worldcat local@auraria
DESCRIPTION
From an OCLC-sponsored session entitled, "Local Impact, Global Reach: WorldCat Local for Your Library" at the 2010 ALA Midwinter Meeting in BostonTRANSCRIPT
WorldCat Local @ Auraria
Nina McHale
Assistant Professor, Web Librarian
University of Colorado Denver
January 17 2010
A Letter from Grandma
What I can tell you about…
• Selection– Our timeline– Creating an inclusive selection process
• Implementation– Our timeline– Integration into library’s web presence
• Assessment– Impact on public services– Tweaks to home page– Patron feedback
Our Selection Timeline
• June 2008: – Task Group formed– Began investigation of NextGen products
• October 2008: – “Top Three” identified– NextGen Catalog Week
• December 2008: – Made product recommendation to University
Librarian/Library Director
NextGen Task Group Membership
• Membership:– Web Librarian (chair of selection process)– Distance Support Librarian (chair of implementation
process)– Assistant Director for Technical Services– 2 Reference & Instruction Librarians– Catalog Librarian– ILS “Server Guy”
• For implementation, changed chair and swapped one R&I librarian for a
bibliographer
NextGen Catalog Week
• October 10-14, 2008• Invited vendor reps from our three top picks:
– Aquabrowser– Encore– WorldCat Local
• Recorded vendor presentations put on reserve
• Invited all Library employees and colleagues from around the area
• Prize drawing to encourage feedback
Task Group Selection Decision: Why WorldCat Local?
• Cost: competitively priced with no hidden extras• Features: exactly what we wanted, nothing we
didn’t– Wanted: book covers and federated searching– Not so much: concept maps
• Proof of concept: OCLC has our data, so we could see a prototype immediately
• Integration with existing resources: local and consortial III catalog
• Trust factor: OCLC
Implementation Timeline
• January 2009: Contract negotiations began
• April 2009: Contract finalized• Summer 2009:
– Created beta version– Publicized WCL to faculty and students
• August 2009: Launched to campus community
About the Contract…
• A four-month contract negotiation is not typical• Colorado Amendment 54, enacted on
December 31 2008:– “Clean Government Colorado” intended to limit
contractor influence on policy decisions– Prohibits holding of contracts totaling $100,000 or
more awarded by state or local governments without competitive bidding ("sole source government contracts”)
• It took longer to complete the contract
than to implement WorldCat Local
Integration into Library Web Site
• Instance of WCL is at
http://aurarialibrary.worldcatlocal.org • How do we get it into the Library’s home page?• Launched on a tight time frame
– Cancellation of 360 Search July 31 2009– Fall 2009 semester began August 17– No time for formal usability
• Tabbed search box for library homepage desired
• Programmers? What programmers?
OCLC Widget Generator
OCLC Widget Generator Results
OCLC Widget Generator
• Generator writes the HTML code for you and your WCL (copy + paste)
• It can be tweaked a bit by hand• Fixed-width widget didn’t fit into center
column of existing home page design• Tab options somewhat limited
– One can select up to 5 of 6 tab options to include as well as which is the default
– However, tab labels can’t be changed
University of Washington’s Tabs
Placement on Library’s Home Page
Why, Yes, You Can Have the Code!
• Yahoo Developer Network’s User Interface (YUI) TabView
• http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/tabview/• XHTML chunk with 3 JavaScript files and
1 CSS file • Thoroughly documented, but does require
CSS/XHTML knowledge• Allows complete customization of tab
labels, colors, etc.
Auraria Library’s Tabs
Placement on Library’s Home Page
Tab Labels and Search Tips: Books
• “Tip” addresses that the default book search does not work well for known-item searches
• Links are to title, author, etc. searches in traditional catalog
Tab Labels and Search Tips: Articles
• “Tip” addresses that the WCL does not search ALL articles/databases owned
• Link is to homegrown database of databases
Tab Labels and Search Tips: Journals
• “Tip” directs users looking for articles to “Articles” tab
• Added for known-item journal search
Assessment
• Public services perspectives– Reference and Instruction– Document Delivery
• Patron reactions– Students– Faculty
Reference and Instruction Perspectives
• Tension between mission of reference and instruction and discovery tools generally– “Why Reference and Instruction Librarians
Hate Federated Searching and NextGen Catalogs”
• Instruction survey: most instruction librarians do not demo WCL in their classes– Shopping mall/boutique analogy
Document Delivery Increase?
• Prospector (consortium) requests have increased by 9.1%– Fall 2008: 5141– Fall 2009: 5643– However, 10% increase was typical for all
member libraries during this time period
• ILL: Stats not yet calculated for Fall 2009– Concern about increase in abandoned requests– Discussion of limiting requests– Increase in audio/video requests
Changes for Spring 2010
• Tabbed “Start My Research” portion of web page more inclusive of other search tools, including: – Our traditional catalog (Skyline)– Our consortium catalog (Prospector)– Homegrown database of databases– Google Scholar
• Drop-downs added to “Books” and “Articles” tabs to select search tools
• “Books” set as default search
“Books” Tab Changes
• Added drop-down menu that offers three catalog choices; default is catalog, not WCL
“Articles” Tab Changes
• Added drop-down menu that includes WCL as default, our database of databases, and Google Scholar
Patron Perspectives
• Faculty– More experienced users are frustrated by
what makes it easier for novices– Known-item searching more roundabout– Their comparisons of WCL to Amazon are—
gasp!—derogatory!
• Students– Mostly anecdotal reference transaction info– Confusion over location of items
Faculty Quote 1
"The new database seems based on Amazon.com. I don’t need suggestions, and poor ones at that, of related books when I use the library. I don’t need to see what other borrowers thought of the book. The information I need is poorly displayed. It is hard to cut and paste. It takes several screens to scan through, instead of the much quicker scroll in the traditional format (e.g., finding out what libraries have the book). It supplies distracting, if not useless information (a picture of the cover, the distance to other libraries—as if I need to know how far Provo is). Finally, the one potentially useful feature—a direct link that will let me order the title via [the consortium catalog]—is left off."
Faculty Quote 2
"I’m glad to hear that this database is on a trial basis! It’s all over the place, specifically in the initial search options. Where I would have been able to search specifically for the call number or author, I am left to do a basic keyword search, and then to weed through the unwanted material (while this is helpful sometimes, it is counterproductive when the exact book is known). The layout also just looks cheesy. I feel like I’m searching Amazon.com for a discounted textbook that will inevitably be tattered and torn. Besides that, there aren’t many images linked to books and that exacerbates the cheesy vibes I get from it!I wonder if it is just that it will take me time to get used to the new look, but my first impression of it is NOT NOT NOT a good one!"
Getting More Patron Feedback
• Faculty:– “Connections” Seminars and other outreach
venues– Promotion of WCL features for teaching (i.e.,
tagging items, creating lists, etc.)
• Students:– Massive usability project launching January
2010
Questions? Comments?
Nina McHale
Facebook & Twitter: ninermac
WorldCat @ Auraria in action:
http://aurarialibrary.worldcatlocal.org
http://library.auraria.edu