Today is a huge milestone -- the unveiling of the online patron access catalog. In library terminology, that's an OPAC. Let's not call it that. It's just simply the Catalog. It seems pretty straightforward to use. The biggest thing that I think the public may need to remember is that they should select their library on the initial search screen -- it comes up searching "All".
As staff has tried the catalog out in its implementation phase, they've found several things they've like, several more not so much. Carla told me that she's been here through Classic Dynix, Horizon 8.0, and now Unicorn. She says that there are certain things that she likes in each one and she wishes she could combine all her favorite tools. I suspect that will be the case with a lot of us (this will be the sixth automation system I've worked on).
Give it a try. And then post in the comments section what you like - or not. (be specific, please)
ECRL Catalog
Barbara Misselt, Director
9 comments:
Great work getting everything up and running. The new site looks really good, and seems very easy to use.
If it can be communicated easily, can you post how our new PINs are determined? I'm excited to get in and start using the new system to manage my account, but am not able to get into the library itself as often as I'd like.
Thanks!
Thank you for asking. ECRL staff places a very high value on patron security and privacy. Thus, we will not post the formula for PINs, or it would be easy to figure out other users' PINs. However, our Branch libraries will be able help you over the phone. Please call one of them. A directory of Branches is at: http://ecrl.lib.mn.us/branches/index.html
Please, as the Director of ECRL, check your grammar and spelling. It is a pet peeve of mine, and I really dislike seeing it from an individual or an organization that is in the business of language.
I'm going to check the Catalog now. Thanks for keeping us up to date.
Thanks for all of your hard work. I called and reset my PIN yesterday, and am now able to place holds again! The search options took a little while to get used to, but I didn't have any major problems. I still think using MNLink is easier, but this website is definitely acceptable for now!
I like the new site, but cannot log in, do the passwords change or something?
Thank you for all you hard work!!!
Curt, Yes, your PIN was reset when the new library automation system was installed. Plese call one of our ECRL Branches to get the login information. (see Oct 20th comment response in this string for link.) And we do appreciate your thanks ;^)
ECRL Director
It looks good so far, but there's no apparent way to search via ISBN numbers in this new system. I cut and paste these from Amazon to help me quickly zero in on the book I'm looking for.
Rob,
Thank you for you for letting us know that ISBN is not an available search index. We'll investigate if this can be added. In the meantime, I tried searching by ISBN - just entering it into the initial screen search box. And it worked!
Barbara Misselt, ECRL Director
I enjoy the fact that the library now has a functional catalog system. Is the hold system working correctly? How does this library go about notifying that the books have come in or have been pulled?
For the site/catalog system, it seems to be just a little clunky with the variables being passed from the back end. I get "Session has timed out. Please click OK to start a new OPAC session" every time I enter the catalog system.
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