Coordinating Committees
Progress Report to CUWL – January 23, 2008
Library Technology Coordinating Committee
Committee Goals and progress:
Strategic Direction # |
Action Item/Goal |
Progress/Status |
1.4.2 |
Assist campuses with D2L/Library Integration Taskforce recommendations (putting more library resources into D2L/Learn@UW). |
See below. |
1.4.3 |
Review distance education problems accessing library resources and work with other units to remove obstacles. |
The USCC is taking on this goal since it is a component of their charge. Steve Frye will contact the designated DE librarian on each campus to join a new subcommittee, ask them to create a charge and use the wiki to communicate. This will give the DE librarians their own forum. Our group asked that they setup a list of technical contacts on each campus and also focus on improving communication with libraries so that we know about new DE programs early on. |
1.5.1 |
Review options for a new OPAC; keep apprised of new products like WorldCat Local, Primo, and Evergreen. |
Since Madison has a task force doing this already, we will wait to see their report and make plans after that. In the meantime, we are reading articles on the subject (citations will be added to the wiki). Mitch will post information from the Madison task force on the wiki. |
3.1.2 |
Improve consistency across campuses of the MetaLib implementation; review recommendations for consistency of SFX and MetaLib variables and features. |
On hold until the MetaLib assessment is completed. |
3.1.3 |
Perform an assessment of SFX/MetaLib. |
The User Services CC was assigned responsibility for this. We will have one or two LTCC members on that committee (Terri Muraski-UWSP, Sharon Knight-UWW). |
3.2.1 |
Review Voyager invoicing and licenses to determine if there would be significant savings by renegotiating the contract. |
Ex Libris wants to see usage information over time. Madison has a script to take a snapshot of the number of OPAC, acquisitions, circulation sessions open at a time. Paul is waiting to hear from Linda Voyles to see if this is sufficient for all campuses. If yes, Brian will run the script for the hub and the script will be shared with other LAMs to run it for their campuses. |
3.3.1 |
Assist smaller campuses with automation needs - investigate centralization of more functions; work to offer more training. |
Documentation, Powerpoints, and webcasts will be posted to CUWL’s web site or the wiki to assist others. This is something that needs continuous prodding to encourage people to share what they have worked on and to solicit ideas for what they want. We also want to make sure there is a breakout session at the summer conference for a technical Q&A or roundtable. |
3.3.2 |
Create a UW functional contacts list. |
In progress. Paul is going to compile responses and Marlys will follow-up with campuses that have not yet responded. |
3.2.2 |
Discuss a needs assessment for an electronic resources management (ERM) system, such as Verde. |
CRSCC will also be involved in this. A subcommittee needs to be formed. Sharon Knight (UW-Whitewater) will represent the LTCC. Michelle McNelly (UWRF) has also expressed an interest. Since there is no System money to purchase a product, the group will probably be asked to survey what other libraries of similar size are already doing. Sharing that information will be the initial goal. |
3.1.5 |
Review UB consistency settings across campuses (changed to Review and analyze the effectiveness of Universal Borrowing and further develop resource-sharing policies with the advice of appropriate constituencies). |
The CRSCC was assigned responsibility for this. We have recommendations for members of their subcommittee. |
D2L/Library Integration
The library directors were surveyed to assess the current state of D2L/Library integration. Most campuses have implemented the most basic recommendation at this time—a link from the Navbar to a static web page, usually the library’s home page. Six campuses are interested in implementing the Colleges model if there is support from DoIT. Three other campuses might be interested, but need more information. Two campuses (Madison and Milwaukee) are not interested. Milwaukee is pursuing a commercial product, Libguides, to fill this need. One campus is still investigating the options and did not specify which model they will pursue. Marc Boucher is willing to talk to DoIT staff to see how much work it would require and how much it would cost to set it up for multiple campuses. The benefit of centralizing this at DoIT is that they can provide the technical assistance to get this working initially and support if needed in the future. Mark Robson at UW Washington County wrote the program in SQL with ASP and is willing to share it, but it won’t work “out of the box” for other campuses. The most difficult piece is pulling in data from each campus’ student registration system. Given the level of interest for this model, we are asking CUWL to approve moving forward to get more information from DoIT.
Other issues/items:
- We will be coordinating a Voyager upgrade or at least a patch this summer. Bill Doering, who chairs the Hub and LAMs groups, will oversee this.
- Skype was identified initially as a free alternative to Wisline for conference calls but we learned there is a limit of 10 people on a conference call. We are using freeconference.com instead. The only charges for this are the long distance call for each caller. It also has a web conferencing piece that allows the administrator to share their desktop with everyone on the call.
Respectfully submitted by
Marlys Brunsting
UW-Green Bay
Chair, Library Technology Coordinating Committee