ABOUT THE WINDOWS OPAC

The M3 Windows  OPAC (Online  Public  Access Catalog) is a flexible,  multilingual search interface that enables the patron to search a collection to determine if desired items are owned, how many copies are owned, their shelf location in the library, and whether or not they are available. Search results list all bibliographic records found matching the query. The user can then determine availability  and location, sort the list, and print the search results for a concise,  comprehensive bibliography.

 

By default, records  appear in a brief  record format during  viewing. With the click of a button, the expanded bibliographic record and item location information from the holding record are displayed. The default record format  can also be changed to any one of the following formats: bibliographic, full MARC,  catalog card, brief labeled, compressed,  and expanded labeled. The librarian can customize  any of these pre-configured displays.

 

The search results screen is the default bibliographic display. The record detail is the expanded label format.  Search results can be sorted  by author, call number, call number by prefix, copyright  date, and title.

 

Media type symbols provide instant resource format recognition. Each record has a media symbol  associated with it. The media type symbols  used by the OPAC are: artifact, book, photo, music cassette, movie or slide, electronic media, journal, library kit, map, sheet music, book on tape, data CD, music  CD, video recording, or online resource. Item availability is determined by color:  a green square for available or a red square  for on-loan status. Results are obvious with a quick glance.

 

Book cover images can be displayed  alongside  items  in the Search Results, Record Details, Bookbag Record List, or Bookbag Record Details windows.

 

M3 supports USMARC field 856 (electronic location and access), enabling patrons to link to cataloged Web sites directly from the OPAC.

 

 

SEARCH RESPONSE TIME

The M3 search engine was designed to handle long and/or complex searches in an instant; therefore, the ability to terminate searches is not necessary.

 

Table 5.1 represents a response  time benchmark.  The benchmark search was per- formed  on a LAN with  a PII 450 server  and PII 233 workstation in a catalog  of 88,723 bibliographic  records  and 126,295 holding records.

 

 

TABLE 5.1

Response Time for Keyword Searches using Boolean Operators

Boolean Phrase	Response Time
Subject History OR American	11,828 hits in 1 second
Subject History AND American	411 hits in 1 second
Subject History NOT American	8,598 hits in 1 second
Subject American AND History NOT Irish OR English OR French	387 hits in 1 second

 

 

OPAC WINDOW

The OPAC window can be customized  by changing colors  and by adding your library name and logo.