Hi all
Some may have seen this already. Interesting example of using library circulation data; limited direct application in museums as we generally don't have this sort of information, but could be adapted using other information to help users find materials they may be interested in but hadn't thought of, perhaps exploiting online catalogue search logs, maybe aggregated across similar collections.
Alan
Dr Alan Knox
Head of Historic Collections
University of Aberdeen
King's College
Aberdeen AB24 3SW
Great universities have great museums!
tel +44 (0)1224 272599
fax +44 (0)1224 273891
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
www.abdn.ac.uk/historic<http://www.abdn.ac.uk/historic>
From: A JISC announce list. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Nicola Yeeles
Sent: 29 October 2009 13:50
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Press Release: JISC competition helps find stars in library user
data
Press Release
JISC competition helps find stars in library user data
Figures showing everyday use of a university library are the unlikely stars
of a JISC-funded competition showcasing innovative approaches to presenting
library data.
The winning entrant, an undergraduate computer scientist, created an
imaginative 'book galaxy' showing books as stars in the galaxy of library
resources accessed by University of Huddersfield students and staff.
Explore the galaxy at
http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/ajp3g08/mosaicbookgalaxy/
Alex Parker's space-age entry presents library data in three different
'galaxy' views where library books are represented as moving stars that
change speed and location according to how popular they are within a given
course. They also join together in constellations to show books on
connected topic, while orbited by meteors representing the courses of the
students using those books.
JISC's MOSAIC ('making our shared activity count') project is investigating
the possibilities for data showing user activity, such as book circulation,
in UK university libraries.
Balviar Notay, JISC programme manager said: "JISC has funded this innovative
research to really probe how we analyse and exploit library activity data.
It's exciting to see the potential of this data and how it could provide
library users with a new personalized way of browsing the shelves."
Starry-eyed Alex, a University of Southampton student, admits that he was
"amazed" to hear the news of his winning entry. He explains: "The main
reason I entered this competition is that I think that doing a keyword
search and presenting lists of books to users is not always the best way to
find what you want in a library, especially if you're not sure what you're
looking for. I had an idea that if you linked similar books together in a
'web' and did that for every book in the library interesting patterns would
emerge.
"I hope to see the ideas presented in my application applied to library
search systems as an alternative to keyword searches, but not as a
replacement," he concluded.
Other entries include an application which suggests a course based on the
books you've enjoyed reading, a facility for sharing your reading list with
others, and way of finding out which books students on a given course have
taken out, as well as how much they've saved by using the library rather
than buying them.
The judges were looking for applications that demonstrated ease of use,
usefulness, potential and coolness. Judge Ken Chad commented: "I had an
enjoyable couple of hours with these applications; it warmed my heart to see
them." He explained that all of the entries exceeded expectations in terms
in terms of quality and imagination.
To sign up for the final MOSAIC event at the University of Wolverhampton on
Wednesday 18 November, which will feature all of the competition
applications, email <[log in to unmask]>. Full details are at
<http://www.sero.co.uk/jisc-mosaic.html>
Explore the book galaxy at
http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/ajp3g08/mosaicbookgalaxy/
Find out how the other competition entrants used the library data at
<http://www.sero.co.uk/jisc-mosaic-results.html>
For more information about MOSAIC go to
<http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningcapital/reproduce/mosaic
.aspx>
The University of Aberdeen is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013683.
****************************************************************
For mcg information visit the mcg website at
http://www.museumscomputergroup.org.uk
To manage your subscription to this email list visit
http://www.museumscomputergroup.org.uk/email.shtml
****************************************************************
|
