OPAC Research Articles

Application and Experiment of Book Subject Classification Navigation of Online Bookstore in OPAC

Application and Experiment of Book Subject Classification Navigation of Online Bookstore in OPAC

The Implementation of Library Toolbar and Librarian's Evaluation for Improving Accessability of OPAC

The Implementation of Library Toolbar and Librarian's Evaluation for Improving Accessability of OPAC

Digital Museums and Diverse Cultural Knowledges: Moving Past the Traditional Catalog

Web 2.0 technologies have introduced increasingly participatory practices to creating content, and museums are becoming interested in the potentials of “Museum 2.0” for reaching and engaging with new audiences. As technological advances are opening up the ways in which museums share information about the objects in their collections, the means by which museums create, handle, process, and transmit knowledge has become more transparent. For this to be done effectively, however, some underlying contradictions must be resolved between museum practices, which privilege the account of the “expert,” and distributed social technology practices, whose strengths lie in allowing for many, sometimes contradictory, perspectives. This article presents a theoretical position and framework for the adaptation of Web 2.0 technologies within the traditional work of the museum, in ways that support the generation and representation of knowledge in, by, and for diverse communities. We then expand on this theoretical perspective by discussing several case studies of exploratory work in this area, and close the article by presenting a few tactical, bottom-up initiatives that museums and distributed communities can take to facilitate the diffusion of this new conceptual framework. Though the subject of this article is online museums, the issues are relevant to all online collections, in particular portals, online public access catalogs (OPAC), and content management systems.

Digital audio lectures: a library's path to sustainability

Technology is rapidly transforming traditional library functions, and librarians must ensure that their libraries and services remain valuable, sensitive to user needs, and sustainable into the future. Technological advances in the past several years have enabled libraries to create new services that before were not possible, such as virtual reference, personalized [online public access catalog (OPAC)] interfaces, or downloadable media that library customers can use in the comfort of their own homes. This increase in available technologies gives libraries the ability to offer improved, customer-driven service opportunities. [1] The Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) Media Library used available technology to upgrade a thirty-year-old lecture recording service. The improved, customer-driven service not only assisted students with learning and helped faculty with curriculum development, it has more fully integrated the media library into the rest of the school and revitalized its basic mission. As school librarians ponder using technology to enhance their services and to strengthen their role within larger the school framework, they may want to consider the experience at the RWJMS Media Library, which has produced sustainable results by responding to customer needs and preparing adequately for change.

The evaluation of New Zealand academic library OPACs: a checklist approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the usability features of online public access catalogues (OPACs) in New Zealand academic libraries. It also makes a comparison of how libraries using the same library software are customizing their interfaces to make them useful to their users.

Free Books: Loading Brief MARC Records for Open-Access Books in an Academic Library Catalog

Mbooks are open-access, digitized books freely available on the Internet. This article describes the Auraria Library's experience of loading brief MARC records for Mbooks into its online public access catalog and looks at some of the issues that arose from the record-loading project. Despite the low quality of the records, librarians in Auraria Library thought that loading them into the catalog was advantageous because of the rich content in the collection and because many of the records could be improved using the global update functionality in the catalog. Making the records available through the catalog, as opposed to merely linking to the entire collection from the Library's Web page, was considered to be valuable because of the aggregation a catalog provides and because the Mbooks collection helped fill gaps in the Library's physical collections. As more open-access, digitized books become available, libraries will need to plan and manage how best to provide access to them.

Have we made any progress? Catalogues of the future revisited

PurposeLibrary online public access catalogues (OPACs) are considered to be unattractive in comparison with popular internet sites. In 2000, the authors presented some suggestions on how library catalogues should change. Have librarians actually made their OPACs more user‐friendly by adopting techniques and technologies already present in other information resources? This paper aims to address these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe characteristics of four OPACs, one online bookstore and two internet search engines are analyzed. The paper reviews some of the changes and directions suggested by researchers and adds some of authors own. All this is in the hope that library catalogues will survive “Google attack.”FindingsChanges are identified in the information services studied over a seven‐year period. Least development is found in library catalogues. Suggestions are made for library catalogues of the future.Research limitations/implicationsA library catalogue, a web search engine and an internet bookstore cannot be compared directly because of differences in scope. But features from each could be fruitfully used in others.Practical implicationsOPACs must be both attractive and useful. They should be at least as easy to use as their competitors. With the results of research as well as the knowledge librarians have many years, the profession should be able to develop better OPACs than we have today and regain lost ground in the “competition” for those with information needs.Originality/valueA comparison of OPAC features in 2000 and 2007, even if subjective, can provide a panoramic view of the development of the field.

Creating a virtual union catalog for Hong Kong dissertations and theses collections

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to discuss and analyze the efforts of Hong Kong Baptist University Library to create a virtual union catalog for dissertations and theses collections as a single search platform to retrieve the bibliographic records, abstracts and full‐texts of Hong Kong postgraduate students’ theses and dissertations from seven university library online public access catalogues (OPACs).Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the use of advanced keyword searching functionality in Innovative Interfaces’ Millennium system and Microsoft active server pages scripts to develop an original search engine to cross search the OPACs of Hong Kong university libraries.Findings – Library searching is more than simply doing a Google search. Libraries do not need to depend on vendors of their library integration systems exclusively for enhancement in OPAC search functionality. Librarians can also take the initiative to maximize the searching capabilities and functionalities of their existing l...

Women’s Studies Collections: A Checklist Evaluation

A checklist evaluation on thirty-seven Women's Studies programs conducted using the individual institutions' online public access catalogs (OPACs) is presented. Although Women's Studies collections are very difficult to build, an evaluation of existing programs shows that collections, for the most part, have managed substantial coverage of the subject area.

Project Blacklight: a next generation library catalog at a first generation university

PurposeThis paper sets out to provide an overview of the open source online public access catalog (OPAC) software known as Blacklight. It includes a discussion of the reasons why the University of Virginia decided to create the Blacklight project, rationale behind design decisions, an overview of the technologies used, and some examples of interface designs and object behaviors.Design/methodology/approachDesign approaches discussed include open source methodologies, model/view/controller development patterns, and strategies for efficient staff training and utilization.FindingsThe Blacklight project is not yet complete, but initial usability testing is favorable. The project shows particular promise among previously underserved populations such as music researchers, and for previously under‐used collections.Practical implicationsLibraries who are considering de‐coupling their OPAC from their Integrated Library System will find useful information about this process as undertaken by the University of Virginia, as well as more information about Blacklight, and more information about whether Blacklight might be a good fit for their library.Originality/valueBlacklight is an open source OPAC system that is particularly well suited to large libraries with diverse collections. It is the only open source OPAC system with a focus on creating customized interfaces for specific populations.

The Use Of The Internet For Cataloguing And Classification

The increasing demand for access to library holdings in many libraries via the catalogue (traditional card catalogue or the Online Public Access catalogue (OPAC) has added to catalogers' workload in regards to information dissemination. The internet is democratizing information, empowering the masses and allowing the users access to a vast array of resources. It is significantly altering the work of catalogers. This paper discusses approaches to utilize various online library catalogues to facilitate cataloguing processes for bibliographic benefits. References will be made to the University of Lagos Library where success has been recorded as a result of use of various online catalogues to complement the tools used in classifying library materials. The Information Technologist Vol. 5 (2) 2008: pp. 31-35

MARC data, the OPAC, and library professionals

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show that knowledge of the Machine‐Readable Cataloguing (MARC) format is useful in all aspects of librarianship, not just for cataloguing, and how MARC knowledge can address indexing limitations of the online catalogue.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs examples and scenarios to show the usefulness of MARC knowledge among library professionals.FindingsThe paper finds that library professionals with an understanding of MARC also have an advantage in understanding how Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) work. With a knowledge of MARC, librarians can understand OPAC indexing limitations and develop ways to work around those limitations. An understanding of MARC bibliographic data across library specialities allows librarians to work interdependently to affect the functionality of the OPAC.Originality/valueEditing/manipulating MARC data based on indexing limitations of the online catalogue can improve retrieval of library resources. Additionally, MARC knowledge and skills are transferable, even with the challenges of changing OPAC technology.

An exploration into the practices of library Web usability in ARL academic libraries

AbstractA survey of the 113 academic libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) was administered to investigate whether Web usability Policies/Standards/Guidelines (PSGs) are in place, the levels of difficulty surrounding implementation, the impact of PSGs on actual usability practice, e.g., testing, resources, etc., and the relationship between ARL ranking and usability practice or PSGs. The response rate was over 74%. Results show that 25 (30%) libraries have PSGs dedicated to Web usability. Seventy‐one (85%) libraries have conducted usability testing on their main Web sites, online public access catalogs (OPAC), or lower‐level pages. Nevertheless, only seven libraries performed iterative testing of these platforms at pre‐, during, and post‐design stages. Statistical analysis indicates that having PSGs does not affect the amount of usability testing performed or the resources available for library Web usability initiatives. In addition, ARL ranking has no or little impact on PSGs, testing, or resources.

Wired to the World: Dynamic Reference Linking

Reference linking is a relatively new concept in librarianship. Some of you may be familiar with the 856 MARC record field, which is a type of static reference linking. For example, in the online public accesscatalog (OPAC) when you look under the title National Wildlife, there is a 856 link in the MARC record that links via a Web browser to the site: www.nwf.org.

Local touch and global reach

PurposeTechnology changes swiftly and the traditional library online public access catalog (OPAC) is in danger of becoming irrelevant as more users rely on network‐level search engines such as Google and Google Scholar to search for information resources. This paper seeks to explore the next‐generation discovery and delivery solutions that are designed to adapt to changing user expectations in the Web 2.0 environment. It aims to examine the current trends in which libraries are partnering with vendors to promote their value‐added services to library users, and are making their collections more visible in a global digital landscape.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins with an overview of current library catalogs and then introduces some emerging products focusing on discovery and delivery that affect the value of libraries as they present their collections and provide services to a new generation of library users. Case studies are presented to illustrate trendy features of next‐generation catalogs as well as the challenges that the new tools bring to libraries as they work toward providing users with richer discovery experiences and greater delivery of content beyond local collections.FindingsThe paper identifies major problems with libraries' existing OPACs as well as challenges of implanting new discovery tools to meet the demands of today's network users.Practical implicationsThe paper suggests that libraries must become more responsive and adaptable to remain sustainable, relevant, and competitive in the new environment.Originality/valueThe paper presents an up‐to‐date account of the state of next‐generation library catalogs used in American libraries.

User perspectives on NextGen catalog features

AbstractSince the development of the online public access catalog (OPAC), there has been discussion about what constitutes a next‐generation (NextGen) catalog. In the last few years, many user‐centered features have been included in both vendor and open source NextGen catalogs. What is lacking, though, is a study of user perspectives on the usefulness of these features in searches. Examining these perspectives will provide insight important to future the development of NextGen catalogs. In this study, 98 library science students reviewed the features of the AcquaBrowser, Encore, VuFind, and Scriblio systems. Participants used a 10 point scale (1=low, 10=high) to rate the helpfulness and desirability of user‐centered features such as the simple search box, advanced search options, results sorting options, enriched content, user contributed content, faceted navigation, relevance ranking, spell checking, word constellations, word clouds, recommendations for similar items, external links, and other Web 2.0 features. Overall ratings show the advanced search option to have been the most helpful and the recently added items feature to have been least helpful, while faceted navigation was the most desirable feature and the recently added items feature was the least desirable. For all features included in the study, except the advanced search option, the average desirability of the features was rated higher than the average helpfulness. Additionally, more detailed findings, including users' comments about NextGen catalog features, are reported.

Use of Facebook in academic health sciences libraries

Use of Facebook in academic health sciences libraries

Applying Network Information Mining Technology to Expanding OPAC

Applying Network Information Mining Technology to Expanding OPAC

English

The importance of knowing the various search facilities available on a range of software packages, on a comparative basis, cannot be overemphasised. This study concerns with laying the foundation for such exercise. With the application of information technology in libraries, selection of an appropriate library automation software package has become a challenge for the library administrators. Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) is an important module in all library packages. The present study evaluates three important library software packages, namely, Alice for Windows, Libsys, and Virtua in the context of OPAC module. DOI: 10.14429/djlit.28.6.221

Clear As Glass: A Combined List Of Print And Electronic Journals In The Knowledge Base

The non-standard practice at Cowles Library at Drake University has been to display electronic journals and some print journals in the Knowledge Base while simultaneously listing print journals and some electronic journals in the online public access catalog (OPAC). The result was a system that made it difficult for patrons to determine our journal holdings while not providing any benefits to our technical services department. Whether or not to display electronic holdings with print holdings in the OPAC is a frequently debated question. For institutions that do not have the cataloging or technical services staff to keep up with constantly changing electronic holdings, a better question is whether or not to add the print holdings to the list of electronic resources (a knowledge base). The library has listed all journal holdings (print and electronic) in the knowledge base. At the same time, Cowles Library reevaluated its procedure regarding the display of electronic journals in the OPAC. By addressing these issues, Cowles Library hopes that it has implemented changes that will better serve librarians, faculty, and students. This article discusses the procedure changes implemented primarily to aid users but also to streamline and standardize workflows for staff.