[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Academic PAC flavor

[Donald Butterworth]

Some comments on comments

What would you think of taking the "*... Read more*" approach that Amazon
uses for reviews and long text, for long notes and text? This eliminates
the problem of clicking on a bar and finding it empty of content. It also
would make it possible to keep the copy/item record data always visible on
the screen without the need to scroll.


It seems like there is general support for developing a "... Read more"
feature for all PACs. Jim indicated that it has already been requested for
public library PAC. Perhaps this feature could be given a higher
development priority.

What do you think of eliminating the "Place Hold" option in the Actions (?)
text box and making it a column in the copy/items list?

Kathy comments:
I would be hesitant to add a "Place Hold" for title-level holds in the
copy/items list because I think it could lead to potential confusion among
users. Currently, we already have a column to place volume/copy level holds
from the copy/items list that, for most systems, is only viewable from the
staff client, but I think it can be made visible to the public if you
choose. If we add a place hold link for title-level holds, my concern is
that users would think they are placing a hold on a specific copy or
volume, not on any copy that is attached to that record.

Don comments:
The ability to place a hold at the item level is very important in the
academic setting. Public libraries typically buy multiple copies of the
same title, while academic libraries typically buy single copies of
multiple titles. So generally speaking a title level hold meets academic
needs. The rub comes with multi-volume titles; a very common occurrence in
academic libraries. Apparently Item level holds are not turned on by
default since they are not appearing as an option in our catalog. I would
suggest that it be a default in an academic PAC,

Kathy comments:
FWIW, I personally like the current location of the action items. They seem
to be easy to find if you need them without getting in the way of other
content.    The upper right corner is also where I typically find action
items on other sites, such as Amazon.

Don comments:
Excellent point about the upper right corner action box. In the back of my
mind I was using the "F" theory of webpage design, which is based on eye
movement studies that show people first view the top line of a webpage,
then follow the left column down a ways, then look again to the right part
way down the page, and finally follow the left column to the bottom.
Personally I still prefer action items under the cover art.

Is it necessary to include "available copies" information in a separate
area on the screen? Isn't the status column in the copy/items list
sufficient?

Kathy comments:
The status column in the copy/items list may be sufficient for single
libraries using Evergreen, but the available copies information becomes
more useful for libraries in a consortium where the copy/items list can get
somewhat long.

Elizabeth comments:
This might depend on how long the list of copies is likely to be.  For a
consortium, the list may be much longer than what is displayed by default,
and for titles with many copies per library (more common for public library
bestsellers) it's handy to be able to see at a glance whether or not there
are any available copies of some titles.

Don comments:
It sounds like this feature is a prime candidate for an on/off toggle switch


 What would you think of eliminating the "Shelf browser" bar and simply
> make the call number in the item/copy list a hot link to the Browse Call
> Number index?
>

Elizabeth comments:
We don't display the Shelf Browser at all right now, but would not want the
call number to be a hot link to the call number index.  We had a lot of
complaints about this on our previous system -- users would click through
the search results to the bib/copy screen, see the call number as a link
and click it, not realizing they had already reached their final
destination.  I am not sure what people expected -- full text or more
detailed information about the location of the book, but it was definitely
an issue. If anything, I'd want a link next to the call number that said
something like "Browse call numbers."

Don comments:
The theory behind this suggestion was just to simplify the display, but we
certainly do not want to generate patron complaints! Perhaps this could be
another on/off toggle option?

On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 at 4:57 PM, Lazar, Alexey Vladimirovich <
alexey.lazar at mnsu.edu> wrote:

> On 2014-12-02, at 05:25 , Donald Butterworth <
> don.butterworth at asburyseminary.edu> wrote:
>
> > What would you think of taking the "... Read more" approach that Amazon
> uses for reviews and long text, for long notes and text? This eliminates
> the problem of clicking on a bar and finding it empty of content. It also
> would make it possible to keep the copy/item record data always visible on
> the screen without the need to scroll.
>
> The feature sounds like a good idea. If implemented, consider using
> specific descriptive phrases like "View complete summary” or “View full
> contents” instead of repeating the same link text multiple times on one
> page.
>
> Aleksey Lazar
> IS Developer and Integrator - PALS
> http://www.mnpals.org/
>
>


-- 
Don Butterworth
Faculty Associate / Librarian III
B.L. Fisher Library
Asbury Theological Seminary
don.butterworth at asburyseminary.edu
(859) 858-2227
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