The meeting was called to order at 7:30
a.m.Café DeGrasta by Chairman Harvey Bender. Also
in attendance were John Adams, Gail Bederman, Roger Jacobs, David Mengel,
Mark Pilkinton, Margaret Porter, Larry Rapagnani, Laurence Taylor, John
Weber, Jennifer Younger, guests Eric Morgan, Dan Marmion and Carole Richter,
and secretary Melodie Eiteljorge.
The minutes of the past three meetings
were approved as distributed: September 20, October 11 and November 6.
Younger introduced guests Eric Morgan,
Head of the Digital Access and Information Architecture Department, Dan
Marmion, Associate Director for Information Systems and Access, and Carole
Richter, Head of the Electronic Resources Department, who were present
to lead discussions on the main agenda topic: accessing library resources
and services via the Web.
Richter distributed an announcement
that describes the "E-Journal Locator", a new service providing an easy
one-stop solution for finding both individual E-Journal titles and article
content in aggregator databases subscribed to by the Libraries.
Several questions and comments were
raised regarding this service:
Q: Does the library track use of electronic journals?
A: The Libraries have created a page
titled "Vendor Provided Electronic Database Usage Statistics", which is
available at http://www.nd.edu/~electres/stats/.
Q: Are all electronic journals cataloged?
A: All electronic journal titles
to which the Libraries subscribe are cataloged in the library catalog and
listed in the Electronic Resources Gateway, and in addition, these titles
will be listed in the E-Journal Locator. In addition to subscribing directly
to e-journals, the Libraries subscribe to journal content in aggregator
databases. Journal titles in aggregator databases are not cataloged in
the library catalog, nor do they appear in the Electronic Resources Gateway,
thus the value of the new E-Journal Locator.
Q: Is this locator for known item searches only?
A: Yes, although keyword searches
can turn up titles, e.g. the word "history" will turn up any title containing
that word.
Mengel noted the significance of
this new tool for interlibrary loan operations, specifically that this
will provide an entree to journal titles to which there is immediate access
so that users do not have to request them through interlibrary loan. Bederman
suggested that the Libraries could add a link to this resource on the interlibrary
loan request page so that users could search the locator before processing
a request.
Next Eric Morgan provided an overview
of the new Digital Access and Information Architecture Department. He has
been meeting with librarians and staff members and will undertake next
semester a series of focus groups with Notre Dame faculty and students.
He noted several projects: use statistics,
enhancing document delivery services, and customization features similar
to "My Yahoo." In addition, he is redesigning the Web site architecture
for scalability, moving toward a database driven site.
There were further questions and
comments:
Q: Is there a possibility for the creation of e-bookshelf capabilities for faculty?
A: Web CT provides this capability,
though there are limitations on how this works.
Q: How will this new department set priorities for resources and implementation?
A: An important component in setting
priorities will be the frequency of responses for any given issue and the
fact that resources will come from the Libraries for various projects.
There was general agreement that
communication about new tools and services is very important, and those
in the Libraries recognize the need for external help in this area. Weber,
in collaboration with the Libraries, will explore the possibilities for
prospective projects for Notre Dame marketing students.
Bederman suggested than an electronic
bulletin board with "What's New" and "Suggestions" might be useful. Taylor
noted that users do not necessarily read email announcing new products
and that it might be useful to put such announcements on a Web page where
users are likely to look when looking for a product.
The last item of business was whether
or not to reschedule the February meeting. This was left open, and Younger
will contact members at a later date.
There being no further business,
the meeting adjourned at 8:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Melodie Eiteljorge
Secretary