Conference 7.286::digital

   I am sure there are other people within DIGITAL like me who make use
   of the Digital On-line Catalog and get books sent to them to their
   location. I am in Colorado Springs now and the local library has implemented
   a feature that I found very useful and would like to see it implemented
   Digital-wide.

   The CXO1 library system automatically sends out a mail message to the
   person who borrowed a book THE DAY BEFORE IT IS DUE. This is extremely
   convenient in that, many times, you forget you borrowed the book until
   you get the manually generated (some libraries send computer printed ones)
   overdue notice in the mail. I think a week after that, they bill your 
   cost-center for the price of the book. Getting a notice the day before the
   book is due is very convenient.

   DLN catalog administration is responsible for making these changes. 
   I sent mail to them (DLNVAX::DLN_CATALOG) with this suggestion and got back
   a reply that basically said "Yes. It's a good idea. It's very good to
   hear from people like you about these kind of features. The development
   folks have been thinking about things such as these". However the
   mail message finally ended with a note "Personally I would vote for a change
   like this". I may be wrong, but I got the impression that there was some
   resistance to having this implemented, for whatever reason.

   If you use the libraries a lot and you think that the above feature would be
   helpful to you, please send a mail message to DLNVAX::DLN_CATALOG. It seems
   like they want to hear about this and other issues from people who use the
   libraries.

   Nari

    You may also want to suggest they open a notes conference. BTW,
    there is a conference for the Spitbrook library at UCOUNT::ZKO_LIBRARY.
    
    			Alfred

    A problem I have with the on-line system is that if I reserve a
    particular book (its status is available according to the system
    description) and somebody goes into the library and takes it out before
    the batch is processed (at the end of the day, I believe), then I don't
    get the book and I get a note via inter-office mail sometime later
    stating that I have to wait till that person brings the book back.
    
    Now, I *know* that it would'nt be difficult to modify the software to
    "flag" the book as being reserved, so that when somebody tries to take
    it out, it lets them know.  I'm not saying that they should process the
    request in real time, but to atleast flag it so that nobody can take it
    out.  I sent a message to the librarians at the mill and got back
    basically the same response as .1.
    
    Its pretty frustrating when you really need the book.  The CXO system
    is really good (about informing about when the book is due).
    
    Sameer

    
    
    I recently became aware of this note as chair of the DLN Marketing
    Committee. Our role is to try and update information on the
    Digital Library network in publications and anywhere in Digital
    and externally that the DLN is discussed.  As you may or may not be
    aware we are a group of site managed and funded libraries that
    share a common catalog that is maintained by a DLN administration
    office.  
    
    We are currently in the process of defining requirements for a
    Version II of the catalog .. and we are will take into consideration
    the suggestions made here and at site member library locations
    in DEC.  
    
    We do not currently have a 'DLN notes file' for user access since
    our DLN Administration office is not staffed to respond nor are
    DLN decisions and policies generated from that office ... each
    site has committee representation to get things accomplished 
    that are DLN projects .. such as defining catalog requirements,
    marketing, advanced technologies, etc.
    
    The best channel for you to give input to DLN activities is
    still through your local library.  Since many of you have
    access to the catalog and do not have a site library
    you can add mail to UCOUNT::ZKO_LIBRARY notes file and I will
    see that your suggestions are sent on to appropriate group.
    
    Please keep in mind that since we put the catalog on VTX
    there are a lot more users and doing things on a large scale
    are much more difficult to do than a system designed for
    a smaller user group (ie. CXO).
    
    Thanks,
    Cathy Sloan 
    ZKO Library Manager
    

   Thanks for your reply Cathy. If I have more suggestions, I shall send them
   to the ZKO library system.

   >>> Please keep in mind that since we put the catalog on VTX
   >>> there are a lot more users and doing things on a large scale
   >>> are much more difficult to do than a system designed for
   >>> a smaller user group (ie. CXO).

   While your point is well-taken, while you are in the process of 
   redesigning the catalog, you may want to think about "distributing"
   the "back-end" functions like batch jobs generating "due-tomorrow"
   notices at each library. I don't know how the current DLN works
   (my guess is that it is centralized). My guess is that due to the huge  
   numbers of records involved and access done through VTX, it is centralized.
   Transactions such as checking a book out or placing a reserve is held till
   the end of the day and sent to each library to be processed the next day.
   You may want to think about distributing more functions like sending out
   reminders etc..to other nodes in the individual library systems.

   It's easy for me to sit here and say all of this, not knowing how the
   DLN currently works, what resources we could have in the future etc..
   At least that's my 2cents worth. After all, we claim that we can truly
   distribute processing with our networks and clusters. We could give them
   a try ourselves if resources permit.

   Thanks once again,
   Nari
   

Hi , 

This is a good idea , perhaps more people will discover the on-line catalog 
through this note . 

I am a graduate student at Northeastern University and I find the DLN 
catalog to be excellent . The libraries at Digital are very well stocked 
and this on-line catalog helps employees make the most out of this resource. 
I work in YWO and since we have no library here I found that I could not 
really use the DLN without a lot of hassle.

Now if I want a book I don't even bother to look at Northeastern, DLN is 
almost certain to have it ....

Two suggestions I would have are : 

- Could a system be implemented where books not stocked could be requested ?

- How about access to other library related material through the VTX 
catalog, for instance if I want to search for journal articles related to a 
particular subject I need to ask DLN staff to perform the search. Would it 
be possible to link material from other databases ( for example the "Books 
in Print" database on CD ) into the catalog ??


/Paul