WebVoyáge Redesign UT Arlington Library WebVoyáge Advisory Committee Joshua Been Michael Doran Brad Gulliford Helen Hough Heather Scalf Peter Zhang

Integrated Library Systems Any integrated library system (ILS) such as Voyager is, by definition, complex.  Acquisitions  Cataloging  Circulation  OPAC An online public access catalog (OPAC) interface to an ILS is complex

The “Plan” Make OPAC searching simple, easy, and intuitive – by default Retain advanced search features – by explicit choice Make record displays concise – by default Retain more elaborate record displays – by explicit choice Incorporate usability best practices Add features

Types of Changes/Improvements Aesthetic  Graphics (buttons, logo, banner)  Colors Functional  User interface (e.g. search front & back end)  Record display  Features (e.g. patron initiated holds/recalls) Supplemental  New Books List  External authentication

Trolling for Ideas Looking at other Voyager customer sitesVoyager customer sites Reading the voyager-l list Keeping current  e.g. NGC4LIB listNGC4LIB list (Next generation catalogs for libraries) Attending Voyager conferences  EndUser in Chicago  South Central Voyager Users Group Becoming knowledgeable about web usability and user interface design

Initial Goals Fix external authentication Implement a simple “Simple Search” Re-implement a JavaScript time-out timer Incorporate new university branding/identity Implement OpenURL link resolving Revamp help pages

The Art of the Possible Constraints – WebVoyáge is a “black box” WebVoyáge program Voyager data WebVoyáge config files Browser

The Art of the Possible Work around – a wrapper script WebVoyáge program Voyager data WebVoyáge config files Browser wrapperwrapper

Voyager & WebVoyáge “Hacks” Some are simple (once you know how)  extra tab - opac.ini hack extra tab  Cascading style sheets Some are moderately complex  TAMU’s OpenURL link resolver implementation  Pwebrecon.cgi wrapper Some are more complex  group study rooms schedule group study rooms schedule

Hacks - Pros and Cons Customer created Must be locally maintained, troubleshot Often must be re-implemented after upgrades What works now, might not work in future versions of Voyager

Simple is as simple does

Current WebVoyáge simple search

Simple is as simple does Proposed WebVoyáge simple search

Simple interface, powerful search Designed for the “unsophisticated” user Words within quotes are treated as a phrase Words outside of quotes are automatically boolean ANDed Keyword anywhere search (all fields of the record – as defined in SysAdmin – are searched) Relevancy ranked results * i.e. Google-like – “expected” search behavior

Look and feel – current

Look and feel – proposed

Return of the session timer

Take WebVoyáge for a test drive “New” WebVoyáge is on Voyager test server   functional – not just a mock-up  compare and contrast  under development …and let us know what you think  via the blog: UTA Library Catalog DesignUTA Library Catalog Design  at presentations (like this)  talk to a member of the WebVoyáge Advisory Committee (or the whole committee)

Mark your calendars May 14, 2007 – the “Big Change”  Cut-over from current to new interface Additional presentations  dates/times/topics/audiences TBD  e.g. usability primer for interested staff

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