[Web4lib] form to create static catalog links

[Rick Mason]

Hi Sara,

I don't have any experience with iBistro, but your situation sounds 
similar enough to something encountered by Voyager libraries, and you 
may be able to gain something from their work.

Check out:

http://www.library.ubc.ca/home/voyager/searchscript.html

and

http://libraryasp.tamu.edu/cannedsearch/cannedsearch.asp
(their "Help" page has some good detail on what it can do).

In my experience, the people who create these tools for Voyager 
libraries are quite helpful, so I wouldn't hesitate to contact them.

I hope this helps you find a solution!

Rick

Sara Patalita wrote:
> Hello!
>
> I'm hoping to create a quick Web-based application where people can
> enter their search terms and they will be given a static URL which they
> could use to link to the results of this search in our (iBistro)
> catalog.  [Note: I want to provide a URL, not link to the URL.]
>
> Our catalog uses dynamic URLs while actively searching, so you can't
> copy and paste the URLs for later retrieval.  I learned how to construct
> the syntax of search URLs in iBistro (see http://tinyurl.com/32mux5 ) --
> and savvy users can insert their terms into the (admittedly long and
> somewhat cumbersome) basic link structure.  The static URLs are used to
> email catalog links to our Ask a Librarian users, post on our Web site,
> blogs, etc.
>
> I think more of our staff - and maybe patrons - would make use of these
> URLs if they were easier to create.
>
> I assume I can create a simple application where users can enter their
> terms and get a quick URL back -- which would insert their terms into
> the catalog link structure (as described here: http://tinyurl.com/32mux5
> ), and perhaps even then converting to a tinyurl-type URL to shorten
> them and prevent possible line break problems.  The problem is, I'm not
> sure of what application/language I could/should use to accomplish
> this.
>
> Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Sara