Assignment 3
Comparative Analysis of OPACs
David Freeburg
freeburgd1@southernct.edu
ILS 506 Section 70
Eino Sierpe, Ph.D.
April 23, 2006
INTRODUCTION
The design and feature set of an Online Public Access Catalog will greatly affect the ease of
use and potential effectiveness for users. Two different OPACs are identified, discussed and
compared below with regard to their features and effectiveness.
FEATURED OPACs
HOMER, the Libraries’ Catalog - University of Connecticut
HOMER is the OPAC for the University of Connecticut library system. It can be accessed at:
http://homerweb.lib.uconn.edu.
North Carolina State University Libraries Online Catalog
The NCSU Libraries OPAC can be accessed at: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/
FEATURES OF OPACs
HOMER
Layout
The primary entry screen for the HOMER OPAC provides the user with a simple search utility,
linked access to a number of services such as advanced searching and a research database
locater, and a tutorial explaining the process of a simple search. With respect to layout, the
tutorial takes up more than half of the page and can only be fully read with the use of a scroll
bar. The tutorial offers valuable information which is discussed below, but can be a visual
distraction. Because the tutorial is likely to be consulted only a few times by a regular user, a
link to a separate tutorial page would have allowed for a less cluttered appearance. It is worth
noting that the yet to be completed tutorial for advanced searching is accessed via a link.
Distracting tutorial aside, the overall layout is easy on the eyes with its color scheme of shades
of violet and blue, modern looking and clear Arial font type, and logically laid out tool bars.
Simple Search
The simple search utility allows for searching by: title, journal title, author, keyword--relevance,
keyword--boolean, subject heading, prolific author/composer, call number and date of
publication. From the primary simple search page, searches can be limited to materials in one
of five libraries in the Uconn system or by one of eleven formats. Further limitations are offered
via a linked page. Within this page, users can limit their searches to materials in: one of over
one hundred languages, one of eleven types of items or formats, one of ten mediums such as
globes, maps and computer files, one of 22 locations including the various libraries and
departments within the libraries, one of three types of publication status (current, ceased,
unknown), and/or one of several hundred places of publication. The limitations do not apply
when conducting Author, Subject Heading, Prolific Author/Composer or Call Number search
types.
The tutorial offers the user instruction for the various types of simple searching methods. Most
importantly, the symbols used for the truncation of keywords, the marking of essential and
important terms, the elimination of terms and the labeling of phrases, for use in Keyword-Relevance and Keyword--Boolean search types are displayed . Also offered are Viewlets for
Title and Keyword--Relevance searching. Viewlets are animated presentations that are quite
useful to demonstrate the navigation of the various toolbars and options when conducting
different types of searches.
With its many possible search limitations and types of searching, the simple search utility can
actually perform relatively complex operations. However, the various search features are not
distracting to the eye. The extensive list of possible search limitations is stored on a separate
page. The less extensive list of search limitations available on the front page is stored in a pulldown menu. Therefore, the simple search screen maintains a simplistic look and feel while still
providing powerful search options.
Advanced Search
The advanced search screen offers the user three keyword boxes related to each other with the
boolean terms And, Or and Not. Multiple keywords can be entered into each search box and
the user can decide whether to limit search results to items containing all the search terms, any
of the search terms or a specific phrase. The user can decide whether the keywords appear
anywhere in the record, or just in the title field, author field, subject, ISSN/ISBN, the date of
publication, the series title or the table of contents. Also offered is the same extensive list of
potential search limitations offered in the simple search utility. The advanced search utility is
laid out simply and elegantly, and adds a powerful set of search functions offering the user very
specific control over their searches. As mentioned above, a currently incomplete tutorial is
accessible via a link.
Hitlist Display
Search results are laid out in a form offering, in a very readable manner, the author of the work,
the long version of the title, the date of publication, the physical location of the work, the call
number and the item’s availability. Items within the report can be sorted by title, author,
publication date ascending and publication date descending. By default the items are listed in
call number order. Users have the option of emailing either full or brief records of any or all of
the items listed in the report. Students, staff and faculty of the University of Connecticut have
the option of creating a “Bookbag” in which they can save their search results for later
consultation. The hitlist display, in keeping with the overall feel of the OPAC, is laid out in a
simple and elegant manner. The information supplied is adequate and easy to browse.
One potential difficulty worth mentioning is the short amount of time of inactivity allowed (about
3 minutes or so) before a user is automatically logged out. There is no warning before the user
is logged out. Therefore, if a user is browsing through search results and perhaps writing down
a few call numbers they can potentially be logged out. When the user clicks on an item they are
informed that they have “timed out” and given the option to log back into HOMER. Doing so
brings the user back to the simple search screen without saving the user’s search results. A
user can choose to navigate back to their results with their browser’s page back function,
however they will not be allowed to advance from the results screen to any of the full records.
At minimum, a time out warning should be offered to users. Ideally, allowed time for inactivity
should be extended.
Record Display
When the user selects an item from the hitlist display, they are offered the brief display of the
bibliographical record. The title and author of the work appear in ISBD format across the top of
the record. Included in the record itself are: Database (where the record is stored), main author,
title, publisher, material type, subject(s), location, call number and availability. The full record
offers other bibliographical information such as physical description and edition statement. The
MARC record display includes the MARC tags in large bold print making the elements of the
record easy to quickly navigate to visually. Subfield codes also appear in bold print making the
entire MARC display very readable.
From within the brief and full views, a number of links are offered that allow for various types of
browsing. Clicking on the main author brings the user to a display of all works in the catalog
credited to that author. Clicking on the subject headings brings the user to a display of all works
in the catalog with that particular subject heading. The user can also browse works that include
other variations of the subject heading. Clicking on the call number brings the user to the
shellfish view, allowing browsing of the entire section that the work is shelved in. This is a
particularly powerful feature which should perhaps be highlighted by offering a “shellfish” icon
rather than simply offering a link to the shellfish via the call number.
NCSU
Layout
The primary entry screen for the NCSU Libraries OPAC offers the user a utility for two types of
simple searches. The first type of simple search is labeled Keyword Search and is powered by
recently implemented Endeca software which offers the user new innovative search options
which will be discussed below. The second search box performs index searches used for
searching by title, journal title, author, etc. The layout is very simple and takes up just one page
of space. The red, black, white and gray color scheme offers an attractive contrast that divides
the space effectively.
Simple Search
As mentioned above, due to the recent implementation of Endeca search software for keyword
searching, two search boxes are offered separating the keyword and index search functions.
The Endeca search software offers the user many new innovative functions. Some examples
include the ability to browse search results by subject class and the ability to sort search results
by relevance or by popularity. An automatic spell checker will correct misspelled words. For
example, “haitred” was automatically changed to “hatred”. Other more traditional features for
keyword searches remain. The user can decide to search for a keyword anywhere in the
record, or in the title, author, subject or ISBN/ISSN. A tutorial of the keyword search features is
available via a link.
The second search box, labeled “Or Begins With ...” allows for direct searching of titles, journal
titles, authors, subject heading, series number, call number and government document number.
As this type of searching is not powered by the new Endeca software, the innovative search
functions are not available.
Advanced Search
The advanced search screen offers two types of searching. The simple keyword searching
allows the user to search for keywords in the title, author, subject, ISBN/ISSN or anywhere in
the record. Boolean operators are ignored by this search utility. Searches can be limited to by
certain libraries in the NCSU system, online resources, one of 32 languages, one of 18 formats
and a user defined range of possible years of publication. The user can also decide whether to
include document types such as government documents and reference materials in the search
results.
The advanced search screen also offers a search box for boolean searches. Both advanced
search options are powered by the Endeca software and therefore allow for the innovative
search options discussed above.
Browse
One very interesting new feature facilitated by the Endeca software is the ability to browse by
Library of Congress subject class. Clicking on the “Browse” link next to the “Advanced Search”
link brings up a page outlining the LC subject classes. Clicking on one of the subject classes
brings up a listing of the various areas within the subject class with the number of items within
each area displayed as well. Clicking on one of the areas brings up a listing of all of the works
in that subject area contained in the library catalog. Items can then be sorted by relevance (only
meaningful in a keyword search), date of publication, title, author, call number or popularity.
This function emulates the browsing of the shelflist by subject area which is a powerful method
of searching. Also offered is the ability to browse through new books which can be sorted in all
of the same ways. This emulates a trip to the new book shelf at the physical library and
therefore represents a great leap for online library potential.
Hits Display
The hits display varies with the method of searching. As mentioned above, the Endeca search
engine enables many innovative search and sorting options which can affect the resulting hits
display, or at least the order of the items displayed. When a keyword search is conducted, a
listing of records appears bordered on the top and left side by various additional search options.
Above the list of records is a listing of Library of Congress subject classes that the various
results fell into along with the number of items per class. Along the left hand side results can be
narrowed by topic, genre, format, location, region of subject, era of subject and author. Similar
to the listing of LC subject classes, the number of records in each category is displayed. Each
actual record includes the title, author, format, location, call number and availability. The hits
display screen also offers the user the opportunity to send the search to: UNC-CH Libraries,
Duke Libraries, NCCU Libraries, WorldCat, Google Scholar and a Quick Article Search.
The hits display offered with an index search, as previously mentioned, lacks the innovative
search features of that of the Endeca produced display. A list of index headings appears first,
allowing browsing by index heading. The type of heading depends on what the user searched
for. An author search will produce a listing of author index headings. The number of records
per index heading is also displayed. Clicking on an index heading brings up a form listing the
items. Each listing contains the title, author, call number, location, material type and availability.
The listings can be sorted by: author, title, subject, material, ascending date or descending
date. The overall appearance of the hits display for index searches is less clearly laid out than
that of the Endeca produced display. The color scheme and layout of the form is more difficult
to quickly scan.
Record Display
The record display for the Endeca powered searches and the index searches are identical. Full
displays and MARC displays are available. The full display contains title, author, publication
information, series information, material description, notes, ISBN, call number, location, material
type and availability. The MARC record display is clearly written out allowing for quick
navigation. Additional options include: ability to save the record, linked access to the applicable
shellfish at various library locations, linked access to additional works by the author and linked
access to the table of contents of the item.
COMPARISON
HOMER is, overall, a very powerful and adequate OPAC. The look and feel is general very
clean and modern. The tutorial placed on the entry page does create a cluttered appearance
and should be replaced with a linked tutorial page. A more minor complaint, as mentioned
above, is that accessing the shelflist can only be accomplished by clicking on the call number in
the record display screen. I believe a function so potentially powerful should be highlighted with
its own explicitly named link as is offered in the NCSU OPAC. A most serious problem with
HOMER is the timing out as a result of just a few minutes of inactivity. Patrons lose their search
information when being timed out so a warning screen should be displayed. However, the
OPAC in general contains powerful features and is generally easy to navigate. The lack of
innovative features like those of NCSU’s OPAC make it difficult to view HOMER as much more
than just adequate.
The NCSU OPAC is beyond ordinary. Some of the features, such as shelflist browsing by LC
subject class, border on revolutionary. The Endeca search engine is very fast and powerful,
enabling all of the new and interesting sorting potential. With the ability to sort lists of results by
subject class, topic and genre, among others, the user is afforded much more precision in their
search. NCSU’s use of the Endeca search engine represents a big leap forward in the evolution
of OPACs. Now at home users are being allowed some of the same browsing potential as a
visitor to the physical library.