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Re: [VOYAGER-L]: Voyager system and Special Collections cataloging



The University of Louisville Libraries, including the University Archives and Records Center, have used Voyager since the fall of 1998.  We have a separate local database for primary sources in the University Archives and Records Center.  It was migrated from a separate institutional group in NOTIS.  The libraries here have used WebVoyage as the OPAC since implementation and we (the libraries as a whole) did not initially include the relevancy-ranked search as an option in the Web OPAC.  We added it later but did not add extra weight to summary or scope/content notes.  In such a smaller database, such weight may be less important.  

Concerning patrons finding materials, there are pluses and minuses to having the separate database.  Not needing to weight the scope notes as noted above may be a plus.  Lesser visibility is a minus.  Patrons need limits less than they would in a large database, but they have to find the database.  Simultaneous searches of the general catalog and Archives catalog generally work better with Voyager than they did in NOTIS, but there have been problems with that feature from time to time.  

Our situation is fortunate in that we fully participate in decisions concerning the display.  I'm a member of the libraries' system implementation team, convenor of a cataloging subteam, and a member of the OPAC design subteam.  I have many opportunities to explain and advocate our special needs.  I took part in several reviews concerning fields to display and descriptions for those fields.  The teams opted for a truly brief view, and a much wider range of fields to be displayed in the long view.  Brief is essentially author, title, publisher, location, and call number.  We made sure the fields we needed were displayed in the long view, along with the appropriate titles.  In WebVoyage, there has to be one display configuration no matter how many databases are present.  

To see our OPAC, go to minerva.louisville.edu .   Hope this helps, good luck!

Mary Margaret Bell
Associate Archivist
University Archives and Records Center
University of Louisville
marymargaret.bell@louisville.edu


>>> "Sheila McAlister" <mcalists@libris.libs.uga.edu> 3/22/00 1:29:57 PM >>>
Dear all--

The informal Special Collections cataloging group at the University 
of Georgia has begun meeting to discuss the display, indexing and 
retrieval of archival and rare book records in our newly 
implemented Voyager system. As such, we would like to ask other 
Special Collections departments using Voyager to access  their 
collections to comment on their experiences with the system.

Currently, we catalog manuscript and archival materials, 
archival moving image collections, and rare book collections. (In the
future we look forward to creating archival records for our sound
collections).  At this time, our concerns fall chiefly into record
retrieval issues and display issues. 

As for retrieval problems, we seem to be experiencing difficulties
accessing records while using the type and medium limits. We also have
concerns about weighting issues for determining relevancy rankings.
For example, do you weigh your summary/scope & content notes more
heavily than the bare minimum? Have you encountered difficulties in
doing so? Do you feel your patrons are finding your records in the
OPAC easily and efficiently? What features seem to assist patron
access? Can patrons search the 655 field (form and genre field)
explicitly while using the "precision" search?

On the display side, how are your brief and full display records
configured? Did you have much input into the field selection decision?
Do you feel your current display adequately orients users to your
collections?

We would welcome any and all comments on your experiences using 
Voyager. Thanks in advance.


Sheila McAlister
Electronic Access Coordinator
Richard B. Russell Library
University of Georgia Libraries
mcalists@libris.libs.uga.edu 
706-542-5782
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