Web Advisory Group Home > Minutes > 6 August 2003
Minutes - 6 August 2003
WAG members present: Hennig (chair), Darcy Duke, Jennifer Edelman, Christine Quirion (minutes),
1. Test Vera with imported titles from SFXTest Vera with imported SFX titles for the packages now listed in BELL was reviewed. Dummy records were created for major packages in the social sciences and humanities such as: "A Recommended Database : ProQuest..." which will tell users who look at e-journals by subject that not all e-journals are listed in Vera, and to try some of the major database packages as well.
The data from the last SFX import doesn't always agree with the data in BELL. WAG members will test both BELL and the Full Text Finder to see how far out of synch the data is. Nicole reported that other schools are looking to use SFX as a replacement for BELL, and are asking the same questions about the SFX data. The data imported into Vera did not include the URL's to get to the e-journals directly as BELL does. Nicole will be getting a script from Cal State to import the URL's into Vera.
After we complete this test and if we can solve the problems seen so far, we'll pass on our recommendation to others about the idea of importing the package titles into Vera each month instead of (or in addition to) getting the BELL pages from Serials Solutions.
2. Other Proposed Vera Interface Changes
WAG looked at changes to the Vera interface including the addition of a "partial words in title, exact words in title..." menu to give users more control over keyword searching and the number of results returned. WAG tried out alternate wording and placement of the search box, and moving the browse lists to another page. Nicole will continue to work on these pages in her test copy of Vera and will also mock up some of the interface changes that came out of the usability test.
3. Subject Guide Template Ideas
Three template ideas for subject pages were reviewed. The alternatives experimented with use of right hand navigation bars, tabbed pages, and a long page with links all of the way down. The use of style sheets, flexible tables, and the need to accommodate different types of subject guide content were also discussed.
Nicole will be meeting with members of CMG who are going to review some subject pages at other schools.
4. New Home Page Ideas
This item was tabled until the next meeting.
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Web Advisory Group Home > Minutes > 6 August 2003