The march to GUIs by OPAC designers and vendors will continue unimpeded, so we must be on guard against the very real possibility of throwing out the baby with the bath water. We must not abandon sound principles as we make cosmetic improvements to the user interface. Point-and-click interfaces predate GUIs. More than window dressing, users need help in understanding the search process as consisting of complex, interrelated stages and levels of interaction between a variety of kinds of data and functions. The design goal should be to provide an intuitive interface that permits more direct, informed interaction on the part of the user with the interrelated stages or levels of a search as it is displayed and seen in context.
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What's a small solution? "Small": as opposed to a grand scheme or all-encompassing plan. "Solution": something that actually improves some situation for one or more libraries. A small solution need not be insignificant. It would be hard to call either OCLC or RLG insignificant, but both spring from (and progress best by) small solutions. What's the difference between a small solution and a pilot project? Attitude and approach. Many pilot projects are small solutions, but not all. Small solutions are characterized by self-sufficiency, sustainability, clarity, and extendibility. Sometimes, small solutions work briefly but make no sense for the long run. Figure out what worked, build on it, and move on.
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Charles W. Bailey, Jr.
University Libraries
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-2091
(713) 743-9804
cbailey@uh.edu
Leslie Dillon, OCLC
Dana Rooks, University of Houston
Ann Thornton, University of Houston
Ralph Alberico, University of Texas, Austin
George H. Brett II, Clearinghouse for Networked Information
Discovery and Retrieval
Priscilla Caplan, University of Chicago
Steve Cisler, Apple Computer, Inc.
Walt Crawford, Research Libraries Group
Lorcan Dempsey, University of Bath
Pat Ensor, University of Houston
Nancy Evans, Pennsylvania State University, Ogontz
Charles Hildreth, University of Oklahoma
Ronald Larsen, University of Maryland
Clifford Lynch, Division of Library Automation, University of
California
David R. McDonald, Tufts University
R. Bruce Miller, University of California, San Diego
Paul Evan Peters, Coalition for Networked Information
Mike Ridley, University of Waterloo
Peggy Seiden, Skidmore College
Peter Stone, University of Sussex
John E. Ulmschneider, North Carolina State University
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