When the digitized newspaper collections we create with our clients can range from thousands to millions of pages, efficient, well-designed search and browse functionality is essential. Without it, users will quickly get lost among the vast content held in a collection, with the worst possible outcome being they give up on their information quest.
Veridian is thoughtfully-designed so that content can be accessed easily by collection users, in a timely manner. Users will almost always have a key topic or keywords in mind when they approach a collection, so an effective search and browse function means they can retrieve the information that is relevant to them.
One of Veridian’s key features is its comprehensive support for the searching and browsing of METS/ALTO data with article segmentation. If the source data for a collection has article segmentation, Veridian provides additional rich article-level functionality, such as being able to search at the article-level, clip out or view the text of a specific article, add tags or comment on an article, or add an article to a user's private list for later review.
Take a look at some of Veridian’s specific search and browse features:
Full-text indexing
With Veridian Software, users are able to search every individual word/phrase in the publication, not just headings and summaries. With query highlighting and search result summaries, users can easily identify the relevance of the matched documents to their research.
Search facets and filters
Search facets give a summary of how the search results are distributed in the available metadata fields. Users can then choose to narrow down the search scope by adding search filters. This is particularly useful when a search yields a large number of results, and a user is focused on one particular area or element of the search term used.
For example, they can limit their search to a specific date range, or a specific newspaper title. Veridian Software extracts publication and date metadata by default, and more can be added if available.
Search term highlighting
Veridian is able to highlight matched terms in either summaries or snippets of plain text, or on a search summary of the actual newspaper image, so users can quickly see where their search term is mentioned on the page. This is very helpful given newspapers cover a breadth of topics and happenings, saving time on behalf of the user if their topic or search term is only in one section or paragraph.
Date and title browser
The date-browsing feature allows users to browse the collection chronologically, so they can easily retrieve a particular issue from a particular date, while the title-browsing feature means users can peruse the collection for a specific newspaper title, then view all issues of that title. These features work well for users with a singular focus in mind, covering one point or publication in time, allowing for close targeting.
Downloadable issue-level and page-level PDFs
During the digitization process, issue-level and page-level PDFs are generated and made available for users to download from the live system. The PDFs provide an easy way for users to save and print copies of a particular newspaper, to make their own annotations or present as part of a project.
Advanced search
Veridian’s advanced search tool gives collection users the ability to be much more targeted in their search, setting parameters to generate the results required. Functions vary by collection, but options available include the ability to limit the search by date (setting a date range), by region and by language (both tailored to the specific collection), and by title (so only certain titles are included).
In addition, users can select whether they want to search within the full text, article headlines, comments and/or tags, and whether they want to view search summaries in text or image form. The results displayed per page can also be adjusted, and sorted by best match or date. For collections that include items other than newspapers, a category of item can also be specified.
As you can see, the advanced search options provide the most targeted options for users, allowing them to easily find the information within their set parameters.
Do let your Veridian engineer know if you have any questions about Veridian’s search and browse features.