I’m pleased to announce the publication of the March issue of Information Technology and Libraries.

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Suggestions and feedback are always welcome, please send to:

Bob Gerrity
ITAL Editor
gerrityr (at) gmail.com

Information Technology and Libraries
Volume 32, Number 1 (March 2013)
CONTENTS

Editorials

Bob Gerrity

Editor’s Comments

Patrick “Tod” Colegrove

Editorial Board Thoughts: Libraries as Makerspace?

Articles

Danielle Becker and Lauren Yannotta

Modeling a library web site redesign process: developing a user-centered web site through usability testing 

This article presents a model for creating a strong, user-centered web presence by pairing usability testing and the design process. Four rounds of usability testing were conducted throughout the process of building a new academic library web site. Participants were asked to perform tasks using a talk-aloud protocol. Tasks were based on guiding principles of web usability that served as a framework for the new site. Results from this study show that testing throughout the design process is an effective way to build a website that not only reflects user needs and preferences, but can be easily changed as new resources and technologies emerge.

Kathleen W. Weessies, Daniel S. Dotson

Mapping for the Masses: GIS Lite & Online Mapping Tools in Academic Libraries

Customized maps depicting complex social data are much more prevalent today than in the past. Not only in formal published outlets, interactive mapping tools make it easy to create and publish custom maps in both formal and more casual outlets such as social media. This article defines GIS Lite, describes three commercial products currently licensed by institutions and discusses issues that arise from their varied functionality and license restrictions.

Vandana Singh

Experiences of Migrating to Open Source Integrated Library Systems 

Interest in migrating to open-source integrated library systems is continually growing in libraries. Along with the interest, lack of empirical research and evidence to compare the process of migration brings a lot of anxiety to the interested librarians. In this research, twenty librarians who have worked in libraries that migrated to open-source integrated library system (ILS) or are in the process of migrating were interviewed. The interviews focused on their experiences and the lessons learned in the process of migration. The results from the interviews are used to create guidelines/best practices for each stage of the adoption process of an open-source ILS. These guidelines will be helpful for librarians who want to research and adopt an open-source ILS.

Danijela Boberic Krsticev

Information Retrieval Using Middleware Approach 

This paper explores the use of a mediator/wrapper approach to enable the search of an existing library management system using different information retrieval protocols  It proposes an architecture for a software component that will act as an intermediary between the library system and search services.It provides an overview of different approaches to add Z39.50 and Search/Retrieval via URL (SRU) functionality using a middleware approach that is implemented on the BISIS library management system. That wrapper performs transformation of Contextual Query Language (CQL) into Lucene query language. The primary aim of this software component is to enable search and retrieval of bibliographic records using the SRU and Z39.50 protocols, but the proposed architecture of the software components is also suitable for inclusion of the existing library management system into a library portal. The software component provides a single interface to server-side protocols for search and retrieval of records. Additional protocols could be used. This paper provides practical demonstration of interest to developers of library management systems and those who are trying to use open-source solutions to make their local catalog accessible to other systems.

Recent OCLC surveys show that less than 2 percent of library users begin their search on a library website, which is why search engine optimization (SEO) is so crucial. And though a survey of faculty researchers at four major universities showed that most consider Google and Google Scholar amazingly effective for their research, low Google Scholar indexing ratios for library institutional repositories is widespread because it ignores common library metadata. Kenning Arlitsch and Patrick OBrien, who have presented and published widely on the topic, show how to ensure that high-value content is visible to researchers in their new book “Improving the Visibility and Use of Digital Repositories through SEO: A LITA Guide,” published by ALA TechSource. Drawing on their expertise in digital libraries and corporate marketing, they show how to mount a successful SEO strategy, including:

• Recommended dashboards for increasing participation by sharing data;
• Avoiding the four most common crawler errors that lead to low rankings;
• How to effectively utilize the Google Keyword Tool;
• The use of domain settings to generate unit-specific reports for special collections, institutional repositories and university presses.

Arlitsch is the dean of the library at Montana State University. Prior to his current position he was the associate dean for information technology services at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library. He is the founder of the Mountain West Digital Library and the Utah Digital Newspapers program, as well as co-founder of the Western Waters Digital Library and the Western Soundscape Archive.

OBrien is the Semantic Web research director at the Montana State University Library. Prior to his current position he was the SEO research manager at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library. He is an expert in Semantic Web technologies and their application for improving data integration quality, discovering new relationships, and turning diverse data stores into conceptual knowledge. OBrien has more than 15 years’ experience implementing data-driven marketing and risk management strategy within various industries.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide. Contact us at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5418 or editionsmarketing (at) ala.org.

Social Web technologies present an often confusing array of options for answering library users’ reference questions. In “Implementing Virtual Reference Services: A LITA Guide,” published by ALA TechSource, editor Beth C. Thomsett-Scott applies 20 years’ experience as a reference librarian to sort through the clutter of tools and technologies in the industry. Contributors from across the field lay out how libraries are using vendor services such as LibraryH3lp, LibAnswers and Text a Librarian, as well as free tools like Twitter and Google Voice, for their reference needs. Practitioners offer details on virtual reference services such as Twitter Search, instant messaging (IM) services such as Google Voice and Chat and collaborative services such as My Info Quest.

Thomsett-Scott is currently the engineering librarian at the University of North Texas Libraries. In her previous role as reference unit manager, she assisted with establishing the libraries’ Meebo service, as well as their chat and text messaging services. She has served in various positions in professional associations, including ALA, the Special Library Association and the Texas Library Association. She has published in a variety of journals and presented conference sessions on the topics of website usability, mentoring and training reference staff and students and technology.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide. Contact us at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5418 or editionsmarketing (at) ala.org.