Widgets for productive workflows:

Providing reference services where the work is done – in the browser

Christina K. Pikas

Xtreme ReferenceOctober 21, 2010

@cpikas #slamdxr

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Widgets for Productive Workflows3

Agenda

Background and basisStrategiesExamplesMarketingDiscussion

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Background

Lots of recent research reports on how scholars work online(Palmer et al, Harley et al, Proctor et al)

Other information on how people locate Recreation or hobby information Health information Job information

Information on how people socialize online

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Generalities

People like Google, but they don’t use it well

Libraries and librarians have things that will help, but users don’t know about them or how to use them

Even true library fans satisfice when looking for information To save time or money To not interrupt their work

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The Idea

Integrate library services where, when,and how they are useful

Base decisions on evidence and best guesses

Use freely available tools as much as possible

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Strategy

Know your users What are their tasks? What are their environments? Where are their pain points? What frustrates them?

Know what help you can provide and what you do well

Try something, evaluate it, and then fixor ditch it

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What can be done in the browser?

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Toolbarsand

bookmarklets

Search

Status bar

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Right clickmenus

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Example 1: The LibX Toolbar

The need Use the power of Amazon to identify interesting

books, but locate a library copy Find articles in Google, but authenticate to use

the library’s subscription

The tool Built by Virginia Tech, it’s freely available Customize it for your users and your tools http://libx.org

Also adds cues to Wikipedia and other places and hyperlinks ISBNs, ISSNs, DOIs, and PMIDs

Links to library web pages

Select which fields to search

Add additional fields

Search the catalog or Google Scholar

Drag text over this to search for that text in Google

Scholar

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Example 2: Search box searches

The need Search authoritative sources as easily as

web search engines Highlight information on the page

and search for that The tool Works easily in Internet Explorer and Firefox Premade ones from your vendors Specification is freely available

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How?

Easiest way: Use Internet Explorer’s tools to create

your own http://tinyurl.com/2jtlva

Swipe the XML for FirefoxUse the instructions from the specification

or from http://tinyurl.com/3xrbwyf Make it available as a link Make it autodiscover

Plus… if they have the context search plugin, they can then launch searches from wherever, after highlighting…

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Example 3: Bookmarklets

The need: See if something is in the library Add something to your citation manager Make note of something

The tools: Bookmarklets are javascript that sit in your

links bar They take information from what you

highlighted and submit it to a web form Like Amazon book info or citation info

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Some library-type bookmarklets

Add to Zotero, Add to Refworks, etc.Library Look UpEZ Proxy Reload

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Marketing

Browser plug-ins are still a tough sell, even when you demonstrate them

Autodetect for search will work for some people who a) use the search block, b) notice it, and c)want to search your stuff

Looking for additional solutions!

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Summary

There are lots of ways to help your user while they complete their tasks by adding to their browser

Start by figuring out what will help themUse open tools If you figure out the best way to market

these, please let me know!

Contact Information

Christina K. Pikas, BS, MLS The Information Group

The Johns Hopkins UniversityApplied Physics Laboratory

Voice  443.778.4812 (Baltimore) 240.228.4812 (Washington)

E-mail Christina.Pikas@jhuapl.edu

Blog http://scientopia.org/blogs/christinaslisrant

Resources http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Web_Browser_Extensions Aaron Tay’s blog http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.com/ Harley, D., Acord, S. K., Earl-Novell, S., Lawrence, S., & King, C. J. (2010).

Assessing the future landscape of scholarly communication an exploration of faculty values and needs in seven disciplines. Berkeley, CA: Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley. Retrieved from http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/15x7385g

Palmer, C. L., Teffeau, L. C., & Pirmann, C. M. (2009). Scholarly information practices in the online environment: themes from the literature and implications for library service development. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC Programs and Research. Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/programs/publications/reports/2009-02.pdf

Proctor, R., Williams, R., & Stewart, J. (2010). If you build it, will they come? How researchers perceive and use web 2.0. London: Research Information Network. Retrieved from http://www.rin.ac.uk/system/files/attachments/web_2.0_screen.pdf

Open Search specification: http://www.opensearch.org/Specifications/OpenSearch/1.1#OpenSearch_description_elements

Tool to create search plugins: http://www.searchplugins.net/generate.aspx# Library Lookup generator (no Polaris yet!) http://

207.22.26.166/LibraryLookupGenerator.html EZ Proxy bookmarklet generator

http://blog.philipwolstenholme.com/2010/02/log-in-to-ezproxy-one-click-ezproxy-bookmarklet-generator-library-university/