Library Technology Guides

Statistical Report for OPALS

2012 Survey Results	2011 Survey Results	2010 Survey Results	2009 Survey Results	2008 Survey Results	2007 Survey Results
Product: OPALS Response Distribution Statistics Category Responses 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mode Mean Median ILS Satisfaction 186 1 1 1 1 9 30 143 9 8.63 9 Company Satisfaction 186 1 1 1 3 25 155 9 8.76 9 Support Satisfaction 184 1 2 1 5 23 152 9 8.70 9 Support Improvement 168 1 1 16 5 5 36 104 9 8.18 9 Company Loyalty 177 1 1 1 2 4 16 152 9 8.72 9 Open Source Interest 170 6 2 3 3 1 2 13 140 9 8.32 9 Category Total Yes percent Considering new ILS 187 2 1.07% Considering new Interface 187 0 0.00% System Installed on time? 187 183 97.86% Average Collection size: 62626	Product: OPALS Response Distribution Statistics Category Responses 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mode Mean Median ILS Satisfaction 79 1 3 2 7 26 40 9 8.20 9 Company Satisfaction 80 1 1 7 23 48 9 8.45 9 Support Satisfaction 80 1 1 3 6 19 50 9 8.35 9 Support Improvement 75 1 9 4 5 28 28 8 7.79 8 Company Loyalty 78 2 1 4 2 12 57 9 8.46 9 Open Source Interest 52 6 1 1 2 2 1 1 38 9 7.31 9 Category Total Yes percent Considering new ILS 81 1 1.23% Considering new Interface 81 0 0.00% System Installed on time? 81 78 96.30% Average Collection size: 89790	Product: OPALS Response Distribution Statistics Category Responses 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mode Mean Median ILS Satisfaction 100 2 1 13 20 64 9 8.43 9 Company Satisfaction 100 3 7 14 76 9 8.63 9 Support Satisfaction 99 1 5 11 82 9 8.76 9 Support Improvement 96 1 9 2 3 17 64 9 8.27 9 Company Loyalty 99 1 1 1 3 8 85 9 8.71 9 Open Source Interest 98 5 1 2 2 2 86 9 8.32 9 Category Total Yes percent Considering new ILS 106 2 1.89% Considering new Interface 106 2 1.89% System Installed on time? 106 97 91.51% Average Collection size: 49191	Product: OPALS Response Distribution Statistics Category Responses 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mode Mean Median ILS Satisfaction 42 1 1 1 1 12 8 18 9 7.67 8 Company Satisfaction 42 1 1 1 1 5 11 22 9 7.93 9 Support Satisfaction 42 1 1 1 1 3 10 25 9 8.12 9 Support Improvement 42 2 9 2 5 7 17 9 7.17 8 Company Loyalty 42 2 1 1 1 10 27 9 8.00 9 Open Source Interest 34 4 1 2 4 23 9 6.88 9 Category Total Yes percent Considering new ILS 42 0 0.00% Considering new Interface 42 0 0.00% System Installed on time? 42 37 88.10%	Product: OPALS Response Distribution Statistics Category Responses 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mode Mean Median ILS Satisfaction 5 1 4 9 8.80 9 Company Satisfaction 5 1 4 9 8.80 9 Support Satisfaction 5 5 9 9.00 9 Support Improvement 0 not applicable Company Loyalty 5 5 9 9.00 9 Open Source Interest 3 3 9 9.00 9 Category Total Yes percent Considering new ILS 5 0 0.00% Considering new Interface 5 0 0.00% System Installed on time? 5 4 80.00%	Product: OPALS Response Distribution Statistics Category Responses 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mode Mean Median ILS Satisfaction 3 1 1 1 7 8.00 8 Company Satisfaction 3 1 2 9 8.67 9 Support Satisfaction 3 3 9 9.00 9 Support Improvement 0 not applicable Company Loyalty 3 1 2 9 8.33 9 Open Source Interest 2 2 9 9.00 9 Category Total Yes percent Considering new ILS 3 0 0.00% Considering new Interface 3 0 0.00% System Installed on time? 3 1 33.33%

Comments

- (Type: School)

I indicated 9 for service improvement. In truth, there has been no change. The service w have received from OPALS has always been exemplary (Type: School)

Customer support is fast, efficient and pleasant. Opals accomodates "trials" before purchasing. This 'open source' model is really more of a hybrid. We pay for hosting, maintenance and improvements. In the end, it is only open-=source in theory. It is a hybrid model with no complaints. It still saves us a considerable sum of money. (Type: School)

OPALS is the most ethical, responsible company, period, this systems librarian has ever dealt with. I can not say enough about the excellent support staff who are always responsive and cheerful in helping us get our work done efficiently. OPALS still needs to do some basic development work -- for example, there is no acquisitions or serials functionality -- but there are regular significant updates and they are working through our collective wishlists systematically. The basic system is very intuitive for our staff and users, with little training needed to get us up and running. All the library staff feel that selecting OPALS was the best decision we could have made. (Type: Academic)

- (Type: Church)

OPALS staff was very helpful in our migration to their system. We have had issues with the way the records were loaded. They are working on correcting the problems. (Type: Academic)

We switched to OPALS from Infocentre this past summer, and so far we are very satisfied with our new ILS. (Type: School)

the OPALS catalog has been operational for a short time and we are still working on fine-tuning it to match the needs of our library, which has a small specialized collection. (Type: Medical)

Not sure how to answer some of these questions. The service is the same and they are very responsive. We just subscribed to this ILS. (Type: School)

Opals is constantly improving its interface and is receptive to suggestions (Type: School)

Our tech support from Media Flex is exclusively by email. Response to software glitches is very prompt, with minor programming issues often handled within a matter of hours. Company is very responsive to customer recommendations for software enhancements, though implementation sometimes takes longer than we might like. Customization options for the OPAC home page and enhancements to the Pathfinder function during the past year have made these features especially useful for libraries which do not also maintain a separate website. Significantly improved MARC record editor has almost completely weaned me away from a long-used 3rd party product. (Type: Church)

Migrating to OPALS is the first step of integrating library into curriculum, integrating more electronic sources while retaining print and expanding the library space virtually. (Type: School)

OPALS is a very satisfactory program. The support is excellent. We have been very pleased. (Type: School)

Collection is in 4 languages English, French, Hebrew, Yiddish. It is possible to create records in all 4 languages which is important for our library. My experience with this vendor has been excellent over the past 10 years and their tech service is always very helpful and timely. (Type: School)

The OPALS team continually reviews and develops this product in response to needs of their users. Our staff imports demographic information regarding our users from our student management system into OPALS with ease. We also import student images from our school’s photography company. Their development team recognizes the value of the handshake between multiple information products used within the same organization. Their customer service is prompt, efficient, and user-friendly. (Type: School)

OPALS is a high value product with a lot of functionality for a low price. (Type: School)

OPALS system is perfect for our needs. The company far surpasses our expectations in terms of service, functionality, and long term sustainability and vision. (Type: School)

OPALS is easy to use, easy to teach and has wonderful functions that other systems don't have, like the ability to create bibliographies in various formats. The [...] Library is a very specialized research library and OPALS covers most of our needs. The changes made recently have greatly enhanced the system. (Type: Special)

The software is very dynamic, constantly being update and augmented, and the company not only addresses individual library needs but also is a leader in the industry keeping ahead of new trends and standards. (Type: Consortium)

Because this is a professional library our needs differ from the other component school libraries and the software allows for a large degree of configuration and leveling to accommodate everyone. The support we receive from the vendor is exceptional, especially in today's competitive market where promises are rarely kept and executed in a timely manner. (Type: Special)

irst year service was exceptional. We cannot comment on whether it is better than last year. (Type: School)

We cannot comment on whether service has improved in the past year. We started using this system two three months ago. (Type: Theology)

The support and help to migrate to OPALS has been terrific. Migration from our previous system was seamless. I am looking forward to a long and happy relationship with OPALS. (Type: Synagogue)

Cannot comment on improved services question as this is our first year. (Type: School)

Oneida Middle School was closed this spring, and I now find myself at two elementary schools. With rapid-fire book exchanges, I find myself with more errors coming out of the circulation system, though I'm not sure it's a problem with the ILS vendor. It may be problems with our district's remote connection to OPALS servers in Canada, or simply with my own routines. I'm experiencing a few of the hassles my elementary colleagues have bemoaned since we got the product. I'm still committed to it for other reasons. I use many of the features my colleagues don't. (Type: School)

I've been very happy with the support of the [...] and OPALS reps in a team approach to solving issues. (Type: School)

OPALS has done everything that has been asked of it. Any issues have been resolved incredibly rapidly. (Type: School)

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