[WEB4LIB] RE: Two steps forward, three steps back

[Andrew Darby]

For what it's worth, we use Endeavour, and the reference librarians make 
the same complaints as Stacy.  Most grating is the fact that the 
"command" keyword search defaults to OR, and Endeavour doesn't seem to 
allow one to switch it to a default AND.  In this googly world, you'd 
think that would be a reasonable option.  A couple of libraries (UCLA, 
Getty Research Library) have written Javascripts that automatically 
populate the search string with an AND.

Andrew Darby
Web Services Librarian
Ithaca College Library
http://www.ithaca.edu/library/

Jimm Wetherbee wrote:
> Bill,
> 
> [you wrote]
> 
> | 
> | If your consortium had chosen ALEPH, you would not be having the
> | problems you see.  ALPEH has its peculiarities but its searching and
> | indexing for keyword is quite good.
> [--jimm replies] 
> 
> I tried all but one of Stacy's queries on our Endeavor system in the same
> manner as she describe and was quite successful.  The only reason I didn't
> attempt one (the exact title search) is because it is an option we
> deliberately left off.  I was also somewhat confused by the comments on
> keyword searching.  Endeavor makes a distinction between a command search
> (which uses Boolean logic, and is aimed at those of us who still remember
> running BRS and Dialog from a terminal) and a keyword search (which does
> not).  It is possible that her local system admin relabeled the command
> search as "keyword," but if so, that is hardly a vendor issue at all.
> 
> --jimm
> | 
> | Bill Drew
> | drewwe at morrisville.edu
> | 
> | > -----Original Message-----
> | > From: web4lib at webjunction.org
> | > [mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Stacy Pober
> | > Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 5:40 PM
> | > To: Multiple recipients of list
> | > Subject: [WEB4LIB] Two steps forward, three steps back
> | >
> | >
> | > Here are some search examples that fail and what Voyager wants to see:
> | >
> | >   Failed basic "Find Keyword" search:  death of a salesman
> | >   Working version: death and of and a and salesman
> | >    (User MUST use boolean connectors even though it is explicitly a
> | >    keyword search)
> | >
> | >   Failed advanced "Find in Keyword Anywhere" search: war and peace
> | >   Working version: war peace
> | >     (Using boolean connectors in this search ensures the search
> | >      will fail)
> | >
> | >   Failed advanced "Find in Title" search: lion, the witch,
> | > and the wardrobe
> | >   Working version: lion, the witch, the wardrobe
> | >    (Again, system chokes when finding unexpected boolean "and")
> | >
> | >   Failed advanced "Find in Title": kings and desperate men
> | >   and
> | >   Failed basic "Find in Title, Exact": kings and desperate men
> | >   Working version: kings & desperate men
> | >     (Users must use ampersand if it is part of the title.
> | > System does not
> | >     know how to alias "and" and "&".
> | 
> | 
> | ---
> | [This E-mail scanned for viruses by Declude Virus]
> 
> 
> 
> 
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