Minutes: SFX-Verde Group : MIT Libraries

9/14/2005

SFX Verde Group
Minutes
9/14/2005

Present: Ellen Duranceau, Jennifer Edwards, Tracy Gabridge, Millicent Gaskell, Nicole Hennig, Kim Maxwell (minutes), Beth Siers, Rich Wenger

1. Quick Updates

- Rich and Ellen met with Ted and Marina from Ex Libris about implementing a test version of Verde. We'd like to test the general release version of Verde with our SFX data populating the database; we won't pull our Vera data in at this time.

- Barton as an SFX Source: Plans are moving forward to implement this in December 2005

- Nicole showed the new way to link to articles via the SFX Full Text finder.

2. Upcoming meeting with DLG/TSAC to present our Report
The meeting is Wednesday 9/21/2005. We need to get more information about the X server and define a few terms for the group (e.g., faceted browse, X server, etc.) Noted that Option 1 has the potentional to lower our OPAC maintenance costs.

3. Verde Testing
Ellen and Kim met to discuss the "back-end" testing of Verde, which we plan to do Sept.-Nov. We also need to test how the Verde data shows up in the SFX menu, testing which will involve Millicent and Tracy. Ex Libris staff will be joining our meeting on 10/12 to show us what they've done with our requests in this regard. Ellen and Kim will mock up records in the Verde test database so we can see what it all looks like and will let Millicent and Tracy know when it's time to look.

4. Brainstorming about learning about our users

- what do people call things?

- how do we get people to participate?
- spotlight on MIT page
- spotlight on Libraries page
- blog announcement
- focus on people who use our web site

- need to see a cross section of people
- faculty
- students (freshmen, seniors, master's, PhD, etc.)
- various subject areas

- reviewed 2 students from CDL; liked the idea of in-person interviews

- involve Libraries' reference staff in interpreting results from the interviews

- could use some of the questions from the CDL studies, but our questions need to be more focused

- record the interviews (audio and/or video?) so we can review it after the fact and get other opinions on the responses

- interviews will give us a sense of the tasks users want to do

- card sorting exercises could also be used.

- use the Fall to plan for the interviews, and then actually conduct the interviews during IAP?

5. Educating ourselves about innovative interface design

- Aqua Browser: looked at http://www.queenslibrary.org. When you do a keyword search, you get results in the center, but on the right is a faceted browse and on the left is a graphic representation of the concepts. Ellen will send comments/questions back to Lisa Horowitz about this.

- loading print / microform into either the SFX or Verde KB: is it important to have search results include multiple formats, and if so how? Wisconsin LaCrosse has done it with SFX. Need to look at this further

- Follow-up on OCUL: http://www.scholarsportal.info/; seems to do what Vera already does for us, thought they are still working on their vision