COVPRIMO one minute blog

At Coventry University we have been implementing Primo (which we are branding as 'Locate'), Ex Libris's next generation Library Catalogue.

The main driver behind launching a next generation OPAC was to provide a single user interface for staff and students to use as the starting point for all their Library searches, no matter what type of content they are looking for. This will help provide a more consistent user experience and improve the efficiency of information retrieval. This should help to increase the use of the Library's e-resources. The new system should also help us to provide an attractive interface for our users to access quality information and we believe it will be a viable alternative to systems such as Google, Wikipedia, etc.

The output from our JISC Project will be a report into our implementation of Primo, which should be useful for other institutions considering launching a next generation OPAC and particularly for those deciding to implement Primo themselves. The report will also include an overview of the usability testing we carried out as part of our implementation. This testing was carried out with staff and students to try to identify ways in which we can make our Primo more intuitive and user-friendly. We have then made changes to the system based on these tests. We also gained further student input via a focus group where we discussed what is the key information to include on the Primo home page and how should this be laid out.

The general feedback we received about Primo was overwhelmingly positive, but we did identify issues which needed changes to be made, as they caused problems for several of the users involved in the testing. We have made numerous changes to the system already and we're waiting on Ex Libris to resolve some support issues before making other changes. We are also feeding back the resuts of our tests to Ex Libris and have been told that they will be taking these on board. We hope this means that where we discovered issues that cannot currently be changed Ex Libris will consider adding functionality that we require to future releases of Primo.

Implementation notes

Two IBM rack mounted servers [x3550 M2 8 core processing 16Gb RAM running Red Hat Linux 5.5 64 bit] were purchased and commissioned, one acting as a staging server, the other as the production server. In our case the supplier's software installation was carried out on the production server initially with a copy made to staging fairly late on in the project - normally this procedure is reversed. Project management was handled through the supplier's German office with conference calls established as and when required; these calls tended to increase in length and frequency the closer we moved towards our target switch-to-production (STP) date. On-site staff training was carried out from Ex Libris' UK office and was generally well received by staff.

Once the application had been installed, there were four main thrusts to the implementation work: the design of the end-user interface, taking on board the feedback received as part of the usability study; the testing of data export / import routines from our existing systems (Aleph, MetaLib, SFX and the University's repository product Equella); the establishing of automated data update routines and finally the installation / configuration of third party ancillary software products.

We were aware at the start of the project we had set ourselves an ambitious 'go live' date of early September, hoping to allow subject staff some time to prepare for the forthcoming student induction. In the event a decision has been taken to postpone the launch on two counts. Firstly Shibboleth configuration work is still incomplete and secondly Primo Central functionality is now scheduled to come on stream towards the end of October; Locate will be launched in the new year.

Our JISC project co-ordinator James Fisher leaves Coventry University on Friday 24 September 2010; we wish James well in his new post at the Univeristy of Warwick. Graham Daniels takes over as project contact following James' departure.