Skip to main content

Next Generation Melvyl – Evaluation Period Begins 8/19/09

August 31, 2009 Author: Ellen MeltzerCategories:

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

Starting on Wednesday, August 19th, users visiting http://melvyl.cdlib.org are being directed to the Next Generation Melvyl Pilot as the default search.  The page still offers a link to current Melvyl.

As a reminder, the NGM Executive and Implementation Teams decided that we needed to extend the pilot as well as assess the robustness of the product under peak load during the fall quarter/semester.  We rarely have the opportunity to fully test drive software in such circumstances before purchase.  We recommend that all campuses point to WorldCat Local (WCL) as the default union catalog beginning on August 19, 2009. Current Melvyl will remain available during this period, but its landing page has been modified to encourage users to use it as a secondary choice.

We especially appreciate and acknowledge the effort campuses are undertaking to make this evaluation period a success.

Several configuration changes are being implemented as we point to NGM:

The Request button will take users directly to the Request service.

  • When users click on the Request button, they will be taken directly to Request rather than an intermediary UC-eLinks screen.  Full integration of Request and NGM will take place later this fall though the experience for end-users will remain the same.

All Request buttons will be named the same (Request) and will appear at Levels 2 and 3 on a record for an item not available locally.

  • If an item is not held at the local campus but is available at UC Libraries (Level 2) and WorldCat Local Libraries (Level 3), a Request button will appear at both Level 2 and 3.  If the item is only held at one of those levels, the Request button will only appear once.

The UC-eLinks button will be turned off for monograph and serial holdings.

  • To improve the user experience, the UC-eLinks button will be removed from some item types on the full record display (e.g., print books, DVDs etc.)  Previously, users were offered a “Get it online” option for items that were available in physical format only.  After the 19th, “Get it online” will not display for items that are not available electronically.
  • Since the UC-eLinks button will not appear on all item types, users may need to use the Request button at the UC Libraries (Level 2) or at WorldCat Libraries (Level 3) to initiate document delivery services.

In the UC-eLinks menu, Next Generation Melvyl will display above the current Melvyl Catalog link.

The “Get Help” link will take users to a Contact Us or Ask a Librarian page as requested by each campus.

  • Users will be able to more easily access research assistance at each campus.  The Next Generation Melvyl “Help” page will no longer be linked from “Get Help”.  Instead the link will go directly to the campus “Ask a Librarian” service, as recommended by the UC Heads of Public Services (HOPS).

856 links will be disabled for articles.

  • Links to articles in WCL will only be accessible through the UC-eLinks button in the “Get it online” section since 856 links for articles have been taking users to the journal level but not to the article level.  Therefore, pointing users to the UC-eLinks button will provide the most reliable access to electronic article content.  Please note that we will continue to expose 856 links in the “Get it online” section for other item types including journal records and e-books.

We anticipate that there will be a shakedown period in which irregularities may be discovered and we will work to repair these as quickly as possible.  Please use the Feedback links on the NGM interface to notify us of any problems you encounter.

In addition to the changes above, the following changes were implemented on Sunday, August 16th with OCLC’s monthly install:

Search for Libraries
Users can search for libraries by keyword or location by going to the Search dropdown menu on the upper left side of the Home screen.

  • Search results depend on the type of search.  For example,
    • A keyword/library name search will return search results of all libraries with the search term(s) in the library name or library alias.  Results will be ordered alphabetically.
    • A location search such as “city, state” will return search results listed alphabetically by library name within that location.
  • Once the search results are retrieved, you can filter results by specific library types available in a Library Type drop down menu, e.g., ARL Library, Academic Library.

Corrected Text Display
The link text displays in the appropriate “Resource” column and the link description appears in the “Description” column.  Previously, each set of text displayed in the wrong column.

See the PDF (http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/oclc_docs/WorldCatLocalInstallUpdate_August.pdf) from OCLC for more details on these last changes.