[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Activity metric for relevance

Kathy Lussier klussier at masslnc.org
Tue Mar 26 15:15:48 EDT 2013


Hi all,

Thanks to everyone for their feedback to this project! Mike, we hadn't 
considered the aging parameters as you described it, but I think it's an 
excellent idea and it sounds like others agree. Let's all put our heads 
together to see if we can make it happen. This is what I love about this 
community! :)

Cheers!
Kathy

Kathy Lussier
Project Coordinator
Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
(508) 343-0128
klussier at masslnc.org
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier

On 3/15/2013 1:41 PM, Mike Rylander wrote:
>
> On Fri, Mar 15, 2013 at 9:01 AM, Thomas Berezansky <tsbere at mvlc.org 
> <mailto:tsbere at mvlc.org>> wrote:
>
>     The current plan would not take into account how recent the circs
>     (or holds) were, just that they were within a configurable time
>     period of the time the cronjob that counts them last ran (default
>     will likely be to include those from within the last 6 to 12
>     months). If you have an algorithm you think would work well and
>     are willing to share we would gladly include that as an option
>     when doing the work, though.
>
>
> I do, and I am.  As time permits over the next few weeks I'll get back 
> to this thread.
>
>     We would not, however, be able to make it a per-bump option with
>     the way we currently plan on storing the circ and hold counts, so
>     instead it would function as an overall modifier to the circ/hold
>     count numbers. Though even as I type this email I have thoughts on
>     how we could change that if the feeling is that it should be at
>     least partially bump-to-bump configurable.
>
>
> I think it's really only useful for some bump types in any case.  The 
> ratio bumps are really point-in-time values -- they represent "right 
> this very moment" (or "late last night," I guess). Threshold bumps 
> don't attempt to take scale into account, just that some line was 
> crossed.  For circs this year or holds this month, or similar, age 
> scaling (probably a better term than just "aging") of each event's 
> relevance should be useful.
>
> --miker
>
>     Thomas Berezansky
>     Merrimack Valley Library Consortium
>
>
>     Quoting Mike Rylander <mrylander at gmail.com
>     <mailto:mrylander at gmail.com>>:
>
>         Kathy,
>
>         Have you considered allowing an aging parameter for some
>         bumps, so that
>         newer data toward the near end of the horizon is considered
>         more important?
>         For instance, spikes in circulation might have a larger short
>         term effect
>         on relevance, but over time, while still being factored into
>         relevance,
>         would be less important though still considered in the bump
>         logic.  I ask
>         because I have a simple algorithm I'm using in another
>         project, to be
>         debuted at the conference, that may be portable to this work.
>
>         --miker
>
>
>
>         On Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 3:53 PM, Kathy Lussier
>         <klussier at masslnc.org <mailto:klussier at masslnc.org>> wrote:
>
>             Hi all,
>
>             MassLNC is working with our partners at MVLC to develop an
>             activity metric
>             (aka popularity metric) that will allow sites to rank more
>             popular items a
>             little higher in search results than items that don't see
>             as much activity.
>             I've raised this idea on the list before. Although
>             Evergreen allows sites
>             to adjust relevancy based on the appearance of keywords in
>             certain fields,
>             which is highly useful, our hope is that this additional
>             functionality will
>             lead to further improvement when ranking results by relevance.
>
>             As an example, if a user were conducting a keyword search
>             on "abraham
>             lincoln,"  there are many titles in most US libraries
>             where the words
>             "abraham lincoln" show up in the title. There would be no
>             way to tease out
>             the titles that are getting the most attention by readers.
>             In fact, a title
>             like "Team of Rivals" ranks very low in our search results
>             even though
>             there is a high likelihood it is the title the patron is
>             seeking.  By
>             applying a metric based on activity, we might be able to
>             see those
>             more-recently popular titles floating higher in the search
>             results list.
>
>             I would like to share MVLC's proposal outlining the
>             details for
>             implementing this project. The proposal is available at
>             http://masslnc.cwmars.org/**node/2757<http://masslnc.cwmars.org/node/2757>.
>
>
>             It provides a lot of flexibility in allowing sites to
>             define what "high
>             activity" means to them. Circulation activity, holds
>             activity, total
>             copies, and publication age/bib record age can all be used
>             as an activity
>             metric.
>
>             If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to let us
>             know.
>
>             Kathy
>
>             --
>             Kathy Lussier
>             Project Coordinator
>             Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
>             (508) 343-0128 <tel:%28508%29%20343-0128>
>             klussier at masslnc.org <mailto:klussier at masslnc.org>
>             Twitter:
>             http://www.twitter.com/**kmlussier<http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier>
>
>
>
>
>         --
>         Mike Rylander
>          | Director of Research and Development
>          | Equinox Software, Inc. / Your Library's Guide to Open Source
>          | phone:  1-877-OPEN-ILS (673-6457)
>          | email: miker at esilibrary.com <mailto:miker at esilibrary.com>
>          | web: http://www.esilibrary.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Mike Rylander
>  | Director of Research and Development
>  | Equinox Software, Inc. / Your Library's Guide to Open Source
>  | phone:  1-877-OPEN-ILS (673-6457)
>  | email: miker at esilibrary.com <mailto:miker at esilibrary.com>
>  | web: http://www.esilibrary.com

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