Transcript Perfuming a Skunk, or, There’s More than One Way to Skin an Online Catalog Nanette Donohue Champaign Public Library Internet Librarian 2006 October 23, 2006

Perfuming a Skunk, or,
There’s More than One Way to
Skin an Online Catalog
Nanette Donohue
Champaign Public Library
Internet Librarian 2006
October 23, 2006
First Step: User Survey
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We surveyed our users to determine the
following:
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Which features on our web site were they
currently using?
What types of enhancements would they like to
see? (We provided a list, plus an open-ended
“other” option)
What did they think of the current web site in
terms of usability, and how could we improve?
Survey Results

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Most of our patrons reported that they use
the online catalog when they visit the library’s
web site.
Many of them only use the online catalog
when they visit the library’s web site.
And guess what? They find our online catalog
unattractive and difficult to use.
Second Step: Goal Setting
Based on the feedback we received from the
survey, we decided to set a few goals:
 Seamlessly integrate our online catalog into
our web site, a la Hennepin County PL
 Focus on ease of use
 Adopt features from online retail (spotlighted
items, recommendation systems, etc.) to
make the catalog more exciting
Third Step: Planning
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Study what other libraries have done to make their
online catalogs more attractive and usable. What
can we learn from them? What key features would
we like to offer our users?
Talk to the administrators of the catalog to see what
can be done on our end without affecting other
libraries’ use of the catalog
Investigate third-party solutions (Aquabrowser,
Endeca) that other libraries have integrated into
their online catalogs. What are the benefits and
drawbacks?
Third Step: Planning
As part of the planning process, we:
 Considered what we liked—and didn’t like—about
libraries’ “improved” online catalogs
 Considered the opinions of public service staff
throughout the library, since they are closest to the
user’s perspective of the catalog
 Kept in touch with our consortium’s automation staff,
because they are the ones who control things in the
end
 Prioritized features into “must have” and “can wait
for phase two” since we were under significant time
constraints due to LSTA budget requirements
Third Step: Planning
Finally, and most importantly--we dreamed big.
This could be the best possible opportunity to
make our online catalog as usable as
possible. We didn’t want to dismiss any
enhancements without making absolutely
certain that they were NOT feasible.
Fourth Step: Implementation
This is where things rapidly begin to
go downhill. And fast.
Implementation: Roadblocks
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Upcoming (major) ILS upgrades
Vendor unwilling to provide API
Consortial concerns
Time concerns
Online Catalog 2.0: Where do
we go from here?
What libraries can do:
 Hire programmers (or grow your own)
 Support vendors who are willing to release the API
for their software and support third-party
development of enhancements—or go open source!
 Insist on features that our “power users” want—
because these are the features that the average
user will want two years from now
Online Catalog 2.0: Where do
we go from here?
What ILS vendors can do:
 Anticipate users’ needs, and develop innovative
products
 Look at what libraries are doing with your products.
Implement some of their innovations as standard in
the next version.
 Understand that no company can do it all and do it
well. Releasing your API and opening your software
up to third-party development is a good thing.
Online Catalog 2.0: Where do
we go from here?
What catalogers should do:
 Recognize that we are competing with Google,
Amazon, etc.—but that a little competition is a good
thing. It can save us from complacency and inspire
us to modernize our practices.
 Try to understand that user tagging is not the end of
controlled vocabularies. As long as one of the core
purposes of a library catalog is to collocate items,
we will need controlled vocabularies.
 Provide adequate subject access for all types of
materials in all formats—regardless of whether you
feel that the materials have “lasting value”
Online Catalog 2.0: Where do
we go from here?
One thing to remember:
Until we change the way materials are
cataloged, any enhancements to an online
catalog are tantamount to spraying
perfume on a skunk.
Questions?