tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3814306046993354716.post459720701428254172..comments2022-10-04T14:31:41.219+01:00Comments on The Arcadia Project Blog: OPAC Ground Truth...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3814306046993354716.post-14125683362526151652009-12-10T10:23:15.811+00:002009-12-10T10:23:15.811+00:00" the data elements of a MARC record remain f..." the data elements of a MARC record remain fairly constant in usage and content"<br /><br />Yes, but I'm suggesting that the needs of individual users differ. So a fixed rank, "ground truth" SERP may not actually be that useful compared to results pages that rank results according to availability of books, whether the library is open or whether an ebook is available etc (remember, folk want instant fulfilment now...) let alone the personal preferences and situation of the user?<br /><br />"This approach fits the known item searching mode"- agreed, which is why "I would argue that the only significant thing an OPAC is good for is discovering the availability and location of known items within a particular library" ;-)Tony Hirsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07192476380420213082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3814306046993354716.post-67194631421666965762009-12-10T10:07:28.432+00:002009-12-10T10:07:28.432+00:00Happy to show you the ranking control, for what it...Happy to show you the ranking control, for what it is worth. <br /><br />To my mind, the main reason we don't reguarly tune it is that unlike websites wher HTML tags and their content can vary vastly in use, the data elements of a MARC record remain fairly constant in usage and content. An author field is an author field, and it usually contains a name. Furthermore<br /><br />So unlike Google, there is no real need to constantly invest in and rethink relevancy, as MARC data is usually static in form. <br /><br />The setup Cambridge's OPAc leans heavily away from keyword searching<br />and focuses upon left anchored index browsing. <br /><br />(I'm not saying any of the above is a good thing, thats just how it is)<br /><br />This approach fits the known item searching model, which I personally tend to agree with. Discovery these days often happens outside the catalogue. (possibly in keyword based systems with better relvancy ranking ...) <br /><br />In Cambridge, its often based upon a reference, suggestion or list. <br /><br />An OPAC that used circulation information to inform relevancy would be interesting, although possibly somewhat self-fullfilling...Ed Chamberlainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00739122435829120212noreply@blogger.com