Scholars Portal Search SIRS Working Group New to Ontario, blah blah blah Review the mandate of this group and get your ideas on the kinds of things we should address and how we might go about our work.

Terms of Reference Solicit feedback from OCUL librarians and users on Illumina functionality. Conduct research on the ‘single search’ approach to searching multiple databases. Make recommendations to SIRS regarding Illumina promotion and instruction.

I understand from CSA that this interface is the result of a lot of usability testing. Nice clean look, easy to use. All you have to do is select a subject area, put in some search terms. Or, you can select specific databases.

Single Search Approach Good! Simplify ‘complexity’ of our information environment: - knowledge of sources - interface differences - vendor interests Concerns? Loss of sophisticated functionality?

Questions, for example: How is it different from searching a subject specific database? Is it more useful for some kinds of searches than others? How do users cope with results and de-duping? How do users approach thesauri?

Access & Promotion What access points might a library consider for its website? Instruction and promotion templates?

Methods Small working group Solicit interface feedback from all institutions Review existing evidence on single search functionality Possibly conduct small usability studies

Timeline Deadline for expressions of interest in membership: this Friday Meeting late December Report to SIRS end of March 2005

Martha Whitehead Associate University Librarian Queen’s University mw9@post.queensu.ca