HCL 2.0

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?

NOTES

• AJAX – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAX – makes web pages feel more responsive by exchanging small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes, so that the entire web page does not have to be reloaded each time the user requests a change
  
• Browster –http://www.browster.com –Opens up a small browser on a search page allowing user to quickly see if the search result is of further interest
  
• Bizmaps –http://www.bizmaps.ie –a core application framework that supports location-based functionality including address finding, mapping, routing, and proximity searching
  
• Camtasia – http://www.camtasiastudio.com – An application for screen recording, editing and sharing high-quality screen video on the Web, CD-ROM and portable media players, including iPod.
  
• Captivate – http://www.adobe.com/products/captivate – Software to record screen simulations, software demonstrations, and scenario-based training without programming knowledge or multimedia skills
  
• Citebite –http://citebite.com – Allows user to link directly to a spot on a web page
  
• Cmaps – http://cmap.ihmc.us – Graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge
  
• Conduit – http://www.conduit.com – Creates customized toolbars
  
• Connotea – http://www.connotea.org – Online reference management
  
• Creative Commons – http://creativecommons.org – Alternative approach to full copyright.
  
• Dodgeball – http://www.dodgeball.com – Mobile social software
  
• Del.icio.us – http://del.icio.us – A social bookmarks manager
  
• Digg –http://digg.com – Share, discover, bookmark user powered content
• Flickr –http://flickr.com – Online photo management and sharing application
  
• Furl –http://www.furl.net – Online bookmarking site
  
• Google (My Maps) – http://maps.google.com – (My Maps tab) Create and share personalized, annotated maps
  
• Meebo – http://meebo.com – Web messenger that accesses IM from anywhere
  
• Gliffy – http://gliffy.com – Web-based diagram editor creates and shares flowcharts, network diagrams, floor plans, user interface designs and other drawings
  
• Google Gadgets – http://code.google.com/apis/gadgets – Mini-applications that work with the Google homepage, Google Desktop, or any page on the web
• Google Reader – http://www.google.com/reader – RSS aggregator
  
• LibraryThing – http://librarything.com – Catalog book collections online, social functions
  
• Libworm – http://www.libworm.com – Information for librarians on a wide range of topics available as RSS feeds
  
• Livepalsma – http://www.liveplasma.com – Liveplasma maps and displays music and movie search results with linkages and groupings.
• NetVibes – http://www.netvibes.com – Personalized news aggregator and home page
  
• Page2rss – http://page2rss.com – Creates RSS feed of a page that doesn’t have one built in
  
• Picasa – http://picasa.google.com – Photo organizing site and desktop application
  
• Pbwiki – http://pbwiki.com – Online collaborative editing and publishing
  
• Snapper – https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2703 – VERY useful for presentations, allows user to show just a portion of a screen shot rather than entire page (which usually can’t be seen from beyond the third row)
  
• Trailfire – http://trailfire.com – Enables user to discover the web through the expertise of others. Follow a trail and find what you need
• Twitter – http://twitter.com – Social networking site
  
• Userscript – http://userscripts.org – Uses Greasemonkey (http://www.greasespot.net) a Firefox extension to customize the way web pages look and function
  
• Yahoo! Developer – http://developer.yahoo.com – Network that offers Web Services and APIs that make it easy for developers to build applications and mashups that integrate data sources in new ways
  
• Yelp – http://www.yelp.com – User-generated way to find, recommend and talk about reviews
• Youtube – http://youtube.com – Hosts user-generated videos
• Wink – http://www.debugmode.com/wink – Tutorial and presentation authoring software
  
• Zotero – http://www.zotero.org – Open source Firefox extension to collect, manage, and cite research sources

QUESTIONS

Have you tried any of these resources? If so, tell us what you think of them.

Are there other resources HCL staff should be exploring?

Are there resources that you think would be useful for HCL to employ library-wide?

NOTES

• Web 2.0 technology takes much of the difficulty out of creating online resources allowing staff without traditional web skills to work online
• Before staff can fully utilize Web 2.0 tools, they need to understand what they are, how they work, and how they might be used
• Staff education is an important part of building dynamic online resources
• Training needs to be comprehensive and offered in a way that allows as many staff access to the information as possible
• Ideal if a program allows individuals to work at their own pace
• SEE presentation Five Weeks to a Social Library – http://www.sociallibraries.com/course/ online tutorial plan

QUESTIONS

Would you be interested in learning more about developing web technologies?

Would you participate in the type of tutorial described in the presenation?

Should there be some sort of of ongoing program in HCL to help staff learn about new technologies and how to employ them? If so, how might the program be structured?

Based on what we learned at our conferences we offer the following recommendations. (We realize that there are many other issues around web and instruction that need to be addressed.)

• Redesign HCL home page ASAP as beta
• Create a community toolbar as beta
• Set up an ethnographic study of users based on MIT study
• Implement an online tutorial to educate staff about new web technologies
• Establish a system for ongoing research and devlopment around new instructional tools/web technologies that brings information to stake holders and informs development of HCL web, online resources, and staff education
• Encourage future revisions/development of the Harvard Libraries OPAC to be informed by usability testing with students