.com/od/dyingdeath/fr/aafpr_bookthief.htm

18

Parent guide, reviews and ratings for The Book Thief 7 http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/book-thief

19

LibraryThing page for The Book Thief 10 http://www.librarything.com/work/393681

20

About.com The Book Thief in Contemporary Literature 9 http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/historicalfictionreviews/fr/theBookThief.htm

The differences in search

Kaufman, Charlie, 1958- Adaptation : the shooting script 1st ed, New York : Newmarket Press,2002 1 Rózsa, Miklós, 1907- Thief of Bagdad. Selections 2 The thief of Bagdad [sound recording] ; The jungle book : original motion picture scores Nürnberg, West Germany : Colosseum, 1990 Nelson, Jack, b. 1892. Love thief. Vocal score The love thief : a musical comedy Chicago : University Producers,1920 2 Give me a Texas outlaw [electronic resource] New York : Kensington Pub. Corp.,2011 1 Hirshfield, Jane, 195310 Come, thief : poems 1st ed. , New York : Alfred A. Knopf,2011 First thrills : high-octane stories from the hottest thriller authors 1st mass market ed. New York : Forge, 1 2011 1

query. While both systems reflected

results exemplify the importance of

levels of detail that were similar, the

developing a system or partnership

type of detail offered differed greatly.

that provides patrons the ability to

The online library catalog results

utilize relevancy criteria in order to

about the work The Book Thief

achieve the best results for their

contained specific information about

particular items. The internet search

“better” would lie with the user and

results varied greatly in terms of the

whether their intention was to obtain

information they provided, but all

a copy of the work or to learn more

were relevent to the work. The online

about the conversation surrounding

library catalog results either earned

the work.

quite high scores for relevency or

Online library catalogs would

quite low, while the internet search

benefit from tapping into the

engine results all scored high in

multidimensional connections of

terms of relevancy. One reason for

internet search engines and internet

this may be that once all of the items

search engines would benefit from

titled The Book Thief were used in

adopting library catalog classification

the search results, the library catalog

techniques. Whether the advantages

did not have the connectivity to

of the two systems can ultimately be

“reach across” its own classification

combined into one system for library

system to find similar items or items

users remains to be seen. At the

by the same author without being

very least, librarians should focus on

specifically directed to do so by the

helping patrons develop the

user. The quality and credibility of

information literacy skills they need

information was consistent in the

to navigate both systems in a

library catalog and inconsistent in the

complementary fashion to ensure

search results. The final

unimpeded access to quality

determination for which method is

information and user satisfaction.

References

Lewandowski, D. (2009). Ranking library materials. Library Hi Tech, 27 (4), 584-593. Retrieved December 3, 2011 from the EBSCO database. doi: 10.1108/07378830911007682

Mann, T. (2005). Google print vs. onsite collections: Don’t send your paper copies off to remote storage just yet. American Libraries, 75 (7), 45-6.

Retrieved December 6, 2011from http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/resources/slctdarticles/googlevsonsite.pdf

Parry, M. (2010). After losing users in catalogs, libraries find better search software. Education Digest, 75 (6), 54-7. Retrieved December 6, 2011 from http://chronicle.com/article/After-Losing-Users-in/48588/

Taylor, A., Zhang, X., & Amadio, W. J. (2009). Examination of relevance criteria choices and the information search process. Journal of Documentation, 65 (5), 719 – 744. Retrieved December 4, 2011 from the EBSCO database. doi: 10.1108/00220410910983083: