PUBLIC SERVICES FORUM

12 July 1999

RWA Notes

1. Introductions. Lynn Brown introduced Angela Horne, who is the new public services librarian in JGSM. Pat Viele introduced Leah Solla, the new chemistry librarian in PSL.
2. P2K. A recent announcement by Fred Rogers on P2K progress indicated that current efforts will concentrate on the payroll system. We may conclude from this that the student system will not be implemented in December, as we once thought might happen. We should therefore work on the assumption that the P2K student system will likely be brought up next summer.
3. Public Printing. I noted that I am continuing to work on the issue of public printing. When I am able to obtain a list of the printers in all units, I will be contacting public services staff in each unit to find out their concerns about public printing and to gauge the possibility of alternatives. LMT will be discussing public printing funding policy (who should pay for what) at a meeting later this summer. Staff with strong views on funding policy should therefore convey those views on to their respective AULs.
4. Kiosk Bear Access. Lynne Personius explained that Kiosk Bear Access has by policy had several key features, including a high level of security (e.g., the user cannot access the desktop) and service from a central server (in Rhodes Hall) to minimize public service busy work. In response to a decision made several months ago by LMT, what is left of Kiosk Bear Access is being removed from the public kiosk machines, but the qualities of security and the central server will remain. With the elimination of Kiosk BA, users of these machines will have only two options: to go to Netscape or to use a TN3270 telnet connection to the catalog. In order to return to the default page on Netscape, the user should click the Netsape home button. If Netscape is turned off, there will be wallpaper, with instructions to start Netscape again by using the start button.

   Currently the Library's default page is the networked resources page of the Gateway. On the last Monday before fall classes begin (that should be 23 August), this will be changed, so that the default page will be the CUL Web page, currently being completed by Marty Schlabach. At that point, units can decide whether they want the CUL Web page as their default page, or whether they want to use their own home page (or retain the networked resources page). If DLIT hears nothing from a unit, it will be assumed that the unit will have the CUL Web page as its default screen. Units preferring to use their own Web pages--or preferring to retain (temporarily or permanently) the networked resources page of the Gateway as the default page for their unit--should notify DLIT and provide the appropriate URL. Marty said that the new CUL Web page will be available in test some time before the change-over on the last Monday before classes.

   Lynne said that public Macintosh computers are now being replaced by Dell computers, because CIT will no longer support Appletalk Forward. The Dell machines will have the same software and monitors as the COMPAQ machines, so users should notice no difference. In addition, all COMPAQ machines will be upgraded from Win95 to Win98 to make them Y2K compliant.

   Just the Facts will now no longer be available on Kiosk machines, so that students will not be able to change their addresses on those machines. Students can use the machines in the computer labs or their own computers to do this, but some units may want to make special arrangements to ensure that one public machine in the reference/circulation area can access Just the Facts. Units interested in doing this should contact DLIT.

5. NOTIS 6.5. Joel Zumoff said that the testing for NOTIS 6.5 went fairly well this past Sunday, and there is now every expectation that the new version will be implemented this coming Sunday, 18 July. The main purpose of the upgrade is Y2K compliance. While there will be some changes in sign-on's, which all units have been or will be notified of, this upgrade will result in no significant changes to NOTIS functionality. Some difficulties are being experienced with Books-Out, but there is every expectation that these will be fixed before the cut-over on Sunday.
6. ILLiad. Susan Currie reported that the automated interlibrary loan system ILLiad continues to progress. As Susan and Howard explained at the last PS Forum meeting, ILLiad will provide ILL staff with a single front end for the several ILL systems now in use, and will allow the user to track his or her ILL request while it is being filled. While ILLiad works now with OCLC, it is still not effective with RLIN. Susan provided ILLiad staff with considerable information in an extensive meeting at ALA, so we expect improvements will be forthcoming. We have also stipulated, Susan said, that ILL requests submitted online by users should be sent first to reference staff at the user's preferred library. This will give reference staff the opportunity to verify the request and to provide the user with additional assistance, if necessary. While we had hoped to have ILLiad in operation in all CUL ILL units by the beginning of the fall semester, that does not now appear possible. However, we are hopeful, Susan said, that we will still be able to implement ILLiad sometime during the fall semester.
7. Annex Document Delivery. Susan explained that Access Steering has been working on the procedure to deliver articles or chapters of materials in the Annex to CU users. They have been greatly assisted by Cammie Hoffmier and Annex staff--and, for the technology, by Rick Lightbody, Adam Smith and Georg Kozak. Several faculty have been identified as possible participants in a one-month test, and those faculty members will be contacted this week. All of the necessary forms have been created, and are now on the test Gateway. The user will be able to choose between (a) having the volume sent to a campus library of choice or (b) document delivery. Whoever selects document delivery will be given a further choice of three methods: photocopy sent by campus mail, fax, or electronic. Those selecting electronic delivery will be sent by e-mail a unique URL, which will lead the user to a page on the Library's Web server where the article (having been scanned and converted to PDF by Annex staff) will be accessible to the requestor. The page containing the article will be purged after two weeks. All delivered documents, regardless of format, will include a copyright statement. This document delivery service will not be available to non-Cornell users, who will need to request that the volume containing the information needed be sent to a designated campus library.
8. PWD Policy. I reviewed the history of the drafting of the CUL policy for services to people with disabilities. We currently have a draft official policy, which is a slightly altered version of the final report of the Task Force on Services to the Disabled (Stuart Basefsky [Chair], Carmen Blankinship, Janet Gillespie, Nan Hyland, Katie Margolis); we also have a brief public statement, which is more accessible for users, and which refers any interested users to the full policy. At Nancy's suggestion, we decided to remove the term "visitor," in the list of persons with disabilities who need to self-identify, on the assumption that the visitors who would need special assistance would be mainly visiting faculty or staff--and there is a statement already in the policy that all faculty and staff should self-identify. The next step will be for these drafts (both the policy and the public statement) to be submitted to LMT, and then to University Counsel. Once approved by University Counsel, this policy can be implemented. Carmen, who has been designated the CUL Primary Contact Person for Disability Services, will forward these drafts to Joan Fisher in OEO.
9. Collaborative Reference. I briefly reported on a new effort, led by LC in collaboration with some other national libraries, to provide an international, collaborative online reference service, which would be operative 24/7. All types of libraries (academic, public, school, special) are represented in this effort. I am participating in a subgroup that is looking at economic models for this program--because I want to be sure that academic libraries are carefully considered early in the planning, and because I want to make certain that issues relating to ownership of information are not overlooked. Paul Constantine is also involved in this project, so CUL will probably be hearing much about it in the near future. I asked staff to send any views they have on this project to me. I will be keeping PSEC and IRPC Steering informed as the work of the planning group moves ahead.

Minutes recorded by Ross Atkinson.

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Rev. 7/13/99, mc