[OPLINLIST] What is the Ohio Web Library?

[Stephen Hedges]

The Ohio Web Library is two things. For years, it has been the name used by
the Libraries Connect Ohio partners to refer to the collection of statewide
databases. If you go to http://www.ohioweblibrary.org sometime before July 1,
you will see more information about this collection.

If you go to www.ohioweblibrary.org after July 1, however, you will see that
Ohio Web Library is now also the name for the new access point to the
databases. On July 1, OPLIN will launch a new interface for searching the Ohio
Web Library database collection at www.ohioweblibrary.org.

When OPLIN introduced the WebFeat OneSearch feature several years ago,
librarians were happy, because it provided a way to search all of the
statewide reference databases at the same time. Lately, however, librarians
have had legitimate complaints about the speed of the search and the way
search results are grouped.

WebFeat offers some new products that would have improved the search speed and
allowed more control of search result grouping, but OPLIN decided to pursue an
open source replacement for OneSearch instead, to give us the ability to
continuously change and improve the search tool.

We elected to split the current oplin.org website and build a search page at
www.ohioweblibrary.org that will handle public access to the information
databases provided by the Libraries Connect Ohio partners (the "Ohio Web
Library" collection) as well as the OPLIN-hosted information products such as
"What Tree Is It." The information intended for libraries (OPLIN policies,
etc.) will be presented separately on a new oplin.org page.

We think you will be pleased with the Ohio Web Library search. It is fast and
displays results with good relevancy ranking (or ranking by date or title, if
you prefer). It is also intuitive and easy to use, although OPLIN staff will
be presenting information at conferences and workshops over the next few
months to give librarians some tips and tricks to become Ohio Web Library
"power users."

We also want to emphasize that the Ohio Web Library search will never be
"finished." Because it is open source, we will have the ability to constantly
incorporate your suggestions for improvement. So it will just keep getting
better, and better, and better...

-- 
Stephen Hedges, Executive Director
Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)
2323 W. 5th Avenue, Suite 130
Columbus, Ohio  43204
614-728-5250    AIM: hedgesst