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Report Participants: Kathleen Messer (Chair), Gail Cosmo, Lore Gravino, Rhonda Rios Kravitz, Pat Lavigna, Kelley Martin (Recorder), Deborah Schaeffer, Marvin Pollard Absent: Jo Ann Bradley, Elizabeth Housewright, Harold Schleifer Report on RSS 3.1 (Marvin Pollard) Ameritech delivered a beta version of RSS 3.1 on August 31. The version does not yet have all of the functions scheduled for 3.1. Much more profiling and customization are allowed in 3.1. A new database was created to support the new profiling data. Enhancement Subcommittee Report (Kelley Martin) The Enhancement Subcommittee held a conference call on September 2. The report of that call was sent to the ICS mailing list on September 10. Ameritech delivered a beta version of RSS 3.1 to Marvin on August 31. Marvin installed at Chico and San Diego by September 2. The release is not the full beta version promised as many of the items scheduled for 3.1 are not yet included. Examples of scheduled items not yet included in this beta are unmediated ordering (ICS enhancement #E-4a/b) and the inclusion of local call numbers on pick sheets (E-2). Other items are included in the current release but are not working: Examples include the reprinting of pick sheets, wrappers, etc. (E-23) and aging of requests (E-20a/b). As the Enhancement Subcommittee progresses with beta testing the software, they are compiling a list of bugs/problems discovered and reported. To date, approximately 30 items have been reported. They will test enhancements as Ameritech releases them. One initial impression of the subcommittee concerns the large amount of set-up and configuration required to begin using RSS. Their suggestion is that recommended default settings be drafted which are then centrally configured by Chancellor's Office staff to avoid confusion and duplication of effort among the campuses. Kathleen asked about the process of activating the ILL web forms designed by User Services at the RSS test sites. Marvin will check with the developers at Ameritech about the inter-operability of the forms with RSS, in particular, as regards the data element mapping from the web forms to the RSS request forms. Article Policy Subcommittee (Rhonda Rios Kravitz) Rhonda led a discussion of some of the questions and issues involved in drafting a recommended policy on article delivery. Some of the issues discussed: Should the task force recommend a single campus-wide limit on the number of articles a patron can order, or should we recommend that the limit be customizable per campus? Should we recommend a total limit per patron inclusive of books and articles? What about campuses who prefer a per week/day limit over a total active requests limit? Can RSS differentiate between mediated and unmediated article requests for limit setting? Is Ameritech planning any functionality to provide electronic delivery of articles (for example, see ICS's enhancement requests to provide inter-operability with Ariel and fax software)? Kathleen discussed the testing San Francisco is about to do with Minolta's Wizard software. This software proposes to convert .tiff files (such as Ariel, fax, or other scanned documents) into .pdf files which can be e-mailed to patrons as attachments or placed on a webpage for pickup. Another concern for the Article Policy Subcommittee is whether the Union Catalog will support the journal holdings level specificity necessary for patron-direct unmediated article requesting. The system should refuse requests when the volume the patron wants is owned by the patron's library, and not reject requests simply based on the journal title being held. Ideally, it should also only route requests to suppliers who hold the volume needed. Marvin assured the committee that this functionality would be incorporated into the Union Catalog/broadcast search and AutoPickSupplier features and that the appropriate task forces were aware of the need. The Article Policy Subcommittee will develop a list of questions and issues for discussion and will email it to the Task Force before the next meeting. Communications Subcommittee (Lore Gravino) Two e-mail messages and at least one phone call have been made to all of the RSS contacts in the CSU ILL departments. A compilation of the comments and questions collected from the ILL staff was e-mailed to the task force. Lore reviewed the list. The subcommittee is planning a conference call to discuss how to respond to the questions raised. Questions requiring input from the task force will be presented at the next meeting. Kathleen and others in the task force confirmed that the pilot group for testing 3.1 (after beta testing is completed) will consist of all nine ILL departments represented by the task force. An earlier report incorrectly stated that the pilot group would consist of only five test sites. Next Meeting The next meeting will be held at San Francisco State University. Three task force members are unable to meet on the original date of October 29. Kathleen will query everyone to determine if there may be a better date for the meeting. November 8 was discussed as a possibility. Submitted by Kelley Martin ICS Task Force Documents Page |
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Last Updated: October 5, 1999
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