Rollyo Ho Me Hearties! Finding Buried Treasure with Custom Search Engines

I searched for rss in the KCLS & Neighbors Rollyo and Google Co-op custom search engines and the results could not have been more different. Try it yourself by selecting "KCLS & Neighbors" and typing "rss" in My Rollyo search box on my blog.

In Rollyo, Tacoma Public Library's RSS feed service dominated the search results while KCLS was absent from the results list.

In Google Custom Search Engine, the same search produced hits for KCLS, but none for Tacoma Public Library's RSS feed service.

Then I searched "interlibrary loan" and was happy to see the KCLS Interlibrary Loan Request Form at the top of the results list in Google Custom Search. However, SPL topped the result list in Rollyo. KCLS was the fourth result down.

If there were time, it would be interesting to study how the "search robots" work in both of these services. How do they harvest or tag website content for retrieval? What criteria do they use for sorting results?

What I like about this kind of service, at least in theory, is the ability to quickly extract pertinent data from websites that contain a lot of information, some of it buried, like treasure. That brings me to my own experiment with creating custom search engines.

I'm not certain that my Rollyo custom search engine for "Stargate Atlantis TV" is more helpful than doing a regular Google search but I found creating a search roll to be a remarkably satisfying kcls27things exercise.

Veni, vidi, wiki

I came, I saw, I wiki. Admittedly, a terrible corruption of Veni, vidi, vici but do follow the link to the Wikipedia article. It's a hoot. I've been plagued by the flu and an eye infection this week so I'm blogging with one eye and a limited amount of oxygen reaching my brain.

I was very impressed with the look of SJPLC's Subject Guide wikis and it should be apparent to everyone by now how much I depend on Wikipedia to supplement my blog posts. I can see how wikis might be useful for compiling procedures for internal use, collaborating and sharing information with work groups across the library system, and as pathfinders for public use.

Something like SJPLC's Harry Potter subject guide could be created as part of a virtual branch display. Not only would it showcase our our collection but it could also highlight services that patrons may not be aware of: electronic reference resources, online serials, staff (or patron)-created reading lists, or links to special programs or events involving the release of the last book in the series.
Why not create a (moderated) Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows-themed blog and invite young readers to share their thoughts about upcoming release of the new book and provide links to and from a Harry Potter-themed wiki?
Why not plan a Deathly Hallows library event, publicize it on the wiki and the blog, take (child-safe) photos at the event, and then post them on the wiki and the blog?

There are many service possibilities in mashing together the amazing resources we already have with the applications we are learning in KCLS27things training.

Spoiler alert? Check out the book cover of the U.K. edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's very interesting ...

WTF: 15 minutes of fame on Technorati

I wrote briefly about Technorati a few blog posts ago. I registered and claimed my blog and discovered that I already had a small community of KCLS bloggers who linked to my blog! (Hello! aseaberg, acrossanddown, and Truckin' Beagles!)

Technorati really amps up social networking opportunities. What struck me while searching for blog posts that mention kcls27things in Technorati is how many of us are forming communities of linked blogs. We even create community with people we've never met in "real" life.

As I also learned while tooling around in Technorati, kcls27things is a hot topic. The number of posts about 27things by KCLS bloggers reached a critical mass, inspiring the service to ask someone to write a Where's the Fire? (WTF) blurb explaining kcls27things sudden popularity. "WTFs are short blurbs that explain the buzz around people, things, or events—why the hot topics are so hot—and you can vote the best ones to the top." kcls27things made the Top 10 Searches today as you can see below.