Great Lakes User Group Meeting (GLUGM) 2008 – Merrillville, Indiana
The Great Lakes User Group is a regional user group for Ex Libris software products. These software products now include Aleph and Voyager integrated library systems, SFX, MetaLib, Primo, Verde and Digitools. GLUGM is affiliated with ELUNA (Ex Libris Users of North America) and the Ex Libris company.
GLUGM seeks to foster an informal and interactive sharing environment for the user group. Volunteers share their knowledge through presentations and focus group discussion and introduce topics to help maintain active participation. Ex Libris provides staff to listen to concerns and offer helpful hints and tips as users discuss problems, solutions, accomplishments and innovations. Some past topics have included such lively presentations as one by Purdue University Libraries staff called “Gaming and Immersive Environments…” (using Second Life, a 3D virtual world on the web where users can socialize, connect and create using voice and text chat).
This is the first year that PALNI central staff have participated in this regional level user group and is also the first year that this has really been a joint Aleph/Voyager group meeting. PALNI IT staff Susan Fipps and Colleen Gocken attended. Sherri Parker from DePauw University also attended. Susan did a presentation on “OPAC Enhancements (Platform Independent)” and Sherri did a presentation on “Aleph Report Options On-The-Fly”. Pascal Calarco from University of Notre Dame also presented, “Digital Asset
To: PALNI Library Directors and Staff From: Vince Lucas, PALNI Project Manager Subj: PALNI Aleph Upgrade & Congrats from Ex Libris
As all of you know, PALNI completed its migration from Aleph Version 17 to
19 two weeks ago, and I'm happy to report that staff have made very good
progress since then in resolving the outstanding "clean-up" issues in the
aftermath of the upgrade. Of the 62 new Version 19 issues recorded on the
PALNI help desk since July 1, more than half have now been successfully
closed. Because of the inherent complexity of Aleph, a two-version Ex
Libris system upgrade like this one is a major project, and successfully
completing our V. 19 implementation is a milestone for PALNI.
I also wanted to share with all of you a couple of congratulatory emails
that we received from Ex Libris staff. First, here is an email from Alan
Manifold who leads the Ex Libris Aleph Support Team in North America, and
with whom we worked closely, especially on the latter stages of our
upgrade project:
>p/>
> >
>> >> ------- Original Message --------
>> >> Subject: Congratulations!
>> >> Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 12:56:49 -0500
>> >> From: Alan Manifold
>> >> To: Vince Lucas
>> >>
>> >> Vince and all the PALNI staff,
>> >> We want to congratulate you on your successful migration to Aleph v.19.
>> >> You are the first North American site to do this, and we are grateful
>> >> for your efforts to keep this project on track and to bring it to a
>> >> successful conclusion. Please share our warm thanks with all your
>> >> staff!
>> >>
>> >> Alan Manifold
>> >> Aleph Support Team Lead
>> >> Ex Libris Group
>> >> alan.manifold@exlibrisgroup.com
>> >> ---------------------------------
Also, here is an email that Susan Fipps received last week from Jo
Richardson, Aleph Product Manager for the UK Division of Ex Libris:
> >
>>> >>>------- Original Message --------
>>> >>> Dear Susan,
>>> >>>
>>> >>> I was really delighted to hear that PALNI is the first library to go
>>> >>> into production on Aleph version 19 following the successful completion of
>>> >>> your upgrade.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> I hope that you and your colleagues and users enjoy the new features
>>> >>> and improvements in this latest version, and that many other libraries
>>> >>> will soon follow your excellent example.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> Many congratulations to you!
>>> >>>
>>> >>> Kind regards
>>> >>>
>>> >>> Jo
>>> >>>
>>> >>>
>>> >>> **Jo Richardson**
>>> >>> *Aleph Product Manager, Ex Libris (UK) Ltd*
>>> >>> *Direct Line: 01895 823865 Mobile: 07710 479008*
>>> >>>
>>> >>> *1, The Long Room, Coppermill Lock, Park Lane, Harefield, Middlesex,
>>> >>> UB9 6JA*
>>> >>>
>>> >>> ---------------------------------
These emails confirm what we've suspected at times, but were never quite
certain about, that indeed PALNI is the first Ex Libris customer to
implement the newest release of the Aleph system!
At this point, I think we can conclude that our Aleph upgrade has been a
success, thanks to the Systems Librarians and staff in all of your
libraries who worked hard over the past four months to prepare for the
upgrade, to PALNI central staff who have worked many extra weekend and
evening hours over the past several months configuring, testing,
implementing, and fixing problems with Version 19, and especially to Susan
Fipps who managed our upgrade project and who successfully coordinated the
many complex details of the overall upgrade process.
Please note that several members of the staff, Susan, Larry Baerveldt, and
Chadwick Seagraves, will all be attending the annual Ex Libris ELUNA User
Group meeting beginning next Tuesday, July 29, and will be out of the
office most of the week. We appreciate your continued help and patience
as we work on resolving the problems that remain from our system upgrade.
Thanks.
Vince
--
Vince Lucas
PALNI Project Manager
INCOLSA | Email: vince@palni.edu
6202 Morenci Trail | Phone: 1-317-298-6570 or 1-800-733-1899
Indianapolis, IN 46268 | FAX: 1-317-328-2382
Copies of the PowerPoint slides from Susan Akers' May 30, 2008 All-Staff meeting presentation are attached. Both PowerPoint 'ppt' and Acrobat 'pdf' versions are included.
As unbelievable as it may sound, given that many of us have experienced 60+ degree weather yesterday and today, the forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning for much of our state is not good. There is a high chance of sleet and ice overnight and into tomorrow morning followed by snow accumulation. The National Weather Service issued a "Winter Storm Watch" this morning for Indianapolis and the north-central part of Indiana for tonight into tomorrow afternoon.
Because of this likelihood, especially sleet/ice, I am cancelling tomorrow’s PALNI Board meeting and it is now being rescheduled for our makeup date of next Tuesday, March 11th. This may be a first for PALNI but our safety is primary.
Again, I understand that for a few of you, there may be existing conflicts for March 11th. Please let me know if you cannot make the March 11th meeting and if you will have a proxy. Again, we want to ensure that we have a quorum.
If you know of any colleagues who may not get this message in time, (for example, they are in transit) please let me know or give them a call, if you can. We don’t want anyone trying to make the trip for naught.
Thanks to each of you for your patience and flexibility with this situation and certainly let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Best,
+++++++++++++++
Ken Gibson
Director, Duggan Library
Hanover College
PO Box 287
Hanover, IN 47243-0287
PALNI staff use system monitoring software to monitor and automatically log whether our Ex Libris Aleph system is online and operational at 15-minute intervals throughout the day. If the PALNI system is down for any reason, an "on-call" member of the PALNI staff is automatically paged so that any problem can be resolved quickly.
We have completed a review of our system monitor system log file for the 2007 calendar year. It shows that we experienced a total of 8.5 hours of unplanned Aleph system downtime during 2007. In addition, we scheduled a total of 9.25 hours of planned downtime over the 12 months for Aleph Service Pack installations and for other routine planned system maintenance activities.
PALNI Aleph Downtime
January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007
Date/Time
Unplanned Hrs
Planned Hrs
NOTES
Jan 3, 02:00 - 07:00
04:45
DB Maint.
Jan 3, 07:00 - 09:30
02:30
Jan 7, 10:00 - 10:15
00:15
Jan 14, 09:30 - 10:45
01:45
Feb 4, 12:00 - 13:00
01:00
Feb 24, 08:30 - 09:00
00:30
Oracle Maintenance
Feb 25, 10:15 - 10:30
00:15
Mar 9, 23:00 - 23:30
00:30
Mar 11, 03:00 - 03:15
00:15
Apr 1, 09:45 - 11:15
01:30
Aleph Service Pack Install
Jun 3, 10:00 - 10:15
00:15
Jun 16, 14:30 - 14:45
00:15
00:15
Jun 24, 10:00 - 10:15
00:15
Jul 15, 10:00 - 10:15
00:15
Jul 22, 08:45 - 09:45
01:00
Aleph Service Pack Install
Aug 8, 09:15 - 09:30
00:15
Unplanned System Reboot
Oct 18, 10:00 - 10:15
00:15
Oct 28, 09:15 - 09:30
00:15
Nov 4, 01:00 - 02:00
01:00
Nov 22, 10:00 - 10:15
00:15
Dec 16, 09:15 - 09:30
00:15
TOTALS
08:30
09:15
As the Aleph downtime table shows, staff kept the PALNI system online and operational for over 99.9% of the approximately 8600 scheduled hours of PALNI system operation during the 2007 calendar! That is a significant achievement for a complex system like PALNI's that is routinely kept online on virtually a 24 hrs x 7 days per week basis.
Submitted by chadwick on Mon, 11/05/2007 - 2:03pm.
If you are a member of the popular social networking site Facebook, then you are most likely familiar with "Groups". Groups allow members to collaborate and discuss common interests and issues. Librarians are doing all kinds of cool things on Facebook and there are tons of groups about most aspects of our profession.
There is now a group for PALNI supported institutions titled "PALNI Librarians". It can be a place to find other librarians who work at member institutions, and even a place for Faculty, staff, or students to contribute to discussions about libraries within PALNI. It is an open group, so invite whomever you think might be interested. Most of all, just have some fun there.
Facebook requires an account to view and participate. If you are logged in you can join the group here.
From Associated Press in the Indianapolis Star this morning:
"The Tri-State University board of trustees has voted to change the school's name to Trine University in honor of a major donor. The change will take place June 1, 2009. The name honors Ralph Trine and his wife, Sheri, owners of Angola-based Vestil Manufacturing. They made an eight-figure donation to the school last year, the largest single gift in the history of the university, founded in 1884."
I will be extracting the bibliographic records to send to LTI for authority processing starting at 5am on Saturday morning. I hope to complete the project early on Sunday afternoon.
Please do not edit, overlay or delete any bibliographic records this weekend. You may continue with circulation, ordering and receiving items, arriving serials, adding holdings and items to current bibliographic records this weekend.
I will send a message to the lists when I have completed all of the processing.
Ex Libris just announced a new President of their North America operations. Here is the text of their press release:
Robert Mercer Appointed President of Ex Libris North America
Experienced information technology executive to head North American operation
Boston, MA – May 8, 2007 Ex Libris Group is pleased to announce that Robert J. Mercer has been appointed president of the Ex Libris Group North American subsidiary, effective immediately. To ensure a smooth transition in the region, Dan Trajman, the current president of the North American operation, will remain with the company in a consulting capacity through the end of 2007.
Mr. Mercer brings to Ex Libris over 15 years’ experience in customer-facing executive positions in technology companies. As a regional vice president and general manager of SAS Institute, Inc., Mr. Mercer increased customer satisfaction, delivered value-added products and services, established customer partnerships, and took new products to market. As a result, he achieved growth of greater than 40%--making SAS the number one provider of business intelligence solutions in his region. Prior to his role at SAS, Mr. Mercer held senior managerial positions at Dell Computer Corporation.
"We are very pleased to welcome Robert to the Ex Libris management team," commented Matti Shem Tov, president and CEO of Ex Libris Group. "Robert brings with him a strong background in building and leading teams and a proven track record in delivering solutions that exceed customer expectations. I believe that these qualifications, combined with his excellent sales, marketing, and operations background, will be tremendous assets to the Company and its customers. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dan for his important contribution to our North American operation and wish him continued success in his future activities. "
"I am excited to be joining such a creative, forward-looking company with a large, active customer base," noted Mr. Mercer. "I have been impressed with the strength and clarity of the strategic direction presented by Ex Libris to continue providing the evolving library automation industry with the most effective technological solutions. I look forward to meeting our customers at the upcoming user and industry events next month."
Mr. Mercer holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from University College, Cardiff, in Wales, UK.
PALNI libraries who are connected to the Internet via the I-Light state-wide backbone experienced problems this morning, April 4, with connecting to the PALNI systems. I-Light network staff updated router configurations last night that caused the access problems. Staff contacted INDNet and I-Light support staff early this morning when the problem was first reported, and the problem was fixed at about 10:15am. Access to the PALNI systems should now be working normally again.
Only libraries connected via the I-Light backbone were affected, and the PALNI systems were all online throughout these problems. Libraries and users who connect to PALNI through other service providers did not experience any problems.
that Janet Brewer discussed at the 2/27/2007 PALNI Board meeting is attached to this posting. Please note that the White Paper is in Adobe Acrobat 'pdf' format.
BUTLER DIGITAL COLLECTION JOINS IHC smartDESKTOP PROJECT
The Butler University Jeanette Siron Pelton Botanicals Print Collection has become the first PALNI digital imaging collection to join the Indiana Humanities Council smartDESKTOP project. The entire collection of 71 botanical-related images is now available within smartDESKTOP to be utilized by participating teachers and schools in Indiana.
Butler's collection was one of the first complete collections on the PALNI CONTENTdm server and also one of the first OAI enabled collections. The IHC is able to share information from Butler's collection via the OAI protocol and integrate the images into their learning platform.
Participants in the IHC smartDESKTOP project include the National Endowment for the Humanties, the Smithsonian Institution, the Eiteljorg Museum, IUPUI, and many others.
To learn more about how your collection can become part of the IHC smartDESKTOP project, contact PALNI today.
Susan Akers from Ball State asked that we share this with PALNI librarians:
On Wed., April 11, 2007, the Ball State University Libraries will sponsor a one-day seminar, “Digital Trek: To boldly explore copyright in teaching and learning"
Today’s library and information professionals must know how to properly use another person’s intellectual property. Learn more about the TEACH Act, Fair Use, library copying, and participate in a case study via small group. We'll have time for questions with a panel of experts and more. By attending this conference, you will hear from nationally-known experts in the field. Registration by Feb. 14 is $65 (a sweetheart of a deal!), then increases to $80 per person. After April 1, the cost is $125. IHETS members' fee is $65 before Feb. 14, then increases to $80.
Kenneth Crews, J.D., Samuel R. Rosen II Professor in the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and in the IU School of Library and Information Science and Associate Dean of the Faculties for Copyright Management
Donna L. Ferullo, J.D., Director of the University Copyright Office at Purdue University
Dwayne K. Buttler, J.D., Professor, Evelyn J. Schneider Endowed Chair for Scholarly Communication at the University of Louisville, University Libraries
Michelle L. Cooper, J.D., practices in the areas of employment and intellectual property law; prosecutes copyright and trademark applications, negotiates and drafts licensing agreements and handles infringement litigation.
Carl Johnson, Director of the University Copyright Licensing Office, Brigham Young University
James R. Williams, J.D., attorney at DeFur Voran LLP and is Ball State University's leagl counsel for education law
Here is the email that was distributed this afternoon, 12/22, on some of the Ex Libris listserv's about the acquisition of Endeavor Informations Systems by Francisco Partners, and the merger of Endeavor and Ex Libris. An FAQ document with more details is also attached (click on the attachment link at the bottom of the article).
21 December 2006
Dear Customers,
I am happy to report that earlier today, Francisco Partners successfully
completed its acquisition of Endeavor Information Systems, Inc. The
acquisition, originally announced just a few weeks ago, results in the
merging of Endeavor with Ex Libris Group. So, for those of you who are
new to Ex Libris Group, I would like to extend my warmest welcome to
each of you! For those of you who have been Ex Libris customers for
some time, let me take this opportunity to thank each of you for your
continued support of Ex Libris products and services.
The combined entity now offers a best-of-breed suite of library software
and service offerings, deployed at more than 4,000 institutions around
the world. In recent weeks, the combined management team has developed
a comprehensive product roadmap outlining future plans for each
offering. As stated initially, we plan to develop, support, and
actively sell both flagship integrated library systems - ALEPH 500 and
Voyager. New versions of both products are on track for their scheduled
releases in 2007.
Looking ahead, we plan to increase the resources invested in Voyager
while we maintain the same high level of resources dedicated to ALEPH.
With regard to our other product offerings, please refer to the
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document which accompanies this
message.
This is a very exciting time for the Ex Libris Group and our customers
as we have now joined two strong, visionary organizations. Our expanded
research and development team positions us to bring market-leading
solutions to you much more quickly. In addition, our combined resources
will enable us to continue our commitment of delivering high-quality
service and maintaining true partnerships with each of you.
As always, our aim during this transition is to deliver the same
high-quality, uninterrupted service and support. I look forward to
meeting with as many of you as possible in the upcoming months at
industry events, Ex Libris seminars, and user group meetings where we
will have an opportunity to share with you our product vision and
discuss our joint future.
If you are a member of the popular social networking site 
