Module 13: Follett Findings

When I started working at my first school library in 2018, I had never heard of Follett. I knew a little about library catalogs because of volunteering at my public library and using the catalog to reserve books. So when I started working in Ipswich, Follett was a like a whole new world. I really liked working with it because it was so simple compared to the the catalog I had worked with at my public library. Once my boss trusted me, she gave me administrator access to the catalog and I was able to add books, delete books, edit books, etc. and it felt great! I was able to teach myself how to use the system because it is a simple system to learn, for the most part. However, the more I used the program, the more weaknesses I found. Don't get me wrong, I still choose Follett as my top OPAC but there is no perfect OPAC.

I talked with my boss about her thoughts on Follett as well. Here are a list of strengths and weaknesses that we came up with. 

 Strengths

Organization 

  • I think that Follett creates a well-organized catalog for both patrons and the librarians. Students are able to access the plain Destiny catalog and then they also have the option to view resource lists and access Destiny Quest or Destiny Discover. On the librarian side, the tools are also neatly listed.

Destiny Discover

  • I love Destiny Discover. It is is so visually appealing and very well designed. I love that you can create collections that can include books, documents, web links, videos, etc. Here is an example of one that my boss created for AP English class who are studying Shakespeare. 



The Destiny Cloud

  • My boss loves this feature. Apparently you can move Destiny to the Cloud, which allows you to receive software updates as soon as they are released. You don't have to rely on your IT department to do complete the updates for your catalog, instead the programmers at Follett do this for you. I think this is an important feature because at my previous library we did not attach our catalog to the cloud. IT was supposed to do the software updates but unfortunately this rarely happened. 

Reports

  • I like that you can run different reports about the library collection, patrons, use of the library, etc. This information is important to have so that we can advocate for our libraries and show how much the library is used. 

Weaknesses

Interface

  • One thing my boss told me is she thinks the interface of Follett is a definite weakness. She does like the look of Destiny Discover but she wishes it was more customizable like our LibGuide. I agree that I wish we could customize the catalog a little more to make it our own. 

Destiny Quest

  • I mentioned this in the discussion a little, I am not a fan of Destiny Quest. My boss isn't a fan either and thinks the interface of the program is juvenile for middle/high school. This is what we used at my previous library and I didn't like using it. We would have a lot of problems with students who couldn't find books that according to the catalog said they were in the library. 

Too Many Steps

  • Someone else mentioned this in the discussion, that there are just too many steps you have to take to complete administrator tasks within the catalog. For example, why are there two separate pages to edit the title of a book and its call number? To edit the title I have to go to "Edit Title" when I'm in the details page. But then if I wanted to edit the call number I have to click on "See all" near the number of copies information this page. Then I have to click on the edit symbol and then I can edit the call number and barcode. I just feel like this could be organized a little better. 

Despite the weaknesses, I'm probably going to stick with Follett in my future career. I asked my boss if she had looked at other OPACs once she switched to working in the library. She didn't have the time to look at any other OPACs because the new school year had been about to start. Overall, she is happy with the system. 


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