[Web4lib] Role of the OPAC (was: library automation vendors)

[Elena OMalley]

David,

I like getting web4lib in digest mode -- someone always says more elegantly, 
more quickly, whatever point or response I might be inclined to make -- I'll 
stick to answering your question about our user tests.

We do our best, and almost always get, first-years and up, transfers, a 
variety of majors, grad students, faculty, ESL, students who have
never used the library or attended an instruction session, and those who
have for our user tests. We could do better on recruiting folks with 
disabilities for our annual usability test.

We're keeping an eye on the terminology issue, for "library catalog" and
others, in multiple ways. If/when our users start having trouble with 
"library catalog" as the place to look for the types of content we put in 
there, we'll change the terminology or the types of content or add more 
points of access or whatever's necessary and practical. We're working
on federated searching as well. I suspect we won't be calling it "federated 
search" in front of our users, though. :)
 
Elena
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Head of Library Computer and Internet Services
Emerson College Library, Boston, MA 02116