Tech Support Meeting Minutes for January 2010

Tech Support Meeting Minutes
Date: January 26, 2010

Attendance: Kay Bauman, Janet Brooks, Denyvetta Davis, Anne Fischer, Teresa Goggins, Jack Kinzie, Josh Lewis, Karen Marriott, Donna Morris, Katrina Prince, Kim Terry, Jimmy Welch

Update on Action Items:

1. Kellie and Teresa will continue to pursue adding an advanced search feature to the internet.
2. Pauline, Karen, and Jimmy are still exploring other options for accessing uncataloged paperbacks.
3. Kellie is investigating a more effective way to save and search important memos.
4. Cataloging search tips have been added to training times.
5. Janet and Jimmy will continue discussing automated reserve placement.
6. Headphone sales have been implemented at all library locations.
7. Anne discussed the 30-day pop-up notice with LaVetta.
8. Email notifications have had a 15 minute delay since the November 2nd
9. Kellie and Charla created a font list for the librarian computers Downtown and the fonts have been added to the computers.

Changes to the Internet / Intranet:

• Intranet – Teresa mentioned the redesigned Volunteer Page and encouraged everyone to take the Intranet survey that is currently available on the intranet slider.
• Internet – Teresa highlighted the new interactive Annual Report, the updated Literary Voices page, and the redesigned Read About It and Family Place pages.

ILS Issues:

1. A library page suggested that the spine labels on large print books be modified to make the author’s name be larger and easier to find since the “large print” written on the label often obscures the Author’s name.
• Tech support discussed many different ways to implement a font change on the large print labels, however, this is not something that could be easily changed and would require a committee to be formed. It could also have some unforeseen ramifications since the labels are formatted the way they are for ease of staff sorting, etc. At this time, tech support does not believe this is a priority concern and does not recommend any futher action.
2. A tech assistant asked if the public computer parking screen could be edited to state how long the computer can be in park, since some customers are aggravated when their computer is logged off because they had the computer parked for more than 5 minutes.
• This is already a function of the parking screen. On the right-hand side, there is a timer that continues to count down while the computer is parked.
3. A circulation clerk suggested changing v-circ when an item is checked in as damaged. Currently the item status will say “withdrawn” and the patron no. is “0000/0000”. The suggestion is to have the status as “damaged” and the patron no. as the customer number.
• Changing the status to “damaged” and connecting the item to the customer in the system will keep the record in CyberMARS until the customer pays for the item. Since there are customers that never pay for the item, this needs to stay the way it is to keep the inventory clean.  This will be discussed at the manager’s meeting to make sure that it is not a bigger issue than tech support believes it to be. Denyvetta will also ask Julie to review the procedures for checking in damaged materials at the circulation forum.
4. A circulation clerk suggested that the return date printed on the transaction receipt be made larger or bolded to assist customers with poor eyesight.
• The receipts are already in bold and if the date were made any larger, it would not fit. The receipt can be sent to a full size printer and it will fill the sheet of letter size paper and be easier to read. The customer can also print out their own receipt from CyberMARS.
5. A customer emailed IT about the online renewal system. She questioned the renewal period and asked if there could be a way to know if a book was no longer renewable without having to renew the book. The customer indicated stated that she waits until the date it is due to renew it in order to get the full 2-weeks renewal period, not just two weeks from the day she clicked the link.
• Renewals are based on the total length of time the materials are borrowed, not the number of renewals.
  Books, other printed materials, audiocassettes and recordings may be checked out for two weeks. They may be renewed to a maximum loan period of 42 days if there is no System Reserves request for the items during that period. Videos may be checked out for seven days and renewed to a maximum loan period of 21 days if there is no System Reserves request for the items during that period.
  There is no limit to the number of times an item may be renewed. The software permits renewals until the maximum loan period is reached,  which is calculated from the original checkout date.

Action Items:

1. Kellie and Teresa will continue to pursue adding an advanced search feature to the internet.
2. Pauline, Karen, and Jimmy will continue exploring other options for accessing uncataloged paperbacks.
3. Kellie will continue to investigate a more effective way to save and search important memos.
4. Janet and Jimmy will continue discussing automated reserve placement.
5. Denyvetta or Katrina will discuss the damaged item process at the manager’s meeting and Denyvetta will ask Julie to discuss the topic at the  next circulation forum.