OPACS of the Future
NOTES
There were quite a few sessions devoted to the updating/improvement of library OPACs, but because we are not directly involved with Havard’s OPAC we only attended a couple. Highlights follow.
- Library OPACS broken in 3 ways: usability, findability, remixability
- Bring OPAC/catalog front and center, don’t hide behind a website
- Allow inbound links and link outwards
- OLD web site – like a mall, tries to keep users in; NEW web sites link out as much as possible (in the end brings more users back to site)
- Some universities are already employing RSS feeds to announce new acquisitions
- Users don’t want OUR content, they want THEIR content
- Users don’t want just a book listing, they want information that they can work with–share, annotate, mashup
- The creator of LibraryThing is about to roll out some tools for OPACS
QUESTIONS
What can HCL do to encourage the develoment of a facile, user-friendly OPAC?
How might we encourage ULC/OIS to do some usability testing of student users and use what they learn to inform new developments?