Comments on: Your OPAC and the Suck Factor http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/ K.G. Schneider's blog on librarianship, writing, and everything else, since 2003. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:18:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Library Patron http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-69781 Library Patron Sat, 13 Oct 2007 15:34:10 +0000 http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-69781 OCLC online library sucks. I'LL just keep stealing media. ciao OCLC online library sucks. I’LL just keep stealing media. ciao

]]> By: Sarah Houghton-Jan (LiB) http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-53656 Sarah Houghton-Jan (LiB) Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:20:03 +0000 http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-53656 Good luck on your presentation tomorrow, Karen! My only comments, that I can make publicly, are as follows. If your current system is something you are unhappy with, take your time in picking something else. Do not rush into something else just for the sake of "change." Yes, your current system stinks. But that doesn't mean that the next one will be better. Remember Ranganathan's Laws, apply them to decisions about your catalog system, and listen to your staff when making decisions that affect it: the single biggest point of contact we have with our users. Good luck on your presentation tomorrow, Karen! My only comments, that I can make publicly, are as follows. If your current system is something you are unhappy with, take your time in picking something else. Do not rush into something else just for the sake of “change.” Yes, your current system stinks. But that doesn’t mean that the next one will be better. Remember Ranganathan’s Laws, apply them to decisions about your catalog system, and listen to your staff when making decisions that affect it: the single biggest point of contact we have with our users.

]]> By: Genny http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-52514 Genny Wed, 12 Sep 2007 02:12:31 +0000 http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-52514 The #1 problem I see with the search interface in our OPAC is this: It's a search interface. Right there, you have hamstrung the casual browser. The #2 problem is this: It's an OPAC (i.e., it contains metadata about books). Right there, you have hamstrung the person who's looking for something else, like magazine articles. The #3 problem: Neither relevancy ranking nor spell checking. This stops the patron, not at step one, but right afterward. Either there's no search result, or the top results have nothing to do with what the patron wanted. We do have a few bells and whistles on the horizon for our OPAC result displays (possibly including pulling in LibraryThing data, adding book jackets, adding format icons). All these are perfectly nice solutions to some problem that someone is no doubt having. However, they do nothing at all about the above listed items that in many cases stop patrons cold before they ever see a search result. The kinds of questions many patrons ask librarians here in person imply they'd be well served by virtual shelf-browsing (particularly with filters available -- all movies on DVD, all children's books, all photographs). This is partially implemented in our existing OPAC: you can in fact browse all DVDs, but the feature's not very obvious; and to do a good implementation of a photo browse, we'd probably have to go beyond the OPAC and add on a digital library package. I review our web site search logs (the main public site, not the OPAC web front-end). I find roughly a third of searches are author or title (known item); roughly a third are topics best searched in a magazine database or general web search engine; and the rest are actually searches on library information. Similarly, I'd guess many of the OPAC searches are for information types or topics that just are not part of the OPAC data. (I don't have easy access to those search logs.) Federated search helps with that pesky problem of having to know where something is before you can start to look for it, but I don't think that is on the near-term horizon either. Relevance ranking and spell-checking, possibly coming sooner than federated search. Well, I don't make these decisions. The #1 problem I see with the search interface in our OPAC is this:

It’s a search interface.

Right there, you have hamstrung the casual browser.

The #2 problem is this:

It’s an OPAC (i.e., it contains metadata about books).

Right there, you have hamstrung the person who’s looking for something else, like magazine articles.

The #3 problem:

Neither relevancy ranking nor spell checking.

This stops the patron, not at step one, but right afterward. Either there’s no search result, or the top results have nothing to do with what the patron wanted.

We do have a few bells and whistles on the horizon for our OPAC result displays (possibly including pulling in LibraryThing data, adding book jackets, adding format icons). All these are perfectly nice solutions to some problem that someone is no doubt having. However, they do nothing at all about the above listed items that in many cases stop patrons cold before they ever see a search result.

The kinds of questions many patrons ask librarians here in person imply they’d be well served by virtual shelf-browsing (particularly with filters available — all movies on DVD, all children’s books, all photographs). This is partially implemented in our existing OPAC: you can in fact browse all DVDs, but the feature’s not very obvious; and to do a good implementation of a photo browse, we’d probably have to go beyond the OPAC and add on a digital library package.

I review our web site search logs (the main public site, not the OPAC web front-end). I find roughly a third of searches are author or title (known item); roughly a third are topics best searched in a magazine database or general web search engine; and the rest are actually searches on library information.

Similarly, I’d guess many of the OPAC searches are for information types or topics that just are not part of the OPAC data. (I don’t have easy access to those search logs.)

Federated search helps with that pesky problem of having to know where something is before you can start to look for it, but I don’t think that is on the near-term horizon either.

Relevance ranking and spell-checking, possibly coming sooner than federated search.

Well, I don’t make these decisions.

]]> By: Juliane Morian http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-52335 Juliane Morian Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:17:09 +0000 http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-52335 We just finished a round of usability testing on our OPAC (we use Polaris PowerPAC). While I don't love everything about our online catalog one nice new feature is the ability to set up filters for searching. Our ILS lets us create Boolean searches and then package each search query in user-friendly drop-down. We divided up this drop-down menu to allow the customer to search everything in a material type (e.g. all Audio books), a subset of that material type (only Audio books on CD), and going even further, only a subset owned by a specific building (Audio books on CD only at the Main Library). It’s not much, but if I can lead customers to this one little element that now sits on our catalog search screen, I’ve got to believe I’m going to make someone’s day. http://catalog.cmpl.org/POLARIS/search/ We just finished a round of usability testing on our OPAC (we use Polaris PowerPAC). While I don’t love everything about our online catalog one nice new feature is the ability to set up filters for searching. Our ILS lets us create Boolean searches and then package each search query in user-friendly drop-down. We divided up this drop-down menu to allow the customer to search everything in a material type (e.g. all Audio books), a subset of that material type (only Audio books on CD), and going even further, only a subset owned by a specific building (Audio books on CD only at the Main Library).

It’s not much, but if I can lead customers to this one little element that now sits on our catalog search screen, I’ve got to believe I’m going to make someone’s day.

http://catalog.cmpl.org/POLARIS/search/

]]> By: Walter Underwood http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-51336 Walter Underwood Sun, 09 Sep 2007 21:35:17 +0000 http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-51336 Of course there are lots of uses of an OPAC, but I bet that finding specific items is the #1 use and that checking those items out is the #1 outcome in most libraries. If the OPAC sucks for the #1 use case, that's bad. If we don't know what the #1 use case is, we can't fix it. Of course there are lots of uses of an OPAC, but I bet that finding specific items is the #1 use and that checking those items out is the #1 outcome in most libraries. If the OPAC sucks for the #1 use case, that’s bad. If we don’t know what the #1 use case is, we can’t fix it.

]]> By: K.G. Schneider http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-50278 K.G. Schneider Sat, 08 Sep 2007 00:57:53 +0000 http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-50278 Avi, concur! I just had a walkthrough of the latest Polaris and was taken by all the great features. Michelle, that would make a terrific column... The Very Very Small Library Does Technology. I've managed two small libraries, and those who have met me in person know I'm also a small librarian ;-) Avi, concur! I just had a walkthrough of the latest Polaris and was taken by all the great features.

Michelle, that would make a terrific column… The Very Very Small Library Does Technology. I’ve managed two small libraries, and those who have met me in person know I’m also a small librarian ;-)

]]> By: Michelle http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-50145 Michelle Fri, 07 Sep 2007 20:29:20 +0000 http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-50145 Karen, I would love to hear from other small libraries who do open source. I think there should be a small libraries movement where those one and two person libraries can share those one or two quick and easy things that we do (open source, TOC's RSS'd, chat ref, whatever) that work on a s-m-a-l-l library scale. I know there are those of out there doing some things on our level, I just think our little voices are sometimes accidently drowned out by voices in bigger places. Karen, I would love to hear from other small libraries who do open source. I think there should be a small libraries movement where those one and two person libraries can share those one or two quick and easy things that we do (open source, TOC’s RSS’d, chat ref, whatever) that work on a s-m-a-l-l library scale. I know there are those of out there doing some things on our level, I just think our little voices are sometimes accidently drowned out by voices in bigger places.

]]> By: Avi Rappoport http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-50123 Avi Rappoport Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:56:12 +0000 http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-50123 I think Walter makes the classic non-librarian mistake, that checking out a book is the ultimate goal. It's certainly an easy measurement, but there are so many other uses for OPACs (gauging topics, reading in the library, asking the reference librarian, etc.) that it's important to include them in any discussion. That said, hooray for search logs! You can learn so many things you don't expect. I think Walter makes the classic non-librarian mistake, that checking out a book is the ultimate goal. It’s certainly an easy measurement, but there are so many other uses for OPACs (gauging topics, reading in the library, asking the reference librarian, etc.) that it’s important to include them in any discussion.

That said, hooray for search logs! You can learn so many things you don’t expect.

]]> By: Bess Reynolds http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-50072 Bess Reynolds Fri, 07 Sep 2007 18:11:15 +0000 http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-50072 My law firm library uses a hosted solution. It works surprisingly well. Number 1 we almost never have to wait for our busy IS (Information Services) Dept. to perform any magic. Quarterly updates are regular and mostly improvements. Help is a phone call away. We have some control over the look and feel of the OPAC. The vendor is somewhat responsive. So far we have been able to get them to partner with an RFID vendor to integrate with their circulation system. We are now working on another vendor for RSS that seems to be coming along in the development stages. The Development Director at the ILS vendor speaks with me as often as I call. I would not have selected it but it was purchased before I was hired and I was charged with implementation. This OPAC almost does not suck - compared to the other options. Most people do a quick keyword search and if they don't find what they want, call the library anyway. Very different than public or academic library patrons I assume. A big negative is they cannot at this time provide us with user statistics. My law firm library uses a hosted solution. It works surprisingly well. Number 1 we almost never have to wait for our busy IS (Information Services) Dept. to perform any magic.
Quarterly updates are regular and mostly improvements. Help is a phone call away.
We have some control over the look and feel of the OPAC.
The vendor is somewhat responsive. So far we have been able to get them to partner with an RFID vendor to integrate with their circulation system.
We are now working on another vendor for RSS that seems to be coming along in the development stages.
The Development Director at the ILS vendor speaks with me as often as I call.
I would not have selected it but it was purchased before I was hired and I was charged with implementation.
This OPAC almost does not suck - compared to the other options. Most people do a quick keyword search and if they don’t find what they want, call the library anyway. Very different than public or academic library patrons I assume.
A big negative is they cannot at this time provide us with user statistics.

]]> By: K.G. Schneider http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-49867 K.G. Schneider Fri, 07 Sep 2007 10:28:14 +0000 http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/09/05/your-opac-and-the-suck-factor/#comment-49867 Webdoyenne, when I was a jet engine mechanic, I was taught that the basic principles of jet engines were "suck, squeezes, blows, and goes." Naughty, but on point! Michelle, I've worked in a small special library and have known the frustration of limited services. (At least yours is an ASP. Ours was hosted by the company IT, who one week accidentally deleted our serials database.) Some small libraries are using open source. It would be interesting to hear from them. Webdoyenne, when I was a jet engine mechanic, I was taught that the basic principles of jet engines were “suck, squeezes, blows, and goes.” Naughty, but on point!

Michelle, I’ve worked in a small special library and have known the frustration of limited services. (At least yours is an ASP. Ours was hosted by the company IT, who one week accidentally deleted our serials database.) Some small libraries are using open source. It would be interesting to hear from them.

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