The document summarizes a webinar on May 18, 2011 about the future of integrated library systems and user interaction. The webinar featured presentations from four speakers discussing their projects focused on improving the user experience of library discovery systems. Topics included the eXtensible Catalog software being developed at the University of Rochester to give libraries more control over their metadata and interfaces, and the SOPAC library discovery system used by several libraries that emphasizes user-generated content and customization.

1. http://www.niso.org/news/events/2011/nisowebinars/userinteraction/
The Future of Integrated
Library Systems
Part Two: User Interaction
May 18, 2011
Speakers: Jennifer Bowen, John
Blyberg, Anya Arnold & Allie Flanary

2. Designing A Discovery Interface
to Address User Needs:
the eXtensible Catalog (XC)
Jennifer Bowen
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY
NISO Future of the ILS, Part 2: User Interaction
Webinar, May 18, 2011

3. Studying Students

4. Studying users
We know what they need.
Slide 4

5. Studying users
We know what they need.
What do they need?
Slide 5

6. Studying users
We know what they need.
What do they need?
What do they need to do?
Slide 6

8. Problem:
• User research is of limited value if a library
doesn’t have control over its discovery
environment
• Our solution:
– Develop our own software (eXtensible Catalog)
– Offer a modular architecture (4 “toolkits”)
– Build in tons of configurability
– Use established standards and protocols
– Give it away (open source)

9. eXtensible Catalog (XC) Software
User Interface
Highly customizable
Metadata Tools
Enables batch cleanup, augmentation, etc.
Connectivity Tools
Connect to an ILS, etc.
9

10. XC: “Taking Control” of metadata
More Control More Options for
over Metadata Customizing the
User Interface
10

11. XC User Interface Customization
Themes
Indexes
Facet definitions
Result Lists
Record Displays
Browse interfaces for specific users/purposes
11

12. User Research for the
eXtensible Catalog
12

13. XC User Research Partners
Cornell University
Ohio State University
University of Rochester
Yale University

14. XC User Research Approach
• What articles, books and other resources had
researchers used most recently?
– How did they know the items existed?
– How did they obtain them?
– How did they use them?
• How do they keep current in their fields?

15. A Few User Research Findings
15

16. User Research Findings
• Users want to choose between versions of a
resource, see relationships between resources
• XC approach:
– Underlying XC metadata is based on FRBR
model: works, expressions, manifestations, etc.
– Use some RDA data elements in FRBR structure
– Metadata services to aggregate/group FRBR
entities in the User Interface
16

17. User Research Findings
• Researchers value scholarly networks
– Teacher/student relationships, etc.
• XC approach:
– Define a local metadata element for thesis
advisor
– User interface can display it appropriately (NOT
as another author!)
– Metadata limitations: non-standard, not in our
legacy metadata
17

18. User Research Findings
• Users have preferred material and format
types, depending upon their projects
– Show online materials only
– Exclude microforms
• Users want to know why items appear on a
search result list
– Show keywords in context
18

19. XC User Interface Demo
Translating User Research
Findings into XC Functionality
19

20. 20

21. 21

22. 22

23. 23

24. 24

25. 25

26. “View XC Schema”
26

27. XC and RDA
27

28. RDA in the XC Schema
• RDA elements can interact with data elements
from other schemas using an Application
Profile
• XC Schema contains a subset of RDA elements
• RDA elements help us maintain granularity of
MARC data and improve upon it
• RDA serves as a “bridge” between MARC-
based systems and emerging applications
28

29. Implementing RDA in XC
• FRBR-based, not MARC-based
• Separate but linked records for FRBR Group 1
entities
• XC works alongside a MARC-based ILS
• Implements a subset of RDA in a non-MARC
environment
• Sets stage for other non-MARC RDA
implementations, perhaps linked data?
29

30. Benefits of RDA in XC
• Enables conversion of MARC fields to RDA
elements using bulk processing services
• Uses RDA data in a working discovery
interface
• Integrates with current library systems
• Will make library metadata more usable via
the open web
30

31. “View XC Schema”
31

32. 32

33. 33

34. 34

35. 35

36. 36

37. 37

38. 38

39. 39

40. 40

41. 41

42. 42

43. 43

44. 44

46. www.eXtensibleCatalog.org
jbowen@library.rochester.edu
Thanks to Nancy Fried Foster and David Lindahl for the use of selected slides.

47. SOPAC 2.1
Digital Strategy for the
New Library
John Blyberg
Asst. Director for Innovation &
UX
Darien Library
Darien, CT

48. What is
SOPAC
?

50. Who is
SOPAC
?

51. Current Installations
Darien Library,
Darien, Connecticut
www.darienlibrary.org
Ann Arbor District Library,
Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.aadl.org
Palos Verdes Library District,
Palos Verdes, California
www.pvld.org

52. How does
SOPAC
Work ?

53. OPAC Users
ILS

54. SOPAC Users
Locum &
Insurge Connector
SQL Sphinx ILS

55. SOPAC
development is
UX - driven.

56. Tagging in
SOPAC

57. “Staff favorites”

59. “Better than the book”

61. “Meet us on Main Street”

63. “Middlesex autobiography”

65. Reviews & Ratings in
SOPAC

68. Hot Fiction

70. Favorite Fiction

72. SOPAC
& “Me”

80. Designed by
Craftyspace

81. Designed by
Craftyspace

82. Designed by
Craftyspace

85. SOPAC
Locum &
Insurge
SQL Sphinx

86. SOPAC
& The Physical
Library

87. “Main Street”

91. SOPAC
2.1 and beyond...

92. Reviews
Updates
Events
Overdue Notices
Requests
Feedback

93. Reviews
Updates
Events
Overdue Notices
Requests
Feedback

94. Organic Groups

95. Customer
Relationship
Management

96. Schema-less
Bibliographic Data
Storage

101. Thank-you! For more information, visit:
thesocialopac.net
John Blyberg
Assistant Director for Innovation and UX
Darien Library
john@blyberg.net
www.blyberg.net

102. NISO
5/18/2011
END USERS
Discovery
Allie Flanary Anya N. Arnold
Faculty Librarian, Resource Sharing Program Manager
Portland Community College anyaa@uoregon.edu
@shinylib anyaarnold (gtalk/gmail)
@AnyaNArnold
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

103. The mission of the Orbis Cascade Alliance is to
strengthen member libraries through
collaboration in order to support the work of our
students, faculty, staff, and researchers. Alliance
members join together to enhance our services, share
our information resources and expertise, enrich
and preserve our collections, and develop library staff to
meet the challenges of a rapidly changing
information environment.
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

104. Alliance Libraries
7
Puget Sound
5
20
Cascade Range Eastern
2
Willamette Valley
Central
2
Southern

105. Summit catalog allows
students, faculty, and staff to easily search
and request library materials owned by
member libraries.
The Summit catalog is on the WorldCat
platform. Some members use WorldCat Local
and some use their local OPAC with links to the
Summit catalog, a Group display of
WorldCat Local.
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

106. You and I may call it a discovery
platform, but to many of them, it’s
the library catalog... and it
doesn’t function like it used to.
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

107. Many features and elements of
WorldCat Local did work exactly
as designed, it’s just that there
were more types of users and
use scenarios than anyone
originally thought.
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

108. "Because Google and Amazon
can do it..." is a reasonable user
expectation for WorldCat Local
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

109. Communications mechanisms
• WorldCat Discovery Day Symposium
• Weekly update
• Newsletters
• Individual site usability testing (submitted to Alliance for review
and cross-referencing)
• Alliance email lists
• OCLC email lists
• OCLC usability focus group
• OCLC usability testing (recent Usabilla test)
• User group meetings - virtual and at ALA
• SPOT (Summit Planning and Operations Team)
• SPOT representatives
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

110. Alliance libraries have used WorldCat Local or
Group view for over two years.
A lot has changed......
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

111. 2010
2011
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

112. 2011
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

113. 2010
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

114. 2011
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

115. 2010
2011
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction

116. Anya N. Arnold
Resource Sharing Program Manager
Allie Flanary
Faculty Librarian, Portland Community College
May 18 NISO webinar on the future of the ILS: User Interaction