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YouSeeMore adds more features via Cahners
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TLC and CARL have announced an enhancement to their "YouSeeMore" personalised OPAC product launched at the ALA in January.
“YouSeeMore” enabled patrons to create a personalized, interactive account to “see” book
jackets, view tables of contents, , obtain recommendations and tap library resources. To date, several libraries have already purchased YouSeeMore content to enhance their patron
access catalogs, including: Baldwin County, AL; Pend Oreille County Library, WA; Jackson Public Library, MO; and Braswell County Library, NC.
TLC and CARL have enhanced the product by adding a new “review” feature through a partnership with Cahners.
Available to libraries as an optional supplement to “YouSeeMore,” the review service is fast
and easy to use. Patrons conduct a search via TLC’s or CARL’s Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) and view the results. An icon indicates those selections for which a review
is available, and patrons and library staff simply point, click and read.
With 250,000 reviews currently available from Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal and
School Library Journal , patrons will have access to fiction, non-fiction and materials for adults, children& young adults. Additional reviews are added at a rate of nearly 16,000 per
year. Going forward, the company anticipates “YouSeeMore” will link Cahners’ reviews to the displayed results in TLC’s NETPAC online patron access catalog and TLC & CARL’s Kid’s Catalog Web.
In making today’s announcement, Annette Bakhtiar, Chief Executive Officer at TLC, stated,
“At TLC we constantly strive to make a great product even better . The addition of reviews to
‘YouSeeMore’ further personalizes the web-based library experience, enabling patrons to make more informed choices".
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Kid’s catalog Web installed in over 100 libraries
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INWOOD, WV, February 28, 2001--Installations of Kid's Catalog Web" to date total nearly
100, and include Baltimore County Public Library System (MD), Phoenix Public Library (AZ), Monroe County Library System (NY) and Sno-Isle Regional Library (WA).
Fully compatible with TLC’s turn-key library automation system, LibrarySolution, Kid’s
Catalog Web makes all types of searches for youngsters quick and easy by using simple language and attractive graphics. The product comes with a core suite of more than 5,000
websites, pre-selected for age-appropriate content. Moreover, librarians can easily customize their collection and even integrate the product’s use with specific classroom assignments or library programs.
As Darcy Cahill, Library Manager for the Randallstown Branch of the Baltimore County
Public Library System, explained, “The developers of this product have addressed all the pitfalls children of varied ages face when they search online.” The program is so intuitive,
even beginning readers or children who can’t remember the precise title for which they are searching, can still be guided to their intended destination. Icons and straightforward
language help make it all possible. The program even has a spell check feature to prevent false searches and offers prompts to help users get back on track.
“One young girl who was searching for a series she believed was entitled ‘Cheat Planet,’
utilized the series search function in Kid’s Catalog Web and quickly discovered it was called ‘The Cheetah Girls,’” noted Ms. Cahill. The result is clear: kids are thrilled with the
streamlined research process. “They can access materials within the library collection as well as relevant websites. In addition, once they make a selection from the collection, they
can easily determine its availability,” she added.
Librarians are equally pleased. The reference tool comes with a foundation of websites
pre-selected by a group of librarians, judged to have age appropriate and relevant content. Sites were chosen from reliable sources, including governmental agencies, non-profit
associations and other respected organizations. A software package included with the product, called “WebBuilder Pro,” allows library personnel to customize their library’s online
offering, by modifying the website database, creating special icons for specific study collections, and adding book lists.
“While children today deserve the best access to their library catalogs and the Web, that
access must be easy, efficient and age-appropriate,” commented Annette Bakhtiar, Chief Executive Officer of TLC/CARL. “We are extremely pleased that initial response to Kid’s
Catalog Web has been so overwhelmingly positive.”
Concluded Ms. Cahill, “As a librarian and a mother, I fully appreciate that kids won’t
stumble onto dangerous or obscene websites. I’ve used it with my own children and have confidence in what they are viewing online.”
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