Barton Advisory Group

Barton's Mission

Barton, the Library Management System (LMS) of the MIT Libraries, facilitates the acquisition, organization, and presentation of material the library owns and collects. The bibliographic database at the heart of Barton includes records that provide rich intellectual connections for researchers and students. The services offered by Barton must respond to the changing needs of our patrons and staff.

Charge of the Barton Advisory Group

The Barton Advisory Group shares responsibility for the management and coordination of Barton functions and services. To accomplish this, the Group as a whole:

• works with the Library System Manager to set and evaluate priorities;
• sets the timetable for upgrades and fixes to Barton with the Manager;
• assesses the operational impact of new additions or procedures for Barton, both on database integrity and workflow;
• conceives of innovative ways to make the most of Barton;
• brings staff ideas and concerns about Barton to the Manager's attention;
• communicates Barton matters back to the staff;
• considers policy changes with the Manager, and makes recommendations for such changes to the Head of Systems and Technology Services or to Library Council as appropriate;
• assists the Head of STS in updating the Barton emergency recovery plan, and is responsible for coordinating downtime operations and for testing in case of an emergency requiring restoring the Barton system
• maintains a web page that provides access to plans for Barton, issues surrounding its operation, and relevant documentation.

In addition to these shared responsibilities, individual members of the Group have specific responsibility for maintaining and managing aspects of Barton data and/or operations within their functional areas. Finally, members of the Group act in a liaison role with the other staff in their functional areas and must be sure to reach beyond their particular expertise to make sure everyone's ideas and concerns are represented.

Membership

The Barton Advisory Group is chaired by the Library System Manager and reports to the Associate Director for Technology. The Group is composed of standing members, whose primary job descriptions include responsibility for managing aspects of Barton data or functionality, and rotating members, who serve in advisory and liaison capacities. Members share knowledge of their domains and build connections between disparate needs. The members, their terms of appointment, and who appoints them:

• Library System Manager (chair, permanent)
• Systems Programmer (standing member)
• MARC Database Manager (standing member)
• Serials Acquisitions Librarian (standing member)
• Monograph Acquisitions Librarian (standing member)
• Head, STS (standing member, ex officio)
• Three Public Services staff members, appointed by the Associate Director of PS, to represent Circulation/Reserves, OPAC, and Processing. Each of these is a two-year appointment.
  

One of the Collection Services representatives should keep the Libraries accounting staff informed of Group issues so that a fund-accounting perspective can be represented as well.

Role of the Library System Manager

The Library System Manager coordinates the daily activities required for the operations of Barton. The Manager supervises the acquisition, installation, and upgrading of hardware, software, and telecommunications systems used to support Barton activities; develops and maintains Barton reports, documentation, and records; coordinates service and maintenance of the Barton server with IS&T; and participates in the identification of new technology to meet library automation needs. The Manager serves as the MIT Libraries liaison to our automation vendor's user group(s.)

Barton Projects

The Barton Group is responsible for setting priorities and managing projects that are limited to ALEPH functionality, and that the Group can realize using the resources available within its membership. Projects or upgrades that should be submitted to Library Council for prioritization include those that:

• Require the purchase of additional software
• Combine third-party vendor software with ALEPH software
• Involve STS staff beyond those who are Barton Group standing members
• Require wide participation from library units beyond STS
• Necessitate coordination or cooperation with IS&T, beyond regular service and maintenance
  

Barton Advisory Group

Revised 3/2004 - ninadm@mit.edu