IL2006 Day 1: Creating Synergy between your Website and Catalog

Glenn Peterson, Hennepin County Library

OPAC Developments 2006:

• ILS Customer Bill of Rights – blyberg.net
• patREST – Blyberg developed this
• NCSU/Endeca catalog
• NGC4LIB – new listserv discussing next-gen catalogs
• Catalog search everywhere! Amazon, Google, MySpace

Glenn mentioned these trends:

• Go to userscripts.org – amazon and B&N scripts… add it to firefox
• Personalized Google pages… include live search to catalog, Library news..
• Myspace library search right in MySpace

Synergy:
How can your website and catalog work together… add value and save the time of the user…

Two Approaches

1. portal – something vendors are offering. bringing library content into the catalog interface.
2. integrating catalog as one of many web-based resources

Examples:

• Fort Collins library – includes menu on all pages, even library catalog
• aadl.org and Phoenix Public Library – both hacked their ILS to integrate it into the whole library website experience

Opportunities:
1. links to titles

• not too hard to do
• booklists – link to the catalog record!
• newsletters – online newsletter – link to those catalog records when a book is mentioned
• new book alerts – link to those records… even using email
• event listings…
• etc…

2. links to catalog searches

• on subject guides – link to the subject heading in catalog
• pathfinders – same thing
• reader’s advisory

3. make your links smarter

• create a script that points to catalog records

4. single login

• log in to catalog, databases, website, etc with one login.
• HCL is displaying My Account info within the website. Cool.

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