I got to hear an update about the new releases of Voyager at today’s conference. One of my biggest complaints about our current system is that it’s ugly - so very very ugly! Now, I have no experience trying to edit the interface of a Voyager system (that’s not my job anymore), but I’ve heard that it’s very hard. That said, the new release that’s coming in 2008 sometime (hopefully sooner than later) will have a whole new OPAC look. It will be XML & CSS meaning that it should be easily editable and based on screenshots I saw today, it’s much cleaner and easier on the eyes right out-of-the-box.

Even more interesting to me was the new testing method being employed by Ex Libris. In addition to their existing testing procedures (QA & Field Testing) they are adding a collaborative testing phase. This phase shows that we’re actually being listened to! Basically, members of the two user groups (ELUNA & IGeLU) are brought into Ex Libris and given the opportunity to test the systems in front of the developers. This method means that the team is right there to see how people use the system and hear their comments in person. What a novel idea! This is what we all do when we’re developing in house - but I’m so happy to hear that a vendor is actually inviting users in to test with them.

I’ve only been in a Voyager library for a few months now, so I wasn’t terribly vested in the upgrades that other attendees were so passionate about, but it was nice to see a crowd applaud at the mention of upgrades that were due with the new release.

Overall, it was a great first day and I’m happy that I got a chance to attend a this new style of conference. Tomorrow I have to present on two panels, so I’ll be too busy to have too much fun - but I’ll try to keep you all updated on what I learn from others.

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