Documentation Committee Meeting Notes
Date: 4/13/99
Present: Martha Walker, Marianne Hansen, Angi Faiks, Lori Micho, Lance

Heidig, Nan Hyland, Deb Joseph 
Recorder: Martha Walker

I. Gateway Help Update:

a) Angi reported that the GW Help group (Angi, Lance and Nan) has
divvied up the tech-related pages needing revision for new Help. Angi
and Nan will be doing the technology and connection-based pages. Lance
will be working on the glossary, combining existing (print and online)
glossaries. Martha suggested he talk to Deb about it first since the
Handouts Subcommittee spent considerable time revising the glossary
(paper) during the summer of `98. Angi also mentioned that the glossary
can be put into the java-based format that John Fereira has identified
and is developing for our site.

b) John Fereira has created a template with appropriate metatags for all
Help documents, which he will show us how to use at our next meeting on
4/22. This template could eventually be used for all Gateway pages.

c) Angi mentioned our plans to advertise revised Help in the fall. We
hope to create bookmarks and small posters for distribution to all
interested CUL libraries. Martha elaborated on the concept behind the
advertisement and asked for assistance in identifying appropriate
imagery. Once the advertisement is in draft form, we can draw up a
budget for color processing. We will run this by IRPC Steering before
having multiple copies made of the poster or bookmarks. It would be ideal if we could
have these materials done in time for the Library Technology Fair and
the Travelers of the Electronic Highway sessions in the early fall.

II. Nan reported on progress on our User Study. Our plans have been
approved by the University Committee on Human Subjects. A
letter is about to go out to 36 individuals explaining the study and
asking them to contact Nan by a certain date. Martha is preparing the
cards for the study. The cards should be done by Monday 4/19. Angi,
Lance, Nan, and Martha will each work with three study participants, at
the end of which they will have a marathon data-compilation session.
Yasamin DiCiccio of the Computer Assisted Survey Team has reviewed our
plans and confirmed the validity of our study.

III. Martha handed out a chart outlining the status of the proposed
contents of revised Help. We determined who would be working on which
parts and came up with a rough deadline of the end of May.

IV. New Guide (in paper): Martha handed out the final version of CUL
Pub. No. 3: Subject Searching in the CU Library Catalog, giving committee
members one last chance to make changes before it is made available to
the public next week.

V. Library Guide: Martha mentioned that most library directors met their April 9th deadline for changes to the text of the Guide. Martha will send out reminders this week to those who missed the deadline. Deb and Martha will be working on the changes, which must go to University Publications by 5/12, after being reviewed and approved by Library Administration in early May.

 

Martha Walker
Reference Librarian
Olin Kroch Uris Libraries
Division of Reference Services
106 Olin Library
Ithaca, NY  14853-5301
(607) 255-4985