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TRELLIS Pilots Group

UW TRELLIS Pilots Meeting

Minutes

May 12, 2003 – 1:30-3:25 p.m. – Davis Library Conference Room

Present: Deb Addesso (for Carolyn Dirks), Lois Clifford, Betty Graf, Alex McCulloch, Patti Metzger, Darlene Radicioni, Dan Sich, Gail Sperling, Linda Teather (facilitator & recorder), Charles Woods

  1. Highlights from EndUser 2003
    Dan and Charles reported on some of the sessions they attended at EndUser 2003. Dan highlighted sessions on OPAC statistics, Usability testing with WebVoyage, and Multilingual WebVoyage. Charles commented on the Enhancement Group orientation (a maximum of nine enhancements in three problem areas can be identified for Endeavor’s attention), ENCompass, Circulation online tutorials for training casual staff, Data manipulation/using MarcEdit to edit batches of bibliographic records, and the System Administration Special Interest Group, which he convened.

    The TRELLIS Operational Management Group (TOMG) will be compiling and issuing EndUser attendees’ conference reports soon. Many presentations are available from the Users Group area Endeavor’s SupportWeb (http://support.endinfosys.com/)

    In response to requests for sites where Pilots can see ENCompass in a live setting, Charles provided two URLs after the meeting. Note that Rochester is typically a slow site and that some resources will not be available to external users.

  2. Notes from the May 8th TUG Prototyping Team meeting

    1. Follow-up on Voyager 2001.1 upgrade
      Several post-2001.1 upgrade issues were discussed at a TUG Prototyping Team meeting on May 8th.

      TUG Systems workstation support managers met to discuss client installation problems and ways of coordinating trouble-shooting and communicating the results to their TUG colleagues. Endeavor has stated that the next release will have an improved installation process that will avoid or remedy problems similar to those encountered with 2001.1.

      Because a number of significant bugs were not found by the Prototyping Team during the 2001.1 preview testing, improvements in the prototyping process were considered. Testing will be done more thoroughly and at all TUG libraries. Functional groups will revive and revise their old testing checklists and will try to replicate normal work processes as much as possible. Scott Gillies (Prototyping Coordinator) will pull lists of known bugs from SupportWeb’s KnowledgeBase for each module as part of the testing process. Setting up our own preview server was suggested but this will not be pursued further until the results of the more rigorous testing process are seen.

      Pilots who are not members of the Prototyping Team were asked if they wished to participate in the pre-upgrade testing. Lois Clifford volunteered.

    2. Input to decision to upgrade to 2001.2 and Unicode release
      The Prototyping Team identified and prioritized the following upgrade opportunities available each year:

      • Mid-August
      • Christmas
      • Early May, after post-fiscal period close tasks are completed
      • Mid-Summer/late June

      The date recommended for the 2001.2 upgrade is the weekend of August 15th. Pilots had no concerns about this proposal. Charles noted that we may be able to cut one day from the upgrade period with a Friday evening start rather than the traditional Thursday evening.

      Testing of 2001.2 will start as soon as possible and extend to August 1 to accommodate testers’ vacations.

      While we don’t know enough yet about the Unicode and version 5 releases to propose an upgrade plan, the Prototyping Team entertained the concept of upgrading to Unicode in mid-August 2004 and possibly combining it with the version 5 upgrade.

      Linda distributed two EndUser Conference Note documents: “Endeavor Product Session: Voyager 2001.2 Release Demo” and “Endeavor Product Sessions: Voyager with Unicode Expectations: What to Expect for the Voyager with Unicode Release”.

      Following the meeting, Charles confirmed that the Unicode release is in beta data-conversion now; with general beta testing expected to begin in June 2003. Release 5 is planned for Summer 2004.

  3. Impending data loads

    1. Guelph/Humber
      By September, approximately 2,000 Guelph/Humber records will be loaded to the TRELLIS database via Bulk Import. MFHD and item records will be created and circulation status will display on TRELLIS. The physical materials are housed at Humber College and will be charged and discharged on both the Humber and TRELLIS systems. Students in the joint Guelph/Humber programs will be able to use TUG materials. We understand that TUG users will be able to request Guelph/Humber materials. Details should be issued by TOMG later in the Summer.

    2. Early English Books Online
      Guelph and UW have purchased Early English Books Online, along with approximately 125,000 related MARC records. Guelph may be transferring its microfilm holdings to WLU. UW will retain its existing microfilm collection and will try to link the microfilm and electronic holdings on TRELLIS. UW’s microform orders have been cancelled.

  4. Guelph affiliates joining TRELLIS
    Guelph’s regional agricultural colleges are once again considering joining TRELLIS. Scott Gillies and others at Guelph are working with the colleges to explore issues such as data quality, data import from their InMagic system, deduping requirements, French language requirements for Collège d’Alfred, local branding. TUG’s “Policy on Incorporating New TriUniversity-Affiliated Participants into the TRELLIS Library System”
    (http://staff.tug-libraries.on.ca/
    trellis/TriUniversity-Affiliated.html    ) will be followed.

  5. MarcEdit
    Charles described the MarcEdit Windows-compatible utility demonstrated at EndUser. MarcEdit can be used to edit batches of MARC records at the cataloguer’s workstation. It can be used when importing batches of records or when existing records have been saved to a file, edited and saved back to the TRELLIS database. Charles noted that BatchCat would probably be the better tool for database fixes but that MarcEdit could be useful for cataloguing projects. He will demo MarcEdit at a Cataloguing meeting.

    MarcEdit is free and can be obtained from http://www.onid.orst.edu/~reeset/marcedit/html

  6. Purging old patron records
    Alex described the issue related to our inability to purge old patron records, as well as the cautions required in purging old records. Fines paid must be at least one year old, patrons with outstanding fines or loans may not be purged, etc. The purge date set in TRELLIS patron records is one year after the end of the last academic term in which the student was registered.

    Endeavor has indicated that there will be a purge function in release 5 (Summer 2004?). Alex has been considering the pros and cons of waiting for Endeavor. He is also investigating the possibility of developing our own purge capability, possibly using MacroExpress to delete records online. Alex asked the affiliated libraries, especially Renison and St. Jerome's, to consider whether or not purging old records based on the purge date would cause them any problems.

    To do:Alex, Charles and Gail will review the local proposal and assess its impact and do-ability. Pilots from the affiliated libraries will consider the impact and communicate any concerns to Alex.

  7. System-down call-around routine
    Alex asked if the Systems call-around routine was still needed or if it could be replaced by email contact. For planned downtimes, email notification would usually be sufficient. For unplanned system-downs, several reasons were identified for retaining the phone-around procedure:

    • The email server may be down or network problems may block delivery to some or all locations
    • A mailing to a large group such as tugstaff-l can take up to 50 minutes before all staff have received the message

    Decision: The call-around procedure will be retained, with an email message sent as a backup method of communication when appropriate.

    To do: Systems will review the call-around lists to ensure that contacts are still appropriate and the list is complete.

  8. Around-the-table

    Betty: Cataloguing has started to delete approximately 6,000 pre-TRELLIS ‘missing’ items.

    Darlene:TRACE’s periodicals now have bibliographic records on TRELLIS. Betty’s staff will barcode issues soon.

    Lois: A student will review Renison’s uncatalogued Chinese collection this Summer and will group materials by subject matter. These items may then be boxed for storage to free needed shelf space.

    Dan: VDX goes live for ILL and TUGdoc on June 18th. Alex, Christine and Dan will conduct staff training sessions for User Services and ISR staff on June 6th and 13th respectively. Pilots asked about training for non-ISR staff working on information desks and staff from the affiliated libraries. Alex noted that hands-on training for staff processing requests will include the affiliated libraries.

    To do: If space permits, Dan will invite staff from the affiliated libraries to his demo session.

    TUG OPAC is looking into WebVoyage revitalization: reviewing other Voyager sites; examining OPAC logs to identify areas where users are encountering problems; considering an index review, local branding, cascading style sheets, pop-up windows, etc.

    Gail: The TUG Cognos Reports Training Team has been appointed and will be attending training sessions on May 29th and June 5th. The Team will develop a Fall training program for staff.

    Charles: A lively email discussion is underway among Prototyping Team members in response to a proposal that the OPAC display name for the Annex be changed to indicate its “Storage” role. He asked for input from Pilots, especially in light of reasons for the original decision to exclude “Storage” from the name. Several Pilots recalled clearly the fallout from a weed-to-storage project several years ago that aroused faculty ire and became known in the Library as the “hide the books” project. None felt strongly about the addition of “storage” to the name but it was pointed out that the name of the facility is the “Annex” and this should remain the primary element in the display name.

    To do: Alex will ask Sharon Lamont if she has concerns about the name issue.

    At the Prototyping Team meeting, an issue was tabled regarding the TUG lending policy of unlimited numbers of items borrowed and renewed. A professor at WLU raised the issue of patrons building personal collections by permanently retaining Library items. The group was reminded that the TUG Lending Policy was recently reviewed through a consultation process that was undertaken at each library. At UW, Sharon Lamont sent the revised draft to all Library staff and the affiliated libraries in mid-April.

    To do: Linda will forward the revised draft of the TUG Lending Policy to Pilots.

  9. Next meeting
    The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for late July/early August, before the next upgrade. Linda will solicit information about Pilots’ availability to meet and schedule accordingly.

UW TRELLIS Pilots Group
LibPilots@uwaterloo.ca
November 10, 2006