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FIND-IT! ILLINOIS : Improving access to Illinois’ electronic  information resources: 

FIND-IT! ILLINOIS : Improving access to Illinois’ electronic information resources Prepared for the State Documents Depository Library Conference in Hartford, Connecticut, May 11-12

FIND OUT ABOUT FIND-IT! ILLINOIS: 

FIND OUT ABOUT FIND-IT! ILLINOIS Provides web access to vast Illinois resources An Illinois State Library/Secretary of State Web “portal” to a variety of databases and services Find it at: http://findit.sos.state.il.us

FIND-IT! ILLINOIS : PROJECT OBJECTIVES: 

FIND-IT! ILLINOIS : PROJECT OBJECTIVES Create Web portal with access to Illinois government information and holdings of Illinois libraries Improve access through metatagging and creation of a subject thesaurus Archive state electronic documents Halt the erosion of the Illinois State Library’s hard-copy collection Prepare for the shift from paper documents to electronic format

Slide5: 

1999 IMLS National Leadership Grant EXPORTING GILS WAGILS GETTING STARTED WITH THE HELP OF WAGILS

METADATA : EXPEDITING ACCESS TO INTERNET RESOURCES: 

METADATA : EXPEDITING ACCESS TO INTERNET RESOURCES Metadata provides the means for describing web pages to enhance resource discovery Structured encoded data, similar to cataloging Metatagging increases precision by narrowing searches to specific fields, rather than keyword access to the entire text FIND-IT! Illinois employs the Washington GILS metadata attribute set

WAGILS METADATA ATTRIBUTE SET: 

WAGILS METADATA ATTRIBUTE SET Core elements: Title Description Originator (+ subfield) CreateDate & dateofLastModification TimePeriodTextual Medium GovType Keywords Subjects Contact (+ subfield) OriginalControlIdentifier AccessConstraints Additional Elements AgencyProgram Linkage Note METATAG

I NEVER METADATA THAT COULD TAKE THE PLACE OF A THESAURUS: 

I NEVER METADATA THAT COULD TAKE THE PLACE OF A THESAURUS Why isn’t metadata enough? Metadata standards are limited to format and structure of descriptive elements. Although metadata formats specify the authority used for the content, they are merely packages for content. Thesauri determine content of elements allocated to subject metadata.

CLASSIFIED INFORMATION: ON THE ROLE OF A SUBJECT THESAURUS: 

CLASSIFIED INFORMATION: ON THE ROLE OF A SUBJECT THESAURUS It is a separate tool that unites indexers and searchers in deciding how to tag documents for indexing and retrieval. It sits behind a search interface. Users don’t interact with it as a separate operation. It improves the retrieval results from a search engine.

A GILS-WIDE SUBJECT TREE : A THESAURUS FOR US : 

A GILS-WIDE SUBJECT TREE : A THESAURUS FOR US Essential principles in developing our shared thesaurus: Interoperability must not be compromised by specificity. Specificity must not be lost to interoperability. Development is a collaborative effort. Access to specialized subject knowledge by non-specialists ensures usefulness. Completion is a precursor to obsolescence.

THE FIRST STEP: FINDING HELP: 

THE FIRST STEP: FINDING HELP The Illinois State Library contracted with Dr. Jessica Milstead from The JELEM Company (http://www.jelem.com/) to develop the structure and vocabulary for the subject tree. Dr. Milstead examined the WAGILS, Oregon, Texas, New Mexico and California subject lists as a basis for our consortial tree.

THESAURUS CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE: 

THESAURUS CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE MultiTes software provided the tools for creating and managing complex sets of relationships. http://www.multites.com “MultiTes, thesaurus construction and management software, makes it easy to create, browse, print, and maintain different types of vocabularies and thesauri…handle lists of Terms, Descriptors,Top Terms, Subject Headings, Polyhierarchical Thesauri, Authority Files, Subject Categories, and Multilingual Thesauri.”

DESIGNING THE CONSORTIAL TREE: A CATEGORICALLY CORRECT CHECKLIST: 

DESIGNING THE CONSORTIAL TREE: A CATEGORICALLY CORRECT CHECKLIST Subject tree will be collapsible/expandable. Users will drill down, rather than scroll. In most cases, the tree will be 3 levels deep, with some categories down 4 levels and at least one at 5 levels. Users can enter a term directly rather than work their way down the tree.

CHECKLIST CONTINUED….: 

CHECKLIST CONTINUED…. Universality at the top level. Specificity at lower levels. List must fit on screen with a minimum of crowding. Must be easy to use for both creators and searchers. Design must be customizable by other states. Size of thesaurus: no more than 700-1,000 terms, with 14 top level categories.

CHECKLIST CONTINUED, CONTINUES : 

CHECKLIST CONTINUED, CONTINUES Multiple access points are necessary and accommodated in the following ways: References from equivalent terms (use references) will be provided. Some topics will appear at more than one location in the tree. Scope notes are crucial for some top level and second level headings.

ON BEING AT TWO OR MORE PLACES AT ONE TIME: 

ON BEING AT TWO OR MORE PLACES AT ONE TIME The same category can appear at two different levels of the hierarchy in order to: Minimize the amount of drilling down required. Retrieve all lower levels when a particular category is selected. For example: Public safety, consumer protection, courts >Public safety >>Disasters >>Emergency management >>>Disasters

CONSIDERATIONS FOR DESIGNING AN INTERFACE: 

CONSIDERATIONS FOR DESIGNING AN INTERFACE Accommodate a rich set of relationships, without making the list cumbersome to users Placement of scope notes complexity of function combined with simplicity of design Support polyhierarchy, whereby a single term can be a part of more than one hierarchy.

CONSTRUCTING A RULEBASE : 

CONSTRUCTING A RULEBASE The Illinois State Library will contract with Margie Hlava at Access Innovations to develop vocabulary and rule building services for the Netscape Compass Application http://www.accessinn.com Data Harmony Machine Aided Indexer Software: Analysis of existing taxonomy and syntax Creation of Boolean-style rules via custom programming and/or editorial work Rulebase will be shared with other GILS states