LALINCLouisiana Academic Library Information Network Consortium:The Automation Project Newsletter

March 15, 1993; V. I n. 2

IN THIS ISSUE:

Progress Reports and AchievementsLMS 5.1Logon IdsConnections to L.&Jet

Preparing to Catalog on NOTIS

Barcodes for Your Library

Revised Schedule of Implementing LALINC

USL Data Conversion

GPO Conversion

Special Thanks

Questions? Comments?

Progress Reports and Achievements

New LMS 5.1On March 2, LSU Libraries successfully

converted from NOTIS LMS (LibraryManagement System) version 5.0.2 toversion 5.1. Library staff, faculty, andstudents now see a significant addition in5.1 to the first screen in OPAC: the

Navigator Menu.Navigator, as the name suggests, is a

frontend menu of catalogs from which alibrary patron (or a librarian) chooses tosearch; it offers the capability to ‘navigate’around several catalogs and search options.Currently, two catalogs are searchable fromthe Navigator menu, LSU Libraries andLSU Law Center. When your libraryconnects to LaVet, you will see yourlibrary’s database listed in the order thatyou requested they appear on the terminalsin your library.

Other important changes includeextended keyword searching of date rangesand reviewing your search history in onedatabase (e.g., LSU Libraries) thenexecuting those same searches in another(e.g., NLU and/or UNO, etc.).

Every upgrade to NOTIS usuallyincludes an upgrade to other modules ofthe LMS. For example, GTO (GenericTransfer Overlay) has been converted toGTO 3.1; the Navigator, as you mightexpect, is version 1.0; it is also known asZero Level MDAS (Multiple DatabaseAccess System).

Logon IdsWe have requested logon ids for

Louisiana Tech, Northeastern (NLU), andSoutheastern (SLU).

Tech and NLU represent two differentways of assigning logon ids. For Tech, ,---LTACQl is the logon id assigned to aperson in acquisitions, LTPERl is assigned

LALINC:The Aufomafion Project Newsletter

to a person in periodicals. NLU has madeup logon ids from the initials of a person’sname, NEOBC for instance.

We wilI be requesting ids for NichoIIsand UN0 in the next few weeks.

Connections to LaNetWellfleet Inc., with whom OTS (Office

of Telecommunications) contracted tosupply the network hardware, is currentlyinstalling fixes to the network routers. Weexpect LaNet to come up April 1.

Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech and NLUhave already finished wiring their libraries.UN0 is expected to finish wiring theirlibrary by the end of April; NSU isexpected to finish wiring their technicalservices department by the end of March.

Preparing to Catalog on NOTIS:Homework

On April 22 and 23, LSU will host theNOTIS Cataloging Training Class. NancyHunn of NOTIS Professional Services willteach the class. However, in the afternoonof April 21 (the day before), Zehra Zaminand John Guillory plan to conduct a classon the very basics of NOTIS, informationthat you may remember from the dataconversion presentation by Ann Greenseth,and information that you will certainly hearagain during the training class on the 22ndand 23rd. By the end of March we willsend you the agenda of our introduction toNOTIS. We think that the more exposureyou have to the general format of NOTIS,the better prepared you will be for the classand the easier it will be to use and to teachyour staff when you return to your homelibrary.

Please submit to our office by April 1the names of the two staff members ofyour library who will attend theintroduction and training classes.

To prepare YOU for LALINC’sintroduction and NOTIS’ training, we

strongly suggest that administrators readchapters 5 and 9 of the LibraryImplementation Manual: System ControlFile and also read chapters l-5 and 8 ofthe Library Implementation Manual:Planning for Implementation.

Catalogers should read the User’s Guide:Cataloging and Authorities and theTraining Manual for cataloging, the latterwe will send to you by April 1.

Phase 1 libraries should have received aletter and booklet from LALINC telling youwhat NOTIS documentation your staff willneed to use NOTIS. If you haven’t receivedthis letter and booklet please call JohnGuillory or e-mail him your request.

Barcodes for Your Library

Each library that joins LALINC mustdecide on a library-item barcode format, alibrary-patron barcode format, and a check-digit routine for each format. The check-digit routine is optional.

LALINC will be running batch jobsregularly for as many as 28 libraries whenLALINC has been fully implemented. Forthis reason, it would be nice if all thelibraries adopted the same formats andcheck-digit routines as the ones LSU hasadopted.

This applies to Tech, NLU, and NSU.Since SLU is already using NOTIS, theyhave both an item barcode format and apatron barcode format. UN0 and USL havesome items already barcoded, so we willwork with their formats.

Revised Schedule for ImplementingLALINC

We were informed in the middle ofFebruary that NOTIS would not be able tostart on the loader customization until theJune. Based on this information theLALINC staff will do the loader

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customization. We are sheduled on April l-2 to recieve training from NOTIS oncustomizing the loader program for each ofthe Phase 1 institutions.

Before customizing the loader for eachinstitution begins, our staff will send toeach library a work-letter, on which youmust sign-off, describing in detail your

.’ library’s customizations.

March3/25-26: Representatives from LALINCwill be at LLA in Shreveport.

3/30: A w a r d the bids for 019Resolution and 049 Deduping.

April4/l -2: LBC030 customization trainingfor LALINC staff. LaNet comes up.Submit requisition for disk drive tostore data.

4/14 or 4/28: Install GTO at LaTech.

4/16 or 4/30: Install GTO at NLU.

4/21: Introduction to NOTIS recordstructure by LALINC staff.

4/22-23: Cataloging training by NancyHunn of NOTIS.

May5/l: Develop batch job schedule foreach institution.

5/5: Install GTO at Nicholls.

5/12: Install GTO at UNO.

June6/26-30: ALA Annual Conference inNew Orleans.

July7/15: OPAC training at LSU. Install

disks.

August8/15: Open LALINC to the public.

The e-mail messages we sent to Phase 1institutions about the OCLC cataloginghiatus of April 1 to May 1 applies not toevery library at the same time. It applies toeach one staggered between April 1 andAugust 1. Refer to the chart below.

Tech NLU NSU UN0

4/l 1 1

91 1 1

6/l 2 2

6115 3

7/l 4 3 2 2

7115 4 3 3

8/l 4 4

1 = Stop OCLC Cataloging2 = Receive deduped tapes to convert

in customized loader3 = Loader conversion finished and testing of

data begins4 = Testing completed

USL Data Conversion

USL plans to join LALINC in the firstpart of 1994. While the library data of theother libraries (except for SLU) reside onOCLC archive tapes in MARC format,from which they will be converted toNOTIS format, USL’s data is in DOBISformat, the library management systemalready in use there.

On March 10, LALINC staff membersRalph Boe, Zebra Zamin, and John Guillory

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(with Nancy Pope of LSU) visited USL inLafayette where there met with AnnGreenseth of NOTIS and staff of the DupreLibrary to tease out some of theprogramming issues at stake for their dataconversion.

:. ,:GPO Conversion

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All Phase 1 institutions are governmentdocuments depository libraries in varyingdegrees. Besides converting the holdings ofeach institutions’ OCLC (or DOBIS forUSL) archival tapes, we are also planningto start the process of bringing the GPOrecords online as well by the end of fall.Zehra Zamin will be contacting each librarywhen the time comes.

Special Thanks

The staff of LALINC would like tothank Nancy Pope, Norma Martin, CarolynYoung, Smittie Bolner, Mary Jane Lane,Ethelyn Stott, and the AIS/SNCC staff fortheir helpful suggestions and patiencewhenever we had questions or problems.

Questions? Comments?

If you have any questions or comments,or if there is information you would like tofind as a regular feature of this newsletter,please direct them to Zehra Zamin at 388-3747 or to John Guillory at 388-3758, orbitnet us. We will be glad to help you.