attached mail follows:
_Amazon-like OPAC_ / Part II _
In response to my earlier postings regarding _Amazon-like OPACs_
[ http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/archive/0008/0202.html ] and
_Amazon.com Added Value Features and Functionalities for the OPAC_ [
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/archive/0008/0108.html ], I learned
about several interesting technological developments that I believe will
be of interest to this e-list.
I. Syndetics
<QUOTE> Syndetics was formed just over two years ago to help libraries
accomplish the very objectives you're researching, and possibly more.
Perhaps you'd be interested in taking a look at our web-site at
www.syndetics.com. I've also attached a brief outline of our service
offerings which hasn't yet been updated to include the availability of
over 350,000 book reviews.
You'll note that most of our published information deals with the
augmentation of MARC records, but you may also be interested to know that
we're also ready to announce the availability of the data in XML format
that can be linked to library catalogs in various ways depending on the
capabilities of the local system. We're working with a number of the
major system vendors who each have plans to make our content data
available to their client libraries in some very interesting ways. If
you'd like more information, or would like to discuss it in greater depth,
please don't hesitate to let me know.
Allan Graham
Marketing & Business Development
Syndetic Solutions, Inc.
7521 SW Garden Home Road
Portland, OR 97223
agraham_at_syndetics.com
503-977-6197
</QUOTE>
II. Inmagic
<QUOTE> We very much agree that the features in Amazon's book store are
the type of feature that is necessary in a library OPAC.
Inmagic serves the special / corporate library marketplace and capturing
user feedback on library materials can be critical to helping an
organization make the right business decision. For example, if internal
research shows that the marketshare numbers in a report are not accurate,
how do other staff members become aware of this?
We believe the OPAC should be fully interactive. The OPAC is a place
where patrons learn about resources, but allowing users to add value to
the resources is the next step.
An example of an Interactive OPAC can be found at
http://support.inmagic.com/demos/opac.htm.
The searching is "form" based. But check-out the "Word Wheel" it is a
JAVA browsable index. It provides immediate context for the user on what
they are searching.
The reviews can be seen by following the hypertext link on the Title of a
book. Let me know what you think.
----------------------------------------------------
Phillip L. Green
President & CEO, Inmagic, Inc.
781-938-4442
www.inmagic.com
</QUOTE>
III. Booksense
<QUOTE> After a long time of being a vapor site, booksense.com
[ http://www.booksense.com/ ] is alive. Booksense is the independent
booksellers' response to Amazon.com. Users enter a zip code to localize
the site. So now you can link to that local bookseller, too, sorta. With
our LinkBaton system, you can let your users pick their destination for
your book links from over 20 book sites.
[Eric Hellman eric_at_openly.com ]
</QUOTE>
IV. TOPCAT: Tacoma (Washinton State) Public Library Online Public Catalog
<QUOTE> The Tacoma Public Library TOPCAT On-Line Public Catalog on the Web
is powered by Tandem Non-Stop computers. The Tacoma Public Library is a
member of the amazon.com Associates program, and links to the amazon.com
on-line bookstore for reviews, recommendations, availability information
and book purchasing. [Thanks Lare!] </QUOTE>
Thanks all for their responses!
If members of this list are familiar with other Amazon-like OPACs,
please let me know [Of course, *not* limited to Amazon.com functionalities
].
As Always, Any and All contributions, comments, queries, questions,
compliments [:-)]. complaints [:-(], cosmic insights [***] are Most
Welcome!
/Gerry McKiernan
Amazon-like Librarian
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50011
"The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Invent It"
Alan Kay
*** DISCLAIMER ****
This posting is for informational purposes only and does not
constitute an endorsement.
Received on Tue Aug 29 2000 - 07:14:38 EDT