Eric Lease Morgan wrote:
>
>
> Finally, after creating the index, either through Summon or something
> else, go beyond the service where you limit yourself to search and
> find. The next step is to provide services against the returned items.
> Figure out ways to make the content more useful. "Save the time of
> reader" through compare & contrast, print, save, trace citation, trace
> idea, make word cloud, graph, translate, summarize, rate, rank,
> review, annotate, etc. [5]
>
Exactly, and this is where I think we still aren't putting enough
energy. Searching is not the hard part (takes lots of hardware, perhaps,
and a bunch of contracts, but it's essentially mechanical). What is
hard, and is also IMO more useful, is to create navigation of documents
and evaluative tools. I rarely come across something new and interesting
by doing a search. It's what I do with the result set, and where the
data can take me, that really matters. So a service like Summon can take
care of that mechanical part and save libraries the effort, but it's not
a "solution" -- it's a search. Nothing to sneeze at, but we should see
it as a foundation, not a full edifice.
kc
--
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Karen Coyle / Digital Library Consultant
kcoyle@kcoyle.net http://www.kcoyle.net
ph.: 510-540-7596 skype: kcoylenet
fx.: 510-848-3913
mo.: 510-435-8234
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Received on Fri Jun 19 2009 - 14:33:27 EDT