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Virtual Shelf Browser for the Library

Client

Dianne Dietrich, Physics & Astronomy Librarian, 283 Clark Hall, Cornell University

dd388@cornell.edu
607-255-4016
http://physicalsciences.library.cornell.edu/

The Virtual Shelf Browser

The Library Outside the Library looks at ways to bring the Cornell Library services and resources to its users, wherever they may be. The group has linked to CUL material in Wikipedia, brought library services to users' iPhones and smart phones (with the help of a previous CS 5150 class), and made thousands of historical images available on Flickr.

One of the university library's iconic images is rows and rows of stacks, filled with books. Nowadays so much content is online, and large scale digitization projects are underway to make all of the information in those books (and from other sources) available electronically. As a result, libraries are rapidly moving from the physical to the digital world. Several of Cornell's physical libraries are transitioning to virtual libraries, as e-books and e-journals have been growing in importance in the Library's collections for the last decade. While electronic collections offer far greater potential for searching the full text of materials, it's much harder to replicate the experience of browsing for information. The chances of serendipitous discovery are reduced when you can't run your finger along a row of books on a shelf.

To address this problem, the Library Outside the Library group proposes a virtual "shelf browser" web application that would allow patrons to browse through the library's bookshelves from a computer or smartphone, replicating the experience of seeing items lined up on a physical shelf. Ideally, this application will include cover images for books where they exist, and will allow the user to customize or filter the display for various library locations, types of resources, or other criteria. Integration with third-party sites to provide richer information about items on the shelf (reviews, related items, etc.) is also a possibility. The virtual shelf generated by the application could be used by other web sites or services to provide customized shelves for different libraries and settings.