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This morning we launched a new version of Find Databases, our database discovery tool. With input from various individuals throughout the Library Mike B and I worked to refine the existing DBAZ interface into a streamlined and powerful discovery tool. The latest edition builds upon the previous format and cleans up some of the problem areas. We made sure to keep to the same basic design scheme, so most users will have little difficulty adjusting to the changes we have made.
This video details some of the changes we have made (I made this video for the librarians here, so some of the comments are directed to them):
At the Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey, I saw a presentation titled “Information Literacy With Videocasts, Wiimotes, and Interactive Whiteboards.” Three librarians, Shu Qian, Steve Borrelli, and
May Chang, detailed how they created a large, interactive whiteboard using only a Wii Remote, a Bluetooth adapter and an infrared pen. Using the technology in the Wii remote they were able to turn virtually any surface of any size into a whiteboard. This freed them from the tyrany of the podium. They weren’t chained to the mouse during their instruction sessions because they were able to interact with the web pages they were displaying by using the wireless infrared lightpen.
The idea behind this project came from Johnny Chung Lee, a researcher from Microsoft. Here is a video that explains how it all works:
We are going to try this out at the Pollak library. The project should cost next to nothing, because I already have a Wii Remote and all of the computers in our instruction rooms are already equipped with Bluetooth adapters. The only investment in the experiment will be time and the $18 we just spent on an infrared pen.
Once the infrared pen arrives (hopefully this week) we will load the free software on one of the instruction room computers. Then I will bring in my Wiimote and we will give this thing a go. If it is successful, I’ll show it to the instruction librarians and check on their interest in the project. If they like it then we can purchase our own Wiimote (I’ll give mine back to my kid) and some mounting hardware. Even then, the total expenditure will be in the neighborhood of $50.
I am totally stoked on this. More to come.
I sent out an info video to all of the librarians informing them that we will start SAMi training next week. Here is a copy of the video:
http://users.library.fullerton.edu/mdemars/videos/buildaguideintro.swf
I am really stoked that this is finally getting underway. I am hoping that everyone finds the program intuitive and fun to use. It will also be really interesting to see how people use it. I have already been surprised by what the testers have been doing. Next week will be fun. 
FindDatabses has been up and running on the site for over three months now, but it was pretty hidden. Users had to be told where it was in order to access it. Call it a “soft opening.” Now it is time of the Grand Opening. As of noonish today, it replaced both the Databases A to Z list, and the Databases by Subject/Metalib interface. So far it has gone well, however, we are noticing some page load time issues on some machines running FireFox.
I think we have the page load issue figured out though. I believe it is the “all tags” file that is slowing it down. The FindDatabases page is actually made up of a bunch of different files. When the user hits the page several files are loading at once. Those files are the A-to-Z list, the subject list, the popular tags list, and the all tags list. IE lets you go about your business as all the seperate files load, while FF makes you wait until all of them are loaded. You won’t notice this wait on most machines, but you will on some of the slower ones.
The All Tags list is growing by leaps and bounds, so it takes a while to compile, so that is what is causing the slowdown. To fix this issue, we will make the All Tags list available on request rather than on load. Meaning that a user will load the file once they click on the All Tags tab. That will also let us track to see how many users are actually accessing that feature.
