WorkSafe BC Upgrades Library Catalogue OPAC for Staff

Following hot on the heels of their recent launch of a mobile interface to their library catalogue, the WorkSafe BC Library has just upgraded the library catalogue search interface used internally by most WorkSafe BC staff with a new one built from the Andornot Starter Kit.

For several years, the WorkSafe BC Library has used Inmagic Genie as their integrated library system. Within the WorkSafe BC offices, staff used the Genie OPAC to search the library's extensive collection.

However, outside the offices, the public accessed a version of the catalogue hosted by Andornot, and built from the Andornot Starter Kit (as well as the new mobile version built from the ASK Mobile Edition).

"We really liked the Google book covers and material type icons in our publicly-accessible catalogue and wanted to make those available to WorkSafe BC staff who access the library catalogue internally," says Librarian Marci Gibson. "Replacing the Genie OPAC with one built from the Andornot Starter Kit brought all our search interfaces in line, offering the same features to all users, whether public or staff."

The new staff OPAC is displayed within the Library's SharePoint team site, for seamless integration with the rest of the library’s content. This is done using a SharePoint Page Viewer Web Part, so that the catalog search and results screens are displayed within the SharePoint page. All corporate branding and navigation is therefore preserved. We are seeing this as a growing trend among our clients who have SharePoint intranets.

"Everyone LOVES the new OPAC! I have had nothing but good comments. They love the slick new look of the OPAC, think the search screen is much easier to use and more intuitive, and the 'Selection List' is a huge hit," says Marci.

Library staff will continue to use the Genie administrative interface behind the scenes for management of library processes.

Contact us for more information on building a web-based search interface to your library catalogue, archives or other database.