Comments on: IL2008: Implementing a Next Gen OPAC http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/10/22/il2008-implementing-a-next-gen-opac/ David Lee King is the Digital Branch & Services Manager at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, where he plans, implements, and experiments with emerging technology trends. He has spoken in the U.S. and Canada about emerging trends, website usability and management, digital experience planning, and managing techie staff, and has been published in many library-related journals. David writes the Internet Spotlight column in Public Libraries Magazine with Michael Porter. David maintains a blog at http://www.davidleeking.com Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:34:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Zinthia Briceno http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/10/22/il2008-implementing-a-next-gen-opac/comment-page-1/#comment-23595 Zinthia Briceno Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:54:58 +0000 http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/10/22/il2008-implementing-a-next-gen-opac/#comment-23595 Thanks for your notes! Thanks for your notes!

]]> By: Jon Gorman http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/10/22/il2008-implementing-a-next-gen-opac/comment-page-1/#comment-19643 Jon Gorman Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:52:52 +0000 http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/10/22/il2008-implementing-a-next-gen-opac/#comment-19643 catching up and just saw this post @jaradams You have me curious. Every way I can think of searching for backgammon boards on Amazon leads me to one in the first page of results. (Going through the categories isn't great, but still gets one results in the first page. Searching backgammon or backgammon boards gets results in the first hit, and even starting that string prompts a completion that would help most). Not trying to disparage your wife, I'm just failling to figure out what she did that was so fruitless. Might be an important lesson. On the other hand, I'm highly skeptical, even being an information professional myself, that I could have pulled that information out of most library catalogs, whether they were "traditional" or "next gen". So...what exactly was your wife doing? What was the mental model that Amazon wasn't accounting for? How would the traditional catalog solve this? If the traditional catalog couldn't solve it either, what was needed? catching up and just saw this post
@jaradams

You have me curious. Every way I can think of searching for backgammon boards on Amazon leads me to one in the first page of results. (Going through the categories isn’t great, but still gets one results in the first page. Searching backgammon or backgammon boards gets results in the first hit, and even starting that string prompts a completion that would help most).

Not trying to disparage your wife, I’m just failling to figure out what she did that was so fruitless. Might be an important lesson.

On the other hand, I’m highly skeptical, even being an information professional myself, that I could have pulled that information out of most library catalogs, whether they were “traditional” or “next gen”.

So…what exactly was your wife doing? What was the mental model that Amazon wasn’t accounting for? How would the traditional catalog solve this? If the traditional catalog couldn’t solve it either, what was needed?

]]> By: jaradams http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/10/22/il2008-implementing-a-next-gen-opac/comment-page-1/#comment-19608 jaradams Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:01:28 +0000 http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/10/22/il2008-implementing-a-next-gen-opac/#comment-19608 On the whole, a wonderful analysis of what sounds like a wonderful product. But please, don't encourage OPAC to be like Amazon. Searching the other night for a backgammon board took my wife 30 minutes on Amazon. AS a professional searcher, I found what she wanted in a flash, but I don't find Amazon a useful search approach. On the whole, a wonderful analysis of what sounds like a wonderful product. But please, don’t encourage OPAC to be like Amazon. Searching the other night for a backgammon board took my wife 30 minutes on Amazon. AS a professional searcher, I found what she wanted in a flash, but I don’t find Amazon a useful search approach.

]]> By: Mississippi State University Libraries : Mississippi Library 2.0 Summit » Blog Archive » The New OPAC http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/10/22/il2008-implementing-a-next-gen-opac/comment-page-1/#comment-19600 Mississippi State University Libraries : Mississippi Library 2.0 Summit » Blog Archive » The New OPAC Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:29:41 +0000 http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/10/22/il2008-implementing-a-next-gen-opac/#comment-19600 [...] David Lee King reports from the Internet Librarian Conference that the library of the University of Pittsburgh is working on a better OPAC. The beta version is at http://pittcatplus.pitt.edu/ (PittCat “Classic” stays online while the new OPAC is in testing). It works a lot like Google; you enter a search term, and the catalog brings you all types of media. You refine your search with facets. Go play around with it; it’s really cool. No tag for this post. [...] [...] David Lee King reports from the Internet Librarian Conference that the library of the University of Pittsburgh is working on a better OPAC. The beta version is at http://pittcatplus.pitt.edu/ (PittCat “Classic” stays online while the new OPAC is in testing). It works a lot like Google; you enter a search term, and the catalog brings you all types of media. You refine your search with facets. Go play around with it; it’s really cool. No tag for this post. [...]

]]> By: Zinthia Briceno http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/10/22/il2008-implementing-a-next-gen-opac/comment-page-1/#comment-19592 Zinthia Briceno Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:53:29 +0000 http://www.davidleeking.com/2008/10/22/il2008-implementing-a-next-gen-opac/#comment-19592 Thanks for your notes! Thanks for your notes!

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