It is over a month since we went live with the new library catalogue. Feedback generally has been very positive and users do seem to like the clearer/more modern interface. There were two changes which did not go down so well. In our efforts to make the front screen more streamlined and less cluttered we did remove two links which caused our users some problems. We removed the Refworks link and the listing of online databases. All of these resources can be found by searching the library catalogue but you had become used to accessing them directly from the front screen. The links are back! We have re-instated the direct link to Refworks and the link to the alphabetical list of online databases. We really do appreciate your feedback on the library catalogue and welcome suggestions.
2 responses to “Library catalogue – evaluation of the new interface”
Hi Maureen
I’m may be being stupid but I seem to remember that I could access Oxford DNB electronically, was this the case? I don’t seem to be able to find it now, I may be searching in the wrong place but I’ve tried the library catalogue and the history subject area without success.
John
Hi John
I am sorry but we cancelled the subscription to Oxford Dictionary of National Biography in June 2011. We took out the subscription in Jan 2009. This was an education deal which finished in June 2011. The decision to take out the original subscription was made by library staff – we had not been asked by academic members of staff. When the deal expired June of this year, Jisc were offering another 3 year deal. We looked at the usage statistics as we always do before renewing any of our online databases or journal packages. Usage had not been great. We had paid over £6000 and there had 227 logins in two and half years. This worked out at over £25 per login. To break the usage down further, just over 24 hours was spent online which again works out at over £25 an hour. It did not seem good value for money so the decision was made not to renew for the new deal.
Maureen