Search Service Evaluation:
The New York Public Library
By, Rachel Taylor
The New York Public Library
The search service evaluation was conducted at The New York Public Library website which uses the URL: http://www.nypl.org/. The origin of The New York Public Library (NYPL) dates back to mid-1800, and today currently consists of ninety locations. Of these ninety locations, it includes four research centers focused on the humanities and social sciences.
When the website home page opens it presents a colorful and easy to navigate interface. At the top right there is the option of a basic catalog search: for books, music, movies, and more; or a NYPL.org search: for events, locations, and more. Just below, click either the “Classic Catalog” or the “Advanced Search” tab to broaden a search, which opens a new page for the additional input of information for the search. The library logo on the top left of every page links you back to the home page. All the color coded words and pictures on the home page do link to information about the library, other interesting facts, or to additional helpful resources. The “Research” tab opens to electronic resources (over 300 databases), special collections (rare books, photos, maps, & media), and tools & services (research subject by topic). One of the many options offered on the “Explore” tab which caught my attention was a search for special formatted material, and for “Braille and Talking Books” (for eligible borrowers). The library’s research and circulating items total more than 50 million items which is stated in the library historical facts. To get deep into all that the library offers, you need to become a member and log in.
Social media links that appear on the NYPL website consist of those such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Foursquare, Tumblr, and Pinterest. Since I am a hands on and visual learner, I decided to search for “library history videos” which brought me to a YouTube video. The following link: NYPL First Look offers a little history and demonstrates its reconstruction plan. It also gives you the option to view other NYPL videos from the library database by clicking on the library logo (Lion) just below the video title. I checked out the link to the RSS (Rich Site Summary) which gives the option to set up a feed reader that would automatically inform you of website updates.
The Help link opens to a straight forward page with easy clicks in getting help by phone, texting, live chat, mobile chat, and email inquiries. There were additional help links for more in to depth questions, and “how to do it yourself” resources. A “Safety Net for the Internet” is a link provided as a guide for parents about internet use, policies, and helpful learning resources for students which seemed to be a great example of an internet communications related topic.
Since I enjoy history and old photos of the past, it compelled me to search “New York state history collections”. I came across a page with the story of the famous 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair: A Window into the 20th Century American Life. This world fair had “outranked all earlier international fairs in every measure of size, cost, publicity, foreign government participation, and attendance.” The theme of the fair was known as: “Building the World of Tomorrow” and proposed to celebrate achievements of modern scientific and industrial civilization. It also offered an optimistic vision of the future world, and the hope to stimulate trade among the nations. There was a link on the page to view a short video about the New York World’s Fair which demonstrated interesting information.
I found the website interesting and quite helpful in regards to all its functions and search capabilities. The NYPL considers itself to be the “memory of humankind, and a memory bank par excellence, one of the greatest knowledge institutions of the world, and its mission is: to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities.”
