[bksvol-discuss] Information from the Staff about Searching
- From: "Claire O'Brien" <ClaireO@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 09:27:09 -0800
Hi Everyone,
I'm posting this message on Lisa's behalf-
"My thanks to Jake Brownell for writing this very helpful summary on the
various book Searching options we support on the Bookshare.org website today.
Note that among the many interesting and helpful tips he provides, that it does
matter whether you are logged in or not. Read on."
Best regards, Lisa and the staff
-------
Different Types of Search
Bookshare.org has many different ways to look for and find books. Outlined
below are some of the key differences in the various searching mechanisms.
* Simple Search is the box at the top of every page labeled "Search for
Title or Author" along with the text "Searches the Bookshare collection"
* Advanced Search has its own web page and is available from the site
navigation, as the first item under the heading "Books".
* The Bookshare.org Site Search is the box at the top of every page that
follows Simple Search. It is labeled "Search Bookshare.org" along with the text
"Searches the Bookshare.org website"
Simple Search and Advanced Search are both database driven searches of the
books in the Bookshare.org collection. On the other hand, the Site Search is a
search engine powered index of Bookshare.org. The Site Search can be used to
find information on Bookshare.org and to find books in the Bookshare.org
collection, but it will not find all books (read on to find out why).
About Filters:
There are currently two filters in the Bookshare.org website:
* Adult Content Filter: restricts books that are marked containing adult
content to adult members who wish to see these books.
* Excellent Quality Only Filter: restricts books to those marked as
excellent.
Simple Search
* When not logged in, Simple Search will search the collection with both
Adult Content Filtering enabled and Excellent Quality Only Filter enabled.
* When logged in, Simple Search respects both Adult Content Filtering and
Excellent Quality Only Filtering.
Advanced Search
* When not logged in, Advanced Search will search the collection with the
Adult Content Filter enabled. It will also default the Scan Quality combo box
to Excellent Only.
* When logged in, the Advanced Search will respect the Adult Content
Filter setting. Currently, Advanced Search will default the Scan Quality combo
box to Excellent Only regardless of the filter setting; an upcoming update will
make this field default based on the filter setting for each user.
Site Search is a search engine powered search of Bookshare.org, which means
that its results are based on the contents of web pages rather than on the
contents of the Bookshare backend database. The search engine indexes pages
from the perspective of a visitor who is not logged in. Here are some important
considerations:
* The Site Search can be used to do keyword searches of the Bookshare
website including pages like Getting Started and the Bookshare.org Home Page,
which is its primary purpose.
* The Site Search can be used to provide keyword searches of part of the
Bookshare.org collection:
* The Site Search will not list books marked adult.
* The Site Search will not list books with a quality less than
Excellent.
* Unfortunately, the Site Search cannot index pages such as the Books in
Processing webpage, since this page is available only when logged in as a
volunteer. (Though it is possible to use a browser's "Find" feature to locate
information on the page quickly.)
* It is also important to remember that the Site Search will not always
have an up-to-the-minute index of the site, or the Bookshare collection. There
may be times when a book can be located using the Simple or Advanced searches,
and browsable, but will not appear using the Site Search.
Currently there are two known issues with the Simple and Advanced searches.
* Authors listed with a first/middle/last name will not be found if
searching based on the middle name or the middle and last name only. Examples:
* Linda Lael Miller (Miller, Linda Lael) will not be located if
"Lael" or "Lael Miller" is used.
* Gertrude Chandler Warner (Warner, Gertrude Chandler) will not
be found if "Chandler" or "Chandler Warner" is used.
* Authors listed with a first name and multiword last name will not be
found with a portion or the entire last name only. Examples:
* Chris Van Allsburg (Van Allsburg, Chris) will not be found with
searches "Allsburg" and "Van Allsburg."
* Peggy Van Dam (Van Dam, Peggy) will not be found with searches
"Dam" and "Van Dam."
If you are conducting a search with an author's name that meets either of these
criteria, please type the entirety of the name to successfully locate any of
his/her books in the collection. Alternatively, you can search for the title of
the book, if known.
Claire O'Brien
Collection Development Manager, Bookshare
Benetech
480 S. California Ave., Suite 201
Palo Alto, CA 94306-1609 USA
claireo@xxxxxxxxxxxx
www.bookshare.org
The Benetech Initiative - Technology Serving Humanity
A Nonprofit Organization
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