Strategies and Solutions for Building and Maintaining the Next Generation WebOPAC

1
Strategies and Solutions for Building and
Maintaining the Next Generation WebOPAC

• John Culshaw
• University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries

2
Wisconsin Connections
3
University of Colorado at Boulder

• Flagship campus of CU System
• Nearly 29,000 students
• Main library plus 5 branch facilities
• Mid-size ARL library

4
Looking Back

• University of Colorado migrated to Innovative in
  1994
• Made presentation at 1995 IUG 3 conference
  Enhancing Public Service through Gateway and
  Screen Design

5

6
Presentation Concept

• Scoured the literature for what little was
  available about screen design
• Hands-on screen design
• Provided technical details (no more than 9 double
  spaced lines with up to 77 characters per line).

7
Guidelines for Screen Design

• 4 pages of tips
• General to language to commands

8
Sample General Guidelines

• Display only necessary information
• Name of the library and database should always be
  apparent on the screen
• Each screen should be titled clearly
• Use upper and lower case
• Certain information should always appear in
  standard locations

9
Sample General Guidelines

• Make messages relevant and timely
• Offer short, medium, and long message formats
• Specify actions needed to continue
• The screens should page through, not scroll
  through
• In a series of screens, show position within the
  series

10
From 1994 to today

• Complimentary WebPAC in 1995-1996
• WebPAC launched 1996
• Redesign in 2004
• Redesign and installation of WebPAC Pro features
  on June 1, 2007

11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
(No Transcript)
16
Toward WebPAC Pro

• Beta test site for Release 2006
• Implementing ERM module
• Implementing WebBridge link resolver
• Needed to re-index the system
• Disclaimer not the expert!

17
Slow Migration

• Took slow road to WebPAC Pro
• Redesign was more than a new look and feel
• Needed broad input particularly from user
  community
• Had to coordinate with instruction schedules

18
Surprise Form Committees

• COG Chinook Oversight Group
• ERM Working Group
• WebBridge Working Group
• WebOPAC Working Group
• Reindexing Task Force

19
Reindexing

• First comprehensive look at system implementation
  in 1994
• Implementation of ERM demanded some indexing
  decisions
• Line by line review

20
Sample Indexing Changes

• De-indexed fields no longer part of national
  standard
• Removed indexes no longer used
• Indexed some new fields

21
WebPAC Pro Working Group

• Diverse membership and ideas
• Stuck to a vision of a cleaner, more modern
  look and feel Google, anyone?
• Feedback from library staff and users

22
Soliciting User Feedback

• Feedback from Library staff
• Usability Testing
• Link to new catalog on current site

23
Usability Testing

• Uncover issues with existing interfaces
• Develop user friendly designs
• User feedback early in development process

24
Usability Tests

• Determined the usability test did not require
  approval from IRB
• Solicited volunteers via campus e-mail
  announcements
• Tested 6 students and one faculty member
• Summarized the findings
• Determined what we could fix and what we
  couldnt

25
Testing Method

• Developed 8 tasks/questions
• Used a team of 3
• One asked questions and probed for additional
  information
• Two people observed the process, recorded user
  behaviors on a record sheet

26
Recording Form
27
Usability Results

• Does the library have a copy of Harry Potter and
  the Goblet of Fire?
• Most common suggestion was to move the Request
  button to the right of the status bar
• What to call the HOLD/REQUEST button?
• People mistakenly click on Call Number link.
• Prospector needs more descriptive text so
  users know what it is.

28
(No Transcript)
29
Whats New?
30
(No Transcript)
31
(No Transcript)
32
(No Transcript)
33
(No Transcript)
34
(No Transcript)
35
(No Transcript)
36
(No Transcript)
37
Still to come

• RSS Feeds
• Feed Builder
• My Feeds
• Blackwells Table of Contents service
• HopefullyCommunity Reviews

38
(No Transcript)
39
Future of Library Catalogs

• Industry changes FUD
• Adoption of Web Services architecture
• Open Source/Community source
• ILS-like products
• Lots of unknowns
• But vendor support still vital for most libraries

40
Keeping Up

• Watch Innovative listserv to see what peers are
  doing
• Follow Andrew Pace in American Libraries or
  Marshall Breeding in Computers in Libraries

41
Keeping Up

• Horizon Report
• Annual report by New Media Consortium and the
  EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative
• Highlights technologies that will impact college
  and university campuses in next 5 years

42
Horizon Report 2007

• 1 year or less User-created content and social
  networking
• 2-3 years Mobile phones and virtual worlds
• 4-5 years New scholarship and massively
  multiplayer educational gaming

43
Advice

• Make changes more often
• Look at other catalogs
• Are the library website and catalog becoming
  one and the same?
• Get user feedback
• Look seriously at tools like Encore