Tech Support Meeting Minutes for January 24, 2012

Attendance:  Kay Bauman, Janet Brooks, Denyvetta Davis, Kellie Delaney, Anne Fischer, Josh Lewis, Karen Marriott, Katrina Prince, Pauline Rodriguez-Atkins, Jimmy Welch

Guests: Julie Ballou, LaVetta Dent, Melody Kellogg, Mary Parker

Update on Action Items:

1.  Kim, Kellie, and Jimmy have not met yet of the MLS Events ad-hoc committee.
2.  The Circulation Forum Met on November 2^nd and discussed the need for offering temporary cards during the summer. ” The group agreed that it would be best to continue to work with our existing policies to accommodate such students”.
3. The staff catalog now sets the location for reserves based on the computer being used.
4.  IT is still working on adding the .ogg extension to customer computers.
5.  The wording “pickup by” has been removed from the customer account area of CyberMARS
6.  A “Need Assistance” area has been added to the new Intranet for staff use and the wording has been changed for the IT help line on the Who’s Who page.

New Items:

• New Tech Support member terms – This meeting will be the last for Jack, Katrina, Josh and Pauline. Mary Parker will be filling the spot for a Cataloging representative and a call for other members has been sent out.
• V-Circ Customer Tab Flags (Julie, LaVetta, and Melody)
• These flags have been in the works for a long time. The Circulation Forum created a detailed proposal of the possible flags and the proposal was discussed multiple times at the manager’s meetings. Both groups would like the flags added to v-circ.
•  Jimmy thinks it would be helpful for the customer tab to have a grid with these flags and rules will established for how long the flag will be up and if the flag will show up on CyberMARS
• Tech Support and Guests agree that a prototype should be created for everyone to have a better understanding of how the flags will look and work.
• Demos of iFind and srConfirm – In an effort to go green, more apps have been created to replace tasks that have previously been printed out in list form.
• iFind has been created to replace the tracer lists. Transit items that have been on the list for over 30 days will be marked missing. If an item is found and marked on the app it is automatically coded “found on shelf” on v-circ. You can e-mail an excel spreadsheet if the list needs to be sorted.
•  iFind implementation: iFind needs to go to the managers for more discussion and to create out a proper time frame for the release
• srConfirm provides an easy way to confirm system reserves with the iPad and a wireless barcode reader without having to carry items to a computer with v-circ. The app builds a listing as you go so you can see where you left off.
• The downside to this app is that the Bluetooth functions of the wireless barcode reader turn off the keyboard on the iPad so once you are finished using it you have to put the reader in a metal box (like a filing cabinet) to disconnect the reader and get full functionality again.
• Melody volunteered for Edmond to try this out and be the guinea pigs. IT will get the app set up on their iPads.  

Changes to the Internet / Intranet:           

Intranet: Web Services is still moving content over to the new Intranet (MyMetrolibrary). Both sites will be accessible from February 1 – 17^th. There is a highlighted features video and feedback form available on MyMetrolibrary during this time. On February 20^th the old Intranet will go away. December 15^th was a launch party for MyMetrolibrary and many of the features that were discussed in the feedback from the party have been integrated into the site.

Internet: Anne Fischer and Sharon Bish have helped create the Tax Forms page which is a one stop shop for forms that can be printed in the library for Free. Other pages that have been updated are the Tax Assistance Pages, Playaways, and Winter Readfest.

ILS Issues:

1. A circ clerk passed on a suggestion from a customer about adding software for printing coupons to the public computers.
1. This was answered in the July 26, 2011 minutes and the answer remains the same “These ‘plug-ins’ ensure a one-time print for each coupon at each computer, which only ends in customers being upset that they can’t print the coupon if someone else already printed it. It just isn’t feasible to offer this option in a public setting.”
2. An assistant manager asked that the optical drives be enabled on the public computers.
1. This is a possibility. DN had this availability at one time but had too many problems with customers not knowing what they were doing, breaking the drive, and people upset that they couldn’t open executable files so they had the option removed. If the drives are opened back up it will have to be a system-wide decision. This will be discussed at the managers meeting for a consensus.
3.  A librarian offered a suggestion of some wording that should be added to the Place Reserve Form Screen to keep customers from believing that their materials are immediately available when they place a reserve.
1. Tech Support agrees that something should be added but the suggestions give too many variables that customers will need to read as a guarantee. Tech Support has drafted the following statement that will show up once a reserve has been submitted: “You will receive a notification when your reserve is ready for pickup."
4. A customer wanted to know why their cell phone provider, Consumer Cellular, is not on our list to set up text message notifications from the library.
1. This provider will be added.
5.  A customer suggested that the number of items checked out be added to our receipts so one can easily see how many items they have and need to return.
1. Tech Support agrees that this will be a great addition to the receipts. The receipt will say the total number of items out, not just what they check out at that particular visit.
6.  A circ clerk suggested another lookup function be added to vCirc to show relationships of card holders so spouses or children can easily pick up other people’s reserves.   
1. Tech Support drafted a statement to add to the reserve pick-up page that says, “You must check this material out with the card you placed the reserve on” to help with this occurrence. This will also be discussed at the managers meeting because this type of customer service with the best intentions can backfire.
7. A circ clerk asked if it would be possible to add an option for Internet Printing under the 820 copy fund in v-circ.
1. It can be done, but it would impact the business office and the system as a whole. Jimmy will talk to the business office to see what their needs are and how it would affect them. If they decide to change it, it will be a system-wide change.

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.  IT will work on added the .ogg extension to customer computers.
3.  Jimmy will create a prototype of the V-Circ customer tab flags.
4.  iFind will be presented at the managers meeting for more discussion and to create a proper time frame for release.
5. IT will set up srConfirm on the Edmond iPads for testing.
6. Unlocking the optical drives on public computers will be discussed at the managers meeting for a consensus.
7. The following statement will be added to the cyberMARS “You will receive a notification when your reserve is ready for pickup.” It will appear after a eserve has been submitted.
8. The cell phone provider, Consumer Cellular will be added to the list to receive text message notifications.
9. The number of total checkouts will be added to customer receipts.
10. The following statement will be added to the cyberMARS reserve pick-up page “You must check this material out with the card you placed the reserve on.”
11. Allowing spouses, children, etc. to pick up/check out materials will be discussed at the managers meeting.
12. Jimmy will talk to the business office about adding internet printing to the 820 copy fund in v-circ.