Tech Support Meeting Minutes for July 2009

Tech Support Meeting Minutes

Date: July 28, 2009

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

Update on Action Items

1. The hearing impaired resource page has been added to the intranet for staff access. Kay sent the marketing request for bookmarks and will check on the status.
2. Teresa released the new www.metrolibrary.org with catalog search from the main page
3. The May issue of ShelfLife had an article about the new features on CyberMARS.
4. The Library Thing for Libraries feature on CyberMARS has been released to the public.
5. The Managers Meeting decided that the shelf management lists for audio fiction will be in order by author.
6. Denyvetta asked the managers about a pop-up in V-circ with pre-set alerts. There were diverse opinions and a universal approach could not be made. There will be no further action at this time.
7. Kay and Teresa are still working on adding an advanced search feature to the internet.  They will then work with Jimmy once they have decided on scope areas.
8. Jimmy added the sorting feature to the CyberMARS borrower page.
9. The managers determined that the Damage letter form should be added to the intranet.
   This will be implemented by Teresa.
10. Jimmy added item numbers to the title field for paperbacks on the credit card tab in Vcirc.
11. Jimmy added a pre-set to the credit card tab in V-Circ that assumes the use will only be paying fines
12. Pauline talked to the cataloging staff about creating brief records for paperback books.
    She is still working on this.
13. Kay, Dana and Stuart created a database of Tech Support suggestions and events. This database was shared with Tech Support and they agreed that the project should be continued.

New Business

1. Teresa presented the list of changes to the internet/intranet
• Intranet - Teresa highlighted the new additions to the intranet including the new Tech Supply Catalog and MLS Recycling page – The group suggested that there be some way to see the full list of recycling efforts. Teresa will work on adding this feature. Teresa also talked about the newly revised business supply catalog and shared the new construction updates page, which will release before August 1st.
• Internet - Teresa added the new design and catalog search to the homepage. The “Summer at the Library” and “I Can’t Believe I Shot That” pages have been updated as well.

ILS Issues:

1. A suggestion was made to make a dummy e-mail address that only accepted all correspondents e-mails. Each message could then be stored as a text file in a folder on the intranet which could then be searchable through the intranet search function or a web page could be created. Such a tool would allow staff to delete e-mails knowing that they will still be available on the intranet.
• Tech Support discussed many different ways to make this work. There are a couple of concerns with this idea; e-mails with attachments could not be viewed through this method and not all e-mails need to be saved for long periods of time. However, Tech Support agrees that there does need to be some way to make sure everyone can find the information they are looking for and this may need to be revisited once all staff have e-mail. Until then, Kay will look into a more effective way to save the more important memos that do need to be saved for the future.
2. A suggestion was made to have fax machine use available to the public.
• This was discussed at the managers meeting and the managers agreed that the fax machines would need to be updated for this to be a reality. Anne stated that fax technology is not improving or changing and adding this service would require libraries to add a second phone line and update the photocopiers to support faxing. This would
  require a customer charge to recoup costs. This may be revisited if all managers have a strong interest in updating the copiers and adding second phone lines for customer faxing.
3. A suggestion was made to order cards and keychain cards so customers have a duplicate card.
• This has been discussed in the past. At this time, Tech Support has formed an Ad-Hoc committee to discuss creation of the cards and possible designs for the June 2010 card order. Members of the committee are Anne Fischer (chair), Kim Terry, Josh Lewis, and Katrina Prince.
4. A librarian was unable to locate DVDs and videos by T.D. Jakes in the catalog while using the “advanced keyword search” function and asked if this was a problem with the catalog.
• The catalog was functioning correctly. The committee replicated the searches, and with a cataloger’s help, learned that when you select an index within the advanced keyword search, you must follow cataloging standards for the type of index selected. In this case, the cataloging standard for authors is to separate the initials with a space in between. If only selecting the media format, the catalog will search keywords only.  Cataloging has agreed to contribute catalog searching tips for staff using tools such as Training Times or ShelfLife.
5. There was a suggestion to code Northwest Items so they will not be included in the number of items available to fill customer reserves.
• Tech Support agrees that this will be beneficial since the problem will occur more often as items are added before Northwest opens. Jimmy will make temporary program changes for the number of reserve items to not show Northwest items. These changes will be reversed when  Northwest opens.
6. A suggestion was made to make the signs on the CyberMARS computers have “catalog” more visible.
• Tech Support sees this need and Marketing will make new signage to fulfill this request.
7. A customer asked if it would be possible to add a reserve option to books that are currently pending purchase. 
• Since pending orders may be canceled, Tech Support does not think that reserves should be placed until the pending status is updated. Along with discussion, Jimmy said that a list of card numbers and bib numbers from customer requests to Materials Selection could be created and reserves can be placed automatically right after the orders have been placed in the system. Janet and Jimmy will discuss this further.
8. There was a suggestion to add a list of activities happening around the system or each library to the desktop of the public computers.
• Tech Support believes that adding this feature would go unnoticed by our customers since customers tend to go straight to the program they want to access. Adding the announcements to all the computers and updating them frequently would be a major task.
9. A suggestion was made to have a note section added to the leave approval printout to explain leave or cancelations, etc.
• At this time, Tech Support believes this is low priority. Every supervisor handles this differently and the group is concerned about all the information being stored.
10. A suggestion was made to have some kind of digital signage to show a loop of library ads, either on a computer or on the wall monitors for computer assignments.
• Digital signage is becoming very popular right now, and the Northwest library may have digital signs. Tech Support believes this will be something that may be added to all the libraries in the future and while adding the looped ads on the wall monitors is a good idea, there is no way to do this because the image is just a video feed of a program on one monitor being shown on another monitor.
11. A customer was upset that she could not limit her catalog search by library.
• This question has been asked many times. A list of past answers has been added to the minutes. Tech Support still feels these answers are the best answer to the question at hand. Making the catalog limit by location is more than an add-in and would require a full re-do of the system. Our system has one collection to benefit our customers. Limiting the collection by location appears to limit the availability of items when all of the items are available to reserve. All of our users are different and the number of people who want the book no matter where the book is outweighs the number of people who want to see what is in the library at the time they are there.
12. A customer was having problems finding out where to pay fines online and the person fielding her call requested that there be an intuitive way for people to access this part of the website from the homepage.
• Tech Support discussed various ways to implement this suggestion. First there will be mention of paying fines in the “catalog and databases” quicklinks section and “catalog and databases” will be moved to the top of the quicklinks section. There will also be some other link on the page that will go to the “my account” section of CyberMARS.  In CyberMARS, the borrower tab will be changed to “my account.”
13. A customer asked for an email to remind him of approaching overdue materials. Previously, we referred customers to LibraryElf, however, LibraryElf is now charging libraries for this feature and Tech Support would like to look into other options.
• Jimmy will return to Tech Support with a prototype for an eReminder service.
14. A librarian suggested getting larger wall monitors for computer assignments or lowering the ones we currently have, since customers often complain about not being able to read them.
• A 32” screen TV was placed in the Midwest City library’s lobby and IT is currently working on getting all the monitors replaced with that size screen. This will take some time since the wall mounts will need to be replaced as well. It would be helpful if staff could look at the Midwest City screen and send feedback on the size and placement.
15. A suggestion was made to remove the slash that is in the middle of card numbers so the number can be copied and pasted into other programs.
• The slash is great for readability on the books and the display, but it does have to be deleted when pasting. Tech Support discussed the reasons why this is needed and also came up with reasons why the bib numbers could need to be copied and pasted as well.  A copy button can be added that will put the copy on the clipboard for use with out the slash. Pauline will send Jimmy a list of places where this will be useful.
16. There was a suggestion to allow out of town customers to give their credit card information in lieu of a cash deposit in order to borrow items.
• While this is a possibility, Tech Support is concerned with the costs that could be associated with the idea. If a person does not return the materials and the credit card is charged, they could dispute the charge and we would owe $25 to refund the money. As of now, we do not keep credit card information and do not want to have the legal implications that could come from keeping this information. Right now, Tech Support does not recommend this service, but if the managers find this to be a common occurrence and want to give this service to out of town customers, it can be reconsidered.
17. A suggestion was made for the library system to purchase inexpensive earphones for customers to purchase to use with the public computers.
• IT already has a couple hundred of these and would be willing to try out a pilot program. Anne will talk with the Deputy Directors about trying this out along with offering flash drives for sale to customers. Anne will then talk to Julie about doing the pilot program Downtown and will discuss it with the managers.
18. A suggestion was made to include the Library Thing for Libraries additions to the staff catalog.
• Adding this to the staff catalog will require another account which will cost another $1000 annually. Janet will discuss this with Karen. If Karen is in agreement, IT will proceed to acquire another account and then Jimmy will work on the software development to add the similar titles and Tag features to the staff catalog.
19. A suggestion was made to add the library URL to the library cards.
• This will be added to the charges for the ad-hoc committee created with question #3.

Action Items

1. Kay will check on the status of the hearing impaired resource bookmarks and report back at the next meeting. (Kim is working on it)
2. Jimmy will change the shelf management lists for audio fiction to be in order by author. (completed)
3. Kay and Teresa are still working on adding an advanced search feature to the internet.
   They will then work with Jimmy after scopes of searching are defined.
4. The damage letter form will be added to the intranet. (completed)
5. Pauline is still looking into researching creating brief records for paperback books.
6. Teresa will add a feature to the MLS recycling page that shows a full list of the recycling efforts.
7. Kay will look into a more effective way to save and search important memos.
8. Pauline and Dana will add cataloging search tips to the next Training Times.
9. Jimmy will make temporary program changes for the number of reserve items to not show Northwest items. (completed)
10. Marketing will make new signage for the CyberMARS computers that has “catalog” more clearly displayed.
11. Janet and Jimmy will discuss the automatic reserve placement.
12. Jimmy will change the “borrower” tab in CyberMARS to read “My Account.” (completed)
13. Teresa will change the library homepage to mention paying fines and “my account” in the quicklinks “catalog and databases” section. This section will also be moved to the top of the quicklinks. (completed)
14. Jimmy will work on a prototype for the eReminder system.
15. Pauline will send Jimmy a list of where a copy button would be helpful for copying bib numbers and customer numbers without the slash in the middle.
16. Anne will talk with the Deputy Directors about implementing selling headphones and flash drives to customers. Anne will then talk to Julie about doing the pilot program Downtown and will discuss it with the managers.
17. Janet will discuss adding the Library Thing for Libraries to the staff catalog with Karen. They will then let IT know if they’re in agreement and IT will go forward with acquisition of the additional account and software development to incorporate it into the Staff Catalog. (completed)