06/01/2009
Five College Libraries
Research, Instruction and Outreach Committee (RIO)
Minutes of the June 1, 2009 Meeting
Present: Bryan Goodwin (chair), Susan Kimball, Beth Lang, Charlotte Slocum Patriquin (FCLC representative), Barbara Polowy (recorder), Bonnie Vigeland
OPAC Testing
• RIO members will use the script developed by Stephanie Schmitt to test the Version 19 OPAC every week, sending their reports (on the spreadsheet Step provided) to Bryan by Thursdays at noon. He will consolidate the reports and send them on to Step.
• Bryan will ask Step about how best to name and submit screenshots of OPAC problems.
• Testers also should report any OPAC interface problems that aren’t covered in the test script to Bryan.
Proposed Task Force on the Five College Library Catalog Public Interface
Bryan will forward RIO’s proposal to form a new Five College task force on the catalog’s public interface to the Five College Librarians Council before the June 9 meeting.
Catalog Enrichment Assignment
Responding to the FCLC request to “to research and identify high-priority, but hopefully lower cost, catalog enrichment options to supplement the Syndetics features we are continuing,” members felt this would be a more appropriate task for either DEDCC (as that committee has already surveyed the catalog enrichment field) or the proposed task force on the catalog’s public interface.
RIO Charge
Members discussed RIO’s current charge, the relationship of RIO and DEDCC, and ways the committee could develop into a better mechanism to promote Five College cooperation in the areas of reference, instruction, and other information services. All agreed that RIO should remain as a Five College committee.
The following will be dropped from the revised charge:
• Recommend common databases and preferred vendors to the Five College Collection Management Committee, along with coordinating costs and interfaces of shared databases.
o This activity has been taken over by the Five College Collection Management Committee
• Design the public aspects of the Five College OPAC in conjunction with the UMASS Librarian for Integrated Library Systems and Staff Development.
o RIO hopes the proposed Five College task force on the library catalog interface will assume primary responsibility for public access to the Five College Library Catalog
• Coordinate communications for library users of new Five College services, databases and/or technologies
All agreed that RIO should maintain closer contact with DEDCC and suggested ways to improve communication and the exchange of information in areas of mutual interest such as:
• Assign one member sit on both committees
• Share project plans in a more formal way, perhaps exchanging lists of upcoming projects at the beginning of the year with regular updates throughout the year
Fostering greater cooperation in reference, instruction, and other information services will be at the core of RIO’s revised charge. Some new ways the Five College libraries could do this are:
• Share tutorials, research guides, and other instruction materials for similar resources and services
• Collaborate on IM reference service
• Develop a “librarian exchange” program
o to share special subject expertise across the Five College libraries through in-service training of librarians and/or by making subject experts available on site to patrons at other institutions
o to expose public services staff to other ways of providing reference, instruction, and outreach services
Though in the past participation by all five institutions has been the norm for RIO initiatives, future projects could be collaborations of some but not all institutions.
Barbara will draft a revised charge based on the group’s discussion and circulate it to committee members on Monday afternoon. All should review it and post comments to the group so that Bryan can forward the final revision to the FCLC for consideration at the June 9 meeting along with a cover letter giving the specific examples of possible RIO initiatives as listed above.
Next Meeting
June 22, 9:30, Hampshire
