Portals and Gateways in Library Services

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary benefit of the second generation of information retrieval tools?

Providing users with easy browsing capabilities

Collecting and annotating document surrogates

Automated collection and indexing of resources

Searching through massive amounts of information to locate desired information (correct)

What is a characteristic of the first generation of information retrieval tools?

Automatic collection and indexing of resources

Requiring considerable human efforts to collect and code resources (correct)

Searching through massive amounts of information

Providing access to full documents

What is an example of a third-generation World Wide Web meta search engine?

Harvester (correct)

Bing

Google

Yahoo

What is the primary focus of the fourth generation of information retrieval tools?

Search agent technology Signup and view all the answers

What is a benefit of traditional online services transforming into internet-based online services?

Improving access to remote library collections Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of the first generation of information retrieval tools in terms of access to documents?

Providing access to references to the end documents Signup and view all the answers

What is a term that has a similar meaning to 'Digital Library Services'?

Web Based Services Signup and view all the answers

What is a result of libraries moving towards providing services in a digital environment?

Improved access to remote library collections Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of a portal in the library community?

To offer a personalized service that integrates various existing services Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between a consumer portal and an enterprise portal?

The target audience Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of a vertical portal?

VerticalNet Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of a subject portal?

To offer a curated collection of resources on a specific topic Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the search protocol used in portals to integrate existing services?

Z39.50 Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of an enterprise portal?

Epicentric Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary advantage of using a portal in the library community?

It offers a personalized service that integrates various existing services Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of a portal in the library community?

To act as an electronic pathfinder for users Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of a search engine?

To retrieve documents or information that matches a user's query Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of subject directories?

They are maintained by humans who make editorial decisions Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of a virtual library tour?

To provide a virtual guide to the physical facilities of a library Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of Ask-A-Librarian services?

To connect users with individuals who possess specialized subject knowledge Signup and view all the answers

What is a query in the context of search engines?

A question phrased so that it can be interpreted properly by a search engine Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of search engines?

They are populated by robots that find and index sites Signup and view all the answers

What is a strength of subject directories?

They have a high level of relevance, effectiveness, and relative high quality of content Signup and view all the answers

What is a weakness of subject directories?

They lack depth in their coverage of the subjects Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Gateways

Internet Public Library (IPL), Bulletin Board for Libraries (BUBL), and National Information Services and Systems (NISS) are examples of well-known gateways.

Portals

Portals are defined as an amalgamation of services to users, achieved through seamless integration of existing services using customization and authentication services, search protocols, loan protocols, and e-commerce.
Portals provide personalized services allowing users to access rich content from both print-based and electronic systems.
There are three types of portals: Consumer (horizontal), Vertical, and Enterprise.
Consumer portals target consumer audiences and offer free email, games, chat, etc. Examples include Yahoo!, MSN, and AOL.
Vertical portals target specific industries and offer features similar to consumer portals. Examples include VerticalNet.
Enterprise portals are similar to consumer portals but are offered only to corporations or organizations. Examples include Epicentric and Corporate Yahoo!.

Subject Portals

Web Search Engines were developed initially by computer scientists, borrowing techniques from information retrieval searches.
Web-based services, digital library services, internet library services, and electronic library services have similar meanings.
Traditional online services have transformed into internet-based online services using web-based technologies.
Four generations of information retrieval tools have passed, assisting users in searching the World Wide Web.

Generations of Information Retrieval Tools

First generation: designed for use with bibliographic databases, providing access to references rather than documents, and requiring human effort to collect and index resources.
Second generation: attempts to collect and index resources automatically, reducing human effort and allowing users to search through massive amounts of information.
Third generation: deals with World Wide Web Meta search engines, such as Harvester and Meta crawler.
Fourth generation: involves new ideas such as search agent technology to search for information on the web.

Search Engines

A search engine is computer software that searches a collection of electronic materials to retrieve citations, documents, or information that matches a user's query.
Queries can be in the form of commands, statements, keywords, or images/sounds to be matched.

Subject Directories

Subject directories differ from search engines in that they are populated by humans making editorial decisions rather than robots.
Subject directories are basically index home pages of sites and can be classified as general, academic, commercial, or portal.
Examples of well-known subject directories include Argus Clearinghouse and Yahoo.
Strengths include relevance, effectiveness, and relative high quality of content, while weaknesses include lack of depth in subject coverage.

New Web-Based Library Services

Virtual Library Tours

Websites of libraries provide virtual library guides to physical facilities, including collections, services, and infrastructure available in the library.
Virtual library tours combine library maps, floor plans, library departments, and photographic views.

Ask-A-Librarian

Ask-A-Librarian services are internet-based question and answer services that connect users with individuals who possess specialized subject knowledge and skill in conducting precision searches.

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Description

This quiz covers different types of gateways and portals used in library services, including Internet Public Library, Bulletin Board for Libraries, and National Information Services and Systems.