Innovative Announces New Search Tool with an Ajax Interface

May 29, 2006; 03:39 AM
Innovative announced that it is developing a new unified search and access tool called Encore. This discovery services platform leverages Web 2.0 technologies and builds on the foundation of the Millennium integrated library technology platform.

Implementation of Web Technologies

Innovative is in a unique position to provide the next-generation tool for library access and has a tradition of meeting library technology challenges. By developing products and tools that take advantage of Web technologies such as Web Services, RSS, and social-networking techniques, Innovative has been able to lead the market. Recent examples include offerings such as Community Reviews and Patron Ratings, Feed Builder (an RSS feed generator), and Inventory Express, a product that links libraries to external book vendor systems. In addition, Innovative has extended library search technologies with the development of RightResult^TM, a relevance-ranking search algorithm that brings the immediacy and "ease of search" of today's Web to the library catalog.

Encore to Leverage Powerful Integration Features of Millennium

Innovative has long-pursued a strategy of system integration in order to make library workflow, service, and administration goals easier to achieve. With Encore, libraries will be able to directly leverage Millennium to provide next-level public access without having to sacrifice real-time functionality or the unique information and services that make a library a library.

Millennium's integrated tools for authentication, federated searching, and link resolution will be pulled seamlessly into Encore. In this way, patrons arrive at what they need without an extended search path, complex searching strategies, or the need to know a specific solution to their information need. More importantly, libraries will be able to deliver this service without the need for extensive programming resources and technology expertise. Encore's integration with Millennium also means libraries can focus on shaping the patron experience rather than establishing interoperation between service elements.

"With Encore, it's all right there," says Vice President of Product Management Betsy Graham. "Patrons will be able to see everything the library has to offer, in terms of services and content, with minimal effort. It's another example, like ERM development, of Innovative's unique responsiveness to library needs."

Phase One Underway

Features and products planned for the first release of Encore include:

• Simultaneous import and display of federated-searching results and link-resolution destinations
• Faceted results display for effortless retrieval of complex data sets
• RightResult relevance ranking enhanced with a new Best Bets feature
• Community tagging of collection to facilitate additional access points and community participation
• Real-time holdings and status information for print and e-resources
• An attractive, easy-to-use, and dynamic user interface with the latest design techniques including the use of AJAX
• Apache^TM-based technology

Encore is planned for general release in mid-2007 with development partners to be named later this year.