YourLibrarySite Supports SOPAC 2

SOPAC 2, the latest rising star in the world of patron-friendly online catalogs, has new support and installation options provided by web development shop YourLibrarySite. The Eugene, OR–based company, part of CraftySpace, LLC, is now working with the Palos Verde Library District (PVLD), CA, to install the new catalog interface and an updated content management system (CMS) back end for the library's site, expected to be completed sometime in the next few months, company reps told LJ.

SOPAC 2 was originally designed by John Blyberg for the Darien Library, CT, and then released as an open source software suite. Built on top of the Drupal CMS, SOPAC aims to integrate a library's OPAC seamlessly into the broader design of a library's site. SOPAC 2 also gives patrons feedback tools like book reviews, ratings, and tagging, as well as the ability to browse lists of popular items across dozens of categories (features similar to some of those found in other recent catalog enhancement products like BiblioCommons and LibraryThing for Libraries).

Since its debut in September, SOPAC 2 has garnered significant praise online and at conferences and has also gathered a devoted following of developers interested in installing and extending the software. Even with this community support option available, however, many libraries don't have the necessary tech resources to undertake the transition to a SOPAC-driven catalog front end. (See Jonathan Rochkind's take in “A Primer on Risk,” LJ 11/15/08, p. 22–24.)

In a recent comment on the announcement from YourLibrarySite, Blyberg discussed the benefit of having a support option available: “While it's actually a fairly straightforward install process, you still need someone who knows how to use Linux and [open source] tools. Many libraries just don't have that. Having someone to manage that part of the process is a comfort.”

Other examples of Drupal-based sites developed by YourLibrarySite include the Altadena Library District in Los Angeles County and the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System, an association of 33 libraries in the Los Angeles area.