Friday, September 28, 2007

CMB "Toolbox" in development & Toolbar Update

Here's a short overview of the Library Toolbars use within our institution:
  • QuickSearch CMB Toolbar (27 september 2007): Downloads : 1114 (without the network installations). Daily use is still rising and has an average of 150 simultanous users. The number of searches has risen to around 150 per day and the number of "clicks"/activity is more and more regularly between 450 and 500.
  • Student Toolbar: Downloads: 717 (without the network installations). Daily use is somewhere between 200 and 220 at this time, but still rising. This means over 200 students have their browser open at the same time with the Toolbar active on that day! The amount of searches per day is 100, and the student activity on the Toolbar is very high compared to the "general" toolbar: peaking at 750 right now.


CMB QuickSearchBox
Making searchfacilities tailor-made is relatively simple if you combine this Toolbar & simple html. The Search boxes can be published on intra-of internet.
Example: http://www.rug.nl/bibliotheek/locaties/bibcmb/informatie/toolbar/quicksearchcmbnetvibes.html

The Library currently makes good use of www.netvibes.com and advises it's users to use Netvibes for their creation of a online "personal startpage" for news, searches, bookmarks, agenda etc.
The application has almost unlimited possibilities. The already created Netvibes CMB QuickSearchboxes are downloaded 175 & 264 times.

Of all created medical searchboxes, MedWorm is the current leader in downloads: 566.
I think it is amazing that I (or anyone) can create a usefull tool for so many, when the resource is not even mine ;-)

As an example of possible tailor-made services, I can show the Dermatology Tab for Netvibes.
It contains:

User can choose their own preference of modules to fill their personal pages ór they can choose to use the tool from the CMB Netvibes Toolbox (a "Universe" in development): http://www.netvibes.com/digicmb.

1 comment:

Jamila Hanan said...

So nice to see MedWorm doing so well! Many thanks Guus!
Frankie