Web Ideas from our Patrons[web advisory group]1. ideas: I would like to see a step by step protocol of how to connect to the various databases through EndNote software
2. ideas: The Browsery on the 2nd floor of Hayden has a collection of newly released books of general interest. I would enjoy seeing a list of some of these on-line. Scanning in a few colorful titles would a nice touch (a la the Amazon.com design for a book's description.) Also, we have access to a number of different data bases (INSPEC, various CDs of journal articles, etc.) It would be helpful if there were a meta-search capacity to look at several/all of these data bases simultaneously, without having to go through them one by one.
3. ideas: Let us check out books online. We can select a number of books and the requests are forwarded to the appropriate library. Work-study students dig up the books and set them aside. They are placed on hold for 24 hours awaiting pickup. Also, add a provision so books from different libraries can be retrieved at one location.
4. ideas: There are so many people associated with the libraries with great expertise in academic disciplines, as well as methods and approaches to finding resources and conducting research. My idea would be to make it easier for patrons to access this knowledge, and to access the knowledge of other patrons in addition. How? - License expertise management technology from a company such as Abuzz (www.abuzz.com) or Ask Jeeves (see www.askjeeves.com) to enable patrons to ask Questions, and to have the Q&A results archived into a growing knowledge-store. For an illustration of this, check out Dell computer's support pages' "Ask Dudley" at www.dell.com
5. ideas: instructions for how to use databases (e.g., lexus) updates on what journals in specific fields are available online improved barton (maybe it alreday is, buit I have had trouble with web version and telnet version is archaic)
6. ideas: Explanation of the "L button" should be on top of page for http://libraries.mit.edu/lists/ejrnls-short.html. Instead of the long list that runs off the computer's screen,on your list of databases at http://libraries.mit.edu/lists/db-web.html, you could use this web trick .. . When the mouse runs over a link, its full description jumps up as an image to the side of the list. Basically, I'm not offering any revolutionary ideas. I just think that you should be really conscience of the fact that links are easier than scrolling down long lists (especially on athena). I think it also makes the comprehension of the heirarchy of the site easier.
7 ideas: It would be great to have a keyword-searchable database of theses completed by Masters students in EECS and other departments.
8. ideas: Dear Santa Claus, Here's my wish-list: + Allow MIT affiliates to access databases, ILL electronic forms, etc., from non-MIT computers (perhaps via the use of a password). This would make it most convenient for MIT affiliates who happen to be away from MIT and from computers with MIT IP addresses. + Allow recalls/holds, acquisition suggestions and the like via Barton and tfirst, respectively. + Mmmm. (More later...) Thank you for such kind request, -michel.
9. ideas: I think the number one priority of the libraries should be access to resources like database searches from non-MIT IP addresses for valid MIT community members. Graduate students are almost forced to live off campus because of the housing shortage. However, one advantage is that I am able to use a high-speed cable modem from MediaOne. Accessing the library using an MIT certificate in much the same way I access my student fianancial records and grade reports would have been extremely helpful for my thesis research. I know several other classmates who agree. As a side note, it would have been particularly helpful this term since our first child arrived in February. Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to provide this feedback.
10. ideas: One thing that really bothers me in WebBarton is the way you can't just type in kw= but actually have to select it in the other box. You should have the option of just typing that information. Also, when you find out a book is in a particular library, you should be able to link to that library to get the hours and location of the library. It would also be neat if you could get a map that showed you the location of the book or journal within the library, as navigating some of the libraries gets quite difficult. A wonderful thing, though I don't know how feasible it would be, would be some universal search engine that searched all the databases that MIT has. For example, if I wanted to search all the medical databases I could pick them from the list and only type my query once, while it is sent to all the databases. Sort of like the way dogpile.com works. If possible, it should be more user-friendly to search the libraries that MIT has interlibrary borrowing with.
11. ideas: IF MIT HAS BOOKS ON ARCHAEOLOGY, LIST THAT FACT SOMEWHERE ON YOUR WEBSITE. (IF MIT DOES NOT HAVE BOOKS ON ARCHAEOLOGY, SUGGEST TO THE LIBRARY THAT THEY PURCHASE SOME BOOKS ON THIS SUBJECT.) DITTO FOR BOOKS ON ANCIENT HISTORY.
12. ideas: One thing that I would like to implement in the next iteration of our own web site is an option for users to develop their own profiles, similar to the MyYahoo, MyNetscape, MyLibrary sites that are out there. This option would allow your web users to customize their own library home page to readily access only those features of your site that they find most useful. By registering and setting up their own profile, you could send a cookie to their computer that would take them directly to their home page, providing of course that they could always get back to the full MIT Library's web site if they wanted. Robert Vander Hart UMass Medical School Worcester, Mass.
13. ideas: more resources for evaluating books and articles (book review digests, etc.)
14. ideas: I would really like to see a type of search where you can type in a question (ie. "How does the internet work") and get back a list of recommended sources.
15. ideas: It would be nice if we could log in and check the status of the books we have borrowed (like what we borrowed and when each is due).
16. ideas: I'd really like to see the databases available by certificate, (i.e., not on the basis of IP address). It is truly inconvenient for those of us who live off campus (I have to get tether to use the databases at home).
17. ideas: MacOS has a delightful feature called Sherlock which will search a zillion search engines all at once, summarise and prioritize the results. It is easy to write plugins for Sherlock to widen its utility. How about a Barton plugin for Sherlock? I search certain databases regularly and others rarely if at all. It would be swell if I could register my preferences and get my favourite databases listed first--this could perhaps be managed by sending a cookie to my computer. For that matter, it would be wonderful if I could have Sherlock plugins for each database, such that I could select the ones I think might be relevant, and search all of them at once. Or perhaps you could provide a website which would do such a metasearch, rather than write all those plugins. The user interface could be as simple as adding a checkbox beside each database on your existing page, then providing a "search" box at the bottom. Of course, one would still want direct access to each database. I suggested a while ago that a modern Bartlett's Quotations would be swell. The Bartleby project to which you have a pointer from the reference section is charming, but it's a very old edition. This is available on CD-ROM, and I should hope that getting a license to serve it would not be prohibi
18. ideas: How about a layout which has the following: 1. A specialist search facility inside each category.
19. ideas: Hello, I use library catalogs fairly heavily and find the web-based interfaces remain slow and clunky (regardless of connection speed) relative to Telnet-accessible terminal versions. Web-based catalogs inevitably require too much back-and-forth navigation and clunky tabbing between dialogs to assemble a search. The single greatest improvement that could be made to MIT's database access would be the implementation of an e-mailing capability in Telnet Barton (along the lines of this feature in traditional Hollis). The second greatest improvement would be offering a window in the web search page in which users could assemble a query using the traditional Barton syntax rather than having to move among multiple entry boxes. In short -- streamline and simplify. Thanks for the opportunity to comment!
20. ideas: a) citation search tools
21. ideas: Hello Again, A further addition to an earlier comment -- The option to e-mail the results of searches would be significantly improved if the user could select alternative formats. Hollis (via Telnet) offer a short form that is easy to paste directly into bibliographies -- a great help. Thanks.
22. ideas: Please post the hours of operation of the Reserve Book Room on the hours (http://libraries.mit.edu/admin/hours.html) page.
23. ideas: Make the "Find" button easier to find. Put it in bright yellow, where the "submit ideas, win prizes button" is.
24. ideas: Functionally, it should be easier to find magazine/periodicals. It's always been my biggest problem finding the appropriate journal information without actually going into the library. Creatively, there should be some sort of spotlight on new books in the library, especially humanities/ works of fiction. If I could see what books are new or coming in soon, I might be more inspired to come into the library and use it for something other than class research. People at MIT need to get their noses out of physics books once in awhile and read something that expands their minds with people issues!
25. ideas: Many classes have online textbooks and tutorials. Links to these would be a useful addition, perhaps in the E-reserves section or online catalog. Additionally, the E-reserves section requests authentication repeatedly, sometimes more than once per page loading. Is there a better way (perhaps cookies?) which would allow a user to follow links within the system to proceed without continually authorizing, and yet prevent copyright infringement by users proceeding directly to the URL?
26. ideas: can't remember if I already suggested this or not, but having more "meta-information" about references (i.e. access to book reviews and annotated bibliographies) on-line would be great!
27. ideas: To Whom It May Concern: First, I would like to say that the Libraries have been invaluable to my research, and that the web site has helped greatly in providing links to other online reseources and in requesting non-MIT literature. With that said, some changes could be made to the web site to make it even more helpful. 1) Re-organize the front page into resources, rather than the individual libraries. For example, prominantly display links to online journals, to Barton, to interlibrary requests, and to information about library hours. 2) Is it possible to link the Journal Citation Index (found in the Science library) to the web? 3) An email service that informs subscribers of newly-acquired books that would interest them. Subscribers could sign-up via the web sites and provide their subject areas of interest. 4) A service that allows a user to check-up on the status of requested non-MIT materials, e.g. patents and articles. On several occasions, I had to follow up on my delinquent requests, which are not the fault of MIT. Those are my two cents. I hope this helps some.
28. ideas: Although circulation workers are often busy, I see that they are sometimes not occupied with library functions. Why not have an on-line "chat" function for web users with questions. The questions would pop up on the screen of logged-in circulation workers, and they could answer them right away. This way web users can get a little extra help navigating around. Jeff
29. ideas: List a "Tip Of The Week" telling of ONE (free) MIT or Cambridge event or service. For Example: 1.) obscure/interesting lectures, concerts, films, sporting events and 2.) athletic club mtg/event with who/what/when/where, etc. and 3.) obscure site of the week, telling of some local cambridge hang-out, or under- utilized park, etc. and 4.) some brief story telling some Cambridge history--relating to a particular neighborhood/place, NOT directly to do with MIT inventions, etc...though, of course, relating to MIT and its connection to the community. When nothing particular stands out as interesting-to-the-general public, put in a meaning-of-life quote. You could also just add these to the 'Tip Of The Week' as a policy. THE IDEA HERE IS TO CONNECT THE WIDER COMMUNITY---ESPECIALLY CAMBRIDGE RESIDENTS---TO THE MIT PRESS AND MIT; to give a place (The MIT Press web site) where LOCAL people can quickly and weekly learn about something (event/club/history) that has to do with Cambridge and MIT. By highlighint ONE event, those in the area will greatly appreciate a new suggestion/tidbit (instead of scanning the numerous lists published EVERYWHERE), those outside the area will learn more about what's happening in The MIT Press-thinking environment, and YOU can offer something unique on your site, without overburdening yourselves with too much extra web-page updating. Good Luck!
30. ideas: In adittion of sending an email with the books due, the library could send another email which lists all the library books that the student has. In that way, students, will not need to go to the library each time they need a printout of the books they've borrowed.
[web advisory group] |