Imagine a gargantuan building with a single word "Information" engraved in large exquisite letters over its entrance. A smiling person stands at the entrance to welcome you in and tells you that inside are the answers to everything. Upon entering you see infinite rows of books and magazines running down the left side of the building. Down the center are individually displayed artifacts. A look to the right reveals a very plain wall until you perceive the buzzing sound. It is the sound is of computers, millions of servers buzzing and clicking along writing information to their hard disks. After exploring the rows you begin to notice there is no organization to the books and magazines. The artifacts on display have no labels telling you what they are or where they came from. Nowhere along that wall of computers are you able to find a keyboard or monitor. You become frustrated and think, "How can a place like this answer any questions if you can not find the information?" The scene just described is a nightmare, illustrating that stored information serves no purpose unless there is a way to locate and retrieve it.

Information retrieval (IR) systems are portals to information. The caretakers of information, such as librarians, records mangers and archivists, must be proficient in designing, querying, and evaluating IR systems. If these information professionals do not understand how to design and construct user friendly IR systems, they cannot expect users to successfully search, access, and retrieve the information they are looking for.

IR systems are not exclusive to the Information Age. Long before the digital systems were are now familiar with existed, printed indexes and catalogs acted as the portals to information. Information was indexed according to subject, author and time frame, which allowed users to build upon each query. The same factors and criteria considered in physical systems were incorporated into digital systems. Digital systems provided a myriad of other factors that could be included to create a more robust IR system. Designers of digital IR systems now take in account the way retrieved information will be presented, how users will query the system, and the implementation of industry and corporate standards used to design the system.

The downside many IR systems face is that they are made by information professionals for information professional. They are overly complex and tend to present results in a technical manner. Designers of future IR systems information need to consider the average, unskilled user more. The system's graphical user interface (GUI) must be based on usability standards and present the information in a comprehensible manner. Systems will need to be able to handle both controlled vocabulary and common language queries, producing quality results based upon proven precision and recall standards.

In my Information Retrieval course, LIBR 202, with Dr. Geoffrey Liu, I participated in a group to design and create a database of breakfast cereals using Inmagic. As a group we worked together to come up with a collection of entries for our database, created a set of standards, established a structure for our database, created a list of queries that might be used against our database and compiled the actual database with records. We exchanged our database project with another group of students in the class. They conducted an evaluation of our database design with the rules and standards we had come up with, giving us feedback and suggestions so that we might revise and redesign as needed. We evaluated the other group’s database project using the same criteria.

For many members in our group this was their first time designing and creating a database. I had gained experience designing and creating databases while an undergrad in my computer programming minor. I was asked by the group to create the database structure and enter the records. Other members of my group helped design the rules and standards for the creation of the database and come up with the kinds of queries users might use. Because our group was so large, I felt like I did not get to fully be part of the process of creating the database. I worked with two other students in my group to gain an understanding of the rules and queries that would be used with our database project. Going through these steps helped me remember the questions and concerns that my group had while working on this project and also allowed me to see and fully understand the outcome as it looks in the database.

At the end of the database project, I learned how important the consideration of the user is. The target audience for our database was children, and I spent a lot of time learning how a child might query our database system to retrieve information about the cereal they were looking for. I learned that evaluation is a process that should never be underestimated. The group that evaluated my group’s database gave important constructive criticism that allowed us to step outside of our creation and look more objectively at what we were doing. In addition, I learned that it is important to understand the connection between the pieces of information as they are stored in the database. Through this database project I was able to demonstrate my ability to successfully design, query, and evaluate an IR system.

The concept of precision and recall was new to me despite my understanding of database structure and design. Another assignment in my Information Retrieval course, had me examine how relevance is measured, different perspectives on relevance, factors that affect user judgment with regard to relevance and the implications of relevance. In class, I learned that relevance determines the precision, the number of accurate returns, and recall, the total number of returns, of information retrieval. Understanding the meaning of relevance and the role it plays in information retrieval is important for evaluation purposes. You cannot evaluate an information retrieval system without proper knowledge of how that system works, and what outcomes are desirable.

At the completion of the relevance assignment, I learned that the precision/recall ratio is a measurable expression of how successful an information retrieval system is. I also learned that queries conflict with the IR system and impact the relevancy of results. Through this assignment I show that I can evaluate critical components of an information retrieval system. It also shows that I have the basic technological understanding of IR systems that will allow me to work with IR system designers on behalf of my organization.

In the same Information Retrieval course we had the opportunity to evaluate the interface design of a web search portal. The GUI design of a search portal is a marketable product and effects if people will use the site. While most designs are relatively easy to use and self-explanatory, there are those sites where users are distracted by other content or knowledge of specific syntax is needed to conduct a search. It is no wonder why these approaches to searching on the web on being found less and less. Sites should be simple and intuitive, geared especially for the computer illiterate.

I chose to evaluate Fandango, a movie database website that my wife and I frequently use. My assignment was to evaluate the interface design features that Fandango offered and how they work to increase the relevance factor in information retrieval. I also evaluated Fandango’s interface design based on 13 specified criteria including, ease of use, ability to customize, icon and image recognition, speed and quality of feedback, user support services, tutorials, and physical attributes.

My evaluation of Fandango’s interface design shows why this site was so popular. A user can find the information about movies or actors, and find show times of movies at locally participating theatres. This evaluation assignment continues to show that I evaluate the capability of a query system to search, access, and retrieve information. I am also able to evaluate the ease of searching and access and the usefulness of the interface of an information retrieval system.

Imagine that gargantuan building again. Instead of a man standing outside, promoting the wonders the building contains, imagine there are more people like him inside ready to help you locate the information you desire. It is my goal as the librarian to be one of those individuals. I will constantly be training myself on current issues in information retrieval. As my career progresses, I will maintain my commitment to provide precise and effective information retrieval products. I will provide feedback to the creators of these IR products that will help develop interfaces that will meet the various needs of patrons.