Home » Computers & Electronics

OPAC Comparisons and Library Sites

0 Comments

0 Like

Like 0

Pin It

Ranked #27,345 in Computers & Electronics, #505,918 overall

This is designed to offer comparisons to our peer institutions,their library web presence, and some topics on the future of OPAC's.

Contents at a Glance

Our Peer Institutions
SirsiDynix Libraries
Notable Library OPACS
Articles and Blogs related to OPACS
An RSS Feed concerning Next Generation C...
Feedback for Discussion

Our Peer Institutions

This list of our peer institutions was taken directly from the 2005-2006 factbook. The links will be to their main library homepage, from which you should be able to find their catalog.

California Institute of Technology: Cal Tech's site utilizes a portal scheme, with a single search bar on their homepage. Their catalog is based on an Innovative Interfaces, Inc product.
Cornell University Library Gateway: Cornell makes use of a portal layout while still accomadating a single search bar. Their catalog interface is an Endeavor Information Systems product.
Duke University Libraries - Home: Duke's library front door is still based on a more traditional design. Their catalog interface is through Data Research Associates.
Emory University, Atlanta, GA | Libraries - LIBRARIES and ARTS: Emory University's library front door maintains a more traditional design but does include a single search box. The search box brings up only catalog specific data and is not a site search. Emory's catalog is based on a Sirsi system, nearly identical to our own.
Georgia Tech Library &amp Information Center: Geogia Tech's library homepage looks similar to a portal design but cleverly uses CSS to achieve that look. Their catalog system appears to be an Endeavor product.
MIT Libraries: The MIT Libraries home page has a next-gen design scheme and includes a catalog search box. Their OPAC is based on Aleph from Ex Libris.
Northwestern University Library: Northwestern's library homepage has a similar design to our current page. They have a search bar which access their catalog and provides several options to the searcher. Their OPAC is handled by Endeavor Information Systems, and looks strikingly dissimilar to their homepage.
Penn Library Homepage: Penn's homepage may seem quite sparse to many of us but their decisions are documented in a short explanation. Their OPAC is aversion of an Endeavor Information Systems product, but with a great deal of CSS to help coordinate it with their homepage.
Princeton University Library: Princeton's library homepage has a typical design and does not include a search bar. Their OPAC is an Endeavor Information Systems product.
Fondren Library, Rice University: Rice's webpage comes close to Penn's streamlined appearance, but doesn't appear to offer any substantial aids to finding what you may need. Their OPAC is a Sirsi version of WebCat.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Library Homepage: RPI's homepage inundates the user with information. Their OPAC is based on an Innovative Interfaces, Inc product but seems limited to their population only.
Stanford University Libraries & Academic Information Resources: Stanford's library homepage blends the typical information architecture with several searching options and a pleasing page design. Their OPAC is based on Sirsi's I-Link systems I believe. They have done a great deal of customization from what I can tell.
Washington University Libraries: WUSL libraries utilize a common homepage design but feature two search boxes. One is for their catalog while the other searches the local library homepages. (In EPS this can be accomplished in one step.) Their OPAC is an Innovative Interfaces, Inc product.
Digital Library Federation: As a member of this federation it is important to assess where we stand. From this page you can view each member's library homepage.

SirsiDynix Libraries

These are libraries currently using SirsiDynix products.

Eastern Monroe Public Library: They are currently using I-Bistro, the preceeding system to the EPS product.
Tarleton Libraries TSU: An academic university using what appears to be the latest version of I-Link.
Lawrence Technological University: I am not sure what system they are using but the appearance seems a bit outdated for a modern OPAC interface.

Notable Library OPACS

Bucknell's Library Front Door: Bucknell's Interface

Articles and Blogs related to OPACS

These are a collection of links to librarians talking about OPACs and what we really want.

ALA TechSource | Online Catalogs Category List: A great source for OPAC related discussions.
librarian.net » OPAC Manifesto: An interesting collection of thoughts related to OPACs.
eLiterate Librarian » 2004 » August: Some thoughts from the Eliterate Librarian. Hopefully there truly is more than one in existence.
blyberg.net » Why bother: the impact of social OPACs: Another interesting addition to the discussion of Social networking and libraries.
A Look at the OPAC Pt1: This interesting article has a section talking about how NCSU has used an outside vendor to create an interface to interact with UNICORN.
Eric Lease Morgan's Article: A short overview of the future of OPACS.
LITA's Blog Results for OPAC articles: There are a number of great topics here to get us thinking of OPAC's in a different way.
Technorati Results on OPACs: The social bookmarking tool Technorati has a wonderful collection of thoughts on OPACs and other related topics.
How OPACs suck pt 1: The first segment of an ALA TechSource article on what OPACs should do.
How OPACs Suck Pt 2: The second segment of an ALA TechSource article on what OPACs should do.
How OPACs suck Pt 3: The third segment of an ALA TechSource article on what OPACs should do.