_Amazon-like OPAC / Part II _

[Gerry Mckiernan]

                     _Amazon-like OPAC_ / Part II _

   In response to my earlier postings regarding _Amazon-like OPACs_
 [ http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/archive/0008/0202.html ] and
_Amazon.com Added Value Features and Functionalities for the OPAC_ 
[ http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/archive/0008/0108.html ], I learned about several interesting technological developments that I believe will be of interest to this e-list.

I. Syndetics

<QUOTE>
Syndetics was formed just over two years ago to help libraries accomplish the very objectives you're researching, and possibly more.  Perhaps you'd be interested in taking a look at our web-site at www.syndetics.com.  I've also attached a brief outline of our service offerings which hasn't yet been updated to include the availability of over 350,000 book reviews.

You'll note that most of our published information deals with the augmentation of MARC records, but you may also be interested to know that we're also ready to announce the availability of the data in XML format that can be linked to library catalogs in various ways depending on the capabilities of the local system.  We're working with a number of the major system vendors who each have plans to make our content data available to their client libraries in some very interesting ways.  If you'd like more information, or would like to discuss it in greater depth, please don't hesitate to let me know.
 
Allan Graham
Marketing & Business Development
Syndetic Solutions, Inc.
7521 SW Garden Home Road
Portland, OR  97223
agraham at syndetics.com 
503-977-6197
</QUOTE>

II. Inmagic

<QUOTE>
We very much agree that the features in Amazon's book store are the type of  feature that is necessary in a library OPAC.

Inmagic serves the special / corporate library marketplace and capturing 
user feedback on library materials can be critical to helping an 
organization make the right business decision.  For example, if internal 
research shows that the marketshare numbers in a report are not accurate, 
how do other staff members become aware of this?

We believe the OPAC should be fully interactive.  The OPAC is a place where  patrons learn about resources, but allowing users to add value to the 
resources is the next step.

An example of an Interactive OPAC can be found at 
http://support.inmagic.com/demos/opac.htm.

The searching is "form" based.  But check-out the "Word Wheel" it is a JAVA  browsable index.  It provides immediate context for the user on what they  are searching.

The reviews can be seen by following the hypertext link on the Title of a 
book. Let me know what you think.
----------------------------------------------------
Phillip L. Green
President & CEO,  Inmagic, Inc.
781-938-4442

www.inmagic.com 
</QUOTE>

III. Booksense

<QUOTE>
After a long time of being a vapor site, booksense.com 
 [ http://www.booksense.com/ ] is alive. Booksense is the independent booksellers' response to Amazon.com.  Users enter a zip code to localize the site. So now you can link to  that local bookseller, too, sorta. With our LinkBaton system, you can  let your users pick their destination for your book links from over  20 book sites.

[Eric Hellman eric at openly.com ]
</QUOTE> 

IV. TOPCAT: Tacoma (Washinton State) Public Library Online Public Catalog

<QUOTE>
The Tacoma Public Library TOPCAT On-Line Public Catalog on the Web is powered by Tandem Non-Stop computers. The Tacoma Public Library is a member of the amazon.com Associates program, and links to the amazon.com on-line bookstore for reviews, recommendations, availability information and book purchasing.
[Thanks Lare!]
</QUOTE> 

    Thanks all for their responses!

    If members of this list are familiar with other Amazon-like OPACs, please let me know [Of course, *not* limited to Amazon.com functionalities ]. 
 
      As Always, Any and All contributions, comments, queries, questions, compliments [:-)]. complaints [:-(], cosmic insights [***] are Most Welcome!

/Gerry McKiernan
Amazon-like Librarian
Iowa State University 
Ames IA 50011

                     "The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Invent It"
                                                    Alan Kay
 
                                      ***   DISCLAIMER ****

     This posting is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement.