PIE Resources: Calculation of Which Location To Display

Current Situation

Each resource in the resource database has a number of locations, different ways to access the resource. Currently, when a resource is displayed to a user, icons are displayed for all the locations, whether or not they are available to the user, and they are ordered according to their position in the database rather than their relevance to the user. Different coloured icons are displayed for resources which are not currently available to the user (e.g. because of IP address restrictions), and the icon graphic's ALT text attribute is used to pass on information such as the institution with a license to use the resource in this location, the reason for non-availability (if applicable), and a brief description of the location. For example:

	American Economic Review

The problem with this approach is that as the number of institutions sharing the resource database increases, it becomes more difficult for the user to work out which link to follow to get the best version of the resource for their current situation. Therefore, there will need to be some mechanism to filter the locations so that they will see the most appropriate to their needs.

Options for future development

The issues that determine which locations are best for a particular user are basically the identity of the user and their current location (on campus, online at home, visiting another institution, online from a laptop). The best locations are likely to be those which offer the most information fastest; if, for example, a CD ROM is available on campus, it is likely to be out of date; but the publisher's web site may not offer the full text version of the resource.

It is also the case that institutions may well want to configure the presentation of locations to users in different ways. For example, some institutions may want users never to see resources which they cannot get access to (e.g. because the insitution involved does not own a license), while others may want this to happen (e.g. so that users can be informed about which resources are available to suggest them as ones which the institution should acquire in the future).

Configuration Options

• Show locations which user is not entitled to view
• Show locations which are not licensed by user's institution
• Maximum number of locations to show (0 for all)
• Show resources with no displayed locations

Display Order Algorithm

Show locations in following order for users on campus (in database order if more than one location fits rule):

• Full text instantly available locations on campus
• Full text instantly available locations licensed to institution elsewhere
• Full text instantly available locations licensed to other institutions
• Other instantly available locations on campus
• Other instantly available locations licensed to institution elsewhere
• Other instantly available locations licensed to other institutions
• Other locations on campus
• Other locations licensed to institution
• Other locations licensed to other institutions

When a user is off campus, resources on campus should not necessarily be given higher priority.

It might be possible to make this priority list configurable.