Robbins Library Notes

Good morning, readers!

For my Harvard readers: I’ve received word that the HOLLIS interface will be changing next Tuesday, 7 April to a new platform.   Before this happens, I want to pass on to you a few things of note.

The e-mail announcment I received states: “For the initial rollout this spring, we will use the name ‘HOLLIS’ for the new discovery tool, and will rename the Aleph OPAC as ‘HOLLIS Classic’.”  Thus, from 7 April going forward, you will have the option to use the new search interface, or to use the “classic” search interface, though it’s not clear how long the “classic” interface will remain.

The new interface is promised to be “a fun and exciting way to explore the 11+ million records from Aleph.   The system is very different from HOLLIS Classic but many features are intuitive.”

You will also be able to provide feedback and critiques of the new interface over the coming months through a form on the new interface.  Please do fill this out — it’s very important that the maintainers of the interface know what you like/dislike about it, so that it can be modified and adapted according to user needs.

If you’d like to see what the new interface looks like, please stop by my desk, so that I can show you.  (I can’t, unfortunately, pass the beta URL around.)  I’ll also be attending a training session this coming Friday morning, to learn more about the quirks and idiosyncrasies of the interface.  I’ll pass around any information I learn.

I can tell you, from my few minutes of playing around with the new interface, that the two search options are very different.  The new basic search option, which features word clouds and facets, seems to be best used for large searches on broad topics, of the sort one might do for a dissertation or paper.  The “classic” interface seems the one to use when looking for a specific book or journal.  I will confirm this after the training session on Friday.