Related Reading

Twenty-five years of end-user searching, Part 1: Research findings by Karen Markey
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
Volume 58, Issue 8 , Pages 1071 - 1081
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asi.20462

This review summarizes quantifiable evidence on end-user searching
- mean number of queries per search session (most between 2 and 4)
- the use of boolean operators (less than 15% use AND; less than 2% use OR)
- most end users accept default values for searching
- when end users use advance search features in their queries, they use them incorrectly about one third of the time
- the vast majority of end-users are satisfied with their searches

Twenty-five years of end-user searching, Part 2: Future Research Directions by Karen Markey
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
Volume 58, Issue 8 , Pages 1123 - 1130
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asi.20601

Discusses research findings about end-user searching in the context of current information retrieval models

"When researchers analyse end-users' failed searches, the number one problem is their initial choice of search terms (Debowski, [2001], p. 377; Hsieh-Yee, [1993], p. 169; Lucas & Topi, [2002], p. 105; Sewell & Teitelbaum, [1986], p. 241; Wildemuth & Moore, [1995], p. 299). Instead of using a database's controlled vocabulary, users search for the first terms that come to mind. Failing to use the controlled vocabulary has an adverse effect on the precision of their searches and makes it impossible for users to enlist the vocabulary's special search features such as exploding terms, listing subheadings, and displaying term relationships."

"Would users like to review their previous searches for a topic, resume them from the point at which they terminated them, or would they prefer systems to summarize previous search(es)? What summary information would be most useful, for example, databases(s) searched, search term(s) used, retrievals seen? Would the availability of summary information reduce user duplication of previous actions?"

NASIG 2007: A New Approach to Service Discovery and Resource Delivery by Dan Chudnov
135 slides [pdf]
outlines a strategy to make the library more like iTunes

The Mellon Grant at the University of Minnesota Libraries
34 slides [pps]
Through a Mellon Grant, the University of Minnesota developed a model for assessing support for scholarship and research on a large research campus. The framework focused on three broad components: information resources, infrastructure services, and research behaviors. The model begins at slide 17 (Discover. Gather. Share. Create) and then it blossoms as research behaviors are mapped upon it.