It does depend on your perspective! We are a 51 multi-type library
consortium and faced this naming problem when we migrated from our
legacy ILS. Lacking a collective term that accurately reflected the new
catalog, additional material and electronic resources site, we came up
with a new name, InfoSoup. http://infosoup.org/
There was concern that we were losing the word "catalog" from the OPAC
but patrons love the name and the flexibility of the new site. For staff
access we refer to the system as Millie (for Millennium) and then
InfoSoup for the patron side. Everyone can distinguish the catalog and
additional resources from library websites that point to InfoSoup.
Holly Ledvina
Holly Ledvina
Catalog Librarian
Outagamie Waupaca Library System
225 N. Oneida Street, Appleton, WI 54911
hledvina_at_mail.owls.lib.wi.us
920-832-6386
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero
Stephen Hearn wrote:
> It depends on your perspective. The contents, appearance, and
> functionality of our public access catalogs are generally different
> from those of our staff access catalogs. Being able to distinguish
> between them in notes and conversation is necessary. I've found the
> term OPAC useful for that; though it may not be the best term to use
> with an audience which sees only the public access catalog.
>
> I agree that "catalog" is still a viable word for the online listing
> of the libraries' holdings and subscriptions. What I lack is a
> collective term for the catalog plus all the other search tools that
> appear in a typical library's online interface. Does "website"
> suffice, or is there some better term for the particular kind of
> online access tool set libraries offer?
>
> Stephen
>
>> Excerpt:
>> Yes, it was "online", but why include "public access"
>> in the name ...... Weren't all of our catalogs "public access"? (well, I
>> will grant you that if you maintained an official card catalog, then
>> THAT
>> wasn't "public access").
>>
>> janet
>>
>> Janet Swan Hill, Professor
>> Associate Director for Technical Services
>> University of Colorado Libraries, CB184
>> Boulder, CO 80309
>> janet.hill_at_colorado.edu
>> *****
>> "The thing about democracy, beloveds is that it is not neat, orderly, or
>> quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion." Molly Ivins
>
> ****************************************************
> Stephen Hearn
> Authority Control Coord./Database Mgmt. Section Head
> Technical Services Dept.
> University of Minnesota
> 160 Wilson Library Voice: 612-625-2328
> 309 19th Avenue South Fax: 612-625-3428
> Minneapolis, MN 55455 E-mail: s-hear_at_tc.umn.edu
--
Received on Tue Aug 21 2007 - 11:16:26 EDT