We’ve got the super-cool, futuristic library, aptly renamed The Learning Hub, but sadly, we’re still stuck in 1995 with our outdated library catalog, Athena (well, to be honest, December 2001 is the most recent update, but it feels more like my senior year in high school to me).
So, over the past few weeks our library team has been thinking about the features we would like to see in a library catalog (with the secret hope that maybe, just maybe, it might actually exist somewhere). Here’s what we came up with:
- User friendly search – book covers, visual, similar to Amazon
- User keyword tagging – social tagging like del.icio.us that would end up being fully searchable
- Relevancy searching like Google (the “did you mean…” result) and the category listings that appear at the end of an Amazon book page
- Incorporate searchable metadata in book records – more details than normally found in MARC records
- Podcasts & audio books embedded – easily downloadable to iPods – like iTunes (how does this work with copyright and licensing issues?)
- Book reviews, rate books, “if you like this, you’ll like this” – similar to Amazon
- RSS embedded – no need for multiple clicks to follow magazines (right now our EBSCO database takes something crazy like 6 or 7 clicks to get to the password protected RSS feature! How much more useless can you get?
- Embedded website search results for keywords
- Multimedia books (like Tumble Books) embedded – downloadable to video iPods or local machine at home (what are licensing issues with this?) – like iTunes
We have done a preliminary visit to some other international schools in Bangkok (Bangkok Pattana School and NIST) to get a sneak-peak at Destiny, and while it’s vastly better than Athena (and well worth the upgrade in my opinion), it’s still nothing to write home about.
Where’s the library catalog 2.0 I’m dreaming about (or the even better list Doug Johnson shared back in September)? Does it exist? Can we buy it?
Tags: library, catalog, catalog2.0, library2.0, follett, athena, destiny
Kim,
I’m with you on this. Library catalogs need to make a major jump into the 21st century.
They need to embrace the idea of interactivity, instead of being a static database of information.
We have Destiny, and while it has the book jackets and helpful descriptions, it’s not interactive in any sense at this point.
And it’s not only catalogs that need to “get with the program”–so do the databases.
One model I’ve seen that I like for the podcasts is the way that the Gale database has embedded podcasts and audio files into their product.
I think Destiny will embed Netlibrary somehow, won’t it?
I heard a couple of years ago that Sirsi/Dynix was investigating a user interface like Second Life for a catalog, where you move through the library virtually, but I haven’t seen any information about it since. Wonder if that is still in the works?
Anyway, I completely support what you are saying. Why aren’t we as customers expecting more?
Carolyn,
You’re right – we need all of these things, and as paying customers, we should be speaking up. It seems like Follett has established a bit of a monopoly on library databases and therefore may not feel the pressure to develop as quickly as they really need to. I just wonder if enough libraries are embracing web 2.0 tools to know what to ask for? I’m going to submit my list at a Destiny “presentation” here in Bangkok in January… we’ll see how that goes….
When you find this ideal OPAC 2.0, please let me know! We need one, too.
SirsDynix should be coming up with something spectacular — with Stephen Abram leading them. Listen to his talk on Information 3.0 — while looking at his slides here.
I keep hoping some Web 2.0 tool might suffice/appear.
I am watching Scriblio — while also hoping LibraryThing (for Libraries) will have a circulation module ready shortly (they told me it was 4 or 5 months off). See also LibraryFind.
AquaBrowser is rather interesting — as is Fish4Info.
— Katie Day
Hi Kim,
Good luck with your search!
Nice to find this blog. I am adding it to my feeds!
All the best and good luck at your January conference. I was in Bangkok last March for EARCOS. My wife and I took some time to be tourists there and in Phuket. Thailand’s one of my favorite places in the world.
All the best and happy holidays,
Doug
Katie,
Thank you so much for all those links! You and Carolyn have given me lots to explore after the holiday break. There must be something better out there!
Doug,
Thank you! We are all hoping you’ll come back for EARCOS again soon!
We use Alexandria and I do not recommend it. Rather costly and goes offline often. It was here when I got here.
Lisa,
Seems like a lot of the older catalogs are getting bought out by Follett, meaning Destiny is the only game in town. When will they catch up with the rest of the world?