Flying SOLO: Oxford’s implementation of PRIMO(a Reader Services perspective)

Angela CarrittUser Education Coordinator

Bodleian Libraries

Why SOLO?One stop shopGoogle style search boxGreater functionality

Refining searches using clusters / facetsDid you mean...?Save, Email and ExportTagging and reviewingEmail alerts / RSS feeds

More Modern interface

SOLO Tour

A shorter OLIS tour

SOLO v OLISSOLO Single search box

offering mixed field searching – one box searches all

Limited field searching Relevance sort by default Refining using clusters /

facets Attempts to clusters

FRBR’ized versions of the same work

Personlised features: export, e-shelf, tagging, review

OLIS Browse indexes - gold

standard? Wide range of options for

field searching plus option to combine fields using boolean operators

Ability to limit searches by date

What do the readers think…Rebecca S Alexander - Catalogue

search interfaces at the University of Oxford: a study of users' attitudes and behaviours (March 2010)Online survey from SOLO home page - 488

participantsAnalyses search data for one week period for

OLIS and SOLO

Usability study (March 2011)Observation of 10 users working through a

set of tasks

What do readers like about SOLO?

1. Its easy to use

One search box for

everything

SOLO is forgiving and

tolerates inaccurate / incomplete information

...easy subject searching particularly

valued

…and subject searching is particularly easy

Rebecca’s study found that subject searching was easier on SOLO than OLIS

SOLO is fast

Refining by facets…

In usability testing…•ability to refine results using clusters identified as a key feature of favourite web sites…

•7 out of 10 participants used facets during the test

What readers dislike (or what do they find difficult)

1. Availability and patron functions not available in SOLO

FRBR / Versions

In usability testing 7 out of 10 readers did not know about the “versions” button until it was demonstrated

Inability to browse authority indexes…???

Rebecca’s study…• found that about 50% of OLIS searches were browse searches …but browse is the default search. • 9 of 488 respondents listed browse search as one of the things they like best about OLIS

•No one commented on browse searching during the usability testing

What are readers missing…

Export options….

TOCS and Summaries

Usability Study – Participants were enthusiastic about TOCS and summaries and used these when starting a new topic and with reading lists. However 5 out of 10 participants did not expect to find TOCS and summaries in the “details” tab.

Tagging and reviewing…?

What are we going to do about it?

14 recommendations…Force readers to open FRBR’ized setsSeparate “details” and “TOCS/Summaries” Icons for print, email, export…Embolden…sort by…new search…refined

by……

The future for OxfordAleph implementation will bring availability

& patron functions into SOLOConsider the role of PrimoCentralMore collections move into SOLOImprovements to tagging and

reviewing...with help from LibraryThing?

CreditsCatalogue search interfaces at the University of

Oxford: a study of users' attitudes and behaviours by Rebecca S. Alexander. 

PicturesCanterbury Quad, St John’s College by

ManiacMartin (http://www.flickr.com/photos/maniacmartin/)

Oxford Earth Sciences Building by Biker Jun (http://www.flickr.com/photos/biker_jun/)

Radcliffe Camera, Oxford by Xavier de Jaureguiberry(http://www.flickr.com/photos/25831000@N08/ )

Clipart from Microsoft

angela.carritt@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Any Questions?