[Yulcat-l] CDS survey re Cataloger's Desktop

[Steven Arakawa]

If you aren't on the Cataloger's Desktop list-serve, a list of forthcoming 
enhancements from CDS below.

PS: It's my understanding that Cartographic materials : a manual of 
interpretation for AACR2, 2002 revision, 2004 update will eventually be 
added to the Cataloger's Desktop, based on a report at the CC:DA meeting. 
ALA publishing and CDS seemed to have worked out the details.

PPS: Based on the recent announcement from PCC, the AACR2 amendments for 
2005 will be available on the Desktop August 1. The amendments include 
rules for capitalization of names like eBay, changes in the capitalization 
rules for German due to the changes in orthography, and apparently more 
leeway on whether one needs to record "col." for illustrations. Also, in 
the *current* version of the Cataloger's Desktop, note that the proposed 
RIs for handling uniform titles for videos have now become official RIs. 
(LCRI 25.5B3 & Appendix; LCRI 25.6B3). A must-read if you catalog videos!

Steven Arakawa


Message-ID:  <s2dd1c8e.083 at loc.gov>
Date:         Tue, 19 Jul 2005 15:27:49 -0400
Reply-To: "Cataloger's Desktop Forum" <DESKTOP at loc.gov>
Sender: "Cataloger's Desktop Forum" <DESKTOP at loc.gov>
From: Bruce C Johnson <bjoh at loc.gov>
Subject: Cataloger's Desktop survey results
Comments: To: desktop at loc.gov
To: DESKTOP at sun8.LOC.GOV
Precedence: list

Status:

Colleagues:

         Thank you very much for the feedback you provided in the recent 
Cataloger's Desktop CD-ROM and Web surveys.  You gave us considerable 
insight that will help us plan both products' development.  I would like to 
briefly summarize what we found out from these surveys.

CD-ROM version

         Most Cataloger's Desktop subscribers have migrated from CD-ROM to 
Web. Most of those who have not made the move yet are planning on doing so 
when their current CD-ROM subscriptions come up for renewal.  The most 
frequently cited problem with moving to the Web version has to do with slow 
or unreliable internet connections at end-users' institutions. Although 
this is becoming less of a problem as time goes on, a number of libraries 
are still encountering Internet connectivity issues.

Web version

         Most respondents felt that the Web version of Cataloger's Desktop 
is highly successful and in nearly all respects a major improvement over 
the CD-ROM version. The product is seen as highly stable [CDS comment: the 
product has only been down twice since January 1, 2005, once for 5 minutes 
and once for about an hour and a half] with much more searching 
functionality. The fact that there is no end-user software installation is 
also seen as a huge improvement.

         Respondents were not shy about providing insights into areas where 
there is need for further Web version enhancements. These comments fall 
into several broad categories:

* Preferences / customization - The survey clearly demonstrated that we 
need to move forward with migrating this feature away from cookies 
technology. This change will be at or near the top of our list of changes 
for the fall.
* Resource organization - Although most subscribers love having a large 
number of resources to draw on, the TOC pane is sometimes seen as a barrier 
to finding the most frequently consulted resources. There are several 
things that need to be done to improve this situation. These changes will 
also have the effect of de-cluttering screen layout.
* Time out - A number of subscribers feel that 30 minutes is too short for 
timing out inactive sessions. This will be changed to 60 minutes. We will 
see whether this resolves the problem.
* Training - There is interest in more training for the Web version, and 
making what training there currently is more readily available. We have 
made some changes in the past week to address the latter part of this 
issue, but we will be consulting our colleagues in LC's Instructional 
Design and Training Division (IDTD) in the coming weeks about enhancing 
training offerings.
* Multiple Files - Although it is currently possible to have multiple files 
open, a number of subscribers feel that this functionality isn't as 
immediately obvious as it should be. We will be working with our contractor 
to address this.
* Text partitioning - Some files in the web version may have been segmented 
into segments that are seen as being too small, thereby getting in the way 
of effective browsing. This problem is very fixable, though it will take a 
little work to make the appropriate adjustments.

         CDS truly appreciates the detailed feedback that we received 
through these surveys and will be using your input to guide us as we 
enhance Cataloger's Desktop over the coming months. As always, if you have 
additional thoughts about how we can improve the product or our service to 
you, please don't hesitate to contact us via email at <desktop-info at loc.gov>.

Bruce Chr. Johnson
Team Leader
Cataloger's Desktop Development Team

Bruce Chr. Johnson
President-Elect, Association for Library Collections & Technical Services 
(ALCTS)
a division of the American Library Association

and

Library of Congress
Cataloging Distribution Service
Washington, DC 20540-4911 USA

202-707-1652 (voice)  bjoh at loc.gov
202-707-3959 (fax)

----------------------------------------------------------
Steven Arakawa
Catalog Librarian for Training & Documentation
Catalog Dept. Sterling Memorial Library. Yale University.
P.O. Box 208240 New Haven, CT 06520-8240
(203)432-8286 steven.arakawa at yale.edu