I received CyberTools e-new letter the other day and I thought I would share a few things from it and some of my thoughts.

CyberTools is Ranked # 2 in the ILS Marketplace For Numbers of New Libraries in 2005 (=73)Total Libraries Now Served by CyberTools as of 12/31/05: 221
They are ranked 2nd (tied with Innovative Interfaces). SirsiDynix was #1. Of the new libraries joining CyberTools, 7% were Academic, 93% were Special.

CyberTools OPAC (while delayed) will have some new features.

Features in the new OPAC include:

• Embedded thumbnail in Search Results
• Table of Contents in Details
• Embedded graphics in Details
• Thumbnail book cover in Search Results
• Link directly to Web resources from Search Results
• Link directly to PDF from Search Results
• Link directly to a database from Search Results

New features to available shortly at the Librarian Resources site:

• Add a field to your library's home page to directly query your OPAC
• New Cataloging function [Refresh MARC Bibs via Z39.50]
• New Enhancements to Interactive Z39.50 MARC Bib Import
  

Some things Krafty, wishes will be in the new OPAC:

• URL’s to Web resources and Holdings statements at the TOP of the full record, just below the title and the Author. Please think like the users, they don’t care about whether the American Heart Journals was indexed in the Combined cumulative index to Cardiology or the subject headings. They want access to the material. They want to know where it is. Good web page design demands that the most important information be at the top of the page. Holding statements and URLs are probably the second most important piece of information to our users, the first being the title of the resource.
• Better results listing order. When you search for Emergency Medicine, (or any topic) the first things to display are all of the journals. Users have to scroll through all of the journals before they can locate books. This is because the current OPAC displays the most recent material first. Since issues journals are checked quarterly, monthly, weekly, etc. they display ahead of any books. Displaying the most recent material first sounds like a good idea, this method is not user friendly. It is annoying to me as I try to quickly look for a book for a patron, and my users are easily confused until I tell them it displays our journal holding first.

Think about the library users not the librarian users. When designing the OPAC think about how Joe Q. Public is going to see the results. Too often we design for ourselves and forget the ones we serve. It would be interesting to see any tests done with library users. Sit a fresh (non-librarian) body down and ask them to find a book. Get their thoughts and opinions.

CyberTools at MLA:
CyberTools will be in Phoenix at MLA. Mark Roux will present a technology showcase entitled, “CyberTools for Libraries – Virtually Yours”, where he’ll show highlights of the new virtual library collection that will be delivered to each library with the CyberTools for Libraries Integrated Library System soon.

They will also have a Users Group Breakfast held in conjunction with the MLA Conference where Mark Roux will summarize the state of product development, and report on related CyberTools for Libraries activity.

Additionally, CyberTools is targeting May 21, 7-9am Users Group Meeting to avoid conflicts with other popular meetings at MLA. The date and time tentative and they hope to avoid conflicts with other popular meetings.
All CyberTools users are welcome: You do not need to attend the MLA Conference in order to participate in this Users Group Meeting