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SULAIR NEWS – February 11, 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  1. Try SearchWorks
  2. Historical American Maps Collection Donated to Stanford
  3. Future Direction in Metadata Remediation for Metadata Aggregators Publication Announcement
  4. *** Reference Question of the Week ***
  5. SULAIR Job Opportunities

1. Try SearchWorks

SearchWorks is the Stanford Libraries' prototype of a new, next-generation information discovery environment, a place that offers new ways to find and access all of Stanford Libraries' holdings and licensed content. SearchWorks complements Socrates, which continues to serve as the Libraries' online catalog.

Give SearchWorks a try at:
http://searchworks.stanford.edu/

Its major new features include:

  • A simple, intuitive interface, including faceted browsing, which allows users to refine results sets by filtering for online resources, location, author, subject, and more.
  • Relevance ranked search results (a useful alternative to Socrates, which lists results in LIFO--last in, first out--order).
  • An embedded book viewer from Google, allowing you to view the Google scanned copy without leaving SearchWorks. For example, read a work about Lincoln from a contemporary or preview a book about our new president. Look for the "Full Text " or "Preview" tabs.
  • The ability to export citations via copy/paste, RSS feeds, Zotero, RefWorks, EndNote or even SMS to your to your mobile phone.
SearchWorks was first deployed in October, and usage has spread largely through word of mouth. For Fall Quarter, there were about 30 visitors per day on average. In the new year, usage took a dramatic upturn, with an average of more than 100 visitors per day for January.

We have received a substantial amount of user feedback. Overall, the reaction has been very positive. Patrons have written to say:
  • "Had I known how good [it] would be I would have used it earlier!"
  • This is "the search engine we wish we had in grad school."
  • "The "cite this" feature is awesome. Having this will make life a lot easier."
Patrons have also made a wealth of suggestions for enhancements. This is critical, as the SearchWorks team is prioritizing feature enhancements based on direct user feedback. Highest on the priority list are adding in sort by publication date, better browsing (by call number, title, author), advanced searching, and better support for non-Roman scripts.

Work continues to enhance and extend SearchWorks. Let us know how you like it or get more information about it by clicking on the Feedback button on the SearchWorks home page or by sending email to searchworks-feedback@lists.stanford.edu.

--submitted by Tom Cramer
2. Historical American Maps Collection Donated to Stanford

sample map from Rumsey collectionMap collector David Rumsey has given 150,000 maps of the Americas, most of which were drawn between 1700 and 1925, to the Stanford University Libraries. The collection includes physical maps as well as digital images. The physical maps will be housed in the University Libraries' Special Collections, and the digital files will be preserved in Stanford's digital preservation archive. Digital images from Rumsey's collection can be viewed at the David Rumsey Map Collection. The collection includes such gems as a map showing the first depiction of the Rocky Mountains found folded into a first edition of Lewis and Clark's 1814 travel book chronicling their trek across the American West and an 1839 atlas showing Texas as an independent republic.

Many of the maps from the Rumsey collection are already cataloged, and can be found by searching for David Rumsey maps.

For more information about this amazing collection see the Stanford Report article Maps of Americas past, or visit the Branner Earth Sciences Library and Map Collections.

--submitted by Chris Bourg
3. Future Direction in Metadata Remediation for Metadata Aggregators Publication Announcement

Of particular interest to digital library developers, project managers, and metadata specialist working on aggregating collection:

The Digital Library Federation (DLF) is pleased to announce the publication of Future Directions in Metadata Remediation for Metadata Aggregators, a report that identifies and evaluates tools that can be used to normalize and enhance metadata. Commissioned by DLF Aquifer, the report was written by Greta de Groat, electronic media cataloger in the Metadata Development Unit of the Stanford University Libraries, and was supported by a grant from The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. The report will be available for download, free of charge, from the DLF Web site in early February 2009; print-on-demand copies will be sold on Amazon.com later that month.

Congratulations, Greta!

The report is temporarily available from the DLF Web site at http://www.diglib.org/aquifer/dlf110.pdf. The DLF Web site is undergoing a redesign and migration. When that is completed, the report will be available from the publications area of the new Web site.

--submitted by Katherine Kott
4. *** Reference Question of the Week ***

Question: I'm looking for photographs of Stanford University, in digital formats, such as jpeg and gif. I need both historical and fairly current photos. Where should I look?

Answer: You can find historical photographs of Stanford University on the Historical Photograph Collection website. Be sure to read the directions on this site, as you must download some software to view the images.

You can find recent photos through the Stanford News Service You can email their Library for requests: newslibrary@stanford.edu and they also maintain a website of recent photos. Their policies for use and publication are explained on their site.

You can find more reference questions and answers at the Information Center Web site.

To contribute to the Reference Question of the Week feature of SULAIR News, submit your question and answer through the SULAIR News online submission form.

--submitted by Editorial Staff
5. SULAIR Job Opportunities

SULAIR has no new positions this week.

For a complete description of open positions within SULAIR, go to the Stanford Jobs page and type University Libraries in the Job Search box at the bottom of the page.

--submitted by Editorial Staff
SULAIR News is an electronic publication of Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources issued weekly. Copy deadline is 12:00 NOON Friday for publication on the following Wednesday. Submit items for publication via the online submission system.
Editor: Eleanor Brown, Eleanor.Brown@stanford.edu
Last modified: May 10, 2006
   
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