[332] in ad-lib
Geopac issues list
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (patf@MIT.EDU)
Thu Apr 13 12:17:16 1995
From: patf@MIT.EDU
To: opac-lib@MIT.EDU
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 1995 11:44:47 EDT
Nina (now known as GeoNina), et. al.,
Get ready. Here are our combined thoughts on Geopac:
Miscellaneous:
-More options should be easily viewed and selected in the initial search
query screen instead of being hidden within "other." Particularly we'd
like Author Keyword, Title Keyword, and Subject Keyword.
-What are all those options under "other" anyway? Do we have a
"topical" search index. We or they should remove the unnecessary,
redundant selections here.
-Call number search, when ready, should definately be on the initial
search query screen.
-we agree that help screens should be better and command line searching
explained.
-We do not like the concept "basket" and feel our readers would do
better without the basket icon and with a word like "file" or "save."
-When you click on one of the options, like author, from the search
query screen, there is a help message provided, but none appears for the
selections under "other."
-Geopac automatically sorts by title. Should the default sort be by
date as we determined for Advance so that both work the same way? Or
the other way around?
-We don't like the layering window effect. We think it would be better
(perhaps it's configurable, but I didn't have time to check) that the
system should default so that search screen windows appear to the left,
and display windows appear to the right, yet still allowing
Windows-capable folks the ability to shift them around. As it is, all
the windows overlap one another, which isn't totally necessary.
-The headings window should have a scroll bar like everything else in
the Windows world, not those single and double arrow buttons.
-We have a complaint that we are not horticulturists. We don't like the
boolean tree builder concept and associated plant terms.
-There should be an easily obvious way to do command line searching from
the initial search query screen, much as you can in Advance. You can
sort of do this (see 11.1.3 below) but only if you know it works. It
doesn't work all that well as mentioned.
-How does one get a MARC display in Geopac. We didn't find one. Would
you have to replace the full display with a MARC display, or is there an
additional display window that can be configured to show MARC info? We
don't know of one. The option menu does have MARC as a choice, but how
do you invokea display?
-Can't re-execute search from Search History list
-Can't add items to the end of a Basket list - automatically
alphabetizes by title. We prefer to sort when we are ready for this function.
-From Search Query Screen, "other" selection, shouldn't have to click in
window before entering search terms. If you do not click first, your
keystrokes change the index (within the "other" choices) rather than
typing terms in the window.
-Can't exchange icons in toolbar for word or alternate icon equivalents.
Current icons are indecipherable.
RFP issues:
-11.1.1 Corporate author search do not always work correctly. Try Urban
Land Institute, place you at Urban Institute instead. Main entry
corporate name, New York City. Metropolitan Museum of Art doesn't appear
in generated headings list.
11.1.2 Too hard to find/use. Also, doesn't always work. Try search
for feminist theater AND performance art. Doesn't pull up all the
possible records.
Boolean searching works in Search Query window when keyword option is
selected, but single keyword commands do not.
-Sorting of titles list by date puts in chronological order rather than
reverse-chronological. 11.1.2? or 11.3.4?
-MUST be able to click detail button without highlighting a record and
receive either a message stating that a record or records must be
highlighted first, OR, better yet receive a scrollable list of detailed
displays instead of separate, overlapping windows for each record.
11.1.3
-11.1.4.2 and .3 system should be able to get information from catalog
and acquisition maintenance. How does it do this?
-Bad keyboarding alternatives. 11.1.6
-From headings list, up/down arrow keys move you up and down the
list, but do not affect what heading is highlighted. Seems like
you should be able to highlight desired heading with arrow keys.
-From headings/titles list, Enter key sometimes takes you down
the list one screen, sometimes gives you the detailed display
of the highlighted record, and sometimes bounces you out of the
headings list and back to the search query window.
-11.2.2.2 barcode search?
-No call number searching possible. 11.2.2.3
Number searches: ?
-No way to do ISBN search 11.2.2.5
-No way to do ISSN search 11.2.2.6
-No way to do LCCN search 11.2.2.7
-No way to search SUDOC number 11.2.2.10
-No way to search Tech report number 11.2.2.11
-No way to search imprint 11.2.2.13
-11.2.2.14 Need to know exact wording to use? Difficult for thesis
advisors: sometime works with advisor's last name only, sometimes with
both first and last name.
-No way to search music pub number 11.2.2.15
-11.2.3.3 Geac says it complies, but since there are many types of
searches from 11.2.2 that don't seem to work, how can you combine any
two or more indexed fields? Not clear at the very least how to do this.
-Should we be able to access boolean searching screen capability w/o
pull-down menus? Make available from initial screen as another option?
11.2.3.4
-11.2.3.9 How can they say they comply here when call # searching
doesn't work?
-11.2.4 Can system truncate? How?
-11.2.5 How do you qualify searches in Geopac? We don't see any way,
although they say they comply.
-11.2.6 Are we authority controlled? Seems to work in CD-Barton, but not in
Geopac.
-Can't tell about 11.2.6.1 - Can cut and paste, but this is
almost worse than rekeying. Not what we had in mind.
-11.3.2 Geopac does, Advance doesn't
11.3.2.1 Advance does, Geopac doesn't?
-11.3.5 Records with uniform titles do not display with the uniform
title
-11.3.6 Geac says they do not comply
-11.3.7 Don't see that it can search, never mind disply these
-11.3.10 Could be set up to do this. Makes citation list very long
though. Maybe we should try and see how unwieldy it gets?
-11.4.1 Don't know; haven't been able to test much yet, but don't see a disc
option in the dialog window for printing. Also, it seems to print out a
full page for a single citation, complete with Geopac advertisement at
botton of sheet - a colossal waste of paper.
