1. One-Stop Metasearch Tools: Friendly Time Saver or Confusing Quagmire?
RUSA/MOUSS Catalog Use Committee
ALA Annual Conference
June 22, 2003
Ed Tallent
Boston College Libraries
Good afternoon, it is good to be here. I especially love the title of this program because I think it can be applied to any number of library resources and activities....the library web site, friendly time save, the OPAC friendly time saver...online databases....
The key is assessment, assessment that includes an understanding of user needs.

2. One-Stop Metasearch Tools: Friendly Time Saver or Confusing Quagmire?
RUSA/MOUSS Catalog Use Committee
ALA Annual Conference
June 22, 2003
Ed Tallent
Boston College Libraries
Good afternoon, it is good to be here. I especially love the title of this program because I think it can be applied to any number of library resources and activities....the library web site, friendly time save, the OPAC friendly time saver...online databases....
The key is assessment, assessment that includes an understanding of user needs.

9. Research Style: The Issues
Searching approach
How do students start their research?
Knowledge
How do they learn about available resources?
Choosing resources
What motivates them to use the resources they use?
Resistance to change
Students deal with change in the library very well, but does their behavior change?

10. Searching approach On their terms only: keyword dominance.
Ignore subject structures, use basic searches
Trial and error.
Work with results, try different terms, do not use Refine options
Resource blur.
Not interested in librarian distinctions between database and e-journal; content is supreme.
Don’t make me think! In and out.
Interface needs to be clean and basic.
Do I need to look in all those volumes?
As in the print world, there is a desire to follow the path of least resistance, not put too much time into the research, to be satisficed!
Always starts broadly and then winnow
They do not use subject headings
They want full text
I want it to be easy
I want to search resources together
Working on interdisciplinary topics
Take the path of least resistance, satisficing

11. Knowledge They didn’t read the news today, oh boy.
Screens are not read, they are scanned; too much text is not helpful.
Time is not on their side: how to learn?
Information overload; cannot keep up with the pace; too many pressures to take the time to learn about new library resources.
I know what I know (and that’s enough): utter pragmatism.
So, they will stick with what has worked in the past; not risk takers when it comes to using library resources;
OPAC
Yes, users understand pretty well what an OPAC does. Can we capitalize on this or at least learn from this experience?
Scan the screen, not read it, do not even know the database name!

12. Choosing resources Reading lists. Recommendations from ________.
Choosing other resources from course readings, reserves and required readings.
Recommendations from ________.
Teacher, roommate, parent, ….
References from readings.
Follow up on readings, links from footnotes and bibliographies.
What’s in the library?
Students tend to have a somewhat conservative impression of what resources the library has, will sometimes seek information outside of the library that can be more easily (and thoroughly) accessed via the library; search engines used more heavily to locate resources.
Where is the library in this picture?
It’s not a discovery tool the way it should be; too often it is used when the student want to find know items
Searching for know items
Peer recommendations, which we know about!
They lack a clear understanding of what is in the library
They do not look to the library in an imaginative way
LibQUAL tells us that researchers use the Google etc daily and library web site much less frequently – they do not think of the library in a discovery way

13. Resistance to change Do what works until…. Non-experimental.
Students will work with something until it doe does not work or it fails; what do they do then?
Non-experimental.
The approach to resource use is conservative; not willing to take a chance on using resources that might not succeed
Work vs. leisure split.
Their attitude toward library resources is pragmatic; they do not want bells and whistles, but resources that are utilitarian and efficient; the amount of time they want to spend on the use of library research tools is budgeted;
They actually roll with the changes, but they do not change their behavior…
They do not want to put in the time to learn
For library work, they want resources to be straightforward, no bells and whistles….So,
They do not know what we have
They do not use will what they know
They are overwhelmed by choice
They do not explore beyond their knowledge
They lack the time to learn more
They assume we not have materials we have (imagination) and then we give them this….

14. Static upper screen, options before searching!
Too much text
Too much scrolling
I’ve signed in, now what?
My Resources, My Profile, My E-Shelf!
Home Home!

16. MetaQuest: The Issues
Dealing with pragmatism: I’ve logged in, what do I gain?
Immediate benefits of MetaQuest are not obvious;
Too much text, too many steps.
Again, reading the screen is not a priority;
You’re making me choose!
Students want to start searching right away;
What’s so special?
We offer other ways to search multiple databases simultaneously; we need to make clear why the MetaQuest approach is worth their while. See the following examples.
Utter pragmatism
Lack of an immediate search button – user studies say this is demanded in a portal
Do not read the screen
Special, no, it’s what I expect

23. Issues, continued Minimal personal customization.
For example, only one profile and limited options on determining the number of records to display on each screen.
Merging search results.
Given the way students, search the maximum number of records that can be merged is too low.
Display issues.
Displays of full text etc can vary from vendor to vendor; this can frustrate the student.
Lack of alerts.
These are important if we want to keep MetaQuest in the student’s mind;
Lack of statistics.
We need to know what is being used;
Database choices.
Some disciplines offer more resources to search than others; the library needs to commit to a resource like this and, for example, make Z39.50 access a high priority;
Only 1 profile – must be easy to set up for the user to take advantage
Merge is a problem, given the search style
Alerts would remind them of the database

24. What Works? The concept. Quick and easy searching.
Students want this service; students want a way to begin; students need to be exposed to more resources; the library needs to respond to interdisciplinary searching;
Quick and easy searching.
A basic approach to starting a search is valued;
Brief result with citation (local enhancement).
There is a desire for as much information as possible immediately up front;
Title for more information: almost intuitive.
SFX: service and content.
Linking to full-text, the library catalog, etc saves the time (and clicks) of the user and is valued;
Linking out.
The link to the native interface is always available and is always an option for those who need more in-depth searching;
They want this!

25. Where are we headed? Simplicity and a quick search. Deep linking.
The new release will offer a quick search of 10 resources and will be less texty;
Deep linking.
We are experimenting with linking into MetaQuest from other parts of the web site – list of online databases, Research Guides, etc
Deal with blur.
Adding e-journals to the next release of MetaLib is a step forward, but again students do not make the distinctions libraries do – we need to continue working on this integration;
Database decisions.
The library needs to think differently about database decisions and think about Z39.50 and Open URL more seriously;
MetaQuest in the Library services context.
How do we present this tool in our package of overall library services?
A discovery tool!
This is desperately needed and we need to move aggressively in this direction.
Not completely integrated into the library environment, but step by step
According to LibQUAL, content and access are merging: Blur!
Management decisions…