Well, we're using LC and SUDOC here. What I really want is something
that is both searchable and browsable, so that users can type in a call
number and then browse backward and forward as much as they want in call
number order.

We have Endeca here, so my patrons can browse into the LC scheme and
then sort the results in call number order, but I don't have a way to
browse forward and backward starting with a specific call number (like
you would if you were browsing the shelves physically).

-emily

Keith Jenkins wrote:
> Emily,
>
> Are you using LC or Dewey?
>
> A while back, I wanted to generate browsable lists of new books,
> organized by topic. I ended up using the LC call number to group the
> titles into manageable groups. Here's an example:
> http://supportingcast.mannlib.cornell.edu/newbooks/?loc=mann
>
> Titles are sorted by call number, and also grouped by the initial
> letters of the LC classification, such as "Q" or "QL". For monthly
> lists of new books, most groupings usually have less than 20 titles,
> which makes for easy browsing of titles within someone's general
> subject of interest. The Table of Contents at the top of the page
> only lists those classifications that are present in the set of titles
> currently being viewed. (In an earlier version, Q would only be split
> into QA, QB, etc. if there were more than 20 items with Q call
> numbers.)
>
> Things do tend to get a bit out of control in some of the
> classifications for literature... no one wants to scan through a list
> of 452 titles:
> http://supportingcast.mannlib.cornell.edu/newbooks/?class=PL
>
> So for entire collections, a lot more work would be needed to create
> finer subgroups, since each classification is uniquely complex. For
> example:
> PL1-8844 : Languages of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
> PL1-481 : Ural-Altaic languages
> PL21-396 : Turkic languages
> PL400-431 : Mongolian languages
> PL450-481 : Tungus Manchu languages
>
> (An idea... maybe it would work to simply forget about pre-determined,
> named call number ranges and look for "natural breaks" in the call
> numbers, rather than trying to model the intricate details of each
> individual classification schedule.)
>
> The site runs on a set of MARC records extracted from the catalog.
> Users can also subscribe to RSS feeds for any combination of location,
> language, or classification group.
>
> I did some early experimentation to include cover images, but never
> seemed to get enough matches to make that worthwhile.
>
> Keith
>
> Keith Jenkins
> GIS/Geospatial Applications Librarian
> Mann Library, Cornell University
> Ithaca, New York 14853
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 11:46 AM, Emily Lynema <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> Hey all,
>>
>> I would love to tackle the issue of creating a really cool call number
>> browse tool that utilizes book covers, etc. However, I'd like to do this
>> outside of my ILS/OPAC. What I don't know is whether there are any indexing
>> / SQL / query techniques that could be used to browse forward and backword
>> in an index like this.
>>
>> Has anyone else worked on developing a tool like this outside of the OPAC? I
>> guess I would be perfectly happy even if it was something I could build
>> directly on top of the ILS database and its indexes (we use SirsiDynix
>> Unicorn).
>>
>> I wanted to throw a feeler out there before trying to dream up some wild
>> scheme on my own.
>>
>> -emily
>>
>> P.S. The version of BiblioCommons released at Oakville Public Library has a
>> sweet call number browse function accessible from the full record page. I
>> would love to know know how that was accomplished.
>>
>> http://opl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1413841_mars
>>
>> --
>> Emily Lynema
>> Systems Librarian for Digital Projects
>> Information Technology, NCSU Libraries
>> 919-513-8031
>> [log in to unmask]
>>

--
Emily Lynema
Systems Librarian for Digital Projects
Information Technology, NCSU Libraries
919-513-8031
[log in to unmask]