Goddard Information Professionals Make their Mark!

Goddard Librarian Andrea Japzon

On September 28, 2006, Andrea Japzon presented “Usability Testing: A Tutorial and Case Study” at the NISO (National Information Standards Organization) conference on Managing Electronic Collections: Strategies from Content to User in Denver, Colorado. The presentation reported on the successes of the Goddard Library website redesign effort that was greatly influenced by library user feedback obtained through usability testing. NISO wanted to include this work as it exemplifies the importance of usability testing in making electronic collections accessible to users.

Further, Andrea Japzon and Kathleen McGlaughlin co-authored a case study for inclusion in a new LITA (Library & Information Technology Association) Guide, tentatively titled, “Making Library Websites Usable.” The editors were seeking contributions of case studies that describe the recent application of usability techniques in public, corporate or government library website design. The case study describes the Goddard Library’s recent website usability study and subsequent redesign process. A publication date has not yet been announced. Once again, we would like to thank the Library’s customers for their help with this important work.

The Library’s Systems Team Leader, Kathleen McGlaughlin presented at a recent ASIS&T (American Society of Information Science & Technology) ON THE HORIZON Event “Federated Search of Today and Tomorrow...what’s current, what’s coming...” on September 27, 2006. Her presentation, entitled: “Implementing Library1Search (WebFeat) at the Goddard Library” described the Goddard Library’s implementation of a federated search solution for their customers, including the challenges, benefits, and lessons learned from the experience.

Library hosts Joint Meeting of the Metadata Review Group, Semantic Web Interest Group, and Ontology Working Group

The Goddard Library organized and hosted a Metadata Review Group Meeting, co-sponsored with the Semantic Web Interest Group and the Ontology Working Group, on September 13, 2006. Steve Waterbury (Code 722) and Harry Frisch (Code 592) of the Ontology Working Group presented “Ontologies as Everyday Knowledgebases”. The presentation covered basic concepts of ontologies, and explained how they can be used to guide the development of an intelligent and user-friendly knowledge environment for Goddard. Steve Waterbury presented “Ontologies: A Foundation for Knowledge Capture,” which concluded with a demonstration of his prototype ontology database for Goddard projects. Gail Hodge (Code 272) gave a brief update on “Goddard Metadata and Taxonomy Activities,” including the Landsat Legacy and Swift projects.

The next MRG Meeting is November 30, 2006. For more information about the Metadata Review Group, see http://library.gsfc.nasa.gov/mrg. If you would like to become a member, contact Nikkia Anderson (Nikkia.T.Anderson.1@gsfc.nasa.gov).

Landsat Legacy Project Website

Landsat Legacy goes West

Goddard Library Information Scientist Daniel Redmon recently accompanied the Landsat Legacy team to Santa Barbara, California to provided audio/video support for the Legacy team by capturing nearly five hours of interviews of pioneers in the Landsat program for the Landsat Legacy Video History Project. The Landsat Legacy Project is a partnership between the NASA Landsat Project Science Office, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Library to gather technical documentation and other important information about the forty years of Landsat history. The California team included Darrel Williams, Terry Arvidson, John Barker, and Laura Rocchio from the Landsat Project Science Office.

ISI Workshop

On October 12, Tonia Reynolds-Pope and Jill Lagerstrom attended a Thomson Scientific workshop on “Advancing Government Research through Powerful Analysis and Evaluation.” James King, Chief Librarian at the Naval Research Laboratory, presented on changes in scholarly communications brought about by new and advancing computer technologies. Conducting research today is drastically different from the research process years ago; much research is done at the point of need by digital tools. While these recent trends have caused a decline in foot traffic for most research libraries, it is important to note that not all research materials are digitized and available online.

In addition, two tools the Library already provides the Goddard community were examined, TORPEDO Ultra and the Web of Knowledge. Presenters explored the utility of these tools in helping researchers to be more effective in their work by enabling and expediting discovery, aiding the management and organization of quality information, and providing tools to assist in its subsequent dissemination.