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Over the past several months, Christine Anderson, an APH consultant and former Director of Resource Services, and Maria Delgado, Louis Field Services Representative, have led the effort to upgrade the interfaces for the Louis Database of Accessible Materials for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired and the Accessible Materials Producers (AMP) Database. This upgrade was necessary to accommodate many requests from searchers for changes to the interface over the last few years. Most notably, the upgrade provides much better support for speech and low vision users.
This improved support for speech and low vision users is only possible, however, for searchers who use Internet Explorer® (IE) 6 or higher or Netscape Navigator® 7 or higher. Because of this, searchers using older versions of IE or Navigator were unable to use the new interface.
Beginning on December 15th,we will implement a feature that will allow those who have not yet upgraded to the current versions of IE and Navigator to continue to use the older Louis interface until they upgrade. Those searchers who use IE 6 or Netscape Navigator 7 will use the new Louis interface.
We have posted the links to upgrade to IE 6 or Netscape Navigator 7 below. Please note that both Netscape and Microsoft offer updates by two methods, via download from the web and by CD. The web downloads are free of charge for Netscape and Internet Explorer. We will discontinue the old interface to Louis after a transitional period, and we will let you know in advance before discontinuing it. Currently we plan on maintaining access to the old Louis interface through March 31, 2005.
Look for the new Louis AND the new AMP interfaces to be available on December 15th. All Louis searchers will be able to use Louis, but only those who use IE 6 or better or Netscape Navigator 7 or better will be able to use the new interface. Please upgrade soon so that you can check out all the new features in Louis! And watch the web site for news on when the new Louis will be launched!
Please use the new Louis interface if you have IE 6 or Netscape Navigator 7 or higher. Beginning on December 15th you will be connected to the new Louis interface automatically if you choose SHOP APH from the main APH web page.
Keep reading to learn more about why we created a new Louis interface and the enhanced features it offers! Then, check out the demos of the new Louis and AMP interfaces here:
We have been saving comments from users since the last upgrade, and we have made some improvements in the last few years. Happily, the latest upgrade to the Star® web software has allowed us to make many major changes that users have requested in the last few years.
Maria and Christine have worked on this off and on for several years; this summer they had the time to dedicate to the upgrade work.
Louis offers enhanced visual and speech access. The new interface features drop down boxes, more white space on the search pages, fewer buttons, and the ability to search either by clicking the Enter key or by clicking on the search button.
Using feedback from consumers and APH staff, we have added many searching features and deleted some unused access points. The APH products search now allows users to search by keyword or by an alphabetical listing. The Academic Test search page allows searchers to specify form and level by letter and number. Other improvements include the quick searches for Braille Authority of North America code books, music, and recently added products.
Note that for searching textbooks, we eliminated many links and replaced them with two, easy-to-use boxes. One drop down box allows searchers to specify search type (keyword, title, author, subject), and one keyword box allows users to narrow their searches.
Think of the advantages offered by the ability to search for and purchase APH products from one, easy to use display! To obtain this goal, the data from the current APH web product pages has been carefully entered into Louis.
Again, we have been listening to users and APH staff. The data now are listed with descriptive headings, color enhancements for visual ease of use, and such bonus features as product pictures, brochures, product demonstrations, and Fred's Head links.
The Repository is no longer a separate search choice. Users can download the file directly from the item.
The new interface also now includes print friendly reports, with no graphics included.
With the new interface, users can now display all the listings for their agency, without contacting APH.
