The View through the Public Portal Brenda Bailey-Hainer Colorado State Library NISO Metasearch Initiatives Meeting May 7, 2003

Background – public portals Public libraries & consortia creating portals for users Metasearch capability critical for success

Background – public portals Portal – guided information gateway for the public Portal provides access to resources Library catalogs Online databases – both commercial & locally created Full text from journals, books, newspapers Digitized materials from local collections Selected websites Dynamic GIS maps Community information

Background – public portals Provides access to interactive services Virtual reference services Online homework help Online classes State government services Circulation systems Interlibrary loan requesting Purchasing materials

Background – who uses it? Serves many diverse audiences General population Adults Young adults Children Students Lifelong learners Professionals Business community English language learners Multiple cultures

Background – success factors? Characteristics Easy to use, intuitive, transparent to end user Fast Reliable, consistent Everything delivered right now! Customizable Aggregates information in understandable groupings Adaptable at institution, group, state level Personalizable at user level Recognizes different types of authorization/authentication Recognizes users in different roles Easy to maintain at personal, institution, group, state level Statistics for evaluation – both output and outcome purposes

Metasearch Use – tools today Portal interface/searching software Integrated library system software Authorization/authentication software Resource sharing systems Virtual reference software

Metasearch Use – Historical View In the beginning, there were… OPACs – alone OPACs – in packs Online databases – segregated Marriage of OPACs and online databases Extended family – digitized materials, websites Password required to join the party authentication/authorization More services, more resources

Metasearch Use – the future 18 months out: Transparent federated searching Statistics 3 years out: Think beyond federated searching Seamless integration of searching and services Integration with digital government Integration with new perspectives, e.g. GIS

Metasearch Use – impact Success of portals – and underlying metasearch capabilities – critical for survival of libraries Illustrates the value of libraries/librarians in making sense of information, the Web

Challenges Speed Inconsistent implementation of standards Aggregating/presenting results from disparate resource types Addition of cultural heritage institution resources Maintenance Integrating multiple software packages

The View through the Public Portal Questions? Brenda Bailey-Hainer