Denise Bonin and Kathy BryceAndornot Consulting Inc.

Interactivity Information sharing Collaboration User generated content Social networking Personalization

How does your OPAC measure up to these?

Computerized card catalog / shelf listBibliographic data onlyPhysical inventory onlyBuriedSeparate interface unlike host websiteConfusing search interfaceLimited browseabilityNo interactivity So why should your clients rush to use it?

Note - default content not appropriate for site / no branding / no integration / complex search / video search separateNote - default content not appropriate for site / no branding / no integration / complex search / video search separate

http://www.diamondshreddies.com/index.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZeAwpPqnJU

Put yourself in your end user’s position:Create a single Anyword search box Create a separate Advanced searchAdd canned searches to enable browsing

and quick access to hot topicsIntegrate OPAC into your library website

template Review terminology & eliminate library

jargon

One stop shopping! Add records for • websites• podcasts• RSS feeds• blogs• videos• wikis etc.

Risk an occasional dead linkGet over the traditional librarian mindset

that everything has to be perfect

Add more than bibliographic details: Abstract or table of contents from publisher

website Link to full text Link to Google Book Search through API

(demo / blog post)• Preview• Book covers

Link to LibraryThing through their API.

Comments, reviews and ratings Best for defined special interest groups Intranet implementation easiest Public website issues:• Moderate postings to handle inappropriate

comments• Spamming from automated bots• Malicious code• Email comments - an alternative for low volume sites

(<a href="mailto:info@andornot.com?subject=Title”</a>

Determine amount of information required Comments only Contact info Registered users only

Notification messageAdmin interface if moderated

Comments section:

Don’t wait for users to find your OPACUsers will inevitably search on Google etc.

first, therefore help them find your catalog: Add your special collection info to Wikipedia Create a Flickr group for images

(Library of Congress blog: My Friend Flickr: A Match Made in Photo Heaven)

Create site maps with permalinks so that search engines can crawl your database records (Google specs)

Join and post to relevant Facebook groups

Add an RSS feed or feeds Display latest additions (i.e. feed content) on your

site (http://iha.andornot.com/Search.aspx)Link to your OPAC from blog postings

Encourage discovery of related resourcesAdd canned searches everywhere!

Provide alternative search optionsAdd an Anyword search box everywhereCreate gadgets or widgets that users can

add to their own portals (i.e. iGoogle, SharePoint etc.) (demo / blog post)

Create search providers or plug-ins for Firefox and IE7 Firefox specs OpenSearch plug-ins

Contact your vendor Suggest new features

Research your options blogs, forums etc.

Believe in your abilities Some suggestions require only basic HTML to

implementLaunch fast, refine later!