Day 2

It was a very busy day today with 5 sessions. I'd forgotten how uncomfortable hotel chairs can be.

I attended a couple sessions today discussing Encore. One was just a general overview of the product which was good because though I've read a lot about it I hadn't seen it "in action". It certainly is a groundbreaking product in its focus on the presentation of disparate search results in a uniform interface. It also makes new use of data within the OPAC that has not been used before. One example is to weigh search results more if there are multiple item records attached to a bib. Another is to do away with specific index searching in the initial search. When a user begins a search in Encore it is assumed to be a Keyword search and Innovative is confident through a new search algorithm and by providing extensive "facets" (limits) in the first search result screen that the user can quickly find what they are looking for. Of course, an Advanced Search is available that allows the user to specify the type of search that they want to perform (author, title, subject, etc...)

There was another Encore session that focused on the development of the product over the past year which was interesting to see the completely different approach that III took in developing this product. The brought in the development partners much earlier in the process instead of creating a beta version and then having the partners test the product. Though there were not any consortia included in the initial development III has since added a number of consortia partners which will hopefully lead to a very consortia-friendly product.

Tomorrow I head back home, but I'll post one more update on the conference after I return.

Hopefully it will be an uneventful flight...