Chapter 2: AquaBrowser

Abstract

“In this current phase of library automation, all eyes are focused on developing and deploying Web-based interfaces better suited to meet the expectations of the current generation of Web-savvy users,” notes Marshall Breeding in the “Introduction” to “Next-Generation Library Catalogs,” the fourth issue of Library Technology Reports in 2007.

“Over the course of the last year, a number of libraries have made bold moves to introduce new catalogs cast in a mold apart from their previous offerings. Library automation vendors have launched development efforts to create new catalogs and interfaces more in tune with today's expectations,” Breeding adds.

In this issue of LTR , Breeding covers the terminology associated with the “next-generation” catalog situation as well as such areas as:

Also in this issue of Library Technology Reports , Breeding reports on the next-generation interfaces:

Marshall Breeding serves as the Director for Innovative Technology and Research at the Vanderbilt University Libraries in Nashville, Tennessee. He has authored several previous Library Technology Report issues, is a contributing editor to Smart Libraries Newsletter , and has authored the feature “Automated Systems Marketplace” for Library Journal for the last six years. His column “Systems Librarian” also appears monthly in Computers in Libraries magazine.

A regular on the library conference circuit, Breeding frequently speaks at Computers in Libraries, Internet Librarian, and other professional gatherings throughout the United States and internationally. He is a regular panelist on the LITA Top Technology Trends panel at the ALA Annual and Midwinter conferences.

Breeding created and maintains the Library Technology Guides Web site at