On August 18, Summon will be releasing an update to its relevance ranking algorithm. Only the ranking of search results will be affected; the number of search results returned for any given query will not be change. The new algorithm is expected to improve mainly the relevance of exploratory search cases, complementing the known item search improvements released earlier this year.

Summary of the improvements:

Two primary improvements in the new ranking algorithm are:

* Improved balance between dynamic and static rank: Summon’s relevance ranking algorithm uses two types of relevance factors: the dynamic rank and the static rank. The dynamic rank factors describe how well a given query matches each record. The static rank factors represent the importance or value of each record. One common type of relevance issues we have observed in the past involve cases where the influence of the dynamic rank is too strong, such that records with low static ranks, such as old publications and less important content types, appear among the top search results. The new algorithm has a better balance of the dynamic rank and the static rank, and it should reduce the number of such issues.

* Improved balance of short titles and long titles in the top results: Previously, Summon’s ranking algorithm tended to emphasize records with short titles, especially those that closely match the query string. The new algorithm reduces the influence of the field length normalization and the exact match boost, and as a result, top search results include a better mix of short and long titles that are relevant to the query.

One noteworthy property of the new algorithm is that short and general topical queries (e.g., linguistics, global warming) tend to return more books, eBooks, references and journals among the top results. And long and specific topical queries (e.g., linguistics universal grammar, global warming Kyoto protocol) tend to return more journal articles among the top results.

Examples
Here are a few examples that demonstrate the improvements. Please note that the search results depend on the content, so these examples may not apply to our instance of Summon.

• dog law => The top results returned by the old algorithm are mostly items titled “Dog Law” and included very old journal and magazine articles. The top results returned by the new algorithm are more balanced, and include more recent titles than the original algorithm, such as “Dangerous dogs law updated” (Journal Article, 2007) and “Animal law and dog behavior” (Book, 1999).
• autism aba therapy for young children => The top results returned by the old algorithm contained many books and other items titled just “Autism”. The top results returned by the new algorithm include longer titles, such as “A step-by-step ABA curriculum for young learners with autism spectrum disorders (age 3-10)” (eBook, 2013).

If you have any questions, concerns or feedback, please send them to the Discovery and Access Working Team (ul-dawt@lists.psu.edu).— Binky Lush

The most recent Summon (LionSearch) update took place on June 4.  This release includes the following enhancements:

Enhancements to improve performance and usability:

• Reducing duplicates in search results: We have made improvements to reduce the number of duplications caused by the following cases:
  • Better handling of whitespace, punctuation and special characters
  • Better subscript and superscript handling
  • Better reconciliation between British and American English
  • Expansion of synonyms map
  • Addressed issues with stop words in other languages
• Ability to pass a language parameter in the URL; language detection will be done in the following order: URL for language parameter, browser settings, then Customizer default language setting
• Improving the Catalog Details page additions
  • Added Subject Headings
  • Add Request button
• Improving the Advanced Search
  • Added an tool tip to identify the icon upon hover
  • Maintain Advanced Search data while navigating within Advanced Search
  • The list of content types under “Show content type” in Advanced Search are dynamically generated from only the content types available to each client

By Binky Lush, manager, Discovery Access and Web Services

Newly Indexed Content

• American Society of Civil Engineers – eBooks and Journals
• World Bank – Development Indicators
• New Alexander Street Press collections

Performance and Usability Updates to LionSearch

• Improvements to reduce 404 errors
• Improved notifications to the end user related to browsing with cookies disabled
• Accessibility—Revised link colors to be fully WCAG 2.0 and Section 508 compliant!!
• Prioritize full-text records over citations when selecting a record to drive linking behavior

Submitted by Binky Lush

The October 15 Summon upgrade added the following enhancements to Lionsearch:

Enhancements

• Accessibility
  ProQuest has added improved keyboard navigation, modal dialog support, and ARIA Alerts. In their next release they will achieve WCAG 2.0 compliance by changing some text and link colors to increase contrast.
• Advanced Search
  users can select more than one content type as they have converted the Content Type drop-down to a multiple select option
• Faster page loads
  ProQuest has increased the speed of page loads for Summon 2.0 by modifying the user interface so that assets load asynchronously

Newly Indexed Content

• Chadwyck Healey – Queen Victoria’s Journals

The Libraries are currently poised to transition to the new version of LionSearch (2.0) in mid-August. For a brief overview of the similarities and differences between versions 1.0 and 2.0, watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WgEXQZyfOc

The LionSearch 2.0 Communications Team is soliciting feedback about the new version via a three-question survey:

https://surveys.libraries.psu.edu/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=720Kln7

To compare the two versions:

1.0: http://psu.summon.serialssolutions.com/

2.0: http://psu.preview.summon.serialssolutions.com

Questions can be directed to the team at ul-lionsearch-comm-team@lists.psu.edu.

Submitted by the LionSearch 2.0 Communications Team

John Attig
Jeff Edmunds
Jenna Eldreth
Katie Garcia
Jaime Jamison

Submitted by Binky Lush

Thanks to all of you who tested 1-Click with LionSearch! We’ve been pleased by the very positive feedback we’ve received. We have decided to leave 1-Click turned on and will be changing the 360 Helper window to include University Libraries branding and more helpful text. The one exception to our positive feedback has been the blank screen we’ve seen with Lexis Nexis. Unfortunately, 1-Click highlights the existing difficulties inherent to Lexis Nexis linking. We have the ability to order the priority of databases in 1-Click, and we have moved Lexis Nexis to the bottom of the list to alleviate user frustration. A user will only see the Lexis Nexis screen if the desired resource is available from L/N only.

Please continue to send us your feedback and any problems (and successes!) you encounter with 1-Click!

Many thanks,
Emily and Binky
on behalf of the Discovery and Access Working Team

1-Click is a direct linking enhancement that allows users to bypass the “Get It” page and go directly to the desired full-text resource.

Submitted by Binky Lush

The following newly indexed content is now available in LionSearch!

• NBC Learn Higher Ed: collection of primary source videos, newsreels, and documents that can be used for research, projects and in classroom and online teaching. Includes over 10,000 resources – short 2 to 5 minute videos aligned to 28 Higher Ed courses – topics range from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, U.S. History, Global Studies, Health & Nursing, Psychology, Business, Marketing, Journalism, Sociology, and more.

• Oxford University Press: Oxford Scholarly Editions online. (not all titles, but a significant number)

• Slack Inc.: Covering more than 20 health care specialties, SLACK publishes leading medical journals and newspapers, more than 250 medical and allied health books, and creates custom projects for a growing number of clients. (4 journals out of 16 total available at Serials Solutions – not sure why they state “more than 20.”)

Questions or comments about this content or anything related to LionSearch?
Please contact the Discovery and Access Working Team (ul-dawt@lists.psu.edu)

Submitted by Binky Lush

The following content has been recently indexed in LionSearch:

Chadwyck Healey – LION Biographies
Federal Reserve Archive of Economic History (FRASER) – Provides access to the U.S. economic history—particularly the history of the Federal Reserve System—through digitization of documents related to the U.S. financial system. FRASER provides digital access to historic policy documents including publications of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the District Federal Reserve Banks, statements and speeches of Fed policymakers, archival materials of Fed policymakers and more. We have indexed over 85,000 records.

Continue reading →

By Binky Lush

Newly indexed content in LionSearch:

• Thieme Journals – http://www.thieme.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=91&Itemid=92

• Science & Technology Facilities Council – Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) IR – epubs. This is an open access database with full text. http://epubs.stfc.ac.uk/ The full list of content indexed in Summon is available from Serials Solutions here: http://www.serialssolutions.com/en/services/summon/content-and-coverage/

Key Databases and Packages
(Full-Text) http://www.serialssolutions.com/en/resources/detail/summon-key-databases-and-packages-full-text

Summon Participating Publishers
http://www.serialssolutions.com/en/resources/detail/summon-participating-publishers

Summon Serials Titles
http://www.serialssolutions.com/en/resources/detail/summon-serials-titles