- Librarians are taking on new challenges at the close of the millennium. One example of
this is the design of WWWeb software interfaces. What design elements work to assist the
SUNY students in their online searching? How do decisions about the design of a searching
tool influence the effectiveness of that tool?
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- SUNY librarians have been involved in these decisions for sometime now: from web sites
to database designs. A more recent development, however, is the customization and
enhancement of web-based online library catalogs. DRA's Web2 is in use by the 40 LAIP
libraries providing their web OPAC.
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- If you surf to http://albweb2.sunyconnect.suny.edu
you can compare SUNY's and DRA's versions of Web2. The customized version of Web2 is a
result of SUNY librarians working together. A representative from each of the LAIP
"clusters" made up the Web2 Team under the leadership of Ms. Laura K. Murray
(SUNY Office of Library and Information Services).
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- Laura and the Team used their own expertise as well as ideas from SUNY and LAIP
colleagues to enhance Web2. Since the initial design decisions have been implemented, a
subsequent round of improvements and fine-tuning has been been put into place. This
further enhancement to the interface was also the product of collaboration and
give-and-take from a LAIP community with significant experience with such cooperative
projects.
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- SUNY/OLIS has received the latest version of the Web2 software. Implementing the new
features of the software within the context of the SUNY LAIP design is the next step in
this collaborative process. The plan is to begin this process during the summer of 1999.
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- Hearing of Laura Murray's experience in customizing Web2, the Upper Hudson Library
System (UHLS) recruited Laura to work on their Web2 interface. UHLS serves 30+ public
libraries in the greater Albany New York area. The Upper Hudson libraries share a DRA
"Classic" library management system (LMS). Laura's "extra service" for
UHLS has already proven advantageous for SUNY. "I was able to learn so much about the
new Web2 features and structure," said Ms. Murray after creating UHLS' version of
their web catalog.
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- Likewise, the work involved in customizing Web2 has relevance to the new SUNYConnect
LMS and its implementation. All of the vendors being considered provide a WWWeb online
catalog that can be customized and enhanced by SUNY. The work done by LAIP and other SUNY
librarians in this regard is paving the way to that SUNYConnect online catalog of
the future.
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