Betas, widgets, & mobile tools
Betas:
- Current betas
- Beta graduates
- Beta graveyard - discontinued beta tools and services
Widgets - bookmarklets, browser extensions, & more
Need Help?
Ask Us! if you have questions
Research Consultations- appointments with subject experts for in-depth help
Tell Us! how we can serve you better. We want to hear from you.
About the beta graveyard
|
While many beta tools and services of the MIT Libraries are great successes, others haven't been as fruitful. Some criteria that we use to take a beta out of service include:
As Henry Ford said, "Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." We've learned something from each of the tools that we've tried and have used the knowledge in planning future services. |
 |
Vera journal search for Firefox
The MIT Vera search was a Firefox add-on that enabled users to add a search box to their browsers to search Vera, the collection of online journals and databases in the MIT Libraries. Special thanks to John Hawkinson for developing the plug-in!
When the tool first came out, search plug-ins for browsers were popular, because browsers didn't allow users to search from within the address bar. We have a hunch that most users of the MIT Libraries no longer use search plug-ins, and instead Google for journals from within the address bar. Statistics aren't available for the tool, so use is unproven.
-Posted February 19, 2008; Retired February 8, 2012
Humanities DVD collection tagged in Delicious
To provide a fun and flexible way for users to browse our growing Humanities DVD collection in the Hayden Library, we asked student workers to tag each DVD in Delicious. Users could browse the collection by clicking on tags for characteristics including genre and subject matter.
Although this tool seemed useful, it was impossible to gather statistics for it, and we couldn't assess how much it was being used in order to justify staff time to support it. It remains possible to search for DVDs owned by the MIT Libraries by doing an advanced search of the Barton catalog by limiting the format to "DVD."
- Posted March 31, 2009; Retired June 27, 2011
MIT Libraries Tour on SCVNGR for iPhone & Android
 |
What’s SCVNGR? It’s a scavenger hunt game using an app called SCVNGR. iPhone or Android users could choose to check-in and complete challenges at various MIT Libraries. During orientation week 2010, there was a special incentive for playing. The MIT Libraries tour in SCVNGR was discontinued due to low usage, little user feedback, and unjustifiable cost. |
- Posted August 30, 2010; Retired December 10, 2010
MIT Libraries Google homepage search
Retired due to low usage, the Google Gadget allowed users to search Barton and Vera directly from their personal Google homepages.
Thanks to Amy Stout and Nicole Hennig for developing the gadget.
- Originally posted September 7, 2007; Retired April 20, 2010
Facebook application
The MIT Libraries Facebook application contained search boxes for the Barton web catalog and for Vera, the collection of online journals and databases, along with links to Your Account and Ask Us for research help.
The app was taken out of service due to low usage and lack of support for updating the tool. Special thanks to Rob Wolfe and Todd Rautenberg for developing this application.
- Originally posted September 7, 2007; Retired April 20, 2010
Humanities Virtual Browsery
 |
The Humanities Virtual Browsery highlighted a selection of new books acquired by the Humanities Library. The beta also offered:
The Virtual Browsery was retired due to a lack of a way to maintain it. - Created 2006; Retired June 2009 |
Loading...
