Tech Services Happenings

I attended an OCLC sponsored webinar titled WorldCat.org access to OCLC electronic resources  on April 30, 2009. Here is a summary of the session.

 In July 2009, WorldCat.org will be launched as a new interface or platform providing access to OCLC content such as FirstSearch, WorldCat database, ArchiveGrid – database of over 1 million archival collections, CAMIO – a catalog of art museum and images online, and OAISTER – a union catalog of more than 19 million records of digital resources from more than 1,000 contributors.

As can be seen from the photo above, this new interface will take the form of a single-search box, which can be branded with the library’s logo and placed anywhere on the library’s home page. This search box can be downloaded by users and added to their favorite websites. This product is available free of charge with current OCLC FirstSearch subscription. Access to the current FirstSearch interface will not be discontinued and will be available to OCLC users until 2011.

Benefits of this new WorldCat.org platform:

- Minimizes the user frustration at having to look for resources in multiple interfaces

-  Users have access to all formats in one interface. There are tabs included in the search box which allow users the choice of searching all resources, or one of the following formats Books, DVDs, CDs or articles

- WorldCat Local “quick start” will soon be included in subscriptions to the FirstSearch service at no additional charge. Content in Wordcat Local and the new Worldcat.org platform can be synchronized and delivered in the same customizable search box.   WorldCat Local provides content from three sources: local library resources, content available through a consortia and global content such as what is avaialble via the WorldCat database.

- Users will have access to social networking tools which will allow them to post ratings, reviews, and summaries

- the single search box is easy to install and can be customized by the library with the library’s logo  and placed on any website including external websites such as faculty pages and course management software such as Black Board. Users can download the searchbox and add it to their blogs or social network sites such as FaceBook.

- Once a title is searched users will have access to Google Book Search to view snippets of chapters or the full text of the entire book.

- User access to WorldCat.org is based on IP address, there is no need for login via a login id and password.

- With the expansion of the FirstSearch package in May 2009, users will have access to CONTENTdm Quickstart –an entry level hosted version of OCLC CONTENTdm Digital Collection Management Software which allows libraries to host 3,000 digital objects free of charge on OCLC server.

Cheryl

 Many of you may be familiar with LibraryThing  as it was one of the 23 things you had to ‘play’ with during TLC 2.0.  LibraryThing can best be described as a tool which can help you to catalog books you own. There are currently over 35 million books in the LibraryThing database. The big news is that Bowker has become the exclusive worldwide distributor for a derivative product known as LibraryThing for Libraries. Bowker gave a demonstration of this product at ASL on April 23 which I attended.

LibraryThing for Libraries is being marketed as a product for libraries with web 2.0 features such as user generated reviews,  ratings and book recommendations, very similar to what is currently being offered at Amazon.com.

Two packages can be purchased from Bowker:

Catalog Enhancement Package with the following features:

•  Title recommendations – Offers reader’s advisory service, suggesting recommended or similar titles which can be found at ASL when a user enters a search.
•  Tag-based discovery – Users can find resources in NovaCat by browsing key word tag clouds. These key words have been added by patrons.
• Other editions and translations – Links to titles in other languages, titles in other editions and titles in other formats, in essence FRBR-izing the catalog.

Review Enhancement Package with the following features:

• Patron-generated reviews- ASL patrons can write their personalized ratings and reviews for titles in NovaCat. Of course these would have to be evaluated before being placed in the public domain.
• LibraryThing reviews – ASL patrons will also be able to view the 250,000+ reviews supplied by current LibraryThing users.
• Widgets – This package includes a library-branded Facebook application that links Facebook users back to NovaCat and a widget for bloggers which allows them to display reviews they created in LibraryThing on their blog.

 If you wish to see examples of how libraries have incorporated LibraryThing  for Libraries into their catalog, please click on this link appropriately called LTFL – Libraries using Library Thing for Libraries http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/LTFL:Libraries_using_LibraryThing_for_Libraries

Cheryl

I recently attended a SEFLIN seminar on libraries’ role in hurricane preparedness and recovery. While it didn’t offer me much help in our dealing with hurricanes here in Tech Services, it did provide some interesting information on yet another essential function libraries can, and often do, provide. And an additional argument against future funding cuts as well.

The speaker was Joe Ryan, a librarian and researcher from FSU, maintains that libraries ought to be a major player in planning for hurricanes. We have the facilities, equipment, materials, people, and expertise to provide great help to the community in preparing for and recovering from disasters, he said. He outlined many major functions, including these:

·        Providing a safe haven. Library buildings, which are often built to stricter standards than homes, can provide an after-storm safe place.

·        Offering normal service. After a storm, libraries can—just by continuing to do what they do—offer a comforting sense of normalcy to people whose lives may be in crisis.

·        Serving as a disaster recovery center. Local governments can take advantage of the central location of libraries to dispense meals, water, etc.

·        Serving as an emergency information hub. What better, and more natural, a place to dispense emergency information than a library?

You can read more about these and other possible functions on a website Ryan created (with a grant from the Florida legislature) to serve as a clearing house for information on how libraries can and should take on this important role: http://www.ii.fsu.edu/hurricanes/index.html.

–Mark