Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.

 

Today’s Web-savvy users often bypass traditional library catalogs for more interactive, tech-friendly interfaces. Help your library stand out within the crowded landscape of information providers with Marshall Breeding’s new, highly practical guide to interactive next-generation library catalogs. Learn how to give your users access to a wide selection of print and electronic content with this jargon-free, step-by-step guide.

Breeding outlines the important functions and features of next-gen catalogs, briefs you on all of the available commercial and open source software, and helps you select which products are right for your library’s next-gen catalog. You’ll learn to lay the groundwork for practical implementation, integrate the catalog into your existing technological environment, address a multitude of common implementation issues and concerns, and assess the impact of your Catalog so you can demonstrate the change you led.

There is a thorough glossary with definitions for all key terms, and as with all the Tech Set guides, material is presented in a manner that is both accessible to non-technical professionals and useful for systems librarians.

See the rest of the titles in this ten-book series at http://www.neal-schuman.com/techset.

 "Breeding...provides a guide for information professionals of all skill levels and technological expertise to the next generation of library catalogs--which blend Web 2.0 technologies with library-centered content--and their increased importance."
-- SciTech Book News, June 2010
 
"[Breeding] provides an outstanding comparison list of OPAC vendors, including open-source options and specific features details, architecture, licensing restrictions, and number of installations, as well as links to explore the different interfaces. This informative text takes the legwork out of researching next-gen tools and add-ons for most standard OPACs and is applicable for any library maintaining an online catalog."
-- -Library Journal, June 2010
 
"The volume encompasses everything about latest library catalogs as one would expect and enables professionals to develop all-round skills not just of devising and planning a catalog strategy but implementing it, marketing it and even measuring it...All in all, volume one is a great start to The Tech Set and is a useful addition to the library professional's future guide."
-- Information World Review
 
"Easy to read. Easy to understand. Clear. Straight-forward. Timely, and surprisingly up-to-date...a good job of outlining the issues and framework for "next generation" library catalogs."
-- Eric Lease Morgan, Head of Digital Access and Information Architecture at the University Libraries
 

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