Week 13: OPAC

Like I mentioned in a post from the discussion board this week, I truly hadn't thought much about the OPAC used in my district. I am not that fond of it, but I had no idea there were so many options out there! Don't get me wrong, Destiny is a good OPAC. I find the assortment of searching options very useful (power search, visual search, etc.). I especially love all of the specificity options with the power search (including date of publishing, award winning, and interest level).

My biggest beef with it is the bibliographic records. The call number is not pronounced enough and I also don't like the way they communicate if an item is available ("0 of 1 available", etc.), that just feels too confusing for younger patrons. I also find the interface dated. It doesn't breathe excitement, the books don't jump off the screen, begging to be borrowed. Having some control of the settings (background design, widget options, etc.) would certainly freshen things up.

I'm still so new to this profession, which is both exciting and humbling. Admittedly, I would default to a key word search when helping one of my students find a book. After learning more about cataloging in general and OPACs, I'm finding that I'm become more well-versed in Destiny's search features, which I'm really grateful for!