Submitted by admin on Sun, 10/15/2006 - 11:14am.
Task Force Charge:
This Task Force will exist for the fiscal year 2006-07 at which time it will have completed the following tasks:
-
Survey the membership to determine the need for offering different levels of service and report the results to the Executive Committee.
-
If deemed necessary, this Task Force will make recommendations to the Executive Committee as to the number and types of levels of service needed. Levels of service also can include recommendations regarding ongoing training.
Background Information:
It has been five years since PALNI signed a contract with ExLibris to implement the Aleph system. Much has happened during the past five years, and we now find PALNI at a point where all full participating member libraries have implemented the Aleph system. However, not every library is using Aleph in the same manner. Some libraries have sufficient staff with high level skills to provide needed “system librarian” services as well as desired customizations. Others have implemented most of the modules on a minimal level while a few libraries have implemented only the most basic modules. Currently, PALNI staff offers assistance type support in the form of answering help desk and telephone queries on information to help “systems librarians” complete their tasks. In addition, PALNI staff offers training for new institutional staff as well as periodically offering sessions for those institutional staff wanting to refresh their skills.
The question before the PALNI now is whether or not ongoing training and support is being provided in a manner that is sufficient to meet the needs of all of its members. If the answer is yes, then no further action needs to be taken. However, if the answer is no then we need to take action. The needs of member institutions probably vary from just desiring a customized OPAC to obtaining answers to queries that help system librarians support Aleph on their campuses to needing PALNI to provide full “system librarian” services as well as many other variations.
One of our objectives for this fiscal year is to identify types and levels of services that we should offer the supported organizations. Therefore, as PALNI chair, I am proposing the creation of a PALNI System Service Task Force to investigate the possible need for offering different types and levels of service to the full participating supported organizations using the ALEPH system. The task force will consist of five members in the following manner, two board members, one PALNI staff member, and two members from the full participating PALNI supported organization library staffs.
Task Force Members:
