Notes from Innovative User's Group 2002

This page describes possible changes to the OPAC for features that are now available or will become available once we load Millenium next week. The various groups involved in these decisions will need to determine desireablity of each item and prioritize the ones that we want to implement. These are in no particular order.

1. My Millenium

Users can log on & customize their personal data. They can also save lists and "preferred searches" - searches that they will use often. If they suggest titles for acquisitions, they can be automatically notified.

work load:

• some minimal html coding
• feature issues: mostly ciruclation issues, whether or not to automatically run preferred searches,
• design issues, including how to indicate its availablity, log-in, log-out buttons, etc., possible redesign of patron screens
• training of staff and users, documentation

No additional costs.

2. Cascading style sheet coding for Browse screen search results

Many new ways to customize the browse screen including choice of fonts, addition of customized background colors and elimination of those heavy table borders in a search screen result. For example see quick & dirty mockup. Also since items like column headings, and the icons themselves, are html elements, it is possible to add explanatory rollovers for elements that a user may find confusing.

Note: many people miss the colored background sceens for scopes that we had before the redesign. This would let us add customized colors while still retaining the white background for a uniform look. Also, in the future, browsers will only support CSS, not the font and bold attributes we've used in the past. This work is inevitable.

work load:

• major html coding
• design issues: determining colors, styles, etc. for each scope

No additional costs.

3. Adding medium (format) to the browse screen.

The medium of the item (book, cd, electronic, etc.) can be added to the browse screen as a word or as a picture in its own column. If a gif is used, not all have to appear - for example don't display an icon for a book, but do display a slide icon or an electronic icon, etc. Again, quick & dirty mockup.

work load:

• minor html coding
• feature issues: determining which mediums will get icons
• design issues: designing the icons
• documentation (or self-documentation)

No additional costs.

4. WebBridge Linking

We can add icons along the side of the screen that will redirect a search to other internet locations, and the user won't have to retype the search. Circuit is one obvious use, but we could also link to Melvyl, Amazon, Google, etc.

work load:

• medium/major amount of html coding
• feature issues: deciding what to link to
• design issues: designing icons (can be eliminated if we go with III icons)

Limited capability included with Millenium - primarily links items based on ISBN or ISSN. Not sure of add-on costs for full functionality.

Coming soon (hopefully in this calendar year):

1. AirPac - now in Alpha. Works with Palms (any manufacturer), Pocket-PCs, and cell phones that can use WAP or Bluetooth. If we know we will be getting it, we might want to be an Alpha site. It seems to be working pretty well - an outstanding problem is 856 links in a record. It is a totally separate product based on XML and requires it's own Apache server. Will require additional costs. Logging on is simple: name of system + /airpac (roger.ucsd.edu/airpac)

They completely recoded the software for AirPac and it is a full functioning system, optimized for use on the small screen. The software has user agent recognition to identify the type of equipment and software being used to create displays customized for that devise. For example, a browse screen on a telephone will only list three results at a time, while a Palm has a few more. It includes all patron features such as putting holds on books and checking their records, etc. In addition it is fully ADA compliant - screens were designed to be easy for screen readers to use.

2. Enhancement to advanced keyword searching (no additional costs - medium amount of html coding):

• to have "and" be the default search instead of adjacency
• to be able to create a search screen more like Melvyl power search where users can specifiy fields to search with drop down menus for boolean operators
• user will be able to change the sort of a search result on the fly - options will include media, date, and alphabetic by title. The media codes will appear in an order pre-determined by us.

3. Browse screen enhancements (no additional costs - medium amount of html coding):

• One click, shopping cart marking for titles.
• Save all (on screen) option. They didn't add a save entire search result set because of the potential for gigantic files.
• Add more lines to the brief display, including location, internet links and availability, but not item-specific call number (that would make it too useful).
• The brief display can show both the title and the uniform title if desired (to make the music catalogers happy).
• There will be a new way to jump between browse screens like in an AltaVista search where you get the number of screens in a search result listed, and you can go to screens in order or directly to a specific one.