OLIS Home Page

Cover Story
From the Desk of Carey Hatch, Library Services
About SUNYergy

Features
Web2 Developments
SLAM
SUNYConnect

In His/Her Own Words
Maureen Zajkowski
SLAM Project Manager
Larry Randall
SUNYConnect Project Manager

Committees

Linkable Links

Acronyms & Initialisms

Glossary

How to Contact Us

• broadcast searches (search many catalogs with one search)
• merge function (merge duplicate records together)
• hypertext (see a subject or author you're interested in; a search on that heading is one "click" away)
• multi-media (link to a graphic file, sound clip, etc.)
• internet links (link to the full-text, for instance, of the document via internet)

These new capabilities are presented to the student in a form that is increasingly familiar, namely the web browser. So the online library catalog is surfed much like other web sites. This provides a "friendliness" and a familiarity to the OPAC that, from some points of view, has been missing.

The OLIS developed a Web2 implementation strategy earlier in 1998. That document is available at http://olis.sysadm.suny.edu/projects/web2/web2imp.html. Goal 1 (a SUNY interface to the DRA Web2 software) is mostly complete. Goal 2 (access to non-LAIP SUNY catalogs) is well underway.

The unique SUNY look to the Web2 software is a product of the Web2 team under the leadership of Laura Murray. Each of the LAIP Clusters elected a member of the team to represent them during the work of customizing and optimizing a SUNY interface to Web2. Laura is at the forefront of a new librarianship involving interface design (and computer-user interaction), WWWeb development and in-the-trenches work with the Z39.50 standard. Upcoming activities will include incorporating new Web2 capabilities (developed by DRA) into the SUNY version of the software. Make use of Web2 via http://141.254.5.9/html/welcome.html

SUNY's version of Web2 searches and displays bibliographic information from eight different systems (DRA, Dynix, Geac, IAC, Innovative Interfaces, Multilis, Notis, Sirsi). This work shows what is possible. Yet, the complexity and variability of these various database systems points to the value of SUNY choosing a common library software.