abstract
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World Wide Web navigation is a recurrent task where more than half of the pages accessed are revisits, so effective use of navigation histories can be powerful tools for navigation support. However, the history mechanisms that are available through current commercial W eh browsers have not fulfilled their potential for user support. In particular, contemporary browsers lack proper integration between short term (within a navigation session) and long term (between navigation sessions) support. We have developed a Memory Extender Mechanism for Online Searching (MEMOS) tool to provide both intra- and inter-sessional support. Users can utilize the intra sessional history tool to navigate among pages within a particular session, or save all or part of a navigation session for future inter-sessional use. Empirical studies have shown that the intra sessional MEMOS tool was perceived to be more useful than popular browser history mechanisms, but its benefit was most obvious for inter-sessional support. Using sessions previously saved through the MEMOS tool to tackle search questions was significantly faster and more accurate than trying to use standard re-discovery methods.