MyLibrary: A Model for Implementing a User-centered,
`Customizable Interface to a Library’s Collection of
`Information Resources
`
`Eric Lease Morgan
`
`Digital Library Initiatives
`Box 7111, NCSU Libraries, Raleigh, NC 27695-7111, USA
`Tel: (919) 515-4221
`E-mail: eric_morgan@ncsu.edu
`
`ABSTRACT
`The paper describes an extensible model for implementing a
`user-centered, customizable interface to a library’s collection
`of information resources. This model, called MyLibrary,
`integrates
`the principles of
`librarianship (collection,
`organization, dissemination, and evaluation) with globally
`networked computing
`resources creating a dynamic,
`customer-driven front-end to any library’s set of materials.
`The model supports a framework for libraries to provide
`enhanced access to local and remote sets of data, information,
`and knowledge. At the same, the model does not overwhelm
`its users with too much information because the users
`control exactly how much information is displayed to them
`at any given time. The model is active and not passive;
`direct human interaction, computer mediated guidance and
`communication technologies, as well as current awareness
`services all play indispensable roles in this system.
`
`interactive assistance,
`libraries,
`KEYWORDS: digital
`librarianship, MyLibrary, MyLibrary@NCState.
`
`BACKGROUND
`Traditionally, libraries concentrated on the selection and
`storage of book and journal collections. This was true
`because books and journals were a primary manifestation of
`data, information, and knowledge. Consequently, librarians
`spent much of their time managing book and journal
`collections. Now, with the advent of globally networked
`computers, information increasingly appears in digital form
`and is often times “born digital”. Library’s will continue to
`support their print-based collections. At the same time, the
`libraries must be dedicated to exploring methods and
`
`the wealth of available digital
`to
`facilitating access
`information. MyLibrary, the model described here, is one
`method for addressing these issues.
`
`In the Fall of 1997 the NCSU Libraries’ Digital Library
`Initiatives Department conducted focus group interviews
`with a number of NC State students and faculty. One of the
`more common themes articulated by focus group participants
`was the desire to have access to the total universe of
`information but to display only the information needed for
`focused study and research. They felt they were “drinking
`from the proverbial fire hose”.
`
`At the same time services like My Excite, My Yahoo, and
`My DejaNews had become available. These services allow
`users to create profiles representing their information needs.
`Unlike libraries, these services do not provide access to
`scholarly materials; their content is very much like the
`content of a newspaper.
`
`More importantly, these sites do not provide access to any
`sort of interactive assistance. There are no human beings
`available at these sites, “portals” as they are called. There are
`no “reference assistants” online to help with particular
`information queries. The only kind of assistance provided by
`these sites are the help texts that go unread by most users.
`
`It was from within this environment where the MyLibrary
`model was created. It is an environment where people desire
`access to the total universe of information, but only to
`individual parts of it at any one time. It is an environment
`where people increasingly view an information world
`through a Web browser, but still desire the help and advice
`of other people when it comes to satisfying information
`needs. The balance of this text describes MyLibrary in terms
`of this service model, it’s technical requirements, and a
`particular implementation by the NCSU Libraries.
`
`MYLIBRARY MODEL
`MyLibrary is an amalgamation of the essential service
`
`Petitioners Great West Casualty Co., BITCO Gen. Ins. Corp., and BITCO Nat'l Ins. Co.
`Ex. 1005, p. 1
`
`

`
`components of libraries and the wealth of digital data,
`information, and knowledge available
`in a globally
`networked computing environment. Any collection of data,
`information, or knowledge that does not include some sort of
`assistance or instructions for the people intended to use the
`collection cannot be called a library. The success of a library
`can be measured by how well people garner knowledge (not
`necessarily data nor information) from its collection.
`
`Data store
`The MyLibrary model begins with the assumption that
`knowledge exists and is obtainable; philosophic skepticism
`is denied. Furthermore, it is assumed that knowledge is the
`result of a processing and internalization of information
`where information is the organization and assignment of
`value to data, and data is equated with simple statements or
`facts. The service components of libraries provide a means to
`facilitate this processing.
`
`Data and information (content) must be organized and
`presented in a manner comprehensible to the people for
`whom the data and information were intended. Content must
`be set within a cognitive framework
`that
`is easily
`communicated through language or some other common
`medium of expression. Without a cognitive framework data
`and information will wallow in a morass of meaningless
`numbers, symbols, signs, and words. Even if the cognitive
`framework used to organize the data and information is easily
`understandable, the framework will go unused unless it can
`be described using terms, phrases, and presentation modes
`
`shared between the organizer of content and its intended
`users.
`
`Up to this point the model described is a rudimentary
`data/information store. Some people and institutions have
`mediated access to data/information stores through networked
`computers and called these systems “digital libraries”. They
`represent the present state of digital library initiatives, but
`they lack the essential components defining them as true
`libraries, namely: 1) librarians (people) who practice,
`articulate, and implement library policies, and 2) interactive
`assistance. With the additions of these essential components,
`the model is transformed from a simple store into a real
`library, and the MyLibrary model emerges.
`
`Library processes
`Information only exists after data has been organized and
`given value. The process of organizing information is one of
`many
`library processes. Other processes
`include the
`collection, storage, dissemination, and evaluation of data,
`information, and knowledge. The people who do this
`organizing can be called librarians. People with academic
`degrees in librarianship are far from having a monopoly on
`these processes; generally speaking, people with academic
`degrees in librarianship are people who have made a career of
`putting these processes into practice in libraries.
`
`In order to effectively organize data sets into information and
`thus begin the creation of digital libraries, librarians must
`articulate, and continually re-articulate library policies. These
`
`Interactive assistance
`
`Proactive
`
`Reactive
`
`Human
`
`• newsletters
`• site visits
`• bibliographic instruction
`
`Computer
`
`• current awareness services
`• messages of the day
`• browsable collections
`• prescribed resource listings
`• email announcements
`• expert systems
`
`• reference interviews
`• telephone reference
`• email reference
`• video conferencing/relay chat
`
`• online help
`• customizable interfaces
`• searchable databases
`
`Combinations of interactive assistance with example services implemented in MyLibrary
`
`Petitioners Great West Casualty Co., BITCO Gen. Ins. Corp., and BITCO Nat'l Ins. Co.
`Ex. 1005, p. 2
`
`

`
`policies outline the purpose and scope of the library, as well
`as determine for whom the library serves. It is then the
`responsibility of
`librarians
`to choose from available
`technologies the methods for implementing these policies.
`The current trend in librarianship is to use computer-based
`technologies for this purpose. MyLibrary is no exception.
`MyLibrary has been defined as a tool designed to help people
`access the wealth of digital information available in a
`globally networked computer environment and at the same
`time not overwhelm
`these people with unneeded
`information. MyLibrary uses an amalgamation of computer
`technologies (described later) to accomplish this goal.
`
`formulates possible solutions or continues the query process.
`A reactive assistance approach only provides possible
`solutions after being asked questions by users. The difference
`between these two approaches is similar to the difference
`between browsability and searchability. Both browsability
`and proactive assistance layout ready-made solutions or
`information paths. Searchability and reactive assistance
`require the users to articulate information needs and translate
`them into the language of the system. Like browsability and
`searchability, ideally, elements of both proactive and reactive
`assistance are desirable in the implementation of any library
`or information system.
`
`Interactive assistance
`The final ingredient in the MyLibrary model is “interactive
`assistance”, a function of a library providing methods for
`interpreting and customizing its content. No matter how
`well an information system (library) is designed, there are
`always to going to be people who cannot locate the
`information they seek even if it exists within the system.
`The purpose of interactive assistance is to reduce this
`possibility by providing specialized help for specialized
`situations and the means for restructuring a library’s
`collection to fit each individual’s needs. Interactive assistance
`adds a level of intelligence to the use of MyLibrary.
`
`Interactive assistance can be proactive or reactive. Proactive
`interactive assistance queries users for their information
`needs. It analyses the answers to the queries and either
`
`Interactive assistance can take place through direct human
`communication channels or it can be mediated through
`technology (computers). The traditional “reference interview”
`is seen as the most effective example of direct human
`communication for interactive assistance. It is supplemented
`with non-verbal signals (like facial expressions), the process
`is customized in each session, and more importantly, the
`feedback is immediate. At the same time, direct human
`communication is time intensive, and since the people
`trained in reference interview techniques are few in number,
`direct human communication is not scalable. Computer
`mediated assistance is asynchronous in nature where the
`people (librarians) maintaining the information system
`(library) are at least one step removed from users using the
`system. Computer mediated interactive assistance services
`have the ability to reach a wider audience of users, but
`
`Users
`
`Interactive
`Assistance
`
`Librarians
`
`Policy
`
`Information
`
`Data
`
`Know ledge
`
`The service model of MyLibrary
`
`Petitioners Great West Casualty Co., BITCO Gen. Ins. Corp., and BITCO Nat'l Ins. Co.
`Ex. 1005, p. 3
`
`

`
`generally speaking, the services are not personalized for each
`individual. Artificial intelligence and expert systems aspire
`to fulfill computer mediated interactive assistance, but they
`have yet to provide long-term solutions to users’ demands.
`
`Using the model described above the NCSU Libraries has
`begun implementing a MyLibrary system. It incorporates
`every element of the model described so far. It includes at
`least one combination of
`the proactive/reactive and
`human/computer
`interactive assistance
`services. The
`implementation is called MyLibrary@NCState. The balance
`of this paper describes the interfaces to MyLibrary@NCState
`emphasizing how they exemplify elements of the MyLibrary
`service model. It also describes the technical infrastructure
`supporting these interfaces. The paper concludes with an
`outline of future enhancements for the system.
`
`INTERFACES TO MYLIBRARY@NCSTATE
`the
`MyLibrary@NCState
`is
`an
`implementation of
`MyLibrary service model at the NCSU Libraries of the
`North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC, USA. This
`section describes the user and administrator interfaces to the
`implementation.
`
`User Interface
`From the user’s perspective, MyLibrary@NCState is a
`customizable HTML page. It is accessible via any Web
`browser supporting Netscape cookies and the Secure Socket
`Layer
`(SSL) protocol. The process of creating a
`MyLibrary@NCState page begins when the user creates an
`account on the system. The account information includes
`rudimentary biographical data: name and email address. In
`addition, the creation of an account necessitates the selection
`of a primary academic interest area from a pop-up menu.
`Once an account is created, the user’s MyLibrary@NCState
`page is dynamically built and displayed. Afterwards other
`links may be added to or subtracted from the preconfigured
`list of recommendations creating the framework for the
`user’s personal “digital library”.
`
`For example, by selecting among the system’s many
`Customize hotlinks, a user is presented with lists of
`disciplines. Each
`list
`is associated with
`information
`resources (databases, journals, Internet resources, etc.)
`specific to that discipline. Resources from any discipline
`may be
`chosen
`to be
`included
`in
`the user’s
`MyLibrary@NCState personalized digital library, which
`appear in the Web browser after the selections are submitted.
`The next time a user visits MyLibrary@NCState, the
`system remembers all customizations and
`lists them
`accordingly.
`
`Resources on the user’s MyLibrary@NCState page include
`information about the system, messages from librarians,
`links to a user’s personal librarians, university resources,
`
`discipline-specific Internet resources, citation databases,
`electronic journals, as well as direct access to common
`search engines and an NCSU Libraries-based selective
`dissemination of information service. These resources are
`divided into the sections below. Items marked with a dagger
`are customizable:
`
`• header
`• global message
`• Message from the Librarian
`• Your Librarians
`• Library Links †
`• University Links †
`• Current Awareness †
`• Personal Links †
`• Quick Searches †
`• Reference Shelf †
`• Bibliographic Databases †
`• Electronic Journals †
`• footer
`
`The purpose and functions of each of these sections are
`described below.
`
`the
`displays
`header
`The
`and Footer.
`Header
`MyLibrary@NCState logo, a navigation bar, a customize
`link, and a logout function. The logo gives the service an
`identity. The navigation bar provides easy movement around
`the page. The customize link initiates the process for
`changing the page’s content. The logout function removes
`the system’s Netscape cookie from the user’s computer
`allowing the user to access the service at public workstations
`and at the same limiting unauthorized access to a user’s
`page. The footer displays version, date, and contact
`information for the system. The user cannot customize the
`header nor the footer.
`
`Global message and Message from the Librarian. These
`services are proactive/computer mediated
`interactive
`assistance functions. They provide the means for librarians
`to broadcast messages to the users of MyLibrary. The global
`message is a text intended for every user of the system. It is
`much like the message of the day (MOTD) function on Unix
`computers. Information intended for the global message
`function includes announcements in changes of service or
`downtime, news from around the campus, or simply an
`interesting URL from the University’s newspaper.
`
`The Message from the Librarian is intended to function
`exactly like the global message except its content is only
`displayed to people who have chosen particular disciplines.
`Consequently there are many Messages from the Librarians,
`but not more than the total number of disciplines. Every
`user of MyLibrary@NCState is associated with an academic
`discipline. Each of these disciplines is associated with a text
`
`Petitioners Great West Casualty Co., BITCO Gen. Ins. Corp., and BITCO Nat'l Ins. Co.
`Ex. 1005, p. 4
`
`

`
`A screen dump of one user’s personalized MyLibrary@NCState page.
`
`Petitioners Great West Casualty Co., BITCO Gen. Ins. Corp., and BITCO Nat'l Ins. Co.
`Ex. 1005, p. 5
`
`

`
`to be changed regularly. When a
`intended
`message
`MyLibrary@NCState page is displayed a discipline-specific
`message for the user is included in the content. These
`messages are expected to contain information pertinent to the
`discipline like URLs of interest, announcements of training
`opportunities or the acquisition of new resources, or a short
`description of library-related services of interest. The user
`cannot customize either of these message functions.
`
`Your Librarians. The Your Librarians section lists the
`names, telephone numbers, and email address of the
`librarians and collection managers associated with the user’s
`chosen discipline. Because each user of MyLibrary@NCState
`is associated with a discipline, and since each discipline is
`associated with at least one reference librarian and collection
`manager, then each user can be made aware of the names and
`contact information of their discipline-specific librarians and
`collection managers. This section also lists a generic email
`address intended for reference questions. The Your Librarians
`section is not directly customizable by the user, but it does
`change if the user changes their selected discipline. This
`section is a reactive/human mediated interactive assistance
`function.
`
`Library and University Links. The Library Links and
`University Links sections work similarly. Each is populated
`initially with a librarian-defined list of hyperlinks to various
`library and University home pages. These home pages are of
`any
`type
`but
`usually
`include
`pages describing
`library/university services, hours, policies, finding aids,
`University sites, or campus-wide directories.
`
`These sections are customizable by the user. By selecting an
`associated Customize hotlink, the user is presented with a
`list of available library/university-related information sources
`deemed by the librarian as “important” or “useful to know”.
`Each item in the list is associated with an HTML checkbox.
`The user selects or de-selects any number of these items, and
`by submitting their selections, the system records the user’s
`preferences in the underlying database and redisplays their
`MyLibrary@NCState page with only the selected items.
`
`Since these sections are initially populated by librarians who
`are making recommendations based on disciplines, these
`sections are initially proactive/computer mediated interactive
`assistance services. After
`these sections have been
`customized by the user, they become reactive/computer
`mediated interactive assistance services.
`
`and
`Journals,
`Bibliographic Databases, Electronic
`Reference Shelf. The Bibliographic Databases, Electronic
`Journals, and Reference Shelf sections provide the means for
`the user to have displayed only the scholarly information
`resources they believe are important to their work.
`
`Like the Library Links, these sections are initially populated
`with a list of recommendations prescribed by a discipline-
`specific librarian. The Bibliographic Databases section
`contains lists of journal indexes. The Electronic Journals
`section contains lists of digital serial titles. The Reference
`Shelf was originally intended to include links to Internet
`resources traditionally associated with traditional library
`reference desks (ie. dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks,
`manuals, directories, maps, etc.) but it has since grown to
`include just about any type of Internet resource with
`scholarly content.
`
`To customize these sections the user selects the associated
`Customize hotlink. They are then presented with a list of
`their existing section items as well as a list of all the
`system’s disciplines. From here the user can check or
`uncheck any of their existing section items and return to
`their MyLibrary@NCState page. Alternatively, the user can
`select a discipline. This returns a list of all the resources
`associated with that discipline and that section. The user can
`select any of these resources. Upon submitting their choices
`their selections are saved to the system’s database and the
`user is returned to the main page.
`
`Like the Library and University Links, these sections are
`initially proactive/computer mediated interactive assistance
`services. After these sections have been customized by the
`user, they become reactive/computer mediated interactive
`assistance services.
`
`Personal Links. The Personal Links section allows the user
`to save links to Internet resources they use often but not
`included in any of the sections above. No librarian can hope
`to collect the total sum of Internet resources and organize
`them into a database. Given this fact, the Personal Links
`section provide the opportunity for the MyLibrary@NCState
`user to add their own links to the system.
`
`the user first selects the
`this section
`To customize
`Customize hotlink. They are then presented with a list of the
`existing personal links and given the opportunity to delete
`and of
`them or add others. Upon submitting
`the
`customization form the user is returned to the main
`MyLibrary@NCState page. This section is represents a
`reactive/computer mediated interactive assistance function.
`
`Quick Searches. The Quick Searches section provides direct
`access to a number of Internet search engines including local
`online public access catalogs (OPAC). By selecting a search
`engine from a pop-up menu, entering a query in the text
`field, and submitting the form, a database query is
`constructed in the form of a URL. The user’s browser is then
`“redirected” to this dynamically created URL and the results
`of the search are displayed.
`
`Petitioners Great West Casualty Co., BITCO Gen. Ins. Corp., and BITCO Nat'l Ins. Co.
`Ex. 1005, p. 6
`
`

`
`A screen dump of the MyLibrary@NCState administrative interface.
`
`Customizing this section works just like the customizing
`process of the Library and University Links sections. It is
`also initially a proactive/computer mediated interactive
`assistance service. After it has been customized by the user,
`it becomes reactive/computer mediated interactive assistance
`service.
`
`Current Awareness. The Current Awareness section provides
`the means for the user to search the library’s OPAC for
`recent acquisitions in the user’s interest areas. Optionally
`users can have these search results regularly sent to their
`email address. Assisted with a simplified version of the
`library’s call number system, the user can customize this
`function so it saves ranges of call numbers, profiles, to the
`MyLibrary@NCState database. Users can save as many of
`these profiles as they desire. The profiles are searched on a
`regular basis (weekly) against a list of new acquisitions to
`the library’s catalog, and the results sent to the user’s email
`address. The results include only call number, author, and
`title information. Each item is associated with a URL
`allowing the user to view the full record describing that item
`in detail. Based on this full record, the user can then decide
`
`whether or not they want to borrow the item from the
`library’s collection. This section is a reactive/computer
`mediated interactive assistance function.
`
`Administrative interface
`is done
`Maintenance of MyLibrary@NCState system
`through an administration interface. The interface is a menu
`of hypertext links protected by a simple username/password
`access control system. The administration menu allows
`administrators to create, modify, or delete just about any
`content item in the system’s database. The most important
`item in the menu is the list of academic disciplines since
`each and every other item in the system is somehow related
`to this list. Other important content times include:
`
`• the names and contact information of librarians
`• links and descriptions of information resources
`(databases, journals, etc.)
`• help texts,
`• global message and messages from the librarians
`• the system’s header and footer
`
`Petitioners Great West Casualty Co., BITCO Gen. Ins. Corp., and BITCO Nat'l Ins. Co.
`Ex. 1005, p. 7
`
`

`
`To create, modify, or delete any of these items the authorized
`librarian selects an item from the menu and completes the
`resulting form. Changes take place immediately.
`
`For example, suppose somebody wanted to change the
`global message. They would select the Edit Global Message
`of the Day hotlink and enter what ever text they desired. If a
`new librarian where to join the library’s staff, then they
`would select the Manage Librarians hyperlink and create a
`new record making sure the record was associated with at
`least one discipline. Consequently, users of the system who
`had selected a discipline equal to the discipline chosen by the
`new librarian would then see the new librarian’s name and
`email address on their MyLibrary@NCState page.
`
`The administrative interface hosts two other functions:
`
`reports and email. The reports function is immature, but in
`conjunction with a standard HTTP common log file, will
`provide access to qualitative and quantitative data describing
`how the system is being used.
`
`Using the email function, a librarian can mass email all the
`people in one or more disciplines. The content of these
`email messages is intended to be of the same sort of
`information as
`the Messages From The Librarian.
`Consequently, this function is a proactive/computer mediated
`interactive assistance service. Users do not have to receive
`this email unless they desire it since it is an option in each
`user’s biographical profile allowing them to turn it off or
`on.
`
`Users
`
`HTTP client
`
`Librarians
`
`Policy
`
`TCP/IP network
`
`HTTP server
`
`Access control
`
`Scripts & libraries
`
`Programming language
`
`Database
`
`OperatingSystem
`
`Hard ware
`
`The computing model of MyLibrary
`
`Petitioners Great West Casualty Co., BITCO Gen. Ins. Corp., and BITCO Nat'l Ins. Co.
`Ex. 1005, p. 8
`
`

`
`T E C H N I C A L
`
`M Y L I B R A R Y @ N C S T A T E
`INFRASTRUCTURE
`MyLibrary@NCState is essentially a database application,
`accessible from an HTTP/HTML interface, and governed by
`the principles and practices of librarianship. The distinctive
`element of this system is not the technology driving it, but
`the interactive assistance services it provides via librarians.
`Interactive assistance and
`librarianship were outlined
`previously. The text below describes the system’s technical
`infrastructure, the computing model.
`
`MyLibrary@NCState is primarily built on four software
`technologies:
`
`1. an operating system
`2. a structured query language (SQL) database server
`3. a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) server
`4. a scripting language “gluing” together items #1, #2
`and #3
`
`Operating System
`MyLibrary@NCState is grounded on a computer running
`Unix, and just about any computer running Unix can run
`MyLibrary@NCState. Unix was chosen for two reasons.
`First, Unix is the most commonly used operating system for
`large Internet services. Consequently, there exists a large
`number of people who can administrate Unix computers.
`Second, Unix is available for the widest range of hardware
`platforms, and since the NCSU Libraries considers the
`possibility of sharing the MyLibrary@NCState source code,
`the Libraries does not want to limit what the system can run
`on.
`
`Database Server
`The SQL database hosting MyLibrary@NCState includes
`multiple tables holding data for the majority of the system’s
`content (user and current awareness profiles, Internet
`resources, help texts, recent acquisitions information, and
`relationships between these tables). Creation of these tables
`is done through a minimalistic but wholly functional
`terminal interface, but data entry functions are supported via
`HTML forms from the Administrative interface.
`
`The database application serving all this content is MySQL.
`It was chosen primarily because it was free, implements
`SQL, runs on multiple Unix computers, provides the
`mechanisms for auto-incrementable fields as well as variable
`field
`lengths, but most
`importantly,
`it supports an
`application programmer’s interface (API) for both the Perl
`and C programming languages.
`
`HTTP server
`is a
`The HTTP server hosting MyLibrary@NCState
`Netscape Enterprise Server, but any HTTP server would
`work as long is could run on a Unix computer and support
`
`CGI scripts; MyLibrary@NCState does not rely on any
`special functions of the Netscape Enterprise Server.
`
`Scripting language
`Perl is the CGI scripting language chosen to “glue” together
`the SQL database and the HTTP server. Perl was the obvious
`choice for this purpose since it is interpreted (making it easy
`to debug), free, works on multiple computing platforms,
`widely supported by the Internet community, but most
`importantly is one of the APIs supported by MySQL.
`
`MyLibrary@NCState is really two sets of Perl scripts. One
`is for the user interface and the other is for the administrative
`interface. Both sets “require” and “use” many supporting
`subroutines. Including both POD (plain old documentation)
`and comments, the entire system comprises more than
`13,000 lines of code.
`
`Program execution. Program execution begins when a user
`connects to the default file (a script) of the HTTP server and
`initializes a number of global variables. If the user’s browser
`sent a MyLibrary@NCState Netscape cookie, then the value
`of that cookie is uses as a database key to display a specific
`MyLibrary@NCState page. If a MyLibrary@NCState cookie
`was not sent, then the user’s browser is redirected to the
`University’s SSL authentication
`system. The user’s
`authentication
`is
`then used as a key
`to
`locate a
`MyLibrary@NCState database record. If a record is not found
`then a new record is created and a MyLibrary@NCState
`cookie is returned to the user. If a record is found then a
`MyLibrary@NCState cookie is returned. In either case, the
`user
`then
`has
`the
`opportunity
`to
`view
`their
`MyLibrary@NCState page and customize it accordingly.
`
`Customization commands are sent via the command line
`argument of a URL. Program execution branches to specific
`subroutines based on the values of these command line
`arguments. In general, a command line argument will be of
`three types: get, set, or display. Get commands, not to be
`confused with GET HTTP action statements, display a user’s
`current settings and allow them to choose other options via
`HTML forms. Set commands
`take
`the
`input of get
`commands and save them to the system’s database. If the
`command
`is
`not
`get
`nor
`set,
`then
`a
`user’s
`MyLibrary@NCState page is displayed.
`
`NOT JUST A PORTAL OR BOOKMARK MANAGER
`T h e r e
`a r e
`a t
`l e a s t
`f o u r
`t h i n g s
`t h a t
`m a k e
`MyLibrary@NCState not just another portal or bookmark
`manager. First, the system includes a service allowing users
`to regularly receive and search lists of new books added to
`the library’s collection, the Current Awareness service.
`Using Library of Congress call numbers for books and
`serials, users can create any number of Current Awareness
`profiles. The MyLibrary@NCState system saves these
`
`Petitioners Great West Casualty Co., BITCO Gen. Ins. Corp., and BITCO Nat'l Ins. Co.
`Ex. 1005, p. 9
`
`

`
`profiles and searches its database for them on a regular basis.
`Search results are sent to a user’s email address, which
`allows direct access to the library’s catalog via a hotlink and
`to more information describing the located item.
`
`services is very difficult to describe in terms of quantity or
`quality. If a means for measuring the value of MyLibrary’s
`content and services were articulated, then those means could
`be put into place and ultimately support a better model.
`
`Third, MyLibrary@NCState does not provided enough
`flexibility allowing users to customize it for their own
`needs. The current
`implementation cubbyholes users’
`information needs into a limited set of five or six groups of
`information
`(personal
`links, bibliographic databases,
`electronic journals, etc.). The implementation should allow
`the user to create their own groups of information. Future
`implementations will provided this functionality.
`
`Fourth, MyLibrary@NCState does not support enough direct
`human communication channels. Users desire or require the
`assistance of other people when it comes to information
`work.
`If MyLibrary@NCState
`supported additional,
`synchronous modes of communication between librarians
`and users (or users and other users), then users might spend
`more time evaluating data, information, or knowledge rather
`than trying to locate them. Supplemental communication
`channels include simple relay chat rooms, telephony, or
`video conferencing.
`
`It is an interesting time for librarians and other information
`professionals. As the global economy continues to move
`away from manufacturing enterprises and towards service
`industries,
`information professionals are
`finding an
`abundance of opportunities. At the same time they are
`realizing there are hosts of problems assoc