Update: I’m getting some questions on how we did this, so… We have a Horizon system – look for the searchinput.xsl page in your XSL folder. Then find the appropriate chunk of code where the “nothing found” message and table appears, and add the meebome widget there.
And if you have more questions, feel free to email me (davidleeking at gmail dot com) – and I’ll put you in touch with our Web Administrator.
*************
I was reading Helene’s post about online chat, and remembered I had wanted to try something in my library’s catalog… and we just went live with it.
What did we do? We added a Meebo widget to unsuccessful keyword searches in our library catalog. This way, when a customer searches our catalog and doesn’t find anything, they can contact us via IM and ask for help (we also display our phone number if they want to call).
SO – should be interesting to see what we get from this (since we just turned it on maybe 15 minutes ago). If nothing else, it’s a solid attempt at “humanizing” the OPAC!
[ad#dlks-sneaky-ad-unit]
EDward Metz says
Very cool. I think I might go ahead and add this to our log-in failed page for EzProxy.
EDward Metz says
Very cool. I think I might go ahead and add this to our log-in failed page for EzProxy.
davidleeking says
EDward Metz – great idea about EZProxy! That’s another good use – stick it where customers generally get confused.
Veronica says
Really great idea! Please do keep us posted about the results.
davidleeking says
EDward Metz – great idea about EZProxy! That’s another good use – stick it where customers generally get confused.
Veronica says
Really great idea! Please do keep us posted about the results.
Bill Pardue says
We’re using the Wimzi widget, but I’ve also put it on our community info site: http://community.ahml.info. In future weeks it will proliferate its way into more pages on that site, but I wanted to put it on the homepage in a hurry. Note that I’m also using it to promote other avenues, as well, especially 24/7. A nice thing about Wimzi is that you can have different versions of the widget for different locations and that the transcript indicates which widget was being used, so we can compare traffic from different points. Meebo may do this, too. I don’t know.
Bill Pardue says
We’re using the Wimzi widget, but I’ve also put it on our community info site: http://community.ahml.info. In future weeks it will proliferate its way into more pages on that site, but I wanted to put it on the homepage in a hurry. Note that I’m also using it to promote other avenues, as well, especially 24/7. A nice thing about Wimzi is that you can have different versions of the widget for different locations and that the transcript indicates which widget was being used, so we can compare traffic from different points. Meebo may do this, too. I don’t know.
Bill Pardue says
Sorry, the above URL doesn’t work right (I think the ending period botches things). Try:
http://community.ahml.info
BTW, we managed to create a facebook “business page” for the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, but the Wimzi widget is only available for personal profiles right now, so it’s a no-go there.
Bill Pardue says
Sorry, the above URL doesn’t work right (I think the ending period botches things). Try:
http://community.ahml.info
BTW, we managed to create a facebook “business page” for the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, but the Wimzi widget is only available for personal profiles right now, so it’s a no-go there.
Lisa says
Hey all, I got the meebo widget to work in HIP 4.x — if anyone wants details just let me know. I also added it on the ‘no hits’ page here http://www.uab.edu/lister/tools/ — so far it has been well received.
Lisa
Lisa says
Hey all, I got the meebo widget to work in HIP 4.x — if anyone wants details just let me know. I also added it on the ‘no hits’ page here http://www.uab.edu/lister/tools/ — so far it has been well received.
Lisa
Jonathan H. Harwell says
Does anyone know whether the MeeboMe widget would work in Voyager?
Jonathan H. Harwell says
Does anyone know whether the MeeboMe widget would work in Voyager?
Glenn Peterson says
Great idea, David. A year or two ago we added the Google spell check API service to our no results screen. It catches typos and misspellings and displays a clickable link, just like in Google. If you are comfortable editing the XSL stylesheets (and you obviously are) it’s pretty trivial to add.
Glenn Peterson says
Great idea, David. A year or two ago we added the Google spell check API service to our no results screen. It catches typos and misspellings and displays a clickable link, just like in Google. If you are comfortable editing the XSL stylesheets (and you obviously are) it’s pretty trivial to add.
Glenn Peterson says
Screenshot re: last comment
Glenn Peterson says
Screenshot re: last comment
Glenn Peterson says
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hennepincountylibrary/2302121703/
Glenn Peterson says
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hennepincountylibrary/2302121703/
Dr. Mohamed Taher says
Congrats for this creative visualization.
FYI. I have been updating my article on each development that takes place in the area, aka., Visual Library Catalog. See my article:
http://www.geocities.com/drmtaher/AlternativeCataloging.htm
Dr. Mohamed Taher says
Congrats for this creative visualization.
FYI. I have been updating my article on each development that takes place in the area, aka., Visual Library Catalog. See my article:
http://www.geocities.com/drmtaher/AlternativeCataloging.htm
amy says
awesome. unsure if you are aware that we use meebo because we don’t _have_an_OPAC_at_all…. so basically meebo is great for that purpose – when there is no info and people have questions.
great solution! i love it!
amy says
awesome. unsure if you are aware that we use meebo because we don’t _have_an_OPAC_at_all…. so basically meebo is great for that purpose – when there is no info and people have questions.
great solution! i love it!
Frank66 says
From Smart Computing Magazine (Sept. 2008, pg. 41, Web Tips) Have you checked out Zoomii (http://www.zoomii.com) It would look nice if a Library Catalog could have the option to view it like that.
Frank66 says
From Smart Computing Magazine (Sept. 2008, pg. 41, Web Tips) Have you checked out Zoomii (http://www.zoomii.com) It would look nice if a Library Catalog could have the option to view it like that.