by David Lee King on April 12, 2007
Andrew Pace
Showed a timeline of library automation (that started on 1936!)
Where are we?
- the rfp has not evolved
- the traditional ILS system is a legacy system
- new innovation requires new technology
Discussed the current state of the ILS
what ILS catalogs do well:
- inventory control
- known item searching
what ILS catalogs don’t do well:
- any search other than known item
- anything other than books and journals
- logical groupings of results
- faceted searching
- relevance ranking
- sideways searching (suggestions, expansion of searches and search targets)
NextGen library search tools: lots of them… including worldcat, clustered searching, endeca, open sources, etc…
a few words about nextgen and 2.0:
- they are adjectives for libraries and systems
- not our patrons – they are already there
To our customers, search looks like Google and iTunes and flickr
what is faceted navigation?
- Sounds like boolean and limiting to me…
- gave examples – narrow by category at amazon, clusty’s sidebar narrowing, etc
Needle Library, Haystack College is using ExLibris (look at it)
Existing catalogs are hard to use:
- lots of topical searches and poor subject access
- keyword doesn’t work well
- relevance is really just system sort order in library catalogs
- unforgiving on spelling errors or stemming
- response time is bad
explained why NCSU wanted a new catalog…
showed a screencast of an NCSU catalog search
Most of their users are doing basic keyword searching – about 1/3 are choosing the refinements (mostly subject refinements)
usability testing:
- relevance ranking is key
- only 13% went to page two!
- faceted navigation is intuitive
- beware of library jargon
- user behavior is influenced by previous experience
Interesting tidbits:
- keyword searching up 230%
- authority searching is down 45%
Future opportunities
- integrate catalog with other tools through web services
- enrich catalog with external web services – book jackets, etc
- build cross application shopping cart functionality
Where are we headed?
- interoperability – that’d be cool… right now, it’s the exception not the rule
- web services
- 3rd parties – will become a viable source for ILS type services
- Re-integration (eventually)
- continued mergers, market consolidation, etc
- more vertical integration (portals, federated search, serials content management, etc)
- more open source, local development, and 3rd party partnerships
“Open source is more like a free kitten, not like free beer.”
by David Lee King on March 13, 2007
Update: Here’s a link to the official press release.
You might have seen some posts about Sirsi/Dynix here, here and here… well, they sent an email out to SirsiDynix customers – here’s the email (I’m assuming this will resemble the press release that’s supposed to be released later on today):
Dear valued SirsiDynix
customer,
Later today, SirsiDynix will make an
exciting announcement for both our company and the library market. Before the
announcement becomes public knowledge and a press release is issued, I wanted to
personally share now what the rest of the world will hear shortly – as well as
explain to you what it means for customers of SirsiDynix Horizon, Corinthian,
and Dynix Classic integrated library systems.
SirsiDynix will unveil that we are
blending the strengths and best features of Horizon/Corinthian, Unicorn, and
other solutions to create a new, versatile technology platform to serve
21st-century libraries and consortia. Code-named “Rome,” this
platform goes beyond the traditional integrated library system to encompass the
full range of technology building blocks for managing library operations and
resources, while providing meaningful user experiences to your information
consumers.
Rome is built on the architecture of the
industry-standard Unicorn Library Management System – with its record of
stability, quality, and performance – and will include an impressive set of new
solutions created as part of Horizon 8.0/Corinthian development. The first
release of Rome will be available in the fourth quarter of this year. The target
time for the second release is late 2008.
What does this mean to
Horizon/Corinthian and Dynix Classic customers?
There are several key points you
should know:
- SirsiDynix will continue to maintain
and support Horizon 7.3/7.4.
- Horizon 8.0/Corinthian, which is
already in use at a limited number of sites, will not be generally released.
Horizon 8.1/Corinthian and Unicorn GL3.2 will not be released. Instead, the new
functionality of both will be incorporated into Rome over time.
- We will focus our
research-and-development efforts on Rome. In doing so, we will be able to better
deliver the capabilities expected in Horizon 8/Corinthian, but faster and on a
more stable platform. As a result, Rome will be the platform for all SirsiDynix
users in the future.
Here are the upgrade or migration
paths for customers planning to move to Horizon 7.3/7.4 or Horizon
8.0/Corinthian, or for those on the Dynix Classic legacy system:
- Customers in the queue to implement
Horizon 7.3/7.4 can choose to continue on this path. They do so with the
understanding that their next upgrade will be to Rome and that additional
training and other activities might be required for Rome.
- As there will be no further
implementations of Horizon 8.0/Corinthian, customers in the queue to implement
Horizon 8.0/Corinthian can move to Horizon 7.3/7.4, if they are not already on
that version.
- The immediate Dynix Classic
migration option is to move to Unicorn GL3.1, just as those sites would have
migrated to Horizon 8.0/Corinthian. Otherwise, they can follow the migration
path to Rome in the coming months. Migrating to Unicorn GL3.1 will later
minimize additional training and upgrade activities required for moving to
Rome.
The upcoming press release will
offer more information about the major features and benefits of Rome. I cannot
stress enough that this new technology platform will provide the “best of both
worlds” – the stability you require and the features you need.
As always, if you have questions
about your particular case, please contact your SirsiDynix account
representative.
Regards,
Talin Bingham
Chief Technology Officer
SirsiDynix
by David Lee King on March 13, 2007
You might have seen some posts about Sirsi/Dynix here, here and here… well, they sent an email out to SirsiDynix customers – here’s the email (I’m assuming this will resemble the press release that’s supposed to be released later on today):
Dear valued SirsiDynix
customer,
Later today, SirsiDynix will make an
exciting announcement for both our company and the library market. Before the
announcement becomes public knowledge and a press release is issued, I wanted to
personally share now what the rest of the world will hear shortly – as well as
explain to you what it means for customers of SirsiDynix Horizon, Corinthian,
and Dynix Classic integrated library systems.
SirsiDynix will unveil that we are
blending the strengths and best features of Horizon/Corinthian, Unicorn, and
other solutions to create a new, versatile technology platform to serve
21st-century libraries and consortia. Code-named “Rome,” this
platform goes beyond the traditional integrated library system to encompass the
full range of technology building blocks for managing library operations and
resources, while providing meaningful user experiences to your information
consumers.
Rome is built on the architecture of the
industry-standard Unicorn Library Management System – with its record of
stability, quality, and performance – and will include an impressive set of new
solutions created as part of Horizon 8.0/Corinthian development. The first
release of Rome will be available in the fourth quarter of this year. The target
time for the second release is late 2008.
What does this mean to
Horizon/Corinthian and Dynix Classic customers?
There are several key points you
should know:
- SirsiDynix will continue to maintain
and support Horizon 7.3/7.4.
- Horizon 8.0/Corinthian, which is
already in use at a limited number of sites, will not be generally released.
Horizon 8.1/Corinthian and Unicorn GL3.2 will not be released. Instead, the new
functionality of both will be incorporated into Rome over time.
- We will focus our
research-and-development efforts on Rome. In doing so, we will be able to better
deliver the capabilities expected in Horizon 8/Corinthian, but faster and on a
more stable platform. As a result, Rome will be the platform for all SirsiDynix
users in the future.
Here are the upgrade or migration
paths for customers planning to move to Horizon 7.3/7.4 or Horizon
8.0/Corinthian, or for those on the Dynix Classic legacy system:
- Customers in the queue to implement
Horizon 7.3/7.4 can choose to continue on this path. They do so with the
understanding that their next upgrade will be to Rome and that additional
training and other activities might be required for Rome.
- As there will be no further
implementations of Horizon 8.0/Corinthian, customers in the queue to implement
Horizon 8.0/Corinthian can move to Horizon 7.3/7.4, if they are not already on
that version.
- The immediate Dynix Classic
migration option is to move to Unicorn GL3.1, just as those sites would have
migrated to Horizon 8.0/Corinthian. Otherwise, they can follow the migration
path to Rome in the coming months. Migrating to Unicorn GL3.1 will later
minimize additional training and upgrade activities required for moving to
Rome.
The upcoming press release will
offer more information about the major features and benefits of Rome. I cannot
stress enough that this new technology platform will provide the “best of both
worlds” – the stability you require and the features you need.
As always, if you have questions
about your particular case, please contact your SirsiDynix account
representative.
Regards,
Talin Bingham
Chief Technology Officer
SirsiDynix
by David Lee King on March 7, 2006
I just saw New Catalog Kiosk from the Library TechBytes blog. And it’s a great idea, too!
Helene mentions her library’s Catalog Kiosk – go take a peek at the image, then come right back. They have created an in-library web page “kiosk” that points to lots of library information – just in a user-friendly way. It includes:
- Access to the catalog, with a big, fat “Begin Search” button
- A My Account link
- A Find Articles search box
- Staff recommendations
- Upcoming programs
- News
- Button to the general library website
I find this a great way to integrate content for patrons inside the library. This allows staff to concentrate on “most wanted” information at the Public PCs (or “Kiosks”), while still maintaining a global website that brings together even more information.
Great job!
by David Lee King on January 4, 2006
I just read
this article, and thought some of the points made really compare to the ILS discussion going on right now. First, a little explanation – the point of the original article is to point out rather obvious ways to ruin an ecommerce site. But, some of those points translate nicely to our beloved ILS systems, too. Here are some of the more “telling” points:
1. Use your Ecommerce Software’s [ILS System's] Default Layout. Ouch! A large percentage of us libraries use the default layout. When we get brave, we add our logo image and maybe change a color or two.
We really need to customize the ILS we bought with our taxpayer’s/students/patron’s hard-earned money so it’s usable for our customers, don’t you think? And if we can’t do it, well then – we should expect our vendor to do it for us.
2. Don’t use thumbnails. SIRSI adds Syndetics info, which includes thumbnails of materials. So much nicer, especially when our competition is Amazon – at least it’s a step in the right direction.
4. Don’t smooth the Checkout Process. Sometimes this is easy for us, sometimes not. Make sure your ILS is easy to use when customers want to place a hold on an item. ANd make sure you’re using the most appropriate words, phrases and descriptions for your customers, too (ie., do your customers understand what “placing a hold” really means?).
5. Ignore the Market you’re “Targeting.” Who’s your target audience? Kids? If so, can they use your ILS system made for adults? Etc, etc, etc. Think about ways to help your target audiences find what they’re looking for.
8. Completely leave out Product Descriptions. Compare The Hobbit in your ILS system to The Hobbit at Amazon. Most likely, your version has author, title, subject headings, a call number, and (egad) a MARC record. Amazon, on the other hand, has all the normal ILS stuff (except for the MARC record, which they really don’t need), plus pictures, a “look inside this book” preview, customer tagging, reviews from publishers, and reviews from other customers.
Do you see a difference?
10. Never post your Address or Phone Number. What happens when a search leads to nothing in your ILS? In my library’s ILS, this phrase appears “… found no matches in the library you selected.” And then a search box is displayed so the customer can re-do their search. That’s well and good, but let’s go one further. Let’s add our email/chat/IM/telephone reference contact info there, too. This way, a frustrated customer can go one further – and you have just added some positiveness to an otherwise negative customer experience.
web2.0, library2.0
by David Lee King on August 1, 2005
Gotta love the blogger (my blogging tool)/Google combination. Right now anyway, when you do a google search for the Sirsidynix logo tag thingie (“SirsiDynix. Better. Together.” … the original news story appears first (and second). My blog post appears second. A Netherlands version of the Sirsi page appears fourth, and then the actual SirsiDynix page appears fifth.
Why? I’m only guessing… but:
1. my post came out a day or so before the sirsidynix page had content.
2. Google owns and hosts Blogger blogs, and maybe they bump the rankings up somewhat?
Either way, I think it’s sorta funny!
by David Lee King on July 5, 2005
Page 57 of the book Priceless: Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences: – a customer went to a store to buy a can opener, but it was on a shelf 12 feet high, so she picked another product. Bad product placement, and bad experience!
What do you think – do libraries do this? With high shelving, sure – but also by making our information hard to find. For example… A new book can be:
- on a new books shelf
- a genre shelf
- a themed display
- in the kids or adults section
- on the normal shelf
- Or checked out
And the library catalog doesn’t always provide this type of detail to our customers. The catalog entry might say nothing more than “new books” – but our customer is left scratching his head, wondering “where is ‘New Books’?” Another good one – a library catalog entry might say “browsing collection” – huh?
We need to provide clear direction so customers can quickly and painlessly find our stuff – thus providing a positive experience. And, simple as this might seem… customers want to repeat positive experiences.
by David Lee King on June 27, 2005
From Marshall breeding at the top tech trends thingie (I’m not there, just reading other blogs about it – I just might have to join soon):
“Now we have in Sirsi Dynix 185 people doing development, so there is potential they have some resources to make some progress long overdue. There is now no excuse that “we don’t have the resources.” ”
I sure hope at least one of those people is a web developer…. it’s VERY needed.
Just sayin.
by David Lee King on June 22, 2005
Those who care probably know this already – but the SirsiDynix website is now officially live.
Check it out – could be cool!
by David Lee King on June 21, 2005
And there’s a website, http://www.sirsidynix.com/
Who owns this site? Here’s the whois info (below).
Interesting – Huntville, AL address – Sirsi is in Huntsville… also, look at the dns server names – DRA.net… hmm… Sirsi has a product called DRA. But why the yahoo.com email address? I suppose we’ll find out more soon…
Registrant:
HOVANES, KEN (SNFZIDXTPD)
414 Eustis Ave.
HUNTSVILLE, AL 35801
US
Domain Name: SIRSIDYNIX.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
HOVANES, KEN (KH8584) khovanes@yahoo.com
414 Eustis Ave.
HUNTSVILLE, AL 35801
US
256 536 4595
Record expires on 23-May-2010.
Record created on 23-May-2005.
Database last updated on 21-Jun-2005 09:30:53 EDT.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.DRA.NET 150.147.64.1
NS2.DRA.NET 150.147.64.65
