[Web4lib] How to label the OPAC (was: Role of the OPAC)

[Ryan Eby]

In my experience "catalog" hasn't had that many problems as does links
that contain the catalog name. I've seen a few library sites that only
link the catalog by whatever acronym they dreamed up. I've seen some
that even link to multiple ones by acronym only which usually leaves
me up a creek as I don't know which one I should be searching.

As for "find books" I think it makes sense, but I would expect there
to also be links nearby for "find journals" "find movies",etc.
Otherwise I would be stuck looking around for these links for a bit
before I would click on the book link. An example of a site that I
think works well is Capital Area District that links to their catalog
as "Library Catalog" and then the catalog itself links to the material
type scopes.

http://cadl.org/

Another one that I think separates it well is below, though as you
state it becomes more clicks. However, I think the amount of
information and how it is presented helps users more than "less
clicks" would. There is also a link straight to the catalog:

http://www.library.gsu.edu/

This makes more sense to me but I think this is because I shop online
a lot. Many sites that sell stuff link to their "catalog" and then you
get to choose what to shop for once you get there. I probably wouldn't
be called a novice though.

Ryan Eby
Michigan State University

On 7/24/05, John Kupersmith <jkup at jkup.net> wrote:
> 
> At 07:22 AM 7/24/2005, Richard Wiggins wrote:
> >Is there any audience, no matter how experienced, for whom "find books"
> >*doesn't* work?
> 
> 
> None that I've seen reported.  The issues commonly raised about the "find
> books" label are:
> 
> * Scope: how to convey the fact that the catalog also covers other types of
> material.
> 
> * Inconvenience: if the link doesn't lead directly to the catalog, then
> getting there will take at least one additional click, potentially vexing
> to expert users.
> 
> * Philosophical objections from librarians who think using this kind of
> terminology is "dumbing down" the website.
> 
> IMHO, if you have a diverse user population many of whom are novices, the
> advantages of this type of label outweigh these problems.  As I mentioned
> earlier, there are ways to design around the first two issues.  I think the
> best way around the third is to have good usability data (and a little
> diplomacy!)
> 
> --jk