Here is what I have received so far. Thank you, thank you to all who
replied; I have eliminated all names from this post, but you know who you
are! If I get additional information, I will send a follow-up HIT.
pjj
------------------------
Overall I like Destiny. It's easier to navigate between library and
textbooks, which we have to do here. They all show on one screen. OPAC is
nice.
What I don't like, and hope they will improve on future versions, is the
report section. It's not as easy as it was in circ/cat to get a specific
report or notice. I have sent this as a request to FSC.
--
Destiny, is so much better that Circ+. Its easier to use -- both from a
student's point of view and from the librarian's side. We have been using
if for almost 3 years and frankly I wouldn't use anything else.
--
WOW! Can you say like moving from printed catalog cards to the computer?
That's how big a change there is! You're moving from a single-location
database to an Internet database. For me, the biggest advantage was the
ability to access my collection from HOME to update cataloging (although
some see this as a disadvantage!). Your students and staff members have
access to your collection from ANY Internet-accessible computer; they can
e-mail requests to the library. Student interest is sparked by looking at
the book cover for every book in their search. I'm so in tune with Destiny
that I've probably forgotten the limitations of CircPlus. As much as I liked
CircPlus, I felt that we moved into the 21st century when we upgraded to
Destiny 3 years ago. Switching to Destiny was well worth the investment in
time and money. Follett provided 3 days of in-service at our school to ease
the transition.
--
My school district migrated in October of 2007. We're still struggling with
clunky software, especially in terms of interlibrary loans (for instance,
you can't request a second or multiple copies if a teacher already has a
copy checked out). We're also disappointed with the cleanup of marc records
and the search capabilities, searching is not intuitive for students or
staff (different results searching holdings- even experienced librarians
are frustrated and less skiled searchers just don't locate everything). The
mechanics of searching (you must follow breadcrumbs rather than using the
back arrows on your browser) also are frustrating. After 2-3 years of
running the software, it seems as if these issues should have already been
resolved. We spent about $45,000 on the upgrade- feels like we should be
getting mess frustration for our investment. Follett circ/cat was by and
large simpler to get around in... and didn't represent a significant
investment.
I do wish that we'd looked more seriously at Alexandria...
--
Our district is switching from Circ Cat to Destiny, and I had to write a
paper comparing both for my library class. The biggest differences are
access and useful displays. Destiny provides much better access by being
on-line, and the displays are much more user friendly.
--
I started with Follett Circ in 1985--there was no Cat at that time--and
stayed with them through all the upgrades from DOS to Windows until 2004
when we all migrated to Destiny. Of course, the basic functions are the
same. The screens just look different. The biggest differences are in how
student records are handled in that student records move from school to
school with the student making it much more likely that we will be able to
recover materials. Also the way the search screens look. Kids like it much
more and since we have purchased TitlePeek, too, they love being able to see
the covers of the books.
From a district level, we can help people with their individual site
problems from our offices, get district stats, etc.
One thing that was not anticipated early enough was deciding on district
standards BEFORE we moved to Destiny. We have done that on the fly. It
would have been so much easier if we had district standards on
everything--patron types, circ types, fines, etc. Another was the quality
of cataloging. After we merged our records, it became very evident that
MANY librarians did not or could not catalog correctly. We had to cut off
cataloging rights to everyone until they took a self-assessment quiz to
establish their level of competence. Many still have not taken the
quiz--but that's ok. We have a crew of "volunteer" catalogers who did pass
and did well who catalog for others as needed. 98% of the records we need
we find in Alliance+.
--
Destiny is web based, meaning you can work on it from home (as long as your
tech dept. or admin. allows.) I really like this feature the best - being
able to search after hours, and so can the kids. Making the Destiny home
page a useful add on for kids and parents - not having to ask school web
site manager to post stuff for me (since I don't have rights to school web
site.)
Shared patrons between buildings, can search multiple catalogs at once, the
standards search (more $).
Higher support fees, more bells and whistles available for more $.
------------------------
Paula Joseph-Johnson, Asst. LMS
Bristow High School Media Center (Bristow, OK)
pjohnson@bristow.k12.ok.us
Currently reading:
How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life,
by Susan Piver
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