June 26, 2000

Dear CUL,

Thanks to your hard and intelligent work, the Cornell University Library has entered a new era of service. Voyager has launched, and our students and faculty will now have the advantage of a state-of-the-art system for searching and discovering our vast store of resources. The successful implementation owes much to you all, as well as to our partners at Endeavor who have labored to make Cornell an exemplary Voyager site. The LMS Evaluation Team made a rigorous examination of library management systems, and you kicked the tires on a number of potential models before recommending Voyager. Last spring Tom Hickerson, Lee Cartmill and I negotiated the contract with Endeavor, and the LMS Implementation Management Team took over the planning for the transition to Voyager. This group, aided by subcommittee members drawn throughout the Library, has done an outstanding job of paying attention to thousands of details, ensuring that today, June 26, our patrons would find a working system, with no disruption. Many of you have served as trainers, and almost every person on the staff has participated in Voyager training. It's one of the pleasures of my job that all sorts of people stop me in the halls to tell me spontaneously that the training has been of the highest caliber; they've both learned from it and enjoyed it. Trainers, your co-workers really appreciate the time and thought you've invested into making the sessions a worthwhile experience! An undertaking of this magnitude is a tremendous achievement.

This morning, the first official day of Voyager, cataloging, circulation, and the OPAC are up and running. We have encountered a problem with acquisitions, but Cornell and Endeavor staff are working to unkink that twist, and we know it's just a matter of time before the matter is solved.

There are so many people who deserve credit for the success of this venture: Provost Don Randel, who made sure the University understood the importance of the new LMS and secured funding for it; the LMS Steering Committee, who provided oversight, including Ross Atkinson and Tom Hickerson; the LMS Evaluation Team; the LMS Implementation Team; the Subcommittees; and the trainers. Most of all, though, I want to thank Lynne Personius and her fine colleagues for their dedication and thoroughness. Lynne has been a strong and very calm leader throughout this whole experience.

Congratulations, all, on a terrific accomplishment.

Sarah