OPACCTF Recommendation
Friday, August 12, 2005

Because the ILCSO consortium no longer exists, many changes are now required in the common OPAC shared by the former ILCSO libraries. The OPAC Customization Task Force (OPACCTF) has begun to consider these changes, and we are sending these thoughts to IUAG and the CARLI board.   The OPACCTF recommends the CARLI Board announce a new accessible color scheme and graphic design guidelines as soon as possible. When the color set and logo are chosen, some libraries may wish to adopt it in whole (or part) in their OPACS. Similarly OPACCTF may use these colors in our design decisions. The usual CARLI demo and rollout cycle means implementing any large scale color and design changes will take at least two months. Obviously a significant change to the default and Universal Catalog (UC) OPAC “look” will have a major impact on CARLI libraries. Timing this rollout is crucial to minimize disruptions to our users

Since the updated OPAC will reflect the new CARLI ‘brand’ we think this is also a good time to change the default name of the OPAC. We recommend replacing “ILLINET Online” with something that better shows the subset of CARLI participating in the universal catalog, resource sharing and integrated library system. We have discussed several possible names such as   i-share or iShare or I-Share, IlliCat, ili-share, IL-Share or Illi-link and we recommend switching “ILLINET Online” to iShare or I-Share. If none of these names appeals, you may consider having a contest to select a name with entries from the CARLI membership.

Regardless of the timing of the new CARLI graphic design, OPACCTF is looking at removing or avoiding references to “ILCSO,” as appropriate in the generic OPAC and the UC. In conclusion, the IUAG OPAC Customization Task Force recommends the CARLI Board announce a new name for the OPAC, an accessible color scheme and graphic design guidelines by October 1, 2005. This would allow an implementation of the changes during the holiday break period. Please contact us if you have questions or would like more information.