Pharos Inter-Campus Services Task Force
Conference Call February 23, 2000

Attending: Kathleen Messer (Chair), Rhonda Rios Kravitz, Pat Lavigna, Kelley Martin, Deborah Schaeffer, Elizabeth Housewright (Recorder), Harold Schleifer, Marvin Pollard

Absent:  Jo Ann Bradley, Gail Cosmo, Lore Gravino

Update from 2/4 Management team meeting:

• ICS received Management team response to task force memo
• Harold: Want to spare no effort to get 6/1 launch even if there is a need to work over the summer.   Library Directors were alerted to this at COLD; if deliverables come in on time, ILL departments might need help in summer
•  Marvin: during the meeting he went over ICS task force report plus update from conference call w/ Kelley, Jo Ann, Elizabeth, John Bodfish,
• where enhancements subcommittee and epixtech had reached an agreement to forward to ICS and Management Team that the enhancements subcommittee would be willing to test before April under certain conditions; (e.g. epixtech will install, configure on server, possibly on  work station, put out list of what we could expect is really working so that we can test and verify operability)

• Doug Davis, Paul Adalian, Chair User Services Task Force, Gordon Smith, Marvin Pollard, Ying Liu (was trained in program to update union catalog) Eric Willis (Vice Chair Systems design Task Force)
• Had conference call w/ RSS development team from Evanston (CSU group, several people from Provo office, and Ken V. and John  B. and one other from Evanston)
• Change suggested by User Interface committee: when request is put in RSS system user is prompted to submit another request or start again; option we need is ability to go back to results set.  This is now added to prototype server, will be on others when they are updated

• Shared info from Provo
• Timeline (copy sent to ICS task force: Events Timeline for June 1, 2000 Launch of Pharos 1.0) is being updated weekly; most important dates are those epixtech commits to; (this isn't CSU implementation schedule) that must be met in order to have Pharos 1.0 product we could implement in June.
• COLD reaction: this is more process, behind the scenes; they are most concerned with when am I going to get it, what do I do?   This document doesn't tell them that. Won't have CSU implementation plan until confidence level on dates on this timeline is better.  (Harold pointed out that ICS has an implementation plan, but we are waiting until we have a usable product before we put into effect.)

• Will ask for status report on RSS 3.1 which is supposed to be delivered, installed, tested, bug-free, and feature complete (except for OCLC interoperability) on 3/1/00.  3.1.1 with OCLC interoperability due week 1 of April *
• Kelley is corresponding w/ OCLC (we are customers of both, can follow progress from both sides.)  Kelley and Marvin report that it looks like nothing from OCLC side should be holding up epixtech.
• Kelley will send note from OCLC to full task force: won't be able to use Microenhancer (w/ proprietary messaging system) if we're using RSS.  We will be profiled as ISO protocol libraries, will need to switch!  This makes it even more important that RSS enhancements, statistics etc. are in place before we recommend use.

Harold asked if you have III ILL module, will RSS totally make it obsolete, or could it work together? Kelley thinks people with III module may want to hold off RSS borrowing function until RSS can match III's functionality (such as checking out ILL items on the local circ system and the ability to transfer  requests to OCLC) and only implement RSS lending.  Marvin: End point is that you want the user to see one interface instead of several. Marvin reminds us that epixtech's RPA software will provide some of this capability too based on your configurations.

RPA will verify and authenticate patrons using the local library's patron database.   Kathleen reminded us that this enhancement (E-82  "Create unlinked/temporary borrowing item records for returnable items in local OPAC to allow ability to check out books to patrons on local system") was pointed out as critical to epixtech.   Kelley sent us a copy of Kathleen's 6/7/99 memo to epixtech stating this.  Marvin is going to bring this up in conference call today. Thing that has changed since last May is that they now have the new CPS URSA screen scraping technology that can be incorporated into RSS.  We need to raise this issue with them again to be  sure that they are paying attention to it.

Journal policy:

• Deborah will talk with Rhonda and Pat and will send policy recommendations to larger task force.  They can then go to the Management. Team and from there to COLD possibly in time for June meeting.

• Kelley reports that epixtech has the task force recommendations for statistical reports and that they have scheduled statistical reports for the 3.1 release of RSS.

• MP will share update from today w/ ICS and Management. team. If things are proceeding according to plan we would get testable (at least in part) version 3/1, but would probably not have a report for the 3/3 meeting ready. If things are behind schedule at epixtech, we could report that.

If March 1st works (all but OCLC operable, plus indication that OCLC will work soon), then 3.11 April date becomes more reasonable, we could then set up date for pilot group training and activate plans for unit heads meeting. We can then recommend when to implement; if possible we'd like to have it in place before fall semester.

Next meeting: depends on conference call results.  If all is on schedule we may talk again in mid March.