Talk:July 7

From LIS 460 Summer 2007

This is the place to post or link to your group's decisions about the perfect library catalog.

Contents 1 Group 1 2 Group 4 3 Group 5 4 Group 3 5 Group 2's List 6 Linda's Follow-up

Group 1

Amanda Pegg-Wheat, Erin Daly, Becky DeAngelis, and Elisabeth Zimmer

more of an unedited Skype call than a podcast, but here we are talking about catalogs. Finally!

And here is a list of things we thought were important to any catalog:

• Tell us the format of the item (book, cd, dvd, etc) on the first page of hits and possibly using a graphic
• Tell us if it is Fiction or Nonfiction
• Records users can get, either to print or email
• Where is the book: call number location and status on first page
• Help menu and searching strategies in obvious locations
• Good navigation with the ability to get back to previous pages easily
• Links to the past five searches
• Showing navigation, go back to any step, see where you came from
• Colors
• Separate kids interface
• Maybe a separate teen interface?
• Lots of options: making use of the best parts of many of the catalogs we looked at so people can search the way they find most useful
• Not too many options, it can get confusing. Introduce new kinds of searches slowly.
• Show images of book covers. This is so important!
• Ability to Browse subject headings and easy access to controlled vocab
• Defined terms. If there is a search available, allow users to see what it's for.
• Schools need to allow you to search curriculum
• Library events in the catalog!

Group 4

Eileen, Kris, Jan, and Tina
Components of Good School OPAC

Interface

• A graphic interface and a text based interface
• It should be clear what the graphics represent
• Colors should be limited to enhancing interface
• Graphics and colors should not interfere with navigation

Searches

• Several options for search criteria should be available i.e. title and/or author
• Several options for order of search results i.e. copyright date, relevancy
• Keeps record of searches
• Search results should be to be stored for multiple searches
• Results should be available for emailing, printing, or saving

Records

• Material type should be included
• Options for full or MARC record should be available
• Hot links for keywords within the records should be available for related materials

Find out more about how developmental factors (cognitive, emotional, physical and social) affect children's information seeking here

Group 5

Components of an ideal school OPAC, according to Jennie, Sara, Paul and Breigh Ann:

• Graphic representation with text support (rollover text)
• For a younger audience, include graphics/icons to assist with searching.
• Controlled vocabulary list (for subject searches) and cross referencing
• Built in Thesaurus to aid students in searching
• Tag Cloud highlighting popular searches
• Place to browse for pleasure reading (like Denver "Best Stories" section) to encourage reading outside of class.
• Recommended reading lists created by the students and librarian.
• Different interface for students (if in elementary or middle school) than for teachers.
• Link to chat for live reference (from home or classroom)
• Events calendar
• Link for teachers to state curriculum standards.
• A link to the librarian's blog.
• Ensure that all formats within the collection (Print, CD, DVD, Audio Books) are accessible through the OPAC.
• Basic OPAC Searching tutorial
• Link to all other school related websites
• Link to the public library's website
• Links to pathfinders that may be of use for student projects and reports.
• For younger students (elementary/middle school) keep access points at a minimum to avoid overwhelming them.
• Bold, simple graphics evenly spread on the page
• Ability to switch between text and graphic view
• Nice use of color, not so much that it will hinder students with learning difficulties or that students are too distracted to find information.
• Search history is available, allowing users to back track.
• Full text availability
• Ability to save and e-mail resources that the student finds while searching through the OPAC.
• For High School OPACs access to the Internet
• Ability to search "Reserve" materials by specific class or teacher.

Group 3

Ideal Search Tools

Amity Johnson, Amy Bloom and Elizabeth Rey

• Images/visual graphic appeal
• Icons for Kids help with search process
• Accomodation for spelling errors
• Search box that sets up boolean searching for the user (i.e. Springfield Township)
• Prominent Search Box, make it clear where to start.
• The less instuctions the better (minimize the reading of instructions)
• Drop Down box to determine type of search (author, title, keyword etc)
• Page layout not too overwhelming, want it to be easy to navigate, makes it easy for all levels of users
• "user friendly" words rather than librarian terms
• Pictures of book covers
• picture of the format item is available in
• search results offers other related terms to search
• Include advanced search options to filter by language, year of publication, format, etc
• For each record in the catalog, link to a map of the library that shows where the item can be found.
• Touch pad screen for children’s portion of catalog
• Section for library events
• Home page layout that is simple but which includes information about the resources available to users
• Clear link to personal information to check out, renew, manage account
• Separate sections of catalog for children and teenagers
• Popular Reading, Book Clubs sections?

Group 2's List

is here

Linda's Follow-up

After reading through each group's list, listening to the audio, and looking at supporting documentation that was provided, I have the following follow-up thoughts:

• A library teacher has to always keep in mind the audience for the library catalog. Nope, it's not the library teacher ;) it's the school community - students, teachers, parents, administration, etc. It's sometimes hard to look at a library catalog product through the eyes of the audience but it's important to do just that, otherwise it's not really clear how well the catalog works. This also means that the same catalog should not be used for different age groups of students. The elementary school library catalog should look and work differently than the middle school catalog and the high school catalog.
• The library teacher has to always keep in mind the purpose of the library catalog. Nope, it's not to help the library teacher find materials. It's to help members of the school community find materials. Sometimes ILS vendors seem to forget this and they develop catalogs that the librarian finds useful but not so much the community that the librarian serves.
• Visuals are a very important part of the library catalog experience. Catalogs should include images of covers of materials and icons that represent the format of each item in the results list. While not all library catalog users are visual learners, the visual display of information helps all users to understand what's being shown and how to use the resource.
• Visual display of information relates to layout of the page as well as images. The layout should be easy to figure out - columns of information often work well. A catalog user shouldn't have to spend several minutes figuring out how things on the page are organized. It should be readily apparent.
• The search box should be easily recognizable and easily accessed. It is even good if a library catalog search box is available on more than just the actual catalog pages. For example, the library teacher should consider putting the search box on the library blog or web site. (An ILS vendor can often provide code for adding this to an outside source.) The school should consider putting the library search box on the school web site and/or blog. The more often members of the school community see the search on various content pages the more likely they'll be to start using it.
• Tagging is an important feature to add to library catalogs. Students and teachers of all ages don't always think in the same way that librarians do when it comes to subject headings. A 4th grader might want to look for a book that's gory. If that isn't a subject heading he wouldn't be able to find anything with that search. However, if students and teachers and the library teacher tag content it's more likely that results will match how users search.
• Tag clouds can make searching easier and can also add visual appeal to a library catalog. Using a tag cloud to show popular search terms and terms within specific subject categories can make the information seeking process much more of a success.
• Links to other resources should be included within the library catalog pages. For example, the catalog could include links to the same search in Google, Yahoo!, Library Thing, etc. Links would also include the library web site or blog, curriculum materials and lesson plans, and so on. Links to useful Internet resources should be included in order to help students locate and compare resources of different formats. This can be available in upper elementary school as this age student does actually use the Internet for research already.
• Another form of visual that is useful to have within the library catalog is a map of the library shelves. This could actually be done as a mashup(see the student tech encyclopedia for info. on mashup) where the catalog and a photographic map of the library (think about the Google Satellite images) are put together to show actual item locations, what the item looks like, and if the item is in or checked-out.
• It would be useful to include a feature that acts something like a library return cart. In other words, a tool in the catalog where a user can see what was recently returned to get ideas of what he might want to read next. It could also give users a chance to see what someone who is working on a project for the same teacher recently returned.

The above list relates directly to many of the items that showed up on the discussion board, in Google Docs, and in the student audio. The following couple of items focus on topics that were not directly covered in those places:

• RSS feeds for the catalog can be very useful for students, classroom teachers, and library teachers. An RSS feed would alert a teacher to when new items on a topic of interest are added to the catalog. An RSS feed could let a student know when materials for a research project are either turned in or newly added to the catalog.
• Federated searching is something that can be helpful to students and classroom teachers but isn't easily accomplished. It's important that the federated search doesn't add a level of complexity to the catalog which makes it impossible for students and classroom teachers to figure out how to actually accomplish a search or what a results list actually shows/includes.
• It's not just about making search easy for students and classroom teachers, it's about making search successful. If that means rethinking how we display and provide information than it's important that we do that. If that means we change the way we teach how to use the library catalog then it's important we do that. If it means we re-think how the library catalog works then it's important we do that. If classroom teachers and students aren't successful they aren't going to use the library catalog at all. We need to create success so that the tools we provide are used and teaching and learning can take place.
• Library teachers need to be able to articulate to their school community and ILS vendors what they need in a library catalog. The library teacher should know what features are acceptable and not-acceptable. The library teacher should know how to sell the needed features to the administration. The library teacher should be proactive in making sure that the ILS provided to the school community is something that works. Of course this isn't accomplished in a day, and it's not necessarily easy. But, if aware of what works and doesn't work, and if ready to work with others to help make change, then it is possible.

One other thing I wanted to add. In several of the Skype conversations from last week we talked about the positive relationship the library teacher needs to build with students and classroom teachers. This is something that Joyce Valenza has succeeded at extremely well. When we build positive relationships with the school community trust and respect is a part of that relationship. With that trust and respect a library teacher is able to be more successful in what she does. She'll be able to talk about the library catalog with classroom teachers and students and they will listen because they trust what she has to say. This is to say that it's not all about the hardware and software. it's also about the people and the relationships they have.