Sound Bytes

Discovery Task Force Discussion Items

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:29:04 -0800

This is the place to make your comments or ask your questions about the work of the Discovery Task Force -- we appreciate your input!!

See the Discovery Task Force wiki page (library access only) for background and addition documents.

New Home Page Preview Available

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:56:42 -0800

The new Libraries' home page is scheduled to go live on Monday, August 17, 2009. Please take a look at the preview and let us know if you notice any bugs. The revisions to the page incorporated both usability feedback and staff input.

If you have tutorials, handouts, or other resources that you need assistance with because of the design changes, please contact a member of the Web Management Committee.

Web Developers should stop making changes to web pages on "set" and "go" between August 10, 2009 and the launch.

Feel free to share your feedback by posting a comment.

Proposed WebOPAC material type (format) label changes

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:05:15 -0800

One of the tasks the former WebOPAC Committee had agreed to address was the review of the list of material types used when a modifying a search. We are all aware that the term "AV Materials" was confusing, misleading, etc. but we have decided to look at all the terms used for material types and whether we even need to list every possible material type available.

Unfortunately we cannot make these changes available on the test server. However Brian Egan created a side by side mock up so you can see the proposed changes.

Areas of note:

"Material Type" has changed to "Format"
Order of items has changed
Terminology has changed
Number of formats has been reduced

Please post your comments, suggestions, etc. on this blog post by August 7.

Once we have received your comments we will be sharing these proposed changes with our III shared member institutions.

WebOPAC labels do not automatically get updated in Encore. We will need to let III know what changes to make once we have decided what we want..

Attached is a spreadsheet that will provide some additional information:

Sheet 1 lists the WebOPAC material types (bcode2) with the term as currently displayed, the number of UNLV records displaying as of 7/13/09, the MARC definitio of the term, and local information.

Sheet 2 lists the WebOPAC material types (bcode2) with the proposed term in a new display order, the current term, the number of UNLV records, the number of member institutions records and the total number of records all displaying as of 7/13/09 , the MARC definition of the term, and some notes about the proposed changes.

Material type proposal on III.xls

Try it Out: Text a Call Number from the Catalog

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:22:42 -0800

The WebOPAC committee has installed some customized code in the WebOPAC which will allow patrons to send a text message of the title, location and call number of an item to their cell phones. This text message enhancement allows patrons to walk to the stacks and look for the book without having to write down that information using a pen and paper.

Below is a screen shot of the Text Info to Phone button.

For all you texters out there, please give it a try! To see this feature, you need to search using the "staging" WebOPAC (http://webpac.library.unlv.edu:2082/search~S1) - this feature is not available to the public just yet. We need to hear from anyone who does not use AT&T as their cell phone provider (successes/failures). Once we've tested this enhancement, we'll be pushing this out to the "live" WebOPAC. Leave a comment about your experience with the new feature.

What Do You See as the Future of the Library?

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:24:39 -0800

This short YouTube video asks What is the future of the library? and offers a vision of what libraries should offer in the networked age. Some of their suggestions include:

providing awareness of new information technology
materials available at no cost
accessibility of interfaces both virtual and real

How does your vision of the future library compare to the urban information bar and how does that impact our current virtual spaces?

Encore Maintenance on Thursday July 2

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:45:04 -0800

On Thursday, July 2, Encore may be unavailable for brief periods of time. You will be able to use the Library Catalog to search for materials.

Handheld Librarian Online Conference

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:57:10 -0800

Interested in learning more about current technologies, but don't want to travel? Consider the Handheld Librarian Online Conference.

Description of the conference from their conference page:

The Handheld Librarian 2009 - An online conference about Mobile Library Services

More people than ever are using mobile devices for a wide variety of purposes including communication, internet access, text messaging, and entertainment. It is important that libraries provide services on these devices as use increases.

The first ever Handheld Librarian Online on July 30, 2009 is the place to learn about these and other topics related to using wireless and hand held devices in your library. The program, sponsored by Alliance Library System, LearningTimes and Infoquest, will include a variety of ways to collaborate, network and learn from a great group of experts in the field. In addition to live interactive webcasts, we will have a collection of available resources, discussions boards, and access to the recording of all live events for one year after the conference.

Proposed WebOPAC Label Changes

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:13:03 -0800

The WebOPAC Committee has been working on ways to improve the WebOPAC. One of the areas we have been considering concerns improving MARC tag labels and terminology for bibliographic records.

Proposed WebOPAC label change.xls

Some labels represent a fuller version of the term we already use.

For example:

ALT TITLE would change to ALTERNATE TITLE
PUBL INFO would change to PUBLICATION INFO
ADDED AUTH would change to ADDED AUTHOR

Some labels will be more descriptive than the current label. For example, instead of just NOTES, there would now be labels for CREDITS, PERFORMER, CAST, and AWARDS

Sheet 1 includes the following columns: MARC tag, Current WebOPAC label, Proposed WebOPAC label, MARC label definition, # of records in PAC with that label (all institutions) as of April 2009, and a place for comments.

Sheet 2 includes record examples with specific MARC tags listed.

The proposed WebOPAC label changes have been updated on the staging server. The easiest way to find a record is to copy the b# from the spreadsheet into the following URL: http://innopac.library.unlv.edu:2082/record=b3214391a

If you want to see the MARC tags, click on the MARC display button. Once you bring up your first record you can then use the drop down menu under Record Number

If you want to compare how the record currently looks to the proposed changed record, copy the b# from the spreadsheet into the following URL for the current WebOPAC display: http://innopac.library.unlv.edu/record=b3214391a

If you want to see the MARC tags, click on the MARC display button. Once you bring up your first record you can then use the drop down menu under Record Number.

Also note that the author entry has been moved above the uniform title/title entry and examples of this are indicated on the spreadsheet under: Author. You must be in the Entire Collection scope for author to display above the uniform title/title entry. The staging server URL listed above takes you to this scope.

For those of you using Millennium, the display labels will not change.

Once we have received your comments we will be sharing these proposed changes with our III shared member institutions.

WebOPAC labels do not automatically get updated in Encore. We will need to let III know what changes to make once we have decided to change labels.

After the label change project is complete, the WebOPAC Committee will be addressing the current list of material types used when modifying a search. While we are aware that the meaning the "AV Materials" is confusing to many, we will be evaluating all the material types.

We would like to implement these label/terminology changes before the fall semester. Please post your comments, suggestions, etc. on this blog post by June 30.

Search Overload is Over?

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:26:37 -0800

Microsoft has come out with a new search engine, replacing Live Search, Windows Live Search and MSN Search. Instead of going for breadth, they are aiming for relevancy and calling their product a "decision engine". You can check it out at http://www.bing.com. If nothing else, they have come up with a great marketing campaign (and pretty much anything would be an improvement over Live Search).

Bing Commercial - Search Overload - Vignettes

Have you looked at your web content lately?

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:19:42 -0800

Content is one of the most important pieces to the web site, but there is a tendency to create it and forget it. It is important to continuously review your content and make sure it is meeting your goals and your users needs.

Rajesh Setty blogs about the nine levels at which users connect to your online content and explains how these levels can provide insight into if your content is effective or not. He pushes authors to, "Use your creativity to generate content that will inspire and transform the lives of the audience in a positive way," and provides suggestions to consider before creating content. What can you learn from your users to enhance the content you are providing, whether its via your blog or on a static web page?

Social Networking Vs. The Web Site

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:49:44 -0800

In Is Social Media Making Corporate Websites Irrelevant? Ostrow looks at how some companies have shifted to favor social networking over the traditional web site. Although there are drawbacks to social media (most of the time your users have to have accounts), marketers are finding value in using social networking to connect with customers. Some have even dropped mention of the corporate web site on their business cards and replaced them with the URL for their Twitter accounts. Ostrow goes on to review a current marketing campaign of Vitamin Water in Facebook and how it has been successful.

With this trend more prevalent in the corporate world, how does it impact the expectations of Library users? Do they see the benefits of a main libary site or would they rather be able to integrate the pieces of the site they use most into the social spaces that they already belong to? Some Libraries have tried to connect to users in these spaces (see University of Texas Libraries), but so far the trend is not nearly as widespread as is seen in the corporate world.

Google Books Preview

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:40:42 -0800

UPDATE: Launch Delay
Do to a technical issue on the Express Stations, the release of the Google Books Preview button has been delayed.

The WebOPAC Committee and the WMC will activate the Google Books Preview Button in the WebOPAC on May 11th. The initial discussion about the Google Books Preview Button started following a blog post here on Soundbytes. Google's Preview Button provides our patrons access to addition information available in Google Books. You can find out more about Google Books on the Google Books web site.

The Google Books Preview button is now available on the WebOPAC staging port (http://webpac.library.unlv.edu:2082/).

Some of Google Books Preview Features:
- Offers a preview of books (Table of Contents and some pages)
- Some books are available in full-text if the book is out of copyright or if Google has a special arrangement with the publisher
- Quick access to full-text searching

Related documents/info:
http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2008/09/book-search-everywhere-with-new.html
http://code.google.com/apis/books/terms.html - Google's Terms of Service

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or praise, please post them on this blog.

Top Tools For Learners and For Learning Professionals

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:39:23 -0800

You will find a wealth of information on helpful tools for educators and learners at Jane Hart's page on the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies website.

Information provided includes background information on learning and technology tools, but also links you to useful tools for learners and learning professionals.

Check out the Top 100 Tools For Learning 2008.

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2008

View more presentations from Jane Hart.

You can also contribute to her current list of Top Tools for 2009.

Looking for the Quick Fix

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:30:35 -0800

Often we search for that new technology that will "fix" all our problems. Once implemented, its expected that we no longer need to attend to whatever problem we were trying to solve, but can move on to something else. In reality the world continues to shift and change and even after implementing a new technology, service, or product there is a need to continue to revise and adapt to new situations. The IBM Institute for Business Value Study came out with an interesting report titled: Making Change Work. They pose that "No longer will companies have the luxury of expecting day-to day operations to fall into a static of predictable pattern that is interrupted only occasionally by short bursts of change...In reality, the new normal is continuous change - not the absence of change."

Their research suggests that companies that anticipate and effectively manage change outperform companies that anticipate change, but don't have ability to manage it. Many challenges encountered with change projects turn out to be people-oriented. Topping that list were changing mindsets and attitudes and corporate culture (see page 12 of the report for the complete list). Soft factors also turned out at the top of the list of factors for successful change. Top management sponsorship topped that list, with employee involvement coming in second (see page 13 of the report for the full list).

The article goes on to introduce and discuss the "Change Diamond," which was created to represent the characteristics of organizations that were successful at managing change. This diamond consists of four parts:
1. Right Investment, Right Impact
2. Real Insights, Real Actions
3. Better Skills, Better Change
4. Solid Methods, Solid Benefits
The report describes each of these areas in detail and provides suggestions in how companies can be successful in each area.

You can also take the quiz on page 36 to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your organization in each area of the Change Diamond.

Web 2.0 Awards

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:08:38 -0800

SEOmoz came out with their 2008 list of awards for 2.0 sites.
The awards are divided by category, with over twenty categories listed.

Winners for the book category were:
1. Lulu
2. Biblio
3. VuFind

Honorable Mentions
WorldCat
LibraryThing