2008 July 25

   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

January 3, Cataloging
January 9, Acquisitions
January 10, Circulation (Advanced)
January 23, Systems Librarian - Day 1
January 29, Serials
January 30, Course Reserves

February 5, Cataloging
February 6, Systems Librarian - Day 2
February 12, Acquisitions
February 13, Course Reserves
February 20, Systems Librarian – Day 1
February 21, Serials

March 4, Cataloging
March 5, Systems Librarian – Day 2
March 12, Course Reserves
March 13, Acquisitions
March 19, Serials

Ex Libris Launches the Primo Discovery and Delivery Solution
Jerusalem, Israel - May 1, 2007

Primo is the bridge that enables libraries to revolutionize user experience while continuing library infrastructure evolution

Ex Libris Group today announced that the Company's Primo unified solution for the discovery and delivery of library resources, regardless of format and location, is now in general release. Addressing the expectations of today's library users for quick, easy, and effective searching and retrieval, Primo is the first step toward a new architecture of library information systems.

We are extremely pleased with Primo, as it will enable our library to connect with users with an up-to-date user experience," explained Jody Combs, director of the digital library at Vanderbilt University, a Primo development partner. "As a preferred starting point for users in search of information, Primo will deliver trusted and reliable resources to users while assisting us in exposing the widest range of assets in our extensive collection through a common discovery interface, added Combs.

We need to provide our users with access to a wide variety of library resources in the course of their ordinary workflow, rather than expecting them to come to a library Web site, says Christina Meyer, interim co-associate university librarian for information technology at the University of Minnesota, a Primo development partner. We look forward to embedding Primo’s search capabilities in places like our heavily used institutional portal and course pages. Primo meets our users’ expectations for both ease of use and sophisticated discovery by exposing rich library metadata in new ways.

"Primo, like the other Ex Libris products, was developed in collaboration with our customers--an approach that ensures that these products meet current and future market expectations," noted Matti Shem Tov, president and CEO of Ex Libris Group. "Primo is the bridge that enables libraries to revolutionize the user experience while continuing the evolution of the library infrastructure."

Primo development partners were brought on board during the earliest stages of the system’s design. After endorsing the Primo product vision, members of the Primo charter program joined Ex Libris and the development partners to help fashion a next-generation solution that is unmatched in the library marketplace.

The Primo discovery and delivery system enables libraries to present their collections in an entirely new way, providing users with the ability to access a wealth of authoritative information from a single point. This information is an aggregation of locally held collections of various types--print, digital and electronic which may include the library catalog, digital repositories, course management systems, and remote resources such as abstracting and indexing databases and e‑journal collections. Out-of-the-box, Primo integrates with various library systems such as the Ex Libris ALEPH 500® and Voyager® systems and the SirsiDynix Unicorn system.

Primo provides various linguistic capabilities and, when relevant, suggests alternative search terms--helping users to focus on the most appropriate results. Delivery options complete the discovery process. The Primo system displays an availability statement for each result along with a get it button that links the user to the most appropriate service for the specific context, such as a method for obtaining the actual material if it is available online or for obtaining information about the location of a physical item.

Incorporated in the Primo user experience are multiple elements adhering to Web 2.0 concepts, such as social computing features, including tags, ratings, and reviews that members of an institution’s user community can share with each other or with communities in other institutions.

To learn more about Primo, see www.exlibrisgroup.com/primo.htm

2006 November 21


Dear Ex Libris Customers,

Only a few weeks ago I wrote to tell you that Francisco Partners had completed the acquisition of Ex Libris.

In keeping with their plans to build and further invest in Ex Libris, I'm delighted to be able to share with you the news that Francisco Partners plan to make a further acquisition and today announced that a definitive acquisition agreement for the purchase of Endeavor Information Systems Inc. has been signed. We expect the deal to be completed by the end 2006 at which time the Endeavor organisation will merge with Ex Libris, operating as a single company with the Ex Libris name.

Both Ex Libris and Endeavor have a long tradition of providing leading edge, best of breed solutions to the academic and research library marketplace. With the combined strength of Ex Libris and Endeavor management, staff, customer bases and product lines we will become the largest supplier in this market segment and further strengthen our global presence.

Over the coming weeks the management teams in Ex Libris and Endeavor will be working together on a detailed integration plan for Endeavor staff and product roadmaps for our combined product portfolio. Regular updates will be provided and the attached FAQ document will serve to answer some of your immediate questions.

This is an exciting time for us all and a great opportunity for us to join two strong and visionary organisations. With our joint R&D we will be better placed to bring leading edge solutions to market quicker while continuing to build on our foundation of high quality service and partnership with all our customers.

I'm sure you will all join me in welcoming the Endeavor customers to the Ex Libris family. I look forward to meeting many of you at Mid Winter ALA and the Ex Libris seminars in the coming months and sharing with you our vision for our joint future building on the best of Ex Libris and Endeavor.

Sincerely yours,


Matti Shem Tov
President and CEO, Ex Libris

Thu Sep 21 16:57:28 EDT 2006

Vincent Lucas vince at palni.edu

[PALNI-M] OPAC Response Time Improvements

I am very happy to report that most PALNI libraries have begun seeing major improvements in OPAC response times within the past 24 hours. As measured by the PALNI web server, average OPAC response times on keyword searches have improved from over 3.5 seconds (for 9/9 through 9/16) to under 1.6 seconds for the past 24 hours. And for some of you, keyword search performance is even better than that!

These improvements are due to three changes that staff recently implemented:

1. On Sunday morning, 9/17, we upgraded memory on the PALNI production server ('hickory') from 6 to 18 GBytes. This had an immediate impact on overall system performance, especially during times of the day when use of the PALNI system is heaviest.
   
   
2. Yesterday, 9/20, Susan Fipps discovered a way to significantly improve OPAC performance, especially for those PALNI libraries that have multiple sub-libraries. Susan has been working hard to implement those configuration changes, and that work is now in place.
   
   For some of you, these changes are producing some dramatic improvements in keyword search performance. For example, average keyword search times for Butler University have dropped from over 6.5 seconds to under 1.2 seconds as measured on the PALNI server, and for Huntington University, average keyword search times have dropped from almost 8 seconds to under 2 seconds.
   
   
3. Over the last few weeks, six PALNI libraries (Ancilla, Franklin, Oakland City, St. Meinrad, Taylor, and Tri-State) began using a new PALNI web OPAC that Susan designed and optimized for performance. Just for those six libraries, average keyword search response times are now in the sub-second range, at 0.83 seconds over the past 24 hours!!
   

We still have two additional performance-related changes that we plan to implement. However, their impact will be relatively minor compared to the changes that staff have already implemented. Of course, we will continue to monitor system performance very closely. If any of you are still seeing any extraordinary OPAC slowness, please let us know right away.

Conservatively, over the last year, I estimate that Susan, Larry, Jason, Colleen, and Tom have put at least 350 hours of combined work time into our long-standing OPAC performance problems. It may be a bit too early to "declare victory" over this problem, but if the preliminary response time statistics hold up, we are close to putting this problem behind us.

We plan to let Ex Libris know about the Aleph configuration changes that we've made, since they may be useful to other Ex Libris customers who are experiencing similar problems. In addition, we will share what we've learned directly with the South Dakota Library Network (SDLN), with whom we've been regularly exchanging information about our mutual system performance issues.

Early next week, I will post more complete response time statistics on the PALNI web site. Please check next week if you would like the latest OPAC response time data just for your library.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Vince

-- 
Vince Lucas
PALNI Project Manager
INCOLSA                    |  Email:  vince at palni.edu
6202 Morenci Trail         |  Phone:  1-317-298-6570 or 1-800-733-1899
Indianapolis, IN  46268    |    FAX:  1-317-328-2380