An OPAC, or Online Public Access Catalogue, is the part of a library system that members use directly: searching the collection, checking whether a copy is on the shelf, reserving it, and managing their own loans.
Why it changes how a library runs
Before an OPAC, every enquiry went through staff. The catalogue existed for the librarian, and a member's question was answered by someone looking it up. Opening the catalogue moves routine lookups to the member and leaves staff with the questions that actually need them.
What makes one useful
- Availability, not just existence. Knowing a title is catalogued is not useful if every copy is on loan. Availability must come from circulation, not from a separate field.
- Copy-level holdings. In a multi-branch library, the member needs to know which branch has it.
- Reservation — placing a hold rather than travelling to find it gone.
- Self-service renewal, which removes a large share of counter traffic.
- Search that tolerates imprecision, because members search by half-remembered titles.
The integrity problem underneath
An OPAC exposes the catalogue's accuracy to everyone. Discrepancies that staff quietly worked around become visible the first week it opens — which is uncomfortable, and is exactly why it improves the catalogue.
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