Public Services Forum

13 September 1999

RWA Notes

1. LMS. Lynne Personius reported that the LMS Steering Committee and the LMS Implementation Management Team met for two days last week with Marlene Harris, the Endeavor project manager for Cornell. The hardware for the system is now installed. The Endeavor Web catalog is now in place on a Cornell machine, although it has not yet been programmed or connected to our catalog. It can be found at Library7.library.cornell.edu . Lynne explained that we have purchased a large training package as part of our implementation effort. IMT will receive orientation training next month, to prepare them to begin work on configuration and data migration. In November, IMT will receive four days of functional training, in which all IMT members will learn about all functions of the system. In the spring, CUL trainers will receive similar training, so that they can then begin to train Library staff. The next step will be for IMT to work out a full implementation schedule.

2. Web Catalog. Lynne recalled that we did provide Web access to the NOTIS catalog as part of the NOTIS 6.5 upgrade. PacLink is the Z39.50 software that resides on the mainframe. There is also intermediary software (on the TAG server). Any Z39.50 client can access the catalog through PacLink. The client we have been using is NOTIS' WebPac--however that client, we have found, has serious problems in our environment, most notably its tendency to cause the system to go down in response to large keyword searches. Since we now have a new Z39.50 client in place from Endeavor, WebVoyage, the Library intends to study whether Web access to the NOTIS catalog for the current academic year can be made available through WebVoyage. This will take some serious programming work (our own NOTIS catalog will apparently need to be treated as a remote database), but it would mean, if successful, that we would be able to provide Web access to the catalog this year, rather than waiting until the launch of Endeavor next year. Karen Calhoun asked whether the shift to WebVoyage would impair our access to WebPac, which we use for transferring data to the Gateway. Lynne responded that WebPac will remain up and running, even if we implement WebVoyage.

3. Quick Updates.
   • Database Want List. In response to a request from Sarah Thomas, DRC has calculated the cost of improving the quality of CUL database holdings to a strong level. As part of this estimate, selectors and reference staff were asked for input on databases wanted. This resulted in a substantial list of databases, which I will attach below. None of these databases are on the want list for next year by virtue of their inclusion on this list. In order to make specific requests for databases, selectors and others should send recommendations to Yoram or another member of the DRC.
   • Public Printing. LMT is now considering public printing, especially issues of hardware and what public printing, if any, the Library should subsidize in future. Further information will be collected about public printing in CUL and elsewhere to assist in this discussion. Some of the dot matrix printers in endowed libraries will be replaced in the near future, probably with ink jet printers.
   • Patron File. After three weeks, new information on faculty and staff can once again be transferred from HR to the Library's patron file--so the patron file should now be up to date.
   • Address Changes. In response to a query on circadmin-l from Joanne Leary, we did look into whether faculty and staff could change their address in the Library patron file by using Who I Am. The answer is that this is not really possible: while Who I Am will change the faculty or staff member's address in the phone directory, it will apparently not necessarily result in changes to the address in the PeopleSoft HR system,which is where we obtain the data we load into the patron file. HR has informed me that, if faculty or staff users find the addresses we are using for them to be wrong, they should be asked to go to their respective departments, and ask their departmental administrative person to request an address change from HR. There is apparently no other way to get an address change into the HR system at this time.
   • Big 11 Project. The preservation committee of the eleven New York comprehensive research libraries is considering an application for a grant to undertake a joint project to photocopy reference resources that are in need of preservation. Anyone with significant numbers of reference items to be preserved in this way should contact John Dean. I will ask John to find out about the deadline on this project, but in the meantime anyone interested should notify him.

4. Annex Document Delivery. Susan Currie reported on the five week experimental project earlier this summer to test document delivery procedures from the Annex. A few invited faculty and graduate students participated. Library staff were also invited to take part in the test, but only five staff did so. During the test period, thirty-three requests (amounting to 570 pages) were sent to the Annex for document delivery, but only five of these requests were for electronic delivery. When asked, faculty expressed the concern that scanned material would create poor copies--which would in fact not be the case. A large number of the items requested were tables of contents. Susan said that the next phase of the test would begin shortly. In that phase, which we expect to last throughout the fall semester, users will be given the option of fax or online delivery only--although there will be a note, saying that anyone who does not have the ability to obtain materials by fax or online should contact Access Services. Alternatively users will still also be able to request the paper volumes. Annex staff are keeping careful records of scanning and the time spent in providing this document delivery service, since staff time at the Annex is still limited.

5. CORC. Karen Calhoun and Jill Powell provided a progress report on CUL's participation in the OCLC CORC (Cooperative Online Resource Catalog) research project. Karen referred to the CUL CORC page (campusgw.library.cornell.edu/corc/), and encouraged everyone to use the power point demonstration. There are now nearly one hundred libraries participating in this project, which aims at the creation of a shared database of interoperable metadata for networked resources that have been selected by library staff. The system provides librarians with a form to complete for cataloging networked resources, using either MARC or Dublin Core. This form makes it possible for selectors and reference staff at least to begin the cataloging. Part of the project also involves the creation of pathfinders or subject guides on particular subjects, which libraries can then share with each other. By participating in the project, we have campuswide access to the CORC database. Michael asked whether print (vs online) materials can be included on the pathfinders. Karen said that this would be possible, and that a fuller discussion of CORC, aimed specifically at reference staff, will be presented at the 25 October IRPC meeting. Jill provided an example of the use of CORC by referring to Engineering's ICE page (Internet Connections for Engineering). ICE contains some 500 separate links to networked resources of interest to engineers. Before CORC, Jill said, there was not much prospect for getting more than a subset of these resources cataloged. Pat Schafer asked about the long-term utility of CORC for libraries. Karen said that, from her perspective, a primary value is that it will allow information service agents to share resource descriptions--not only libraries, as useful as that will be, but also other agents such as museums. At the present time, this is not possible because there are no standards. Also, inside libraries, CORC will, if successful, allow us to leverage the work of all staff more effectively: everyone can engage in some form of cataloging, and in so doing, reference staff and selectors would be able, for the first time, to pass along their special knowledge about the resources selected. CORC also provides catalogers, Karen said, with some new tools for automated subject analysis. These are somewhat helpful, although it is clear from them that the need for human analysis will likely remain for some time.

6. PS Forum. We talked briefly about whether the PS Forum should continue, given the high number of meetings we must now all attend. There appeared to be general agreement that this meeting, held once every other month, remains beneficial--because it ensures that the different branches of public services discuss their current work and projects in a single location, and because it provides an opportunity to take a broader look at Library activities that potentially affect public services.

Minutes recorded by Ross Atkinson.

Database Want List

Requested by	Title	Genre	Cost
Yoram Szekely	Acta Sanctorum from Chadwyck-Healey	FT	"ca $55,800"
Brenda Marston	African American Women: A Biographical Dictionary	B
Mary Ochs	AgeLine		"$4,765 one user, $6525 two users"
Mary Ochs	Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology Abstracts		$575
Mary Ochs	"Algology, Mycology & Protozoology Abstracts"		"$2,240 "
John Saylor	American Chemical Society web edition journals		"$10,000 "
Sarah How	American Drama	FT	"$50,000 "
Michael Engle	American Heritage Dictionary
Sarah How	American Poetry	FT	"$8,995 "
John Saylor	American Society for Testing Materials Full Web Based Standards Collection		"$10,000/yr"
Mary Ochs	Bacteriology Abstracts		"$1,025 "
Sarah How	Bibliography of American Literature	B	"$3,000 "
Mary Ochs	Bioethics Line
Sarah How	British National Corpus	FT	$400
Mary Ochs	CancerLit		"$1,495 for CD_ROM"
John Saylor	CancerLit
Mary Ochs	Chemoreception Abstracts		"$1,200 "
Teresa Mei	China InfoBank	FT	Was $300/yr in 1988
Mary Ochs	CIOS
Michael Engle	Complete Corpus of Old English		$200/yr
Don Schnedeker	Conference Board web product
Mary Ochs	Consumers Index
Mary Ochs	Current Contents
Janie Harris	Declassified Documents Reference System - US	FT w/Index	"$1,000/yr if we contnue microfiche subscription"
Martha Hsu	Die Deutsche Lyrik from Chadwyck-Healey	FT	"CD= $9,995 less NERL arrangement or discount based on local volume, thereafter, $350/yr for web access. Or, $2,500/yr for site if we don't buy the CD."
Janie Harris	Digital National Security Archive from Chadwyck-Healey	FT w/Index	"$3,938/yr"
Brenda Marston	Directory of Special Libraries and Information Centers	B
Sarah How	Early American Fiction	FT	"$10,000 "
Sarah How	Early English Prose Fiction	FT	"$8,900 "
Sarah How	Eighteenth Century Fiction	FT	"$4,400 "
Don Schnedeker	EIU web products
Sarah How	Emily Dickinson	FT	"$1,500 "
Mary Ochs	Encyclopedia of Associations
John Saylor	Encyclopedia of Associations
Sarah How	English ProseDrama	FT	"$16,000 "
Sarah How	English Verse Drama	FT	"$16,000 "
Marty Schlabach	Enviroline from Dialog	B	no idea
Mary Ochs	Enviroline from Dialog
John Saylor	Enviroline from Dialog
Mary Ochs	Environmental Engineering Abstracts		$1,325 "
John Saylor	Environmental Engineering Abstracts
Mary Ochs	Environmental Periodicals Bibliography		$1,325 "
John Saylor	Environmental Periodicals Bibliography
Mary Ochs	Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management		"$7,225 "
John Saylor	Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management		"$9,500 -5% from CSA"
Sarah How	Faber Poetry Collection	FT	"$8,100 "
Brenda Marston	Family Studies Database
Mary Ochs	Family Studies Database		$713 single user CD_ROM
Janie Harris	Foundation Grants Index and Foundation Directory	FT w/Index
Mary Ochs	"Geobase Human Geography, International Development Abstracts, Geographical Abstracts: Physical Geography, Geological Abstracts, Ecological Abstracts, Oceanographic Literature Review, Geomechanical Abstracts"		"$6,475 one user, $7,770 two-four users"
David Brumberg	HarpWeek	FT	"We have two units. The remaining four or five are $9,900 per unit"
John Saylor	IEEE Electronic Library		"$ 50,000 for entire file. IEEE Segments $15,000"
Judith Holliday	Index to 19th Century American Art Periodicals - via RLIN	B	$800
Ann Gray	International Financial Statistics from International Monetary Fund	Numeric	"$1,000 for single PC user, networked - obtained on request quarterly"
Janie Harris	International Political Science Abstracts	Index & Abstracts	"$1,793/yr for 2-4 concurrent users"
Wanda Wawro	"ISI Emerging Markets, East Europe"		"$4,800 "
Michael Engle	ITER: Bibliography of Medieval and Renaissance Europe		$600/yr
Sarah How	Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism	FG	$250/yr
Don Schnedeker	Kalorama
John Saylor	Kluwer E-journals		"$16,000 "
Sarah How	KnowEurope	B	"$1,195/yr, subscription only"
David Block	Latin America DataBase		$1600/yr Archive Access & News Bulletins
Sarah How	Literary Theory	FT	"$12,000 "
Yoram Szekely	"Luther, Martin. Luthers Werke from Chadwyck-Healey"	FT	"$45,000 one time"
Mary Ochs	McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology		$913 for CD_ROM
John Saylor	McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
Michael Engle	Medievel Realms	FT	$150 pounds sterling
Ann Gray	Mental Measurement Yearbook	Handbook
John Saylor	Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts		"$8,000 first year $4,000 after that"
Don Schnedeker	Moodys web product
Don Schnedeker	Multex
Lenore Coral	Music Index Online	B	ca $ 700 for 2-5 simultaneous users
Brenda Marston	Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary	B
Lenore Coral	New Grove Dictionary of Opera		Rumored at $300 /yr
Brenda Marston	Newsletters in Print	B
Sarah How	Nineteenth Century Fiction	FT	"$16,000 "
John Saylor	NIST SRD Databases		"$12,000 "
Ann Gray	OECD National Accounts	Numeric	probably not too expensive
Michael Engle	Past Masters		"Pay per Philosopher, Susan Pickett has price sheet"
Mary Ochs	Peterson Search
Janie Harris	Polling the Nations	Numeric w/Index	$742/yr 2-4 concurrent users
Don Schnedeker	Research Bank Web
Wanda Wawro	Russian Academy of Sciences/INION Bibliographies	B	$700
John Saylor	SAE Global Mobility Database		"$6,900 "
Michael Engle	Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language		$150 pounds sterling
John Saylor	Science Online		"$5,000 "
Mary Ochs	Social Work Abstracts		"$1,808 for two-four users"
Don Schnedeker	Standard & Poors' web product
Michael Engle	Teatro Espanol del Siglo de Oro		"$5725 retail, NERL pricing???"
Sarah How	Times Literary Supplement Centenary Archive		$995
Sarah How	Twentieth Century American Poetry	FT	"$50,000 "
Janie Harris	UN ODS	FT w/Index	"$2,025/yr for two depository passwords, ie 2 concurrent users"
John Saylor	Wiley Journals		"$7,000 this year and additional $20,000 next year to get all"
Katherine Reagan	Women Writers Online	FT	"$1,500/yr"
Sarah How	Women Writers Online	FT	"$1,500/yr"
Mary Ochs	World Almanac and Info Please Almanac
Ann Gray	World Trade Database from Statistics Canada	Numeric	probably very pricey checking w/ Toronto

Requested by	Title	Genre	Cost
Yoram Szekely	Acta Sanctorum from Chadwyck-Healey	FT	"ca $55,800"
Brenda Marston	African American Women: A Biographical Dictionary	B
Mary Ochs	AgeLine		"$4,765 one user, $6525 two users"
Mary Ochs	Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology Abstracts		$575
Mary Ochs	"Algology, Mycology & Protozoology Abstracts"		"$2,240 "
John Saylor	American Chemical Society web edition journals		"$10,000 "
Sarah How	American Drama	FT	"$50,000 "
Michael Engle	American Heritage Dictionary
Sarah How	American Poetry	FT	"$8,995 "
John Saylor	American Society for Testing Materials Full Web Based Standards Collection		"$10,000/yr"
Mary Ochs	Bacteriology Abstracts		"$1,025 "
Sarah How	Bibliography of American Literature	B	"$3,000 "
Mary Ochs	Bioethics Line
Sarah How	British National Corpus	FT	$400
Mary Ochs	CancerLit		"$1,495 for CD_ROM"
John Saylor	CancerLit
Mary Ochs	Chemoreception Abstracts		"$1,200 "
Teresa Mei	China InfoBank	FT	Was $300/yr in 1988
Mary Ochs	CIOS
Michael Engle	Complete Corpus of Old English		$200/yr
Don Schnedeker	Conference Board web product
Mary Ochs	Consumers Index
Mary Ochs	Current Contents
Janie Harris	Declassified Documents Reference System - US	FT w/Index	"$1,000/yr if we contnue microfiche subscription"
Martha Hsu	Die Deutsche Lyrik from Chadwyck-Healey	FT	"CD= $9,995 less NERL arrangement or discount based on local volume, thereafter, $350/yr for web access. Or, $2,500/yr for site if we don't buy the CD."
Janie Harris	Digital National Security Archive from Chadwyck-Healey	FT w/Index	"$3,938/yr"
Brenda Marston	Directory of Special Libraries and Information Centers	B
Sarah How	Early American Fiction	FT	"$10,000 "
Sarah How	Early English Prose Fiction	FT	"$8,900 "
Sarah How	Eighteenth Century Fiction	FT	"$4,400 "
Don Schnedeker	EIU web products
Sarah How	Emily Dickinson	FT	"$1,500 "
Mary Ochs	Encyclopedia of Associations
John Saylor	Encyclopedia of Associations
Sarah How	English ProseDrama	FT	"$16,000 "
Sarah How	English Verse Drama	FT	"$16,000 "
Marty Schlabach	Enviroline from Dialog	B	no idea
Mary Ochs	Enviroline from Dialog
John Saylor	Enviroline from Dialog
Mary Ochs	Environmental Engineering Abstracts		$1,325 "
John Saylor	Environmental Engineering Abstracts
Mary Ochs	Environmental Periodicals Bibliography		$1,325 "
John Saylor	Environmental Periodicals Bibliography
Mary Ochs	Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management		"$7,225 "
John Saylor	Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management		"$9,500 -5% from CSA"
Sarah How	Faber Poetry Collection	FT	"$8,100 "
Brenda Marston	Family Studies Database
Mary Ochs	Family Studies Database		$713 single user CD_ROM
Janie Harris	Foundation Grants Index and Foundation Directory	FT w/Index
Mary Ochs	"Geobase Human Geography, International Development Abstracts, Geographical Abstracts: Physical Geography, Geological Abstracts, Ecological Abstracts, Oceanographic Literature Review, Geomechanical Abstracts"		"$6,475 one user, $7,770 two-four users"
David Brumberg	HarpWeek	FT	"We have two units. The remaining four or five are $9,900 per unit"
John Saylor	IEEE Electronic Library		"$ 50,000 for entire file. IEEE Segments $15,000"
Judith Holliday	Index to 19th Century American Art Periodicals - via RLIN	B	$800
Ann Gray	International Financial Statistics from International Monetary Fund	Numeric	"$1,000 for single PC user, networked - obtained on request quarterly"
Janie Harris	International Political Science Abstracts	Index & Abstracts	"$1,793/yr for 2-4 concurrent users"
Wanda Wawro	"ISI Emerging Markets, East Europe"		"$4,800 "
Michael Engle	ITER: Bibliography of Medieval and Renaissance Europe		$600/yr
Sarah How	Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism	FG	$250/yr
Don Schnedeker	Kalorama
John Saylor	Kluwer E-journals		"$16,000 "
Sarah How	KnowEurope	B	"$1,195/yr, subscription only"
David Block	Latin America DataBase		$1600/yr Archive Access & News Bulletins
Sarah How	Literary Theory	FT	"$12,000 "
Yoram Szekely	"Luther, Martin. Luthers Werke from Chadwyck-Healey"	FT	"$45,000 one time"
Mary Ochs	McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology		$913 for CD_ROM
John Saylor	McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
Michael Engle	Medievel Realms	FT	$150 pounds sterling
Ann Gray	Mental Measurement Yearbook	Handbook
John Saylor	Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts		"$8,000 first year $4,000 after that"
Don Schnedeker	Moodys web product
Don Schnedeker	Multex
Lenore Coral	Music Index Online	B	ca $ 700 for 2-5 simultaneous users
Brenda Marston	Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary	B
Lenore Coral	New Grove Dictionary of Opera		Rumored at $300 /yr
Brenda Marston	Newsletters in Print	B
Sarah How	Nineteenth Century Fiction	FT	"$16,000 "
John Saylor	NIST SRD Databases		"$12,000 "
Ann Gray	OECD National Accounts	Numeric	probably not too expensive
Michael Engle	Past Masters		"Pay per Philosopher, Susan Pickett has price sheet"
Mary Ochs	Peterson Search
Janie Harris	Polling the Nations	Numeric w/Index	$742/yr 2-4 concurrent users
Don Schnedeker	Research Bank Web
Wanda Wawro	Russian Academy of Sciences/INION Bibliographies	B	$700
John Saylor	SAE Global Mobility Database		"$6,900 "
Michael Engle	Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language		$150 pounds sterling
John Saylor	Science Online		"$5,000 "
Mary Ochs	Social Work Abstracts		"$1,808 for two-four users"
Don Schnedeker	Standard & Poors' web product
Michael Engle	Teatro Espanol del Siglo de Oro		"$5725 retail, NERL pricing???"
Sarah How	Times Literary Supplement Centenary Archive		$995
Sarah How	Twentieth Century American Poetry	FT	"$50,000 "
Janie Harris	UN ODS	FT w/Index	"$2,025/yr for two depository passwords, ie 2 concurrent users"
John Saylor	Wiley Journals		"$7,000 this year and additional $20,000 next year to get all"
Katherine Reagan	Women Writers Online	FT	"$1,500/yr"
Sarah How	Women Writers Online	FT	"$1,500/yr"
Mary Ochs	World Almanac and Info Please Almanac
Ann Gray	World Trade Database from Statistics Canada	Numeric	probably very pricey checking w/ Toronto

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Rev. 9/14/99, mc