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"generate artificial serendipity" Now my motto! Cary On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 11:02 AM, Simon Spero <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > There's another source of data for training library relevance ranking that I > don't think has been exploited much yet. > > (for academic libraries) > Searches against catalogs are usually intended to locate material to fill a > specific information need. > > Often this information seeking results in circulation events. > > Many systems can identify the person who conducted a search session. > Comparing the search results to actual checkout events might be fruitful. > > For example, if a search for certain keywords resulted in checkout events > for items other than those listed, but within shelf browsing distance, > there may be a strong relationship between the words and the information > need satisfied by those concepts. > > Incidentally, this is the kind of association that would me much easier to > find if the LCSH hierarchy hadn't been so badly mangled by computer. If the > hierarchy were intact it would be possible to aggregate subjects to deal > with the sparseness of the circulation events. > > Note that getting hold of this data may require working with central IT > (e.g. If the library only has ip addresses, and the holder of that ip > address at that time is known only via dhcp logs; or if the computers in the > library require login, those logs may not be accessible to library systems > staff directly.) This kind of work should also go through the IRB, even if > their approval is not explicitly required. They may have good ideas for > avoiding possible privacy violations. > > Simon > p.s. > If the physical layout of the library is known, you could also estimate scan > radius. You could also calculate, based on checkouts of items seemingly > unrelated to the search, from shelves passed on the way to the elevator, how > to generate artificial serendipity by randomly throwing a few such items > into the search results. > > Simon > -- Cary Gordon The Cherry Hill Company http://chillco.com