LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Hello, all,
Thanks to everyone who sent me tips on using Follett's OPAC. I've
had several requests for a hit so here 'tis following my original target.
And good luck to all of us who are finally getting into the 21st century!
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I am one happy camper. After 13 or 14 years of using Follett's
Circulation Plus, I am finally fully automated! One of the first things I
will want to do when school starts (week after next!) is teach my faculty
and students (and me!!!) how to use the OPAC. I was wondering if any of you
have any tips or tricks that I might want to know to make my teaching and
their using any easier. Of course, I could just read the manual...............
Thanks for making life easier for me!
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hope you'll be really happy with Follett--I am; it's the one I
chose over several close contenders. The most important thing, I think,
about any automated catalog is recognizing that in addition to searching
by a,s,t as we did with cards, you have the power of the keyword and power
search. Keyword is word or phrase, and picks up things that might be in
summaries, or notes. Power search can be pointed to any searchable field,
and uses Boolean strategies for up to three terms. Also, if you enter a
term and hit enter it is automatically a keyword search, which can give
you a lot of stuff you don't need. Encourage users to use a button to
choose which field to search.that is, if they know the author's last name,
they should use the author button so they only get records for that
author. Lastly, teach users how much important info they can get from a
record. Kids have a tendency to zoom past if they don't like a title. I
teach them to look at the copyright date, summary and notes, # of pages,
whether or not it indicates illustrations or index. Then I also teach
them to use the tracings, which is incredibly easy in an automated
system. e.g., if a book that seems just right has subject headings you
didn't think of, just click on one and you will be given all the other
books that were assigned that same heading. Granted, the searches depend
on really thorough cataloging, and I think upgrading will never end for
me. But I think you will all be very happy with this new power!
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I have not given inservices to faculty about our follett opac, but have given
classes to my 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. My advice is to keep it as simple as
possible and allow the folks that actually use the opac to discover with you
or by themselves the wonderful 'extras' like hyperlinks or advanced searching.
I like to explain what opac means, then go through a sample search with each
of the type of searches, keyword takes the most explanation and examples, but
also go over author (amazing how many use the first name instead of last),
subject, and also title. I then take a term like animals and press on each
of the different types of searches to illustrate how each type actually
searches a totally different index of terms.
I also emphasize looking at call numbers or icons to determine what type, or
format of material, to use.
p.s. I was formally observed doing an intro to the opac to 3rd graders. My
principal, vice principal and media supervisor were impressed--not with my
lesson, but with the opac!
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We're on Follett too and love it. Be sure to show teachers the "limiters"
and everybody how to use the "bookbag", both of which are valuable tools.
It's pretty user-friendly, so it's easy to teach and learn.
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Donn't let them use shortcuts. Don't let people use ESc, Enter, or the
horrid X! You wuld be surprised where that X can take your computer! One
person took ours so far out it went off-line!! I like the pictures on OPAC
for elementary level. We just got 4.2 and it is much easier to use. Except
that after teaching students for years that the call number is always in
the upper right hand corner..this puts it in the lower left corner on the
screen! Oh well, guess you can't have everything.
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I printed screens, mounted them on construction paper and then laminated
them, so each child could look at one. It turned into a scavenger hunt for
the books. I was sure to use books that were rarely checked out. I searched
by title, author and subject, which shows near the top. I'm at home so I'm
not exactly sure where.
To print the screen, pull up a record and press the print screen button.
Open Paint [Start/Programs/Accesories/Paint] and paste. Then print.
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I've been fooling around with my lovely new Follett, and
I've decided to try to help the teachers understand the difference between
typing a word in Title, Subject and Keyword. I'm poking around to find a
word that produces dramatically different lists in each of those categories.
Then I'll show the teachers why those differing lists came up. (I'll do this
with my fourth and fifth graders, too, I think.) I think it will make them
more effective searchers.
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I wish Follett would make teaching materials or a tutorial to go along with
their catalog. One thing to remember if you are using MacSearch: you have a
limited number of computers that can access the catalog at once.
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One thing that it took me a while to find and use was the visual opac. I
introduced it to my 2nd and 1st graders, but find my upper grades enjoy it
just as much. It also has a neat feature that lets you link to web pages. I
have the urls for authors on one page and when my fifth graders were going
on a field trip to washington d.c. I had a whole page of links to
washington sites. Very, very popular. No need to book mark on separate
computers, just set up on one and it's set for all.
You may also want to configure one computer the way you like it then find
the station configuration file and save it to a disk. You can then just
drop that file into the windows folder on all the other stations without
having to set it up individually
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One thing you want to teach is that there are two versions of the OPAC: the
text-based version that is normally the default and the icon-based version
(that I discovered by accident one afternoon!).
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If you have the capability to put everyone in a lab situation, do it. Guide
them through using it and then give them some hands on time. Show them the
different results with subjects and keys words. Explain the icons to them,
etc. It works every time. Have fun!
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Your Follett rep should come out and do an inservice. Mine did a slam-dunk
presentation to the staff on how the OPAC would help them and their
students. It was great.
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You can put in multiple keywords in the search bar (ie. mystery dog
turtle), as well as searching for specific Accelerated Reader books -
provided you have put the info in the records (ie. AR 6.0 16.0) AR, 6.0
level, 16.0 points.....
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