[OPEN-ILS-DOCUMENTATION] Bookbag update

[Karen G. Schneider]

Thanks to all the documentationalistarians who provided hints and 
comments about bookbags. I am not surprised that the question surfaced 
some interesting observations and comments, and some feature ideas. I 
will be pulling together a blog post though probably not until early 
tomorrow, at this point.

Susan Halbedel, Byron Branch Manager of Peach Public Libraries, shared a 
nice half-page tip sheet they use. As several of you pointed out, one 
key feature of bookbags is how easy they are to share, with their 
permanent web addresses and also (more of a power feature, though it 
could be used in simple ways) their Atom feeds.

For example, I have a "localvore" reading list here:

http://gapines.org/opac/extras/feed/bookbag/html-full/12933

This can be used for recommended reading, wishlists, reference, etc. -- 
there's some untapped power here.

Plus I subscribe to the Atom feed in my feed reader (Bloglines), which 
updates whenever the status for the items change, and when I click on 
one of the item links, I get a really nifty display:

*http://tinyurl.com/5axkvo *

One major drawback of how bookbags are currently implemented is that 
nobody knows they exist; they are fairly well buried. Just to clarify, 
this isn't a "bookbag" issue -- it's a local decision issue. The bookbag 
feature could be surfaced more visibly. But they do exist and a few 
folks make use of them, when they are pointed out.

Some issues with bookbags arose in discussion and as I played with them 
myself.

* I was able to add the same item over and over.
* The list isn't in any kind of human-meaningful order. Even just author 
or title would be good.
* Someone mentioned that the bookbag (as opposed to the bookbag item 
display) doesn't include call numbers. This might work for 
single-Evergreen sites, but for PINES or any consortial setting, since 
these lists are generated from the consortial catalog, I think that 
would be hard to do (given that with 200+ libraries, there are 200+ 
versions of basically the same call #), though I keep mulling that over.
* Someone mentioned it would be nice to be able to pick multiple items 
from search results (or heck, the shelf browser?) to add to bookbags. I 
agree, though I think that's more of a "basket" feature for the catalog 
than a bookbag-specific feature.
* I'd like the option to put some identifying info on a bookbag, such as 
a personal or institutional name. This would enhance the "vanity" aspect 
of sharing an item (the way when someone shares a link with me in 
Delicious, I know it's from them, or the way Amazon uses member names on 
lists).

There are also a few minor design/labeling/user-experience issues... for 
example, the "search" box at the top of my booklist is puzzling. I 
assumed it would search the list (however marginally useful that might 
be). Instead, it searches PINES. A little user testing might help 
here--what do users expect? Do we even need a search box there? Could we 
relabel the search button, "Search PINES"? But that's a small nit.

Basically, a nifty feature with a lot of potential, and its light under 
a bushel. I think if bookbags were more visible, we'd push them to be 
better. They're a small feature but a neat one. A little Google juice 
tomorrow won't hurt. ;)

Thanks again -- still ruminating on documentation and Evergreen.


-- 
| Karen G. Schneider
| Community Librarian
| Equinox Software Inc. "The Evergreen Experts"
| Toll-free: 1.877.Open.ILS (1.877.673.6457) x712
| E-Mail/AIM: kgs at esilibrary.com
| Web: http://www.esilibrary.com

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