Tech Support Meeting Minutes for April 2009

Tech Support Meeting Minutes

Date: April 28, 2009

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

Update on Action Items

1. The email ILL button has been added to CyberMARS
2. Rotating positions have been filled
1. Josh Lewis from Choctaw is the new circulation representative
2. Jack Kinzie is the new librarian representative
3. Pauline Rodriguez-Atkins is the new cataloging representative
4. Katrina is the Manager of Library Operations representative
3. Janet and Karen investigated the need for a foreign language paperback code and with the numbers presented, tech support feels that this is not something that should be created at this time. This could be fixed by cataloging paperbacks, which would need to be revisited once Cataloging has moved to the new service center.
4. Teresa added to the adult volunteer page, the ability to filter by agency
5. Relay Services
1. Kay created draft resource sheet from the information Anne and Buddy compiled.
• Donna suggested that the information be put in a bookmark for easy distribution.
• Kay will send marketing a request to create the bookmarks or something similar plus the full resource page will be added to the intranet for staff access.
6. New Business
1. Kim Terry presented the library’s facebook page and the application that allows facebook users to search the library catalog from the facebook page.
1. She asked Tech Support where on the facebook page would be the best place to put this application. After discussion, Tech support decided the best place is on the wall of the facebook page.
2. Kim also shared that she tested an ad on facebook. She explained that you can set many parameters to the ads and that each ad click costs 43 cents. The test ad ran for one week and would max out at $10 a day. The entire week that the ad ran, it maxed out every day from people clicking it.
2. Teresa presented the list of changes to the internet/intranet
• Intranet - Teresa highlighted the new additions to the intranet including the MaC Catalog, New birthday page and Heartwalk videos.
• Internet - As a result of adding the catalog search to facebook, Teresa saw the need to add a library catalog search box to the library home page. She presented 4 mock ups of the placement of the search box. After discussion, Tech Support agreed to put the catalog search box at the top of the page with the website search box. Also, there was a decision to move the My Library locations and hours information to the top of the left side of the page.
• This page is scheduled to be released to staff on May 6th and the public on May 12th.
3. Jimmy presented the new feature from Library Thing for Libraries (LTFL) that has been added to CyberMARS. The feature adds similar titles and a tag cloud to most (85%)of the records on CyberMARS.
1. Tech Support talked about how this feature will help with reader’s advisory. It only shows books that are in our catalog and will take you to that title’s record when you click any of the links.
2. There was a question of how to introduce this to the staff and to the public. Tech Support agreed that an informational release about it in ShelfLife was important to help staff be able to answer questions about it. It has also been put on the CyberMARS that is linked from the Intranet.

ILS Issues:

1. A suggestion was made to have the reserve and exceptions lists for audiocassette fiction in alphabetical order by author instead of title.
• Since many of the libraries shelve in different ways, there will need to be a consensus to put this in effect. Denyvetta will talk with the managers about this suggestion, find a consensus, and action will be taken after that.
2. A customer suggested that RSS feeds include author, rather than the title of each book.
• The RSS codes that are created have both title and author, but it is dependent on which reader and browser the customer is using. IT could only find one browser that did not show author, Internet Explorer 6. Tech Support will do some research on which readers are best suited for the library RSS feeds. The answer will be shared with the staff.
3. A customer suggested that CyberMARS have search buttons instead of radio buttons.
• CyberMARS has had various versions of searching buttons and now gives preference to new customers searching the catalog for the first time. It was changed to the current format a year and a half ago after a committee determined it was the best searching technique. Tech Support believes that changing it at this time would cause confusion.
4. A suggestion was made to implement a comment line in V-Circ that would pop up when the customer’s card was scanned. This comment could be pre-set with a few common issues and could help with alerting staff.
• Tech support agreed that this could be useful. After discussion, it was decided that a committee would need to be formed to create the pre-set comments, because a fill-in box could be misused. Denyvetta will present this issue at the manager’s meeting to find out what the need is like for all the agencies. If the need is great, a committee will be formed to determine pre-set messages.
5. A suggestion was made to add an advanced search feature to the library internet site that would function like the advanced search on the intranet.
• The need for this feature was discussed and Jimmy stated that the scope would need to be changed to add this function to the internet. The webmaster will investigate the needed scope.
6. A customer suggested that the borrower record be sorted by due date instead of checkout date since videos have shorter loan periods than other materials.
• Tech Support talked about the different ways this could be changed to meet the needs of all of our customers and decided that a filter could be added to each column so any heading can be sorted. Jimmy will work on this feature.
7. A suggestion was made to lengthen the time-out time on the materials program so replacements can be requested even after a few minutes of out-of-program time.
• Currently the time-out is 16 hours and there must have been a problem with the system. Jimmy has since updated the staff catalog so this shouldn’t happen again. For future help with this issue, please call IT.
8. A suggestion was made to add the Office 2007 compatibility pack to the public library computers.
• The compatibility pack was added to all the computers previously. If a computer cannot open an Office2007 document, call IT to initiate a work order to fix the problem.
9. A library was having problems getting the public computer to add or drop classes on the UCO website.
• IT has contacted library staff and UCO because nothing can be fixed until IT can see the problem while someone is logged in to the UCO website. At this time, no one has responded.
10. A suggestion was made to have a mobile version of the library website.
• At this time, this request cannot be fulfilled, but is continually being monitored for a future possibility. For a mobile site to be created, the library would have to be compatible to all phones and not cater to one browser.
• Currently, this would require a lot of development. Sending links to successful mobile library pages could help Tech Support research this more. For more information, there is an article in the May 2009 issue of “Computers in Libraries” magazine had an article about this topic and how many libraries are struggling with this issue because the only phone that works consistently is the iPhone. Some of the others will work partially but won’t display all of the pages, such as the holdings, etc.
11. A suggestion was made to purchase colored reserve stickers so they will not blend in with the barcodes and customers will notice them.
• It would cost 18.5% more to get the colored stickers since they need to be special ordered. Tech Support questions if it would really make a difference. Also, if the reserve stickers are colored this may make the ILL red stickers less effective since they are not supposed to be removed.
• A few tips were given by Tech Support:
1. a. If you have time, take off the stickers as you hand them to the customers for checkout.
2. b. Remind the customer to remove the sticker as you check them out.
3. c. Fold a corner when you put the sticker on to make it easier to remove later.
12. A customer suggested that the paper notice for reserves/ILLs be cancelled once an item is picked up.
• This is already happening. The customer probably received the notice after picking up the book because of post office lag. Reminding customers to click the “confirm” button on the email they receive (if they are an enotify customer) will help with this problem.
13. A customer suggested we implement a due date labeling system like a library he went to in Louisiana.
• Our libraries have a huge volume of circulations that would not work with this kind of system. Also, with the advancement of self checkout, this would add to the confusion.
• Customers can see their due dates online if they lose the receipt.
14. The suggestion was made for there to be library blogs, etc.
• At this point, the P&P committee is researching all web 2.0 capabilities and parameters are being established.
15. A suggestion was made to add the Damage Letter Form to the Intranet so the agency could print out the appropriate number of copies and the information would be more professional and readable than the carbon copies we currently have.
• These forms were originally created so anyone could fill it out without having a computer handy. A form can be created and placed on the intranet. Denyvetta will ask about this possibility at the manager’s meeting.
16. A customer suggested that we install Google Earth on the public computers.
• Almost all of the functions of Google Earth are now on Google Maps, which is also more up-to-date. At this time, IT does not add applications to the public computers since the need to constantly update them would be very time intensive.
17. There has been a request to find a solution to updating customer phone numbers.  There have been problems trying to contact customers via the phone number on file.
• The suggestion asked for an annual prompt to update the customer’s contact information. This would require the customer to fill out the necessary paperwork and staff to process as all updates in order to verify the customer’s eligibility. Additionally, supplying a phone number is optional. Tech Support believes this amount of work is not proportional to the problem. However, Tech Support believes that the suggestion in item number 4 may be helpful.
18. A suggestion was made for a change in V-circ to put item numbers next to paperback books on the credit card tab to make it easier to figure out which one the customer is paying for.
• The item number will be added in parentheses next to the title.
19. A suggestion was made to add a pay fines only button to V-circ.
• Jimmy will pre-set the credit card tab to assume that the customer is only going to pay their fines. If the customer wanted to pay for everything you would check the books that they were going to pay for. If the customer only wanted to pay for a book, you would have to use the clear everything button and select the items that the customer wanted to pay for.
20. Tech Support was asked to discuss the wording choice used when a customer finds a paperback book in the catalog.The current wording is “This work was purchased for paperback collection at some agencies and may or may not be available”
• Tech Support discussed the wording and decided to change it to “This work was purchased for the paperback collection. Please contact a librarian at any MLS location to help find a copy”. This is another problem that could be fixed by cataloging paperbacks, which will be revisited when Cataloging has moved to the service center. Until then, Pauline will look into creating brief records for paperback books.
21. A suggestion was made to change the name of CyberMARS to library catalog.
• CyberMARS is not just our library catalog, it includes the borrower’s record, reserves, magazines, the prepaid account, parental preference option and databases. Therefore, calling it the library catalog does not sufficiently identify what resources are within it. Several years ago, we had a contest among staff to name it and the winner was MARS (Metropolitan Automated Resource Services). . When we added web-based access, it was named CyberMARS as both services co-existed for several years.
22. A suggestion was made to add staff e-mail addresses to the information included on Who’s Who.
• This is a possibility and will go through further consideration.

Action Items

• Kay will send marketing a request for the deaf/hearing/speech impaired services and the full resource page will be added to the intranet for staff access
• Teresa will release the new www.metrolibrary.org
• Kim will add something about the new CyberMARS features to May’s ShelfLife. Jimmy will make it accessible to staff through the CyberMARS link that is on the Intranet.
• Denyvetta will talk to the managers about putting reserve and exception lists in order by author instead of title and give that information to Jimmy.
• Denyvetta will talk to the managers about having a pop-up in V-Circ with pre-set alerts and share the findings. A committee may need to be organized.
• Kay, Jimmy and Teresa will continue to look in to adding an advanced search feature to the Internet site.
• Jimmy will work on adding a sorting feature to the CyberMARS borrower page. This will be implemented when the Library Things for Libraries features are added for public access.
• Denyvetta will ask the managers about adding the Damage Letter Form to the Intranet.
• Jimmy will add item numbers to the title field for paperbacks on the Credit Card tab in VCirc
• Jimmy will add a pre-set to the Credit Card tab in V-Circ that assumes the user will only be paying fines.
• Pauline will look into creating brief records for paperback books in the catalog.