Journey towards Dynamic Web OPAC from Static OPAC

Experience at St. Xavier's College Central Library, Kolkata

Abstract

From the nineteenth century British Museum Catalogue to today's Resource Description and Access
(RDA), every single step has been pushing forward the frontiers of manifestation of the ever
increasing universe of knowledge. This endeavour of manifestation for a knowledge base is now
fueled by the advancement of Information and Communication Technology. This present paper
aims to explore the various applications of Web 2.0 enabled tools, such as integration aspects of
social media, RSS feed, etc. in Web OPAC (integration process of which make the Web OPAC
dynamic in nature) using Koha ILMS with special emphasis on St. Xavier's College Central Library.
The methodology adopted includes a study in the form of a survey among the users of the previously
mentioned college library to evaluate the extent of use of the various aspects of the dynamic Web
OPAC service and to measure the satisfaction level. Findings suggest that the users are greatly
satisfied with the various aspects of the dynamic Web OPAC service. In LIS setup specifically in
higher education institutions, the online public access catalogue (OPAC) plays a magnificent role
in displaying the resources of its knowledge base to satisfy the needs of the valued patrons.