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transcript

Google Scholar, OpenURL and the Academic Library

Tim Shearer

UNC Libraries

Tim Shearer2 September 19, 2005

Why worry about Google?

Crawled copy(ies) are often commercial. On-campus, may have institutional access

to commercial content…or not. “Appropriate” copy. We want to insert licensed content into the

click stream on- and off-campus.

How to do it?

Most obviously, you must first have an institutional resolver.

We do: Serials Solutions.

Brief tour of OpenURL within Google Scholar

Google Scholar pilot - “Scholar Preferences.”

Client side tools. Server side arrangements (extending the

Google pilot project).

Client based (browser specific)

Firefox extension (Peter Binkley, U Alberta)

Users:Must have appropriate version of Firefox.Must know that “appropriate copy” is an issue.Must know that UNC has an extension.Must actively install it.

Client based (vendor neutral)

Bookmarklet (Peter Binkley, U Alberta) Users:

Must know that “appropriate copy” is an issue.Must know that UNC has a bookmarklet.Must actively install it.Must activate it on every Google Scholar

results page.

Pros of client based

Google not involved in any way… “stealth content.”

Entirely controlled by institution and userNo holdings information shared with GoogleCan use your standard OpenURL, institution-

branded icon for linking.

Server based

Server knows about institution: Resolver Link text IP address range (and holdings?)

-additionally- Server may know about end user:

Client cookie indicates user-selected institution(s).

Serials Solutions

Serials Solutions and Google Scholar arrangement.

As customer, UNC Chapel Hill may opt to participate, and does so.

On-campus users have OpenURL links. Off-campus users may set preferences

(cookie) to make links available.

Cons of server based (in a Google world)

Google will not support images for resolver linking.

No UNC icon branding. Users no longer have consistent visual cues.

Google requires electronic holdings.

But… it works.

What more can we do for users?

Often the most convenient copy (main Google link) is something already licensed for an academic user.

Ideal for on-campus users. What about off-campus users? University of Texas at Austin is proxying

Google Scholar!

Can UNC proxy Google Scholar?

License EZ Proxy. Yes, it works. Form interface, use middleware so that

users may type query into UNC page (authenticate if off-campus) and proceed seamlessly to Google Scholar results.

We can do it. What should we do with it?

Add to E-Resource finder? Make a Google Scholar page? Add to our home page?

The Discussion

How useful is Google Scholar?*Coverage/scopeTimelinessRecall and precisionRelevanceAccuracyOutput(*apologies to Roy Tennant, CDL)

The Discussion, continued…

Given the limitations of Google Scholar, why give it the Library’s imprimatur at all?

Given its limitations, why give it preferred status as the only electronic resource on our home page?

The discussion, continued…

Well, it is useful. Faculty are enthusiastic. Students are enthusiastic. They are using Google Scholar. Embrace the inevitable? Get licensed content into the click stream

regardless of location.

Strange but true

Books appear in Google Scholar Students have asked the instructional

staff, “Do we have this?”

What happened?

Strong administrative support for adding to the Library’s home page.

Went live April 18th 2005, in time for the end of the Spring term.

Library instruction has begun to explicitly include Google Scholar in some classes (Fall 2005).

Some Statistics

August 20051121 page clicks ~ 31 uses/day

765 unique IP ~ 25 IP/day

September 2005… so far ~ 38 uses/day

~ 29 IP/day

Thank You! Questions?

URLs and Contact Info

Peter Binkley’s page:

http://www.ualberta.ca/~pbinkley/gso/ UNC Libraries:

http://www.lib.unc.edu/ Tim Shearer

sheat@ils.unc.edu

Shearer Mod

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