Tech Support Meeting Minutes for October 2011

Tech Support Meeting Minutes

Date: October 25, 2011

Attendance: Kay Bauman, Janet Brooks, Denyvetta Davis, Kellie Delaney, Anne Fischer, Jack Kinzie, Josh Lewis, Karen Marriott, Donna Morris, Kim  Terry, Jimmy Welch

Update on Action Items:

1. The Online Librarian forums will be covered with the new Intranet.
2. Kim presented her findings to Tech Support regarding the categories in MLS Events, Room Manager, and Info Magazine (appendix a). She  compared room manager to the Info Calendar to see how many programmers used common age ranges in their entries. She also compared what other libraries were doing on their websites. Most libraries have 4 or 5 set categories then in the description, they put more specific age information. Kim recommends multi-selection of categories and a description that shares more information about the appropriate age range. Tech Support agreed that this seems like the best option for optimal calendar searching. Tech Support believes a planning committee needs to be formed to really address these changes to our events. Kim, Kellie, Jimmy, will be the ad hoc committee to create a prototype then they will share their plan with the programmers and managers for review.
3. Jimmy added a notification to V-Circ on August 16th letting staff know a book is on reserve for someone else. However, unlike the Express Checkout, it does allow staff to override the message after confirming that it is okay for the customer to be picking up another person’s reserve.
4. The action item to splice in information about scanning the correct barcode into the selfcheckout looped video will not be added. It is better  if a customer reads the instructions or asks an employee for help instead of making the video longer, because the video leaves the screen once  the computer is in use. The goal of the video is to bring attention to the service and get a customer to press start, not to necessarily be a  how-to video. The goal of selfcheckout is not to discourage staff interaction. The more employees are available to help with customers at the  self checkout the better. That way employees can notice bugs and report them to IT or can help more customers learn the technology so they  will be able to use it on their own in the future.
5. A link to library location was added to the reserves page on CyberMARS on August 18, 2011.
6. The need for offering temporary cards in place of school cards during the summer will be discussed at the Circ Forum Meeting on November  2, 2011.

Changes to the Internet / Intranet:

• Kellie shared the new Intranet – MyMetroLibrary with Tech Support. She asked for questions/comments to be e-mailed to her and invited Tech  Support members to receive an early log-in to the system so they can give further feedback.

ILS Issues:

1. A library manager asked if the reserve screen in the staff catalog could remember the library that is adding the reserves in the locations list  like CyberMARS does so reserves are not accidentally sent to the wrong location.
• CyberMARS remembers the location based off of the customer’s preferences. But the staff catalog does not remember from time to time. Jimmy  will set the staff catalog to set the location based on the computer being used.
2. A librarian asked if .ogg files could be added to the supported files on customer computers.
• IT will work on adding the.ogg extension, but it will be a project for the techs to implement so it will be based on their time schedule.
3. A circ clerk asked if more information could be added to the customer sign-up computer.
• The intent of the information on the sign-up computers is to get people to sign up. Once they have signed up they get their receipt which has further information on it. If all this information is added to the computer screen lines will back up because of people trying to read all of the information before they sign up.
4. A circ clerk asked if there was any follow up to the suggestion of a library card key ring.
• They were too expensive for the 2011 budget request so more money has been added for next year’s order.
5. A circ clerk asked about wanding shelves that have interfiled location codes.
• When interfiling different location coded such as the JFiction area, notify IT so they can update the software so the wanding will be accurate.
6. A librarian asked if purchasing eMedia subscriptions to newspapers and magazines for customers and individual locations could be considered. This could allow eReaders to be available for browsing in the library (attached to tables).
• This is a great consideration for the future but not something we are ready to implement at this time.
7. A circ clerk asked if the wording in the customer’s account for reserves could be changed so the shipped/pickup by isn’t so confusing. She asked that “pickup by” be removed or replaced by a shipped date instead
• Tech Support agrees that this language could be misunderstood and the words “pickup by” will be removed.
8. A page had a suggestion of adding the information of which locations have which books to the listing of books in cyberMARS, not just on that books’ specific entry in the catalog. He also had a second suggestion of a Location column that shows where in the library (Dewey number) there would be more books on a specific topic.
• This has been a topic of questions since 1985 and while it is a great idea, the logistics of it are much more involved. We have too many library locations for it to work with our system. The response time for the system we use to be able to aggregate this information would be really lengthy. Not only would the query have to search through all of the locations for each of the books that match the query, but it would also have to search through all of the reserves and wait lists.
• For the second part of the suggestion, There are currently books supplied at each library with subjects and the corresponding Dewey area. This will soon be available as an iPad app called iBrowse for the roving librarians to use.
9. There was another customer request to not receive USPS notices.
• Tech Support has received this request in the past and the answer has remained the same. “Tech Support believes that follow-up with paper notices when the e-mail is not confirmed in a timely manner remains the best solution to ensure that we make every effort to notify the customer that they have a reserve ready.”
10. A librarian submitted an error that she was getting in the MLS Events Program.
• Any time there is an error with any program, IT should be called so it can be immediately fixed.
11. There was a suggestion to create a section to Who’s Who that would list appropriate numbers to call for help from certain departments.
• Kellie will work on a “Help Desk” area on the new Intranet for staff to have a one stop place to find important/emergency contact information in the system. Also Jimmy will change the wording for the IT help line on Who’s Who.

Action Items:

1. Kim, Kellie, and Jimmy will form the MLS Events ad-hoc committee to create a prototype for categorizing events on the online event calendar.
2. The need for offering temporary cards in place of school cards during the summer will be discussed at the Circ Forum Meeting on November 2.
3. Jimmy will have the staff catalog set the location for reserves based on the computer being used.
4. IT will work on added the .ogg extension to customer computers.
5. Jimmy will remove the “pickup by” wording from the customer account area of CyberMARS.
6. Kellie will work on a “Help Desk” area for the new Intranet and Jimmy will change the wording for the IT help line on Who’s Who.