Q&A for the v.18 SUNY Aleph Web OPAC
OLIS, 10/9/07
1) What will my v.18 Web OPAC look like?
Your v.18 web OPAC will be delivered from the OLIS with your v.16 logo, color palette, index options, virtual bases, filter codes, error messages, unique navigational links to external resources and search hint text. Using the V.18 Web OPAC Configuration questionnaire, that should be available in draft form by the end of November 2007, you can request changes to any of these options migrated from v.16. You will also have the option of activating functionality you did have in version 16, such as patron empowerment, virtual bases and custom post-search filters.
Your search forms and types - Basic, Advanced, keyword and browse will reflect the enhancements provided by v.18 and will look different, but be more patron friendly, than v.16.
The positioning of data elements in your brief results screen will be new and standardized across SUNY. All data elements displayed in your v.16 web OPAC will appear. Your Full Record and Holdings display will look quite similar to what you saw in v.16.
2) Why OLIS did not form a committee to direct the appearance of the v.18 web OPAC as there was with Web2?
Web2 was literally a shared web OPAC environment; each SUNY library was using the same set of HTML pages and tables. The idea of the web OPAC committee was to arrive at a SUNY-specific cosmetic design that all campuses could live with. There was a large amount of on-going overhead for OLIS staff in managing the flow of campus requests to "enhance" the appearance of Web2 and the coordination and voting process required to choose and implement changes.
Aleph allows each library to have its own set of Web OPAC HTML files and configuration tables as well as logos, colors, index codes, search filters, full record field display, help text and more; a SUNY-wide committee cannot determine the features and functions of an individual campus web OPAC.
The version 18 Aleph web OPAC establishes a maintainable standard of SUNY-wide AND campus specific customizations. Because Ex Libris designed the web OPAC so that the functionality is entwined with the design and appearance, the v.18 web OPAC's appearance is in great part determined by the functional components of the web OPAC and the need for more efficient and centralized maintenance and upgrading of these components. Standardization allows OLIS staff to devote more time to supporting Aleph functionality, provide upgrades and fixes faster and more effectively, andgive focus to the selection and implementation of the next generation of interface that will integrate all library resources and make the web OPAC obsolete.
3) What if my web OPAC does not meet campus requirements web page design?
The Aleph web OPAC is a database interface to your library database. Just as the campus web page standards cannot be dictated to Ebsco, Gale, or OCLC interfaces, they cannot be dictated to your database interface. The web OPAC is not an extension of your library web pages; the underlying HTML, scripts and style sheet are proprietary to Aleph and, while you can have your own logos and colors, it is not appropriate to compromise the functionality of your web OPAC to achieve compliance with standards established for campus web pages. Any campus administration that does not accept this explanation can be referred to the OLIS for reinforcement.
4) What do I do when library staff or users want changes to the v.18 Web OPAC?
You can submit requests to modify your v.18 web OPAC to OLIS via Footprints. These requests will be reviewed using the following criteria:
Requests to fix errors in data displays or add necessary data elements are supported.
Requests to add OLIS-supported functionality, or update unique campus Help, Hint and error message text are supported.
Request to add or subtract index and filter codes are supported.
Requests to change logos and colors based on a change in campus standards are supported.
Requests for relocation of data objects, customized navigation, customized search forms and other changes that are based on preferences, rather than functional needs, will not be supported.
5) What if I just don't want to use the standardized web OPAC and have the time to do my own re-design and its support?
Your library director can authorize you to take full responsibility for your web OPAC. A copy of the authorization form is available. When you are authorized, you will be given write permissions in Sandbox to the web OPAC files on your server. If, in the process of performing your own customizations, you encounter problems you cannot solve yourself, OLIS support will consist of reverting malfunctioning HTML files and Aleph tables back tothe version originally delivered for v.18.
6) Does OLIS offer training to teach me how to take full responsibility for my web OPAC?
The OLIS did offer training on web OPAC customization. Time and experience with Aleph has taught us that most campuses did not have the staff resources to apply this training without extensive support from the OLIS. Knowledge acquired in the training was often not retained by library staff. The Aleph web OPAC has an extremely complex and non-intuitive architecture and developing expertise in its configuration and management requires an investment of staff time many libraries cannot afford. Many attempts by campuses to change the cosmetic appearance of their web OPAC resulted in disabling functionality and required OLIS staff to step in and repair the inadvertent damage. At this time (Fall 2007) many campuses are asking OLIS staff to perform all web OPAC editing activities, even basic HTML editing, because staff does not have the time, or the retained knowledge, to efficiently keep the web OPAC up to date.
SUNY libraries that currently have the staff resources to customize and maintain their web OPACs will find the v.18 web OPAC to be very similar to v.16 in its basic architecture. Ex Libris supplies documentation regarding the changes in v.18 as well as the file structures and relationships. This documentation is available to everyone in the SUNY library community via the Ex Libris documentation portal.
Staff authorized to edit the web OPAC will have the additional responsibility of applying upgrades and fixes to their customized web OPAC files. The OLIS will address necessary changes for any OLIS supported WebOPAC customized files but not for other files a campus might locally customize.
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revised Oct. 9, 2007