Message-Id: <199601311848.MAA17748@library.wustl.edu> Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996 12:43:50 CST From: Chris Howard <mailto:choward@IASTATE.EDU> Subject: Re: Search History To: Multiple recipients of list WEBCAT-L <mailto:WEBCAT-L@WUVMD.WUSTL.EDU>
John D Boggs writes: > One disadvantage I can see of using a web search engine is that there
> is, to the best of my knowledge, no way to have a search history
> capability. With a dedicated Z39.50 client it is easy to keep old
> search commands (even from session to session) and even sets from
> previous searches.
>
> Does anyone know of any web catalog searching sites that prove me
> wrong? I suppose a CGI-bin script could be set up that would save old
> searches within a single session, but that sounds to me like a very
> large use of resources on the server side, when clients that do the
> same thing could spread the load around to people's desktops.
Some web catalogs can save the search in the browser's bookmark list, by virtue of the fact that the search parameters are part of the URL. Of course, when the user revisits that URL, the search is probably re-executed, not called up from a past result set. This doesn't generally allow the ANDing and ORing of result sets.
-- Chris Howard mailto:choward@iastate.edu (515) 294-6521 Iowa State University Library -- Automated Systems Division