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IU, ChaCha Partner on Librarian-Guided Search PlatformA deal between Indiana University and Carmel, Indiana–based search engine firm ChaCha to install the company’s software on university websites and develop a new search platform that combines machine-based searches with expert human guidance has provoked controversy over the revelation that the school’s new president recently left the ChaCha board. Under the partnership, librarians will serve as ChaCha “guides” for IU searches, chatting online with users and helping them formulate query strategiess, the Bloomington Herald-Times reported August 3. “What ChaCha does is merge, or fuse, technology with brain power,” said company co-founder and former CEO Scott A. Jones at an August 2 news conference announcing the deal. “You want to be able to get the answer, and that’s what human intelligence does for you.” He noted that IU staff who will serve as ChaCha guides are already answering questions and facilitating searches, explaining “They’ll just be doing them with a different set of skills.” Jones said the arrangement will help ChaCha develop its search platform and gain experience working in online communities, adding that the university will share any revenue generated from its searches.The changeover from the Google platform took effect August 6. “ChaCha will offer a new platform to integrate librarians’ expertise into the search and learning process,” said Interim Dean of University Libraries Patricia Steele. “We have a long history of providing trustworthy and reliable information to people who seek it from us. This platform will now help us push our expertise outside the walls of the library to where people are working.” The Silicon Valley gossip blog Valleywag noted August 8 that Michael McRobbie, who was IU vice president for information technology before he became university president July 1, was a member of the ChaCha board until March 31, when his appointment was announced. However, the August 10 Indianapolis Star reported that Jones actually left the ChaCha board May 8. Although the blog claimed McRobbie’s IT position would have made him central to the school’s search engine negotiations, current, IU Vice President for Information Technology Brad Wheeler told the Herald-Times that McRobbie wasn’t part of the ChaCha agreement, and that he had informed McRobbie of the deal in June. “As acting chief information officer, it was in my purview to make these choices,” Wheeler said. Posted on August 10, 2007; revised August 15, 2007. |
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