Donovan Lambright, Automation Librarian

In a post last week, I wrote a bit about the different catalogs under evaluation by the ILS Operations & Technology Policy joint committee.  After analyzing the different catalogs to the best of our ability, the committee decided to let library patrons have a crack.

Each vendor was asked to provide two links to catalogs that they felt were the best implementation of their product.  We took this step.  We took this extra step because all three catalogs are heavily customizable by libraries; the choices those libraries make can make a huge difference in how the catalog is perceived by patrons.  Here are the links we got:

Endeca:

• Triangle Research Libraries Network
• Phoenix Public Library

MasterKey:

• Central Pennsylvania Libraries

AquaBrowser:

• Columbus Metropolitan Library

• Old Colony Library Network

Armed with these links, each library represented on the committee conducted patron testing.  We chose to keep the process decentralized:  each library was free to conduct testing as they saw fit.  Some asked patrons to try out all the catalogs.  Some had patrons focus on one catalog and provide in-depth feedback.  Some asked patrons lots of questions while others let the patrons do their own thing and observed the outcome.  All the libraries documented their process and results.  And all put a lot of thought into their methodologies.  There were some great, in-depth email conversations between committee members discussing various approaches. 

At the October meeting of the joint committee, everyone brought their documentation and we had a wide-ranging discussion.  Results varied but a number of points seemed to come up repeatedly:

• Patrons really liked the Endeca catalog as implemented at Phoenix Public Library
• MasterKey was seen as lackluster pretty much across the board
• Patrons either really liked or really disliked the AquaBrowser Constellation.  There wasn't a lot of middle ground.
• Among patrons who liked the Constellation, there was a lot of serendipity and exploration in the searches.  Committee members had differing opinions on whether this was desirable.
• Best quote from a patron came from students at Rochester Public Schools upon seeing the Constellation:  "Let's get to the end of it!"

At the risk of oversimplifying the discussion, it really came down to a basic question:  "Is Endeca better than AquaBrowser by such a degree as to justify the much greater cost and staff time required for an Endeca implementation?"  In a roll-call vote, the committee decided unanimously to recommend that the SELCO Board of Directors authorize the purchase of AquaBrowser for the new SELCO online catalog. This recommendation will be considered at the October Board meeting on October 28, 2008.  The results of this meeting will be posted to the News section of the SELCO website.

I would like to encourage other committee members to post their own thoughts and observations on the catalogs and our selection process to the comments for this post.