Portia, the New England School of Law Library Catalog, provides the functionality that one might expect from an online university catalog: (i) it provides users with the ability to search based on author, title, subject, keywords, and course reserve status, (ii) it provides call numbers and locations for library materials, (iii) its records are organized according to the Library of Congress classification system, (iv) users can view the MARC record for each item, and (iv) the overall website design is attractive and generally easy to navigate. These items establish Portia as a useful tool for managing the library’s inventory and helping users locate items within the library. However, what separates Portia from other library catalogs are additional features that assist library users beyond the “basics.”
One of the unique features of Portia is the ability for users to search for an item based on its color. In its database of records, the developers have included color as an item for the “Notes” field of each record. For example, users can run an ISN search for “Green” to retrieve all books with a green cover. The ability to search based on color would seem to be helpful for users in the legal field since some books are sometimes known among practitioners by their color, such as the “blue book” or the “green book.” The attractiveness of this ability to search based on color is further enhanced by Portia’s inclusion of images of the book jacket covers in its records, as well. What is interesting about Portia is that this “color” search feature does not appear to be as publicized as maybe it once was. There is a color index on the library’s website that describes the color-coding of the library records, but there is no specific mention of “color” as a search option in any of the search boxes in Portia itself. This may suggest that the feature was not as popular among users as originally conceived.
Another unique aspect of Portia is how its keyword search defaults automatically to “advanced search” rather than “basic search.” This would seem to be helpful for users who often get frustrated when a basic search for keywords does not give them the same type of results they might receive using Google. Defaulting to “advanced search” highlights options and ways of narrowing a search that many users would never consider in other catalogs because they rely solely on the “basic search.” The “advanced search” page contains helpful search tips on various search concepts, such as adjacency, wildcards, Boolean operators, proximity operators, field limits, and grouping. The “advanced search” options also reflect terms that are important and familiar for users in the legal field, such as treatise, looseleaf, periodical, and serial.
Portia also provides users with certain helpful and ready-made search lists, such as the “Browse DVD and VHS Titles” and “Browse Recent Acquisitions.” These lists make it easier for users to access popular materials without needing to learn how to craft a search by subject heading or date to retrieve those same materials.
Portia also includes hyperlinks for students who wish to search WorldCat, HeinOnline, the library’s e-Journal, electronic database and microform collections, its other special collections, and other libraries. It also provides various ways in which students can access reference help, including live online chat, email, telephone, FAQs on the website, and on-site reference services. Providing access to such information through Portia is undoubtedly a helpful feature for students.
Portia does not have user-defined tags or some of the other Web 2.0 features that other library catalogs have. However, it is clear that the developers of Portia have spent a significant amount of time considering ways to better serve their users through the library catalog and have shown a willingness to experiment with different ideas. Such willingness benefits not only the students of the New England School of Law, but others in the library community, as well.
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