Category Archives: Project Schedule

Project Schedule Update

Now that Quicksearch is available for review by Library staff, the Quicksearch Implementation team will focus its efforts on three categories of work.

First, we will
fix any bugs or other errors reported by staff as part of the review process.  

Second, we will write documentation, both to highlight the new and exciting search features of Quicksearch, and to document the metadata mappings that are currently in use.

Finally, we are planning to develop a long list of new features.  

Most of the new features focus on replicating our existing patron services, but some, like the dynamic display of Item Statuses from Morris, will be brand new, and something we haven’t been able to do in other systems in the past.

Here is our upcoming schedule for the development of these new features:

Fall 2014

  • Add links to online materials directly from the search results list
  • Create a new ‘Resources about Yale” archival resource
  • Login to your account
  • Create bookmarks
  • Export to Endnote and Refworks
  • Expand the list of Summon Facets

Winter 2015

  • Place Orbis Requests in Quicksearch
  • Display Morris Item Statuses in Quicksearch holdings
  • Use the Morris API to do daily record updates

Spring / Early Summer 2015

  • Scan and Deliver Requests
  • Aeon Requests
  • Integrate Findit as a new resource in Quicksearch
  • Borrow Direct / Hathi Trust direct linking

Quicksearch Initial Testing Results

On September 9th, the Quicksearch Implementation team sucessfully hosted our first testing session.

Overall reception of the interface was good!

The primary goal of the testing session was to test searching and faceting in Quicksearch. Participating were 3 Public Services staff, 2 Rare book catalogers, 2 language specialists, 2 staff from Enterprise Systems, and 6 members of the Discovery Metadata group. We asked testers to evaluate the Quicksearch test interface using the Quicksearch Test Script as a guide, in addition to their favorite searches.

Results from our test clearly showed that Keyword searches in Quicksearch work much better than Keyword searches in Orbis. Relevant results are more likely to rise the top of the result list, and results in a result set are more likely to be relevant. This is good news moving forward as we begin now to focus on fine-tuning metadata display issues and on developing Patron Services like Booksmarks, Requesting, etc.

The testing session also revealed a number of bugs, from minor display problems to two major software bugs, for which we sincerely thank the testers! In addition, they requested some interesting new features, like the incorporation of the BMEC (Bass Media Equipment Catalog) in Quicksearch. Their careful testing has been invaluable in helping us identify and prioritize the issues we need to work on next.

After testing, the Discovery Metadata group engaged in an intensive 3-day sprint to go through the 65 responses, categorize them, and make recommendations for the metadata-related issues. (What is a Sprint? A sprint, or scrum, is a concept adapted from the software development world. The team identifies a list of goals, and meets for designated period of time to work on that goal. The team works on that goal and that goal only during the period of the sprint, and meets daily to report on progress and make plans for the next day’s work). The results of the testing and the three-day metadata sprint that followed are summarized in two publicly-available spreadsheets, Reported Issues, and Requested Features.

The Quicksearch Implementation team is currently hard at work resolving issues identified in testing, and doing a full extract and re-load of Orbis and Morris. The Reported Issues and Requested Features spreadsheets will be updated once a week on Friday so you can follow these issues as they are resolved. We expect to continue working on these issues through the remainder of the semester.

Next up: Our goal for this week is to release a Beta version of Quicksearch to all Yale Library Staff for review.

Upcoming Project Schedule

The Quicksearch project is going to roll out over the course of the next year in several phases.  We will post more detailed schedule information about later phases of the project as it becomes available.

Here is an outline of our major goals right now:

Summer-Early Fall 2014

Summer has been a very busy time for the Quicksearch project!  We are focused on two major aspects of development.  First, we are working on getting catalog content into Quicksearch and displaying it correctly.  Specifically, we are finalizing the custom programs written to extract records from Orbis and Morris, and load them into the new Quicksearch interface.  Records from the two different library management systems will load using a normalized mapping scheme created by the Discovery and Systems Metadata group, so they are indexed in the same way- despite differences in cataloging practice between the two systems.

Second, we are working on some significant interface changes.  A complete re-design of the interface is underway, introducing a new, clean look with modern fonts and the Yale Library brand.  We are also focusing heavily on the dynamic display of item statuses in the search results list, so each item in the search results list will indicate whether it is checked out or available.  Finally, we are working to implement the recommendations of the Discovery & Systems Metadata committee for the display of fields and sub-fields in the individual record title views.

Fall 2014

YULIB Staff Rollout:  The Quicksearch interface will be rolled out for early review by YUL staff.  We look forward to getting your feedback!

Late Fall 2014 – Spring 2015

BETA Public Rollout:  Quicksearch will be rolled out for preview by faculty, students, and staff.   Close to the Beta release, we are planning to host information sessions for public services staff to highlight features and answer any questions.  Note that Orbis will still be the primary library catalog interface.  New features, and any bug fixes, will become available as they are completed.

Summer 2015

Production Rollout of Quicksearch:  Quicksearch becomes the primary catalog interface.  Orbis remains up and running, but will stay in the background.