Academic library 2.0 concept model

Academic library 2.0 concept model
Originally uploaded by habibmi.

Wow! I love this model. I think it is right on – and a great way to envision the role of the library. I guess I’ve never really thought about libraries sitting physically between the social and academic parts of the student experience in college. It seems like such a simple concept – yet not one that everyone grasps. I think many academic libraries identify solely with the academic part of the college experience – and this might account for some of the hesitation in adopting social software. Often if something doesn’t support the academic mission of the college, it gets vetoed. However, it would be difficult to argue that libraries are not social spaces – just social spaces in which academic endeavors take place. Michael Habib argues that libraries have traditionally straddled the social and physical parts of a student’s life. With some thought, I agree – but I’m not sure many library people think about libraries in this light. A big thanks to Michael Habib for posting this.

Michael Habib’s blog entry – Conceptual model for Academic Library 2.0

Are We Really Ready to Say Goodbye to the Sucky OPAC?

Comments from Jane from A Wandering Eyre on my last post started me thinking about what our expectations for the OPAC and its reincarnation are (and even what they should be). I am extremely excited about the conversations taking place about library catalogs. They are a great step forward in the evolution of library systems. I personally believe that the OPAC needs a complete overhaul, but is this a realistic expectation for the immediate future? From my perspective working in systems in a small academic library, I am positive that our OPAC will be our main interface for the public for the forseeable future. This means that regardless of what we think our systems should be, we need to deal with the situation at hand. So, this leads me to ask - are we really ready to say goodbye to the sucky OPAC? 

While I know that there is a whole group of library bloggers who would shout YES to this question, I really can’t imagine that most libraries would be able to ditch their OPAC in the immediate future. Most of us are not at this point. First of all, there isn’t enough buy in from library staff. And this is a big point. As much as forcing change on users is not a good idea, it isn’t any better to force it on library staff. Second of all, major changes require planning (many people have commented about the pace of change in libraries) be it for budgetary support, technological support or just for good implementation. And at this point, there isn’t a good consensus about what it is that we need in place of the OPAC. There is no system in place from which we at smaller institutions can use to build upon. Third, the amount of money we have invested in our current library system means it isn’t going anywhere soon. Regardless of whether this should be the case, it is.

So, this is why I think it is important to spend time tweaking our current systems to make them more usable.  Just because the system is sucky doesn’t mean that we should just accept it until we come up with something better. I think just giving up on our current systems would do a disservice to our users. 

Ultimately, for those who think we need to chuck our sucky OPACs out the door and move on, I would be incredibly interested to hear their views on what would replace it. What is the vision? How does it work? How do we implement it? Do we even know what it should be? (I know I don’t know enough about the users needs and search habits at my library to think I have a handle on this.) I’m obviously still formulating my thoughts on this issue – and haven’t gotten far beyond the realization that our current systems are not cutting it. 

The Main Reason I think OPACs are a Problem

Adding the discussion about why OPACs suck, Jane from A Wandering Eyre elaborated on her belief that her OPAC sucks with some solid reasons why (in a post entitled Actual Reasons Why My OPAC Sucks). All of her reasons are right on the money. I would have to add that the Main Reason I Think OPACs are a Problem is simply because it isn’t clear to most users what they are designed to do. We certainly point them to the catalog to find hard copies of materials, but users do not come into the library understanding how this works.

The function of OPACs is not clear to average library users.

Anyway, I like this part of the “Sucky OPAC” debate the best. In order to find ways to improve our systems (or build better ones), we have to have a solid idea of what we need (or at the very least what we need to get rid of). We can’t fully predict what funtionality would make our users think more often of using library systems. For many of us, it is apparent that we need to do something in order to provide better service to our patrons.

The theoretical debates about OPACs are somewhat centered around the perfect system to replace OPACs. However, I think that we need to be seriously thinking about what we can do to improve the situation with our current systems. My OPAC is not going away, so I need to try and figure out creative ways of working with it to provide better service here and now.