Wednesday, November 4th

--6:00 PM - Informal Dine-Arounds

Thursday, November 5th

--08:30 AM - 09:30 AM - Registration, Continental Breakfast

-- 09:30 AM - 10:00 AM - Introduction & Welcome

Ray Schwartz

Edward Corrado

-- 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM - ELUNA/IGeLU Updates and Ex Libris Update and Overview of product plans - Susan Pastore, VP Business Development and Greg Gosselin, Sales Account Manager for the North East, Ex Libris

-- 11:00 AM – 11:15 AM - Break

 

-- 11:15 AM - 12:00 PM – Breakout Sessions 1

• Session 1A - Digital Preservation: The Next Library Frontier (General) - Edward M. Corrado, Binghamton University Libraries
  In this presentation we will review the roles, both past and present, that libraries have played in regards to preserving information. The roles libraries will have preserving scholarly content in the ever-increasingly born-digital world will be explored along with an examination of the issues involved with digital preservation. Topics covered will include how digital preservation relates to and differs with digital repositories, the type and level of institutional commitment required, and collection development issues related to digital preservation.
• Session 1B - Scholarly Communications: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (General) - Elizabeth Brown, Binghamton University Libraries
  Libraries and scholars face emerging technologies that are transforming the scholarly and creative environment. These include new search engine applications (such as Google Scholar), Open Source applications, publishing models (such as Open Access) and digital campus and subject repositories. This lecture gives an overview of developments in scholarly communications and their impact on the daily practice of librarianship, the challenges to traditional library services, and offers solutions to address relevancy in this changing environment. A suite of services for scholarly communications will also be showcased to support campus scholarship and research.
• Session 1C - Global changes, loading records and database maintenance in Aleph ( Aleph) - Sandy Card, Binghamton University Libraries
  In this time of budget constraints very few, if any, libraries have more staff than they need. This session is a nuts and bolts presentation giving hints and strategies for keeping your Aleph database as clean and up to date as possible, using the system itself to do as much of the work as possible. Examples will include loading Serials Solutions and ACLS records, using global changes to update records after moving parts of your collection, changing bib records globally and some database maintenance techniques to help clean up your database.

--12:15 PM - 01:15 PM - Lunch

-- 01:15 PM - 02:45 PM - Plenary Session
User Research at the University of Rochester's River Campus Libraries: Using an Anthropological Approach to Build a Better Catalog - Nora Dimmock, University of Rochester River Campus Libraries
The University of Rochester’s River Campus Libraries has been doing usability testing since 2001 and conducting user research under the guidance of staff anthropologist Dr. Nancy Foster since 2003. This anthropological approach has been used to conduct participatory design workshops and work practice studies of faculty, undergraduates and graduate students. As a result, Rochester has collected data from each group about their unique “research culture” and the kind of enhancements to our research tools, including the catalog, we could add to better align ourselves their work. The Extensible Catalog, a Mellon funded project led by the River Campus Libraries and partners at other academic, public and private institutions, incorporates many of these enhancements.

--02:45 PM – 03:00 PM - Break

--03:00 PM - 04:00 PM - Unified Resource Management System Update - Susan Pastore, VP Business Development and Greg Gosselin, Sales Account Manager for the North East, Ex Libris

--04:15 PM – 04:30 PM - Break - Coffee & Tea

--04:30 PM - 05:30 PM - Roundtable Discussions

• We invite potential moderators to submit proposals for a total of three Roundtable discussions. List your topic(s) on the conference registration form.

--05:30 PM - Reception

Friday, November 6th

--08:00 AM - 08:45 AM - Gathering, Reception, Continental Breakfast

--08:45 AM - 09:00 AM - Welcoming Address from John Meador, Jr., Director of Libraries, Binghamton University.

-- 09:00 AM - 09:45 AM - Breakout Sessions 2

• Session 2A - Text Messaging from Voyager OPAC - Yongming Wang, The College of New Jersey
  When the OPAC users find the item they want, before going to the shelf to get it, usually they need to write down the call number and/or other item information. But many times they can't find paper and/or pencil around. And the library staff have pain to keep supply them. Now this enhancement called Text Messaging enables the users to send the call number plus item title and location directly to their cell phones from the OPAC record display page. They no longer need to write down anything. This feature is implemented on Voyager 6.x and Solaris, using javascript and perl. It should work on Voyager 7.x too.
• Session 2B - Pre-"viewing" Poetry via the Aleph Library Catalog - Bern Mulligan & Edward Corrado, Binghamton University
  The Binghamton University Libraries are the official archival repository for a collection of videotapes from the Binghamton Community Poets’ “Big Horror Reading Series” which featured locally, nationally, and internationally-known writers. For preservation and access purposes, the videotapes were digitized and DVD versions were produced. Excerpts were reformatted and mounted on Content Pro, a digital repository. The excerpts were then associated with the print titles from which they originate via our Aleph catalog. This creates a truly unique experience for our patrons, as the catalog record “comes alive” and they can see and hear something from the book before they even take it off the shelf to read.
• Session 2C - Extending Metalib to Meet our Users: Making Metalib available at the point of need - LibX, iGoogle, Facebook and custom ad hoc deep linking - Sarah Witte, Breck Witte, Susan Marcin, Columbia University Libraries
• Session 2D - Conducting an Inventory of the collection (Voyager) - Debbie Pluss and Mark Sandford,William Paterson University
  In 1999, the Cheng Library at William Paterson University completed its first inventory utilizing an automated system, DRA. A schedule was constructed so that this process would be repeated in 5 year cycles. However, with the sale of DRA to SIRSI in 2002, the library was forced to reevaluate its ILS vendor and ultimately migrated to Endeavor’s Voyager. Unlike DRA, Voyager itself contained no inventory program so the 5 year cycle was suspended. As each year passed, it became apparent that if we were to reinstate the process, we would be required to devise a program suited to our specific needs. Library Information Systems (LIS) initially identified a program used by a Voyager colleague for shelf reading which had the potential for customization. Working in collaboration with librarians from Circulation and Cataloging, suitable alterations were achieved and an inventory was organized using Eastern Indiana University’s Library Stacks Management System . Personnel from throughout the library, professional and support staff, contributed to the scanning of the circulating collection. Working together, Cataloging and LIS developed reports to optimize the data collected. Cleanup was done collaboratively by Circulation and Cataloging in consultation with Collection Development. Because of the collaborative nature of the project, goals beyond a simple inventory, i.e. updating status and marking books missing, were achieved. In recent years, severe space limitations have necessitated weeding of the collection. The inventory provided a systematic look at each item so it could be evaluated. Many items were pulled either as second copies or condition problems and sent to Collection Development as candidates to be withdrawn. In addition, an organized effort at repair and rebinding was set up for books the Library wished to retain. A substantive, but initially unforeseen benefit was derived from the inclusion of the entire staff in the scanning process of the inventory. Working in pairs, personnel from though out the library came together, both professional and paraprofessional, many for the first time. While not quantifiable like many aspects of the inventory, the qualitative benefits were considerable and included not only widespread buy in for the project but an enhancement of the Library culture with a new sense of connectedness within the staff. The presentation will take participants through all stages of the project, including customization of the Library Stacks Management System software to better suit the needs of an inventory project, to logistics of the physical inventory including scheduling and library-wide participation, and finally to the ongoing reports and clean-up required as a result of the project.

--09:45 AM - 10:00 AM - Break

--10:00 AM - 10:45 AM - Breakout Sessions 3

• Session 3A - Build for the Library with Drupal (General) - Katherine Lynch, Drexel University Libraries
  Libraries all over the world are trying to move with the pace of developing technology by establishing a strong online presence. Many of the most usable and informational library websites use Drupal to achieve this. However, many more libraries have a need for Drupal but do not even know where to start. This session will educate attendees on what Drupal can do for their library site needs. Best practices for making library websites with Drupal will also be covered. In this session, attendees will learn about the following: Profiles of library websites using Drupal in an exemplary way. This will include the September 2009 released Drexel University Libraries Drupal redesign, and the personalization modules to be deployed before November 2009.

  • Which community modules to use, which to adapt, which to pass over
  • Using Drupal with SOPAC and EZProxy
  • Common roles and content types between libraries
  • Using built-in Taxonomy
  • Ways to encourage communication between patrons and librarians for reference questions and feedback on library resources
  • How to effectively display library-specific information such as new books, electronic resources, study guides, and records.

  Attendees will learn how to use theming techniques and modules that were not designed for the library in creative ways for library websites. They will also come away with a solid understanding of the types of data, roles, and site structure necessary for a quality library website and why, in many cases, Drupal is perfect for the job.
• Session 3B - Creating Custom Services in Aleph (Aleph) - Natalie Sturr, SUNY Oswego (State University of New York at Oswego)
  Aleph Custom Services are a terrific way to provide reports and run jobs that are tailored to a particular need. Custom Services, available through the GUI, can alleviate systems staff from constantly running the same script by empowering others to run their own reports and jobs. Creating Custom Services is a relatively simple process once you have an understanding of the files involved. This session will look at the 4 primary files and how they relate to each other: the xml file and html file used by the GUI; the sql script; and the unix script that makes everything work. We will also touch on staff privileges. This is intended to be a practical session, providing the how-to’s you need to start creating your own Aleph Custom Services. Once you have one good Custom Service in place, you can easily copy and edit files to create new services. Then, you will only be limited by your creativity and familiarity with scripting!
• Session 3C - Customizing WebVoyage 7 Tomcat (Voyager) - Peter MacDonald and Ken Herold, Hamilton College Library
  We have tried to customize almost every aspect of the Tomcat interface of Webvoyage 7.1 -- branded header, Basic and Advance Search, Results Page, Action Box, Item Record, and Request Forms. We have also added features submitted from the user community such as a spellchecker, keyword highlighting, RefWorks, and are working on customizing authentication to tie more into the college's other points of service. We will discuss our customization workflow, criteria for selection of customizations, tools we use in customization, and lessons learned.
• Session 3D - Marrying Voyager, SFX and Meridian data : how to identify what you really have (SFX) – Janet Lute, Princeton University
  A common question asked is "Give me a count of all the electronic and print titles that we subscribe to?" Sounds simple but getting an accurate answer is not easy in an era when data is spread across two or three systems. This session will show how you can extract data from SFX, and Meridian and link it to your Voyager data to help answer this question. The focus will be on linkages and deduplication.

-- 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM - Break - Coffee & Tea

-- 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM - Breakout Sessions 4

• Session 4A - EL Commons: Using the Voyager Developer Zone - Ken Herold, Hamilton College
  Presentation on the advantages and disadvantages of using the Voyager Developer Zone within EL Commons (www.exlibrisgroup.org) for the purpose of customizing the Tomcat-based OPAC in Version 7.0 and above. Finding documentation, sharing code, future web services. Tips on editing xsl and xml files, adding features, creating enhancements. What's on the wiki, what's in Voy-L.
• Session 4B -Voyager Acquisitions: Automate Your Ordering - Carol Fagundus, Princeton University
  Are you facing staffing problems in the current economic climate? Do you use smaller vendors who cannot supply bulkload-ready files for you? Many such vendors do use spreadsheet and database programs and can provide files for selection and ordering if you ask. See how you can use spreadsheets, delimited text files and database tables in conjunction with macros to automatically search and order an entire file of selections. Examples will be shown using Excel, Access and MacroExpress.
• Session 4C - Creating OCLC cataloging macros, letting the script do the work for you ( Aleph) - Tony Tersmette, Binghamton University Libraries
  

--11:45 AM – 12:00 PM - Break
--12:00 PM - 01:00 PM - Lightning Talks
--01:00 PM - 02:00 PM – Lunch
--02:00 PM – 02:45 PM - Optional Tour of the Libraries

Meeting Close

EMA 2009 Planning Committee

Ray Schwartz - Chair - William Paterson University, NJ
schwartzr2@wpunj.edu
Emily Batista - University of Pennsylvania
batista@pobox.upenn.edu
Trevor Dawes - Princeton University
tdawes@Princeton.edu
Edward Corrado - Binghamton University
ecorrado@binghamton.edu
William Jones - New York University
william.jones@nyu.edu
Yongming Wang - The College of New Jersey
wangyo@tcnj.edu
Kurt Wagner- William Paterson University
wagnerk@wpunj.edu
Mark Wilson - Columbia University
mw18@columbia.edu

We have held the following annual meetings thus far:

• 1997 at Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ
• 1998 at Villanova University, Philadelphia, PA
• 1999 at Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ
• 2001 at Millersville University, Millersville, PA
• 2002 at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• 2003 at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
• 2004 at Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
• 2005 at Millersville University, Millersville, PA
• 2006 at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
• 2007 at Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ
• 2008 at Shippensberg University, Shippensberg, PA

The meetings have been in the fall and have been very useful, including presentations and workshops by the experienced EMA members and Ex Libris staff. The EMA listserv can be used for organizational communications. We have used the by-laws of the national Endeavor (EndUser) ans Ex Libris (ELUNA) groups to guide our activities.

To receive information about the Ex Libris Mid-Atlantic Voyager group, you need to subscribe to the EMA Group in Google at http://groups.google.com/group/emausers This is a closed group , which means you will need to be approved. Only employees of libraries with contracts with Ex Libris and Ex Libris employees are permitted. Basically, this means if, and only if, you are eligible for Voyager-L You will receive notice when your subscription is approved. If you have any problems subscribing, please contact Kurt Wagner at wagnerk@wpunj.edu. To send a message to a discussion list, simply click the "new post" button at the top right corner of the "Discussions" section of the group page.   For more information about the EMA Group and other commands, please see: http://groups.google.com/support/?hl=en

If you have questions about the group, please contact any of the following officers of EMA.

• Chairperson - Mark Wilson (mw18@columbia.EDU) - Columbia University
• Chairperson-Elect - Ray Schwartz (schwartzr2@wpunj.edu) - William Paterson University
• Secretary/Treasurer - Trevor Dawes (tdawes@Princeton.EDU) - Princeton University
• Past Chairperson - Kurt Wagner (wagnerk@wpunj.edu) - William Paterson University

Forward comments and suggestions on the EMA web site to Kurt Wagner, William Paterson University of NJ at wagnerk@wpunj.edu.