Laundry list for NGC (long post)
2006-12-12 16:00:54 GMT
Dear NGC4Libbers:
I have not been able to keep up with all the posts, but it seems no one will just create a substantial list - too much theory and questioning/doubt behind everything. I don't know about anyone else, but I am myself an end user, and I have a LOT of things I would love to see. I don't care if it is done in collaboration with Amazon, or Worldcat, or any organization, but this is what I want. I hope this proves beneficial. (Apologies in advance for a long post.)
*I want it all in one place with option to see more or less (if it's on a booklist let me know, if it has reviews let me see them, put it all in the same place; if the library has it in audio and book format, put it in the same record!, seriously, if one type isn't in, I'll take another format - I don't want to click on 15 records just to find something; I also want to be able to hide some stuff if it is too cluttered)
*I want descriptions, dangit! And why does no software exist for integrating series information in the catalog?? I want to know what the next book is! (nothing like clicking on something you think you know what it is, and then it really isn't. I HATE that for something I might be interested in, I have to go to Amazon first to find anything)
*I want to see related/similar materials (I want a smarter version of http://www.literature-map.com/, either to graphically display the closeness of the book/author, or to at least list what others think are close)
*I want to make wishlists and my own booklists (heck, if I read an awesome series, I want to let others see these books if they share similar tastes; also I may not have time to read right now, but doesn't mean I want to forget a book I found that might be worth reading later)
*I want pictures! (I am visual, I'll know it's the right book if I can see it first; I want to see a sample of of the content as well, but would settle for a description)
*I want suggested searches and ways to narrow or broaden the search I made (if I can't remember the name or misspell it, I want it to act like Amazon and pull up suggested spellings or related searches, also broken down by category)
*I want the search to pull up the RIGHT materials (rank by popularity would work better than what item was last cataloged; Amazon is very good with its algorithm, it's not that hard to replicate - we can record how many times a record was viewed and how many times it was checked out, we know its publication date, we know its format, why can't we organize the search better?)
*I want an RSS feed for new items based on a search query (heck yeah I want to know what just came in without going to the catalog every day so I can get my hold on it ASAP, but I don't want to know EVERY item that is purchased, only what I am looking for; great for current awareness as well)
*I want to see the newly available items, especially in DVDs, CDs, and games (not just an RSS feed out, but actually on the site!)
*I want to know how long the wait list is, in days and or queue location (if it's too long, I'll just go buy the item)
*I want permalinks, so I can link to a book from my blog to the catalog instead of to amazon or remember easily how to get back to it without running the search again (I am all about promoting the library, but Amazon is better than the library could ever be with marketing and promoting, let's take their example!)
*It would be awesome to create my custom display, so I see what I want in the color I like (okay, it's a stretch, but it's all about customizing and personalizing these days)
*I want a map to show me the general shelf I might find my item (so many times an item was pulled out of the general collection and I pull my hair out in frustration)
*I want a library where I only have to sign in once, ONCE! (in my library catalog, every time I place a hold I have to enter my information; I log on, and I get signed out after maybe ten minutes of idleness - I'm probably surfing Amazon to find the RIGHT book...)
*I want to be able to turn on alerts for things like service outages, due dates, and overdues with quick access to renew, let alone modify my account profile and add password hints... (people are very forgetful)
So, from these wants, here is a basic (non-comprehensive) list of features we need to build a better catalog:
1. XML format
2. More (and better) content
3. More pictures
4. Smarter search engine
5. RSS on the fly
6. Commenting!! Commenting!!
7. User accounts
8. Single sign-in
9. User created lists/content
10. Permalinks
11. FRBR 2.0
12. Highly customizable interface
13. Highly user-friendly account settings/options
14. Smart spell-check aka related spelling/search terms
15. Organizable search results
So for those who aren't very technical and are kind of freaking out about the grocery list, the basic configurations should still be in tact with ability to enable the customization tools. I am tired of code that is falling apart, personally, and I would love to have a "skin" collection similar to MySpace, where you can pick or share your theme (with small customizations for name, etc), so the smaller libraries can also have a pretty catalog. Or even being able to share the customized configuration files without loss of security? Seems like the world, but aren't we paying a fortune for these systems?
--
In peace,
Amy M Ostrom
Web Interface Designer
amostrom <at> gmail.com
.
There's a lot more functionality in Koha ZOOM but that's probably best
saved for another email.
Cheers,
--
Joshua Ferraro SUPPORT FOR OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE
President, Technology migration, training, maintenance, support
LibLime Featuring Koha Open-Source ILS
jmf <at> liblime.com |Full Demos at 
> I would love to see
> the next generation of rules fix this... The current rules require that
> each Manifestation (in FRBR-speak) have its own bibliographic record. In
> the case of copies (a microfilm copy of a journal), the records for the
> original and the copy are virtually identical because they must both
> describe the original item. In the case of items that were issued in
> multiple formats, each format gets its own cataloging. Today, the
> difference between "different formats" and "copies" is blurred: is a
> case of a document in Word that is also saved as PDF a copy, or a
> different format? What if you can't tell which is the "original"?
> Anyway, what many libraries would like to see (and some are doing
> already in a kludge) is using the MARC Holdings record or their library
> system's item record to record the data, much like it appears Koha does.
> But those libraries cannot share that data in that format, because it
> violates the MARC standard and the cataloging rules. It also doesn't
> provide them with the fields they need to provide all of the
> format-specific data (i.e. the print book is 300 pages long and the
> audio book is 6 CDs and lasts 8 hours, and is read by Mr. T.) With the
> big digitization projects going on, this means that every time a book is
> digitized, a new record will be added to the library catalog. Sheeeesh!
> And not good library service.
So there's actually a rather elegant way to handle this issue without
changing any of the current standards (though by all means, lets push
for change). The method I've concluded is best in the meantime is to
abstract groups of MARC records into a 'MetaRecord', that contains all
of the data of each of the records in that group. The group retains all
the characteristics of each of the individual records, but has the added
feature of establishing a relationship between the records in the group.
The Koha community has been doing some experiments with this idea for a
few months with our shiny new Zebra integration, and it's definitely the
direction we're taking for the next generation search engine.
In tech-speak, the MetaRecord will be an XML schema that is a
conglomeration of the MARCXML definition. Zebra makes the process of
defining a new set of indexes a pretty trivial exercise, so once the XML
is properly defined, it's pretty simple to set up a parallel index
and run the regular MARC database side by side with the MetaRecord one.
At that point, the MetaRecord database is really just another Z39.50
target with some funky XML format types that break down nicely into MARC
records, which our tools can already parse and display -- so building the
UI is a fairly trivial exercise as well.
The only remaining piece is how to establish the relationships in the
first place. There's been a fair amount of work on this already in FRBR
projects; xisbn is a possible service-based approach to solving the
problem in real time for certain content types. There's also some fairly
common sense aproaches that will work in most cases, such as simple
field comparisons with existing records in the database, etc.
In this way, you don't need to break MARC at all, just fit it inside a
more general container for the initial search and retrieve operation.
Once the user finds what they're looking for, just present them with
various ways to further refine their interest, narrow down to material
type, language, or whatever ...
> My fear is that the next set of rules will not address this issue, but
> systems designers will be expected to magically make the data look more
> like what the user wants.
I share your fear, but as a systems designer, I'm also looking for
practical ways we can utilize the existing data to its fullest -- a lot
of librarian-hours goes into creating the rich semantic data that
comprises a typical MARC record, and it's a real shame to lose the
ability to utilize it ...
Cheers,
--
Joshua Ferraro SUPPORT FOR OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE
President, Technology migration, training, maintenance, support
LibLime Featuring Koha Open-Source ILS
jmf <at> liblime.com |Full Demos at 
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