Virtual Catalog Users Group Meeting

January 31, 2008

10am-12noon

Attendees:

William Adamczyk - Quincy

Julia Allen - FLO

Diane Annunziato - Boxford

Marie Ariel - Winchester

Jan Bolton - Mattapoisett

Christina Brodeur - OCLN

Paige Eaton Davis - MLN

Dea DelCampo - FLO

Martha Driscoll - NOBLE

Glynis Evans - Chelmsford

Martha Hamilton - Cambridge

Wynne Hathaway - Bedford

Elinor Hernon - Newton

Uma Hiremath - Braintree

Maggie Holmes - North Attleboro

Ellen M.J. Keane - UMass Lowell

Paul Kissman - MBLC

Joan Kranich - C/W Mars

Tabitha Lee - Emerson

Laurie Lessner - SAILS

Beverly Ness - Plymouth

Darlene O’Connell - Pembroke

Kathy O’Donnell - Plymouth

Rosemary O’Koren - Norfolk

Daniel Ortiz - UMass Boston

Larry Rungren - MVLC

Susan Saul - MLN

Amy Sheperdson - Carver

Walter Stine - FLO

Margot Sullivan - Norwood

Cynthia Svoboda - Bridgewater

Sonya Walters - UMass Boston

Linda Webb - Chelmsford

Introductions

Paul Kissman introduced the staff of Fenway Libraries Online, the group who will be taking over and running the MAVC Helpdesk.

Old Business

Walter Stine discussed the transfer of the URSA server from UMass Boston to FLO, which should cause the server to be down for about one day. The group voiced a preference for making the transfer on a Saturday. Another option was Evacuation Day, March 17. No final decision was reached at the meeting and FLO will give the community adequate notice before the move is made.

Paul Kissman gave a short talk and demonstration on the new State Portal that makes electronic resources available to end users with library cards on one webpage: http://mass.gov/libraries. Users can access the VC through this portal.

The MBCL has issued an RFI for new software to upgrade or replace URSA. Three vendors have responded and will demonstrate their solutions on either March 10 or March 11. The three vendors are Innovative Interfaces, OCLC and SirsiDynix. Each network can send five representatives to the demo and each institutional member can send two representatives. More information will be forthcoming.

New Business

Walter Stine passed out contact information for FLO, which is available on the MAVC website. Additional information for after hours and weekend support will be posted on the website soon.

Julia Allen gave an instructional demonstration of the new MAVC Helpdesk application. Library staff are requested to use the Helpdesk application first when reporting problems or asking questions. To reach the Helpdesk, go to http://www.massvc.org/ooz/index.php. The “feedback” button on the Virtual Catalog now directs to the Helpdesk.

Email notices are working from the URSA server. There had been problems with this issue in November, but the email has been redirected from the URSA server to the FLO server and seems to be resolved.

The group debated whether or not communication with the Helpdesk should go through the networks or directly to the Helpdesk from individual library staff. Minuteman preferred that their libraries contact them first, as issues may be caused by local problems. However, some libraries stated that they would prefer to contact FLO directly. Note that the Group feature in the Helpdesk software allows networks to review issues submitted by their users.

FLO will report server outages and other significant issues of the MAVC website and visa an RSS feed. The RSS feed can also be plugged into a network or individual library’s web page. More information will be available soon.

There was a recommendation for regular refresher training for the VC. This suggestion was seconded by everyone.

Libraries also requested that there be a yearly cleanup of library staff contact lists.

Because of the transfer of the URSA server, the links to the server will need to be changed. This could cause issues for users who haven’t cleaned their cache, or have old bookmarks, so notices and instructions should be posted to library websites to alleviate this. UMass Boston will try to arrange an automatic redirect from the old URL to the new URL. Some networks will need the IP address of the server for their firewalls.

Recognition

The Users Group recognized the UMass Boston VC Helpdesk support team for their years of service.

Next Meeting

The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for June 5 at Minuteman Headquarters.