Cataloging is the sole module in which I have worked with the CyberTools software, and I have had little experience even within this module, so my review is written as a very novice user of CyberTools. I have not included screen shots of the librarian's end of CyberTools for Libraries as I have provided for the user's end because I am unsure of copyright restrictions on the product. The user-end is available in the public realm; contrarily, the librarian-end is not. My apologies to the visual learners who find themselves reading this post.
When I first saw the back end of CyberTools, it felt as though I had fallen back in time to the 1990s. At first glance, the interface for the display of records appeared very basic, perhaps unsophisticated, and the method of accessing records seemed clunky. It felt to me a cumbrous process to first locate the record of an item and then modify that record. Working within the cataloging module, records are listed on just one line. That line includes the call number, title, and, if there is room yet on the line, year of publication and beginning of the author's name. Often it is difficult to ascertain which is the record of current interest. To bypass this guessing game, I was taught to start in the "Search Catalog" section of the software, a unit separate from the cataloging module. Here records are displayed as they are in the user interface. A more detailed record view allows the cataloger to locate the record of choice with greater ease. From here, a unique record number identifier can be found. This number can be used in the cataloging module to quickly pull up the record of the item in question.
To then alter an item's record, after the record has been pulled up, takes a bit more hopping around. A bibliographical record can be edited on a one-line basis. Click on the radio button next to the MARC 245 field, and the editing menu for the record's title opens. Hit "Ok," the editing screen closes, and the full bibliographical record screen reappears. Repeat this process to access another line of the record. If this record has multiple items associated with it and one item needs editing, the item number must be found (e.g. by inquiring through the "Search Catalog" section), queried through the cataloging module's search interface, and then accessed. Manipulating between modules is a click-by-click movement from main screen to module screen to search screen to record screen back to search screen, module screen, main screen, followed by entry into subsequent module screen, search screen, etc. It is reminiscent of a game of cat and mouse.
I must repeat my nascent relationship with the librarian interface of the CyberTools. It could be that I have not yet fully learned the true power of this software. There may be properties I could adjust to create screen views that would most benefit my use of the product. Another possibility is that the CyberTools development team gets caught in its own web on its strive for simplicity. Does the team want a simple, i.e. uncluttered, interface; do they want a simple, i.e. easy, search? I am unclear as to the implied meaning of "simple" applied in this context. Additional practice within CyberTools for Libraries will allow me to draw stronger conclusions on this matter.
To then alter an item's record, after the record has been pulled up, takes a bit more hopping around. A bibliographical record can be edited on a one-line basis. Click on the radio button next to the MARC 245 field, and the editing menu for the record's title opens. Hit "Ok," the editing screen closes, and the full bibliographical record screen reappears. Repeat this process to access another line of the record. If this record has multiple items associated with it and one item needs editing, the item number must be found (e.g. by inquiring through the "Search Catalog" section), queried through the cataloging module's search interface, and then accessed. Manipulating between modules is a click-by-click movement from main screen to module screen to search screen to record screen back to search screen, module screen, main screen, followed by entry into subsequent module screen, search screen, etc. It is reminiscent of a game of cat and mouse.
I must repeat my nascent relationship with the librarian interface of the CyberTools. It could be that I have not yet fully learned the true power of this software. There may be properties I could adjust to create screen views that would most benefit my use of the product. Another possibility is that the CyberTools development team gets caught in its own web on its strive for simplicity. Does the team want a simple, i.e. uncluttered, interface; do they want a simple, i.e. easy, search? I am unclear as to the implied meaning of "simple" applied in this context. Additional practice within CyberTools for Libraries will allow me to draw stronger conclusions on this matter.
No comments:
Post a Comment