CDLINFO

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

While Request functionality will be accessible from the UC-eLinks service menu at the start of the Next Generation Melvyl pilot, easier and more intuitive access to the current Request system has been postponed from June to early fall.  The delay is due to the complexity in building UC Request (Interlibrary Loan) into OCLC WorldCat Local (WCL) and the desire to have as successful and robust a system as UC currently has.

What will this mean for us?
The pilot will still be launched in April.  Each campus will have its own local version of Melvyl (e.g., ucla.worldcat.org) with its local records displayed first, followed by other UC records, followed by global WorldCat records.  The union catalog view will not preference any one campus; it will display UC libraries records followed by global WorldCat records.  

For the April release, the Request option in UC-eLinks will be used for interlibrary loan purposes, as is now the case when using licensed resources.  Until Request is improved in early fall, users will have an extra step in borrowing books.  Currently in Melvyl, users can find books in Melvyl and click directly on the Request button to get the item. In the pilot, from April to fall 2008, they will have to use Request option within UC-eLinks.  After direct access to Request is implemented in WCL, borrowing books will be easier, involving fewer steps and a better end-user experience.  The look and feel of these services may be different from the way they currently appear.

All in all, it’s good news.  The takeaway message is this: users will be able to borrow books and other items throughout the life of the pilot; in fall 2008, it’ll be easier by a step or two.  But the best news is that OCLC, after having worked with the UC libraries, is changing its strategy concerning interlibrary loan delivery.  Influencing OCLC’s research agenda was one of the goals of the UC-OCLC collaboration…mission accomplished.

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

A survey was undertaken to learn from the campuses 1) their preferred methods for learning about the Next Generation Melvyl Pilot project; 2) their desired format for the content of communications; and 3) the frequency and timing of reports.

In brief, the majority of users chose email updates as the preferred method of communication. Respondents primarily want overviews with potential impacts, digests, overviews, and links to detailed reports of the pilot.  When asked how often they would like to receive information about the project, respondents expressed an equal preference for 1) monthly reports and 2) when milestones are reached.

Detailed findings and recommendations are available at:  http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/oclc_docs/NextGenerationMelvylPilotFindings.doc

By Steve Toub, Bibliographic Services Strategist

Zotero is an innovative citation manager that works in tandem with the Firefox web browser.  One of the enhancements to the software underlying Melvyl, which went live recently, made it possible to have Zotero import citations from the Melvyl interface.  [Note: if you are still seeing the previous behavior in which Zotero was unable to import citations from Melvyl, do the following: in Zotero’s preferences, go to the “Advanced” tab and select “Rebuild Translators Table”.]

Like EndNote and RefWorks, Zotero is able to collect citations from many databases.  Some of the features that Zotero has that EndNote and RefWorks currently lack include:

1. Ability to index PDF files, enabling full-text searching of articles in your local collection.
2. Ability to store image files and archived web pages.
3. A full-fledged research tool, not just a citation manager; it is possible to include freeform notes as well as highlight and annotate archived web pages.
4. Intuitive user interface.
5. Integration with Google Docs and OpenOffice.org (in addition to Microsoft Word).
6. No purchase cost to the library or the user.

However, Zotero only works in tandem with Firefox and it outputs to far few citation styles–eight at the moment, including APA, Chicago, and MLA–compared to the hundreds of citation styles supported by EndNote and RefWorks.

If you are new to Zotero, the introductory screencasts provide useful tutorials that demonstrate Zotero functionality.

Separately, CDL updated the Melvyl Catalog and UC Libraries Edition of the LibX browser toolbar.  This release includes the ability to search WorldCat.org and a version of the toolbar for Internet Explorer.  More information on LibX, including instructions for installation are available at:
http://melvyl.cdlib.org/F/?func=file&file_name=help-libx-uc-cdl90

CDL is interested in your feedback about both Zotero and LibX. Send your comments and questions to Steve Toub (steve.toub@ucop.edu).

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

Ongoing work
The early Next Generation Melvyl Pilot (supported by the WorldCat Local [WCL] Service) task groups focused on back-end services, such as how records, holdings and circulation information will be displayed in WCL, as well as Request (interlibrary loan), linking via UC-eLinks (the SFX service) and how to handle the mass digitized content from UC’s collections.  Intense planning with the OCLC teams is ongoing.  Several OCLC staff members flew out to Oakland from Ohio in late October for a packed series of meetings with task group members from several UC campuses and the California Digital Library (CDL).  These face-to face meetings moved the project on considerably.

New task groups formed
Two recently formed task groups have begun to focus on public service directions.  A Help and End User Support Task Group is tackling questions having to do with onscreen links, help, and feedback issues in the new environment.  Work the task group has already completed is available on UC-OCLC Implementation Web site.  As with other groups, their work has been fast and furious.  In addition, an End User Communication Task Group has been charged and has begun its work.  Coming soon — an Assessment Task Group.

You can see charges and reports under Task Groups Charges and Reports on the UC-OCLC Pilot Implementation Web page:

• Help and End User Support Web Banner Links Recommendation describes the three links at the top right portion of the WCL screen will be, and includes a mocked-up image.

  http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/oclc_docs/WebBannerLinks.doc

• Help and End User Support Task Group Progress Report discusses findings, and makes early recommendations about the type of Help necessary in WCL.

  http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/oclc_docs/HelpTGProgressReport.doc

• End User Communication Task Group is charged to form a communication plan and other activities for the pilot.

  http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/oclc_docs/Communications_Task_GroupCharge.doc

The Implementation Team asked you how you’d like to be kept informed    
The Implementation Team realized it wanted some concrete feedback from the campuses about how you’d like to be kept informed about this important pilot project.  We conducted a brief survey from November 1-30 that provided us with information about how to most effectively reach you, what kind of information you’d like to receive about the pilot, and how often you’d like to hear from us. 323 people responded from all 10 campuses and the CDL. Briefly, the top 4 desired methods of hearing from us are via

• Email updates
• Staff meetings with members of the Next Gen Melvyl Pilot team
• CDLINFO (http://cdlinfo.cdlib.org/)
• The project Web site (http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/uc_oclc.html)

(RSS feeds, staff meetings with campus senior library management, online videos and presentations, blogs, social networking sites followed.)

The top 4 types of information you’d like to receive are

• Overviews with a focus on potential impact
• Digest of reports
• General overviews of all topics
• Links to full, detailed reports. 

Dropping lower in the responses are “in-depth information one topic at a time”, and “news about only milestones and deadlines”.

Desired frequency of receiving reports was divided equally between “monthly” and “when milestones are reached”, and “immediately as information happens” following after.

A number of submitted comments are still to be analyzed, and a full survey report will appear in CDLINFO.

The Implementation Team made visits
Campus visits by Implementation Team members describing the pilot have been completed or are planned on the following dates:

• UCB – TBD
• UCD – June 18, 2007
• UCI – December 3, 2007
• UCLA – December 17, 2007
• UCM – November 16, 2007 LAUC Assembly
• UCR – December 14, 2007
• UCSD – November 30, 2007
• UCSF – September 17, 2007
• UCSB – October 4, 2007
• UCSC – TBD
• CDL – November 1, 2007

Detailed workplans and timelines
There are a number of actions that each campus will need to take in preparing for the pilot.  The Lead Implementers (UCB, UCD, UCLA, and UCSD) have the heaviest commitment but every campus will need to invest some time and effort.  The Implementation Team and its Task Groups will be working with each campus to complete these tasks between now and April 2008.  For each campus, a workplan (under Updates on the Web site) gives more detail about the tasks to be completed before the pilot.  Related documents can be found here:

• Preparation for the April Release
  

  http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/oclc_docs/ReporttoULSOPAGmeetingNov27.doc

• Timeline 11/27/07

  http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/oclc_docs/TimelinesULSOPAGmeetingNov27.xls

Again, thanks
UC librarians and staff participating on the task groups have displayed hard work above and beyond the call of duty, dedication, creativity, and flexibility in moving this Next Generation Melvyl search and discovery tool forward.  As one survey respondent said, “Go, team, go!”

By Sherry Willhite, CDL Request Project Manager

Request uses simple rules to determine item availability and these work as intended the majority of the time. For example, the Request service checks journal holdings using “start year/end year” and assumes that everything between those years is available. For other materials, like books, Request interprets the circulation status “Circulation information is unavailable” obtained from the home campus by Melvyl as “available on campus”.  When the user clearly sees that her campus does not have vol. 17, issue 9, the Request message stating the item is available at the home campus is a roadblock.

The new button within Request, “Process as an Interlibrary Loan; this item is not available at my home campus” removes the roadblock for these items and allows users to get past the availability issue to continue with their Request.  Items in this category are currently sent to the home campus ILL unit for review. Request includes the home campus holdings in the information forwarded with the citation, to make it simple for the ILL staff to review the request and determine if it should go forward.

This is the first Request function to be available on a campus-by-campus basis. Eight campuses elected to participate in the November 27th rollout, with UCSD and UCSF opting to wait until 2008. The participating campuses have two options for handling these items, they can choose to have ILL staff review each item, or they can send these items directly to the first ILL lender with the rest of the ILL requests. At this time all campuses have chosen to review the items.

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

The new version of the Melvyl Catalog with upgraded software, which will be released on December 10, 2007, may display a UC-eLinks button on the Full Record display for online resources.  Melvyl will pass the user’s IP address along with the item metadata to the SFX (UC-eLinks) KnowledgeBase in order to determine if this user has online access to this item. If the SFX KnowledgeBase determines that the user has online access to the item, the UC-eLinks button appears.

For the display of the UC-eLinks button to work correctly for Tier 3 items (campus licensed resources), Melvyl will need the appropriate campus IP address when users are accessing from off-campus. Therefore, we are asking off-campus access mechanism (proxy or VPN) administrators to add “melvyl.cdlib.org” to their configurations, where needed.  Non-UC IP addresses will check the CDL (systemwide) instance of the SFX KnowledgeBase.

For campuses using proxy servers, patrons may be challenged for proxy authentication when they first visit Melvyl, if Melvyl is the first proxied web site they visit in a session.

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

The version 16.2 upgrade to the Ex Libris Aleph software for the Melvyl Catalog will go live on December 10, 2007.  The software upgrade (and corresponding Oracle upgrade) was done in conjunction with a migration away from an aging hardware platform.  The Melvyl Catalog is now on supported versions of Aleph and Oracle.

Fear not, though, changes to the user experience are not so substantial as to require additional training.  Melvyl guides have been updated and are currently available on the CDL Instructional Materials web page under Melvyl at http://www.cdlib.org/inside/instruct/.

Upgrading the software has resulted in the following changes in Melvyl.

Search Improvements

1. Author names included in Keyword search: This enhancement was added earlier, but the entire database was not re-indexed at that time which was necessary for the change to become effective for all records.  This has now been accomplished.
2. Exact becomes “Begins with”: CDL changed most index descriptions in Melvyl that began with “exact” to “begins with”, a more accurate description.
3. Enriched searching: AUT (Author, last name first), SUB (Subject begins with) and SLC (LC Subject Heading begins with) search results may be larger than expected and/or records may not appear to contain search terms because cross references are now included in searches.
4. Integrating Resources (IR) and assignment of the Ex Libris Format code: In version 15.3, Ex Libris did not take the new leader value for Integrating Resources into account when assigning the Format (FMT).  This has now been changed.  Wonder what Integrating Resources are?  Check out the new Helpà Expert Searchingà Record Formats – Descriptions à Integrating resources, when the new version goes live.

Interface Improvements / Streamlining & New Features

1. “Available online” links display the linked content directly: There is no longer an intermediate “Copyright” screen between the Full Record view in Melvyl and the online resource when clicking the “Available online” hyperlinks.
2. Removal of “Find Related Items” popup box: In version 16.2,the searcher goes directly to a Browse page after clicking on an author’s name, or subject heading “hot” link.
3. UC-eLinks button, displayed conditionally: The UC-eLinks button appears after clicking “Details/Locations” for resources that UC-eLinks determines are available online, including Tier 3 (campus licensed) resources.  If UC-eLinks is not able to match a record in Melvyl to a title in its KnowledgeBase, the UC-eLinks button does not display.
4. Full Record display / New “Note” field is available when saving records: This Note field replaces the “Folder” feature which is not available in this version of the software.
5. Items Saved Across Sessions can now be printed/emailed with library locations: Previously, this was not possible.
6. My Workspace / New labeling: The new “User Information” label in version 16.2 is far more user-friendly than the previous “Update addresses” label.

Interface Improvements / Miscellaneous

1. Changes in the holdings display (order and spacing): Within a campus display box, locations are now listed in alphabetical order.  Also, there are changes in the order and spacing of elements that comprise the Notes area of the holdings display.
2. Vertical bars with subfield codes in MARC display: In 15.3, subfields in the MARC record were not preceded by any punctuation (e.g., subfield delimiter).  Now they are preceded by a vertical bar which helps to distinguish them from the rest of the text.
3. Changes in the MARC display (new fields used by Ex Libris): The MARC display contains new fields that are tagged HOL. They are used by Ex Libris to build holdings displays.

Interface Improvements / Fixes

1. Browse / Multiple headings numbers are displayed more accurately: In version 15.3, multiple Browse headings often displayed an arbitrary “999”, a number with no relation to the actual number of browse headings available.  In 16.02, the multiple heading displays as “50+”.
2. Search results pages / “Previous” and “Next” buttons display correctly: In 16.02, the “Previous” button is grayed out when no previous page is available; the “Next” button is grayed out when no next page is available.
3. Problem searching for items with multiple hyphens and apostrophes resolved: Previously, searching for items containing multiple hyphens (either together or in separate areas of the title) always retrieved 0 results.  Example: “Peer-to-peer”.  A user could only locate the title using Browse or with a Title (exact) search.  Searching now works as expected in version 16.2.  In addition, it is now possible to do successful searches on words with multiple apostrophes.  Example: Keywords = o’hara’s.
4. Merge problems: Some, but not all record merging problems, were improved with version 16.2 of the software.
5. Update / Previous Searches screen actually includes previous searches: In 15.3, after users created an Update, they were returned to the Previous Searches screen.  However, the actual searches were missing from this screen (only the number of results remained).  In 16.2, when users are returned to the Previous Searches screen, all their searches are present.
6. Update / Review Search button functions correctly: In 15.3, when users selected an Update and clicked Review Search, the system took them to the Previous Searches screen that included the same search.  When users clicked the Review Search button on this screen, they received an error message indicating “The selected set has no records.”  In 16.2 when users click the Review Search from Previous Searches screen, the search actually works.

By Steve Toub, Metasearch Project Manager

CDL and UCLA have completed development on a pilot federated search application that helps scholars conduct research on the topic of "Women in U.S. Social Movements". This portal searches 12 separate databases, retrieves results, and presents the ranked results to a user, all with a single click.

It is viewable at: http://matisse.cdlib.org:3082/

This milestone is the latest in a series of efforts to deploy and assess components of CDL’s Metasearch Infrastructure Project; for more information on this project, see: http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/metasearch/

This portal provides functionality new to Metalib 4.0, notably the display of facets on the page that displays the merged results. It also utilizes a Ruby on Rails web development framework, which was deployed in order to simplify development by campus web teams. The CDL team developed the middleware, the Rails templates, and configured the database connections; the UCLA team selected the databases, prioritized the functionality, and customized the look and feel of the interface.

UCLA is in the process of recruiting participants to assess the portal in the coming weeks. In addition to their write-up of the end-user assessment, UCLA will deliver a final report that includes their recommendation of whether the pilot was worth the effort in providing improved service to users and whether the system should be moved into production systemwide. CDL will also make a similar recommendation. Various all-campus groups will consider CDL¹s recommendation in early 2008.

If the recommendation and consultative process on next steps do end up with a decision to move the platform into production systemwide, the move into production would not be immediate, as there is some amount of work CDL needs to do in order to transform the pilot application so it can scale to production status.

Congratulations to all those involved with reaching this milestone.

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

Planning for the UC-OCLC Next Generation Melvyl Pilot is complex; some of the Task Group reports are dense reading, and the impact of using WorldCat Local as a discovery tool is significant for our users and for all of us working in the UC Libraries.

The Implementation Team wants to hear how you’d best like to be kept informed of the work of this project. Your input is important.

Please take our brief, 5-question survey this November and have your vote be counted!  Encourage your colleagues to take it, too.

Find the survey at http://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/aaeg2e40f .

You will also find it linked from the UC-OCLC Pilot Implementation Web Page: http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/uc_oclc.html .

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

Projected release date of Next Generation Melvyl Pilot – April 2008
The projected release date for the Next Generation Melvyl Pilot, supported by OCLC’s WorldCat Local (WCL) service is April 2008.  The decision to roll out the service in April is the culmination of the analysis and design phase of the pilot planning and is based on input from the Implementation Team, campus experts from the first 15 UC Task Groups, the 3 current UC-OCLC Joint Workgroups, and in collaboration with OCLC leadership.  UC (that means many of you!) and OCLC staff are working intensively to ensure the success of the pilot by building integration between WCL and UC systems such as UC-eLinks and local ILS systems.  The Executive Team now has enough information about the integration development timeline to lay out a release schedule.

What will be in the April release?
The April release will include OCLC records with existing campus holdings symbols.  In addition, there will be sample records for the Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF), Shared Cataloging Program (SCP), and from the Mass Digitization projects.  UC will add the new symbol for SRLF monographic records with an OCLC number to test the effect on resource sharing and discovery.  Digital Object Metadata from sample campus digital collections, the eScholarship Repository, as well as digital content from the Online Archive of California (OAC) will also be added to the pilot to experiment with non-MARC metadata.

What will be added after the April release?
Because of the complexity of the project, and to test functionality for holds and recalls, only records from the main ILS on each campus will be highlighted as UC holdings in the pilot.  As a result, some sources in the current Melvyl Catalog will only be represented as part of WorldCat in the pilot, including records from the California State Library, Hastings College of the Law, the California Academy of Sciences, the California Historical Society, the Center for Research Libraries, the Graduate Theological Union, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and some campus affiliated libraries.

This April release will not have a fully operational Request service; the full integration with Request will follow 2 months after the initial release of the pilot, in June 2008.  Because of the complexity of UC’s interlibrary loan service, developed over a period of many years, this portion of the pilot will take longer to implement.  The Executive Team has approved releasing the pilot in stages so that we can begin evaluation of the “discovery” features in the spring, while the majority of faculty and students are available to help us test the service.  When tighter integration with Request is added in the summer, we will focus on evaluating the “delivery” suite of services.

Releasing the pilot functionality in stages also allows us to model the “continuous improvement” nature of today’s systems and our ability to be nimble.  We expect that the WCL system will continue to add features and services throughout the pilot and beyond, based on user experience, formal user evaluations and OCLC product releases.  Request integration will be the first such important improvement.

What are the next steps?
The next phase of planning will lay out specific action steps leading up to the pilot release.  As part of that plan, three new task groups have recently begun or will begin work (Help and End User Support, End User Communication, and Assessment).  The Implementation Team will provide information to campuses for the pilot, including suggested dates for campus record clean-up, any needed local system configuration changes, and recommendations and best practices for the reclamation projects that some campuses are already planning.  For example, we now know that it will be critical for campuses to load OCLC numbers back into their records when completing reclamation projects in order to link their records to WCL during the pilot.

How can I find out more about the project?
Explore the website at http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/uc_oclc.html.