Library Technology Guides

Statistical Report for OPALS

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 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 77 95.06%	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

We are already open-source. OPALS is awesome and the people at Media-Flex are incredible to work with! (Type: School)

OPALS has been very responsive to our requests for improvements in their products. I also value the reliability of the system--almost no down time from issues at their end. (Type: School)

Company is very responsive to user's needs. (Type: Consortium)

We love the OPALS library automation system. We couldn't be happier with the service and the product. (Type: School)

Mediaflex is the most responsive ILS provider that I've ever worked with. Their customer support far exceeds all other vendors. (Type: School)

I migrated last year from [...] which used Koha. The migration to Koha about 5 years ago was a nightmare, the reports were not very good, plus my library aide could not create the reports because the excel use was too difficult. The migration to OPALS was very easy, the support has been very impressive and they always respond within the day, and the reports are much more useful for our library. On top of that the OPALS circ/cat is our library homepage with pathfinder, weblinks and new titles all on one page. I would highly recommend this ILS. (Type: School)

We switched to OPALS last Sept. and are extremely pleased at how it works, how quickly it modifies upon request, it's forward thinking - it is open source. Couldn't be more pleased with the company or its product. Feel free to contact me. The collection count does not include our ebook collection which is growing nor our "non-traditional" library resources that we want students to access (url connections, lectures, etc) (Type: School)

Almost all of our support communication with Media Flex/Bibliofiche is by email, which works quite well. Reported programming bugs are repaired promptly. Company welcomes customer recommendations for system improvements. A major enhancement during the past year provides a ready-to-use home page, along with multiple customization options which can be implemented by staff with limited technical skills. New online documentation site is a significant improvement but still has gaps in coverage. (Type: Church)

Opals has been very responsive to product improvment suggestions. New releases come out frequently reflecting user feedback. (Type: Consortium)

We migrated to OPALS this year, an open-source ILS which is a fraction of the cost of proprietary systems. The transition was incredibly painless and the customer support is prompt, empathetic and thorough. (Type: Academic)

We are very satisfied with our open source provider. They implement constant upgrades improving the system according to feedback from customers (not according to their own ideas of what the customers might want). The improvements are useful. Customer service is mostly effective and timely. Costs are minimal and competitive. (Type: School)

This is the first year we've had OPALS, so I cannot speak to whether their service is better or worse. Their service is excellent right now; they are very quick to respond to issues or questions and offer much more help than Destiny, which we had previously. The system is a bit unwieldy and doesn't have all the features that we were used to with Destiny. It gets the job done, though the navigation and multiple interfaces are complicated for elementary students. I wish CERF were easier to find; students can never find it to use it. (Type: School)

Opals is a great workhorse,it has what we need to manage a school library collection, and manage circulation and statistical reports, while being affordable. Service is amazing, and this holds true to my neighboring librarians who have taken my suggestion and switched to OPALS as well. (Type: School)

I have done testing of this software and find the company very willing to listen to specific needs of the clients. Eager to quickly fix problems with updates as tested. (Type: School)

MediaFlex, which offers and maintains OPALS for us, has been consistently the most responsive company in terms of customer support. Having worked with them since 2007, we continue to enjoy a close working relationship. (Type: School)

I love OPALS and have been very happy with both the service and the support. My school district is hoping to merge our systems (different schools use different systems) and I am advocating strongly that we go with OPALS. Great value, great product! (Type: School)

OPLAS is an affordable ILS for a church library with limited budget. Although some features are still under development, we are quite satisfied with what it is now. Eventually I hope OPLAS can consider to develop the fields which allows us to enter Chinese names. In addition, the updated user manual should be available. (Type: Church)

Opals has been very responsive to our needs. (Type: School)

Opals has been a wonderful catalog for us. It is easy to use, the customer support and technical support could not be better, and the cost, which is extremely reasonable, has remained stable for four years. I cannot imagine an easier system or better bargain. (Type: School)

This is our first year using OPALS (customer suipport in the past year is not applicable). Web-based is a bit different from what we were using. Signing in resources takes a bit longer than in the old program. Company is very responsive to suggestions and quick to provide support when requested. (Type: School)

First year using OPALS - customer support is not applicable. A library selection committee reviewed three open-source ILS (Evergreen, KOHA, OPALS). Love using OPALS. (Type: School)

I like the fact that the program has lots to offer, but the day to day check in and check out for my classes of 24 to 30 students in 30 minutes is much slower than my last program maybe because of it being open source. It just doesn't seem to scan as fast. I have to check in all the books for 24 to 30 students as they walk in the door. All of a classes house keeping has to be done during that time as I do not have time to chase down students outside of class time with our time being cut back again. Also, there needs to be an option for printing a classes bar code list by the users first name, as in my school with 300 + students I actually know all their first names and not their last names. Now, the best I can do is print a list in alphabetical order by their last name. It takes me way too long to find their name. I would also like the option for setting the log in, so I don't have to log in every time I on go onto the internet. Sometimes, I quickly need to find the next book in a series for a student during book sign out and time is wasted with me having to log back in each time. I have to multitask quickly with all my classes. There is too much on the screen when searching for a book or when doing check out. I'm continually dragging my side bar or scrolling with my mouse wheel to see the important User check out items during their sign out. There should be option buttons that we could turn off, like turning off the search window and then clicking it on quickly and easily again if we are helping a student. Also, I want the option to turning off the task of clicking on the Yes / No buttons if a student has books overdue. Again, if students know where there book is and as long as they don't exceed their limit, I let them sign out books. This is the personal relationship/trust I have with students. I have missed clicking yes so many times because I'm multitasking. Numerous books come back not even being checked out, again because I have to scroll down, the buttons are not in my screen at first glance. These kind of turning off or on options should also include opening or closing the book shelf for teachers and students. Depending on how the child searches he may or may not want these on. In Owl Search our screens have to be reduced to 75% in order for students to see the entire screen and then I change them back to 100 % for the standard search, 75 % is too small is this search. |Too much of my time is wasted doing this as classes alternate between younger and older students. Everything else I am very happy with especially how easily accessible the OPALS staff are with support, very reassuring when we were thrown into the program and Teacher librarians have very little time to do their job let alone learn a new program without excellent support. (Type: School)

The collections of the[...] are being cataloged gradually on a volunteer basis under the guidance of its library advisor. (There is as yet no library director.) (Type: Museum)

This is our first year using OPALS and we are very pleased with it. The OPALS user group meeting last month was very helpful, and further confirmed our decision to use OPALS in our school library. (Type: School)

The OPALS software is a complex, yet user-friendly, automation system that encompasses all aspects of the library environment. The company is an aggressive leader in the development and deployment of new technology and provides excellent, immediate support to individual needs. (Type: School)

---

Library Technology Guides is a service provided by Marshall Breeding, independent consultant, author, and speaker.