Barton Advisory Group

To: all-lib@MIT.EDU
Subject: Barton Advisory Group Minutes, Aug. 16, 2001
Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2001 15:35:39 -0400
From: Walter Powers


Present: Michael Finigan, Charlene Follett, Tracy Gabridge, Stephanie
Hartman, Kim Maxwell, Christine Moulen (chair), Walter Powers
(minutes), Beth Siers


1. Updates:

   a. Kim discussed issues brought up in recent Open Labs and
      elsewhere; she reported that Swets Blackwell has bought Martinus
      Nijhoff

   b. Beth continues to work on the OCLC record loader, and met with Michael
      Kaplan of Ex Libris to clarify goals
   
   c. Christine is also working on loaders with Ex Libris; they have
      specs for the YBP loader. Patron loaders should be ready to test
      next week. She will be meeting with the server team to discuss
      setting up the second library server; the scheduling of the
      Patch 3 upgrade (no-frames OPAC) has not yet been decided

   d. Tracy reported on progress with the OPAC "Your Account" and that Erja
      Kajosalo has been working on Course Reserves; Tracy and Michael
      are testing fines and their display in the Web OPAC; she is
      planning to test RSC Request next week. Jonah Jenkins will be
      joining the HTML sub-group

   e. Walter reported on the items training workshops; more are
      contemplated. A Web page with processing procedures, based on
      the current SerAcq sub-page, possibly password-protected,
      possibly in the 3rd Barton Transition locker off the staff Web
      page, is endorsed by the Items sub-group

   f. Charlene has been working with Joan Kolias on reports; an
      interim (until loader is working) Rush Receipts procedure has
      been developed in consultation with BAS and SAS members; more
      procedures need to be worked out; Acq training workshops for
      processing staff are underway; workshops for selectors will be
      scheduled shortly; YBP staff will be coming to look at GOBI
      records in Aleph

   g. Michael reported on the "billed for replacement" problem and the
      expiring e-mail address problem; discussed Circ statistics with
      Harolyn Hylton; asked whether new "missing" processing statuses,
      with dates, should be instituted, or is the marked-missing date
      retrievable elsewhere in an item?

   h. Stephanie reported that permissions are more or less worked out
      for processing staff; workflows are being instituted as far as
      possible; the Processing Committee is planning a forum on
      Repetitive Strain Injury; she mentioned staff difficulties with
      viewing Aleph; she is planning to meet with Carl Jones and
      others about macros and macro software; she brought up the issue
      of user confusion over displays of Circ status values in the
      OPAC, and asked if there might be an alternative

2. The Steering Committee is discussing the timing of the major re-indexing.

3. Beth will investigate whether it is possible to re-index just the
   direct indexes overnight during the coming weekend.

4. Christine asked whether Advance Barton should be kept available
   past the end of September; the Group agreed that it is a valuable
   resource and that it should be kept available

5. Kim asked for a new item status different from the
   check-in "suppressed" status, for new receipts that will not have an
   ongoing individual item identity, such as looseleaf inserts;
   approved by the Group

6. Christine asked the Group to review Sarah Shreeves' final report,
   and establish priorities for post-production developments and
   projects. 

Next meeting: Thursday, Aug. 30, Hayden Conference Room
Agenda: Priorities