Searching the IRN: Metadata at a Corporate Digital Library

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Last Modified
  • February 28, 2019
Creator
  • Altman, Richard Lee
    • Affiliation: School of Information and Library Science
Abstract
  • This study describes the implementation and evaluation of a search tool for online market research at a large corporate library. The author details the creation of a search system using metadata to catalog online documents, based the following open standards of document description: RDF, XML, and Dublin Core. This search system was implemented in a corporate library called the Information Resource Network (IRN). The effectiveness of this search tool was evaluated using an online survey, in combination with search log analysis. The survey was conducted to determine the search preferences of the IRN staff, and to measure their level of satisfaction with the new search engine. Distribution of the survey to the IRN yielded a 67% response rate from the department's 38 professional researchers. Delivery of the surveys via a web-based corporate tool allowed extremely rapid response time, with the majority of participants responding within two days of notification. Three distinct user groups were identified within the IRN, based on job function: information specialists, associate specialists, and administrators. Analysis of the survey data and log files indicated that the new IRN search engine was well received. During the first four months of usage, 56.1% (23715) searches involved some combination of metadata options. Users voiced a common desire for wider coverage of online materials, with better notification of exactly which documents were searchable. Future search developments should focus on the creation of a universal metadata scheme for all online documents, expanding on the current version of the IRN search engine.
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Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Sonnenwald, Diane H.
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Extent
  • 62 p.
Access right
  • Open access
Date uploaded
  • December 10, 2010

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