I just checked with our implementation guy at OCLC about including some code in the header of our WorldCat Local instance that would allow us to add customized widgets into WorldCat Local search result screens. Sounds like it's a no go for now. WorldCat Local has a refreshingly simple branding customization options compared to what we're used to with Innovative's OPAC. But that simplicity will keep us from inserting some magic Javascript to achieve the OneBox effect.
I'm not sure if I was clear enough about what I'm interested in. Another way of looking at this is analagous to Google Ads. Google has established that placing context sensitive ads alongside search engine results is an effective way to drive traffic to advertiser websites.
If WorldCat Local becomes our library's search engine, shouldn't our library be able to put context sensitive "ads" next to results? These "ads" (or OneBoxes) would appear based on the search term and offer things like:
- links to library created research guides that seem relevant to search at hand
- links to course reserves if a prof's name is searched
- results from a site search of our library's site
- image results from ARTstor (ala Google images)
- results (if any) from the library's digital collections
The WorldCat API is nice and all, but who (besides Terry Reese) wants to build an entire interface from scratch using it?
Click on the image above for an illustration of the WorldCat Local OneBox concept.
3 comments:
Thanks for posting this, Mark. Having this ability to 'brand' a library catalog is really important, and it extends beyond custom style sheets, etc. OCLC would benefit too, as it could see how developers could extend WorldCat for various local uses. Perhaps such 'plugins' could save them some development time as well. Help us help you, OCLC!
I'm not sure if this violates any service agreements, but you don't have to wait on OCLC. Heres the idea:
Proxy WCL through EZProxy and use the Find/Replace directives within the database definition for WCL to inject javascript within the page. Voila! Fully customizable WCL.
The only restriction is that you would be required to always proxy WCL sessions, which may be difficult as nothings stops a user from simply visiting the WCL page directly.
EZProxy docs on Find/Replace:
http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/ezproxy/cfg/find/
Brice,
That's definitely brute force approach! We've done some experiments with this in the past and been a little frustrated by slow performance. But it should work in a pinch...
Mark
Post a Comment