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Social Catalogues: the New Face of the Public Library Catalogue. Laurel Tarulli Collection Access Librarian Halifax Public Libraries tarulll@halifax.ca. Social Catalogues: the New Face of the Public Library Catalogue. The catalogue: present and future
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Social Catalogues: the New Face of the Public Library Catalogue Laurel Tarulli Collection Access Librarian Halifax Public Libraries tarulll@halifax.ca
Social Catalogues: the New Face of the Public Library Catalogue • The catalogue: present and future • OCLC Report: Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want • Features of social catalogues • Purchasing a social catalogue/discovery tool • Enhancing the features in our existing library catalogues • Examples
Library Catalogues: The PresentOur Catalogues Today • Part of the larger package of an ILS • A single component among many components • No emphasis by vendor to excel at this component regardless of the fact this it is the only component that patrons use • Complex search interface • Not consistent with well-established user conventions. • Google vs. The library catalogue • Amazon vs. The library catalogue
GOOGLE VS. THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE Google – Ability to personalize homepage
AMAZON VS. THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE Amazon – Standard Record
AMAZON VS. THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE Amazon – Standard Record
AMAZON VS. THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE Amazon – Standard Record
Our Catalogues Today cont... • Unable to rank results according to relevancy or interest • Limited in scope • Tied to print materials and are less able to address electronic content • Unable to deliver online content to user • Lack social network features to engage library users • Lack enriched content in bibliographic records. Library Technology Report, July/August 2007 vol. 43/no.4
Online Catalogues: What Users and Librarians Want • Users – “Seamless discovery through delivery” • Delivery is more important than discovery • Where is it? Is it available? Format? How soon can I have it? • Simple search box with option for advanced searching • Easier access to online content and links
Online Catalogues: What Users and Librarians Want • Enriched content such as summaries, tables of contents and excerpts are expected and highly desirable • Reviews • Ratings • Cover art • Relevant search results that are obvious • Related subjects and subject categories • Ability to narrow results is important • Faceted searching Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want An OCLC Report March 2009
Online Catalogues: What Users and Librarians Want • Librarians • Merge duplicate records. One record rather than multiple records of an item due to format or edition • Like users, they would like to see more enriched content, such as summaries, tables of contents and excerpts • Reviews • Ratings • Cover art • While librarians desire other features, these are the two that ranked the highest. Other features depended on the area of librarianship. Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want An OCLC Report March 2009
Key Findings for Librarians and Users • High priority on delivery • Users place more value on access to online content and links than librarians • While librarians believe that standard access points are essential (ex. ISBN), users place more value on enriched content (ex. summaries, tables of contents) for identifying items they want • Enriched content is a priority for both users and librarians – “more subject information” Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want An OCLC Report March 2009
Social Catalogues:Next-Generation Library Catalogues • Why were they created? • User expectations • Competition with web-based software such as LibraryThing, Amazon, Google and social networking sites such as Facebook • Limitations of cataloguing module delivered by ILS vendors • Access to larger bodies of content • Access to more advanced search technologies • Freedom to personalize appearance • Freedom to change or update software more frequently, rather than being tied to the development cycle of an ILS vendor
Features of Social Catalogues • Single sign on • Federated search interface • Expanded scope • Discovery and display of all types of content in the collection and beyond • Allows for easier customization and additional software options and enhancements • Ranked results • User intuitive interfaces • Did you mean? Feature • No dead ends • Search suggestions
Features cont... • More cover art images, tables of contents and summaries • More reviews • RSS feed/Twitter • New items in the collections • New reading lists • Mobile interface/Integration with hand-held devices • User generated contributions • Writing reviews • Rating items • Creating booklists • Tagging • Adding reading suggestions
Features of Social Catalogues cont... • Faceted navigation • Narrowing down search results • Clustering software • Example: Vivisimo http://vivismo.com • Recommendations • Related materials • Reading suggestions
How do Social Catalogues Work? • Overlays the existing catalogue • Pulls content out of the different components of the ILS including bibliographic records and circulation information • Requires accurate and uniform records and access points • Will find your “bare-bones” records and expose them • Imports content from other sources • LibraryThing Tags • Full-text
EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL CATALOGUES:DISCOVERY TOOLS • Open Source • Bibliocommons • Oakville Public Library • http://opl.bibliocommons.com/dashboard • Evergreen • Georgia Library • http://gapines.org/opac/en-US/skin/default/xml/index.xml • Salt Spring Island Public Library • http://saltspring.bclibrary.ca • *Natural Resources Canada (13 libraries) • Polaris • Brampton Library • http://catalogue.bramlib.on.ca/polaris • Koha/SOPAC (ILS system) • Nelsonville Public Library • http://search.athenscounty.lib.oh.us
Examples of Social Catalogues/Discovery Tools • Vendor - Discovery Tools • Worldcat • University of Washington • http://uwashington.worldcat.org/account/?page=searchItems • AquaBrowser • Queens Borough Public Library • http://aqua.queenslibrary.org • *Halifax Public Libraries (coming soon!) • Endecca • North Carolina State University Libraries • www.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog • McMaster University Library • http://libcat.mcmaster.ca/index.jsp • Encore • Scottsdale Public Library System • http://encore.scottsdaleaz.gov/iii/encore/home?lang=eng
THE FACE OF A SOCIAL CATALOGUE Koha – Main Page
THE FACE OF A SOCIAL CATALOGUE AquaBrowser – Main Page
Purchasing a Discovery Tool • Look at what your competitors are doing. Check out other libraries, play with Amazon, LibraryThing, Facebook and other social catalogues, networks and software. What are they doing? Has it been successful? Why? • Research. Make it broad. What are people saying about social catalogues? Are there surveys to look at? Stories of successes and failures? What about lessons learned on blog posts of first-hand experiences?
Purchasing a Discovery Tool • Consider the following: • Proprietary vs. Open Source • System requirements • Users • Budget, staff resources and time-line • Call vendors and libraries to ask them about their product. • Ask for sample RFPs (Requests for proposals) • Ask about special customized features • Address concerns
“Using What You’ve Got”:Implementing Social Features into Your Existing Catalogue • Enriched content from vendors • Cover Art • Search Inside Features • Additional tags, reviews, recommendations • Syndetic Solutions • Google Books • Amazon • LibraryThing for Libraries
Implementing Social Features into Your Existing Catalogue • Adding enriched content on your own • Summaries • Tables of contents • Additional general notes (500s field) • Reviews • RSS Feeds • Recommended titles • Embedded live reference chat in the catalogue • Edmonton Public Library http://www.epl.ca • David Lee King’s post: Fun with Meebo Widget and the Library Catalogue http://davidleeking.com/2007/11/30/fun-with-our-meebo-widget-and-the-library-catalog/
Working With Your Existing Catalogue • Partnering with teams within the library • Collection Access and Readers’ Services • Halifax Public Libraries • Personalized summaries created by the RST that address appeals and read-a-likes • Embedded reading lists • Reading suggestions found within bibliographic records • Local genre headings/access points • Coming soon – AquaBrowser!
Halifax Public Libraries: Collection Access and Readers Services Team working together
Halifax Public Libraries: Collection Access and Readers Services Team working together
Working With Your Existing Catalogue • Edmonton Public Library • Live Reference Chat in catalogue • RSS Feeds • http://www.epl.ca/RSSFeeds/EPLRSSFeeds.cfm • http://www.epl.ca/eplnewincatalogue.cfm • Book reviews by EPL customers • Add to my list (add to your account) • Recommend this title (send titles/reading suggestions to via email to friends)
Edmonton Public Library: RSS Feed for New Items in the Catalogue
Edmonton Public Library: Ask Us located in the Catalogue
Edmonton Public Library: Write a Book Review
Edmonton Public Library cont... • Catalogue-Lite • What others are reading • Personalized book lists – “You tell us who, what and why you like to read your favourites and we will come up with a list of other titles and others for you to try” – EPL website • Coming soon –BiblioCommons!
Conclusion - Social Catalogues • Increases collaboration among cataloguing and other library services • Allows libraries to enter the “playing field” with all of the other web-based social catalogues and software available • Assists in Collection Development and catering our services to our users • The library catalogue becomes the user’s catalogue and personal information space
Conclusion • We can implement social features without social catalogues • Promotes user interaction and online social communities • Social catalogues are in our future – “The future is so bright, we’ll have to wear shades” – Karen Calhoun
Social Catalogues: the New Face of the Public Library Catalogue Laurel Tarulli Collection Access Librarian Halifax Public Libraries tarulll@halifax.ca