On 20 Jul 2007, at 12:56, MacLeod, Roderick A wrote:
> This list is interested in the repository haystack, and we all want to
> make the repository haystack visible. However, is there evidence that
> that haystack is of any more interest to typical searchers than other
> haystacks?
Are all the haystacks Googleable? Do they all exhibit the same
behaviour as the Repository haystacks?
> PerX findings http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/perx/analysis.htm#needs suggest
> not, for one sector at least.
The suggestion to which you refer ("Repositories per se are therefore
unlikely to become as important in engineering as they have become,
or may become, in some other disciplines") is disclaimed in the
report "It is important to note that the studies mentioned above
refer for the most part to the information and communication needs of
engineers of all types, and not just engineers within academia." I
would not expect repositories of research outputs to satisfy the
needs of those who are not researchers - but I would hope that they
would satisfy the *research needs* of those who are.
--
les
