The NCSU Libraries have announced the first library deployment of Endeca ProFind with Guided Navigation. I expect many libraries will follow suit. It must be an exciting time to be at NCSU. Not only do they have the coolest catalog. They also get to zip around on a Segway Human Transporter.
No wonder everyone wants to be a librarian these days. Speaking of which, I had lunch yesterday with Superpatron (the alter ego of Ed Vielmetti) who's been playing with Ann Arbor's catalog. I especially like his visual wall of books.
Thanks Peter. I've updated the wall of books posting here
http://vielmetti.typepad.com/superpatron/2006/01/wall_of_books_u.html
with some notes as to how it might help findability without losing its essential visual charm. Is most recent first the best sort, or should I try to sort on some kind of book metadata? hard to know. And I'd like to give at least a little feedback as to how many other patrons had put a book on hold so you could know at a glance how long you might wait or whether something was popular.