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WebPac Implementation Team : Meeting Minutes

3/1/01

Present

  • Mark Mounts
  • Bill Ghezzi
  • Reinhardt Sonnenberg
  • Jim Fries
  • Paul Merchant
  • Jennifer Merrill
  • Ann McHugo
  • Bill Fontaine
  • Becca Lee
  • Jennifer Nelson (recorder)

Announcements

BG There will be a brief presentation of the Library Catalog to CSG on Tuesday (3/6) at 8:30.  Bill expects this to be more of a Q&A and less of a detailed walk through than the CMDC/USC meeting.  Bill will look for relevant features to CSG staff (staff view, export, and the timeline).  Anyone from WPIT not already on CSG should attend if they can.

BG gave an update on some pre-search limits and manuscript mat type  both of which  have some problems.  Cecilia has a call in to III on the words in title problem.  It's not set up with specific title fields (inaccurate).  Bill has called in a cross reference problem that possibly occurred when III last rebuilt the database.

A question was raised for the group on whether to delay release if these issues aren't resolved? It was decided that we probably would not, and hopefully they will be fixed in time.

Special Collections will be able to limit to iconography mat type limit (type r).  In the old BRS the limit was to type "audio-visual" (?)

Feed back page.  Updated to 2/27 with answered questions.  To be addressed later in the meeting.

Subgroup reports

SOS, met on Tuesday.  Renamed from MOO to Staff Orientation Sessions (RS).

Sessions have been set-up with block booking of the Starr Room.  There will be 10-12 sessions spread out over 3/16-3/26 to get started.  There will also be other later sessions for stragglers and student workers.  Currently we have about 2 each day that Starr was free for interim.

There are 182 staff according to the main office which allows for 10-15 staff per session.  Also Feldberg, Dana, Kresge will have sessions on-site the last week of March or first of April, possibly in conjuction with regularly scheduled staff meetings.

RS raised the question of who will teach?  RS will teach 5 or so and encourages people to team up:  Public and Tech Service to answer the widest array of questions.

STDC will do scheduling, they are meeting today (3/1/01) at 1:30 (AM).  Involve WPIT  memebers, select trainers (BI) and subgroup members.

Notes to Dept Heads-- encourage all staff to attend training in order to cover all staff.  Maybe we should compare sign-ups with full staff lists?

Marketing subgroup

Charge approved.

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MM  Since volume is increasing we might want to consider a more automated responses and archiving system.

Currently responses are made to the group generally  so everyone knows it has been addressed, but follow-ups beyond first contact are not generally (for clarification or examples)

JM and BG are fielding most questions so far with PM doing some of the technical ones as well.  RS doesn't feel comfortable answering questions on authority control, cataloging or systems questions

but will address help screen or search questions.  WPIT members should feel free to jump in when they feel comfortable.  Some obvious break downs are:

  • appearance- BG
  • patron- BL
  • cataloging - BG
  • help screens- BF, RS
  • tech/browser - PM

Unanswered questions will be brought to the group at meetings or emailed around.  A recent question was raised on the displayed locations, which is related to new locations scheme being inplemented (loc + subloc).  Since the new formula will be more accurate, this question will resolve itself.  Target date March 16th.

Currently JM marks up email in cut and paste to long html document.  The group examined whether we hould move to a form, like CRT's pnc.cgi.   For now, we decided to keep old system and have fill-ins  for JM's vacation (last of March, first of April).  MM volunteered to cover this next vacation.

Help Screens Group

The 'Start over' button has been changed from a form (which allowed it to match other form driven buttons on the same page) to a GIF due to some problems that were occuring on some pages.

There is concern with multiple search help screens (titling question).  It's not "advanced author search", but "author search with advanced help".  Other ways to address this problem (differentiating between basic and advanced help would be to have all the  help on 1st screen.  This brings up load time issues.  Also when a user is logged in and chooses the help button or another button which leaves the catalog , ie. DCIS databases, s/he leaves his/her session.  Some althernate ways  to serve the help pages were discussed.  For example, 'Help' could open a second, small screen (java) which was a floating help screen.   Four distinct methods of delivering help screens were discussed and their pros and cons discussed:

  1. contexual search extended with hotlinks all on same page
  2. dual screens
  3. new window
  4. frame

It was decided to set-up each for 4 searches on main page and test with users/us/focus groups.