Thursday, June 15, 2006, 7:33:11 AM, you wrote:
RS> I am unaware of any mainstream ILS that allows very much customization by
RS> the library. That's why almost all OPACs look roughly the same.
Depends on the system, and what you mean by customization. Voyager
certainly allows changes in "look and feel", which searches are
default, which options you show, which limiters you want to display,
the contents of each of those limiters, etc. Does it provide all the
options that might be wanted? No, not all that I'd like, and I'm sure
not all that everybody would like.
<here beginneth the sermon>
NOW a really old historical digression, but I think it is relevant.
Back in the really olden days, 1968, I was working at Bowling Green
State U and it was the earliest days of OCLC. The meeting was in an
auditorium at Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, OH. Fred Kilgour was on the
stage giving an overview of where OCLC was (namely almost ready for us
to send in punched cards with LC Numbers on them so that they could
produce packs of catalog cards in formats of our choice, sequence and
division of our choice, etc.). Sorry if this doesn't make sense to
some of the "kids" out there. There were also a nearly infinite set
of options available such as double or triple indention, subj hdgs in
upper case or upper/lower, double cutters on one line or two, LC class
of the XX1234 format on one line or two, tracings on all cards and/or
shelflist and/or main entry, many options on handling continuation
cards, etc, etc, ad nauseam. There were certainly millions of
possible combinations possible.....for some sixty libraries....one of
which dropped out when they couldn't get red subject headings.
So what's the point? No matter HOW many options are offered for
displaying records in a catalog (how ordered, how much info, format of
these, etc.) there will be some option that someone wants that won't
be possible. That's life. And then not everybody in the library will
agree on the best method, either.
The concept of having "one standard interface and way of doing things"
will NEVER, EVER happen. Well, not in THIS lifetime at least.
<here endeth the sermon>
dan, feeling kind of ancient today
--
Dan Lester, Data Wrangler dan_at_RiverOfData.com 208-283-7711
3577 East Pecan, Boise, Idaho 83716-7115 USA
www.riverofdata.com The Road Goes On Forever....
Received on Fri Jun 16 2006 - 15:07:59 EDT