Annual Report April 1, 2003 March 31, 2004

Transcription

1 Annual Report April 1, 2003 March 31, 2004 Novanet Inc Bedford Highway Suite 501, Sun Tower Bedford, NS B4A 1E6 Tel: Fax:

2 2 M EMBER INSTITUTIONS Atlantic School of Theology 640 Francklyn Street Halifax, NS B3H 3B5 Halifax, NS B3H 4R2 Mount Saint Vincent University 166 Bedford Highway Halifax, NS B3M 2J6 Nova Scotia Agricultural College PO Box 550 Truro, NS B4N 5E3 NSCAD University 5163 Duke Street Halifax, NS B3J 3J6 Nova Scotia Community College 5685 Leeds Street PO Box 1153 Halifax, NS B4J 2X1 Saint Mary s University 923 Robie Street Halifax, NS B3H 3C3 St. Francis Xavier University Antigonish, NS B2G 2W5 University College of Cape Breton Sydney, NS B1P 6L2 University of King s College 6350 Coburg Road Halifax, NS B3H 3J5

3 T ABLE OF CONTENTS Library Sites Served... 1 Library Services for Distance Education Students.. 2 Integrated Library System RFP.. 3 Council of Atlantic University Libraries/Conseil de Bibliothèques Universitaires de L'Atlantique (CAUL/CBUA).. 4 East Coast Relais Consortium Novanet System Operations Committee (NSOC).. 5 Novanet Planning Day Staffing 7 Board of Directors Novanet Policy Board Novanet Executive Committee Novanet Systems Operations Committee Novanet Inc. Staff 10

4 4 L IBRARY SITES SERVED Novanet serves 26 post-secondary libraries throughout Nova Scotia. Atlantic School of Theology Library Libraries Sexton Design & Technology Library Killam Memorial Library Sir James Dunn Law Library W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library Mount Saint Vincent University Library Nova Scotia Agricultural College MacRae Library NSCAD University Library Nova Scotia Community College Library Service Akerley Campus Annapolis Valley Campus Burridge Campus Cumberland Campus Halifax Campus Institute of Technology Kingstec Campus Lunenburg Campus Marconi Campus Pictou Campus Shelburne Campus Strait Area Campus Truro Campus (Truro) (Dartmouth) (Lawrencetown, Middleton) (Yarmouth) (Springhill) (Kentville) (Lunenburg) (Sydney) (Stellarton) (Shelburne) (Port Hawkesbury) (Truro) Saint Mary's University, Patrick Power Library St. Francis Xavier University, Angus L. Macdonald Library (Antigonish) University College of Cape Breton Library University of King's College Library (Sydney) P AGE 1

5 This fiscal year Novanet moved forward on a number of initiatives to enhance services and convenience for the academic communities it serves through the effective exploration and application of new information technologies. In collaboration with the Council of Atlantic University Libraries, Novanet reached an agreement with Sirsi Corporation for Rooms software to create an Atlantic scholarly information portal to further the objectives of the Atlantic Scholarly Information Network. As part of the East Coast Relais Consortium, Novanet participating members began implementing the borrowing module of the Relais system which enables users to initiate and complete interlibrary loan / document delivery transactions from their desktops with little or no intervention of library staff. The completion of the Library Services for Distance Education Students project, supported by grants from the Windsor Foundation and Human Resources Development Canada, culminates successful experiments in virtual reference, the deployment and use of electronic books, the development of online library tutorials and the creation of electronic reserves. Most recently, Novanet issued a Request for Proposals for a new integrated library system to replace Geac Advance in an effort to enhance its library management system so as to provide more effective and efficient access to the growing variety of print and digital resources. The success of these initiatives can be easily measured by the growing convenience experienced by all users in the conduct of their research, learning and teaching within the context of growing user expectations. L ibrary Services for Distance Education Students The goal of the Library Services for Distance Education Students project was to develop new service models in the context of innovative developments in information technology with the participation of students, faculty and library staff who work with distance / continuing education clientele. Activities were based upon the results of a comprehensive needs assessment which determined the information technologies most desired by students: discipline-specific electronic book collections, online library information tutorials, live help /chat reference, and electronic reserves. Pilot teams involving librarians, faculty and staff developed and implemented projects focused on the aforementioned desired technologies: P AGE 2

6 Discipline-specific electronic book collections: this project provided the infrastructure and licensing to support access to 366 electronic books on business, education and nursing. It continues to be supported by the Novanet consortium as a permanent legacy of the project. Online Tutorials: the project provided detailed animated instructions for using the catalogue effectively by distance students and remains available to all students with updates anticipated in conjunction with the implementation of a new integrated library system. Live Help / Chat Reference: this project offers distance students professional reference assistance on weekdays and weekends and continues to be available by staff on a voluntary basis. Electronic Reserves: this project encountered the most difficult technical issues, mainly due to problems with the existing library management system. Copyright fees also presented difficulties when providing service for anything more than print materials for which the copyright was already held by members. Thirty-five Novanet library staff and ten faculty from eight universities, directly involved in implementing and evaluating these technologies, have achieved a better understanding and shared knowledge through participation in the project which will prove invaluable in future endeavours. Over 1,000 distance education students made use of the services, proving the value of the project and the technologies showcased by it. I ntegrated Library System RFP Novanet, with the approval of the Chair as representative of the Board of Directors, issued a Request for Proposal for a new Integrated Library System to replace the current Geac Advance System which is no longer supported by the vendor. The RFP was issued only upon recommendation from a special committee of Novanet members constituted in the Fall of This special committee investigated all options, and in conjunction with careful deliberations within the Novanet Policy Board and the Novanet Systems Operations Committee, sought to ensure a decision based upon facts and demonstrated need. P AGE 3

7 Responses to the RFP were received from three vendors by the specified due date of June 22, 2004 by Interuniversity Service Inc. who prepared and issued the RFP on Novanet s behalf. All three vendors (SIRSI Corporation, Endeavor Information Systems and Ex Libris, U.S.A., Inc.) were judged by ISI to meet the minimum compliance requirements of the RFP and were invited to demonstrate the functionality of their systems to Novanet members in early September A decision on the successful vendor is expected in the late Fall of 2004, after intense scrutiny from the library staff of the member institutions. The new system is expected to provide better integration of the many electronic resources now licensed and purchased by Novanet members and to serve as the basis for more complete integration into the developing Atlantic Scholarly Information Network. The purchase of a new system will require the expenditure of approximately $600,000. These funds are available in the Novanet capital fund. C ouncil of Atlantic University Libraries / Conseil de Bibliothèques Universitaires de L'Atlantique (CAUL/CBUA) ASIN Portal In the Fall of 2003, the Council of Atlantic University Libraries with the assistance of ISI put forward a Request for Proposals for new library portal software for regional access to collections. This software would support Open URL resolution, automatic presentation of content, and content usage logging, as well as capabilities for broadcast searching, contextsensitive searching and conducting searches from pre-defined queries. The SIRSI Rooms product was chosen and will be implemented on a pilot basis in the Fall of 2004 by three of the CAUL libraries with Novanet members joining after implementation of their chosen integrated library system. The introduction of the SIRSI Rooms portal software should greatly enhance the goal towards one stop shopping for scholarly information in the Atlantic Region and present a simpler user interface to library clients in keeping with the functionality and effectiveness of the Google model to which many students have become accustomed. P AGE 4

8 8 E ast Coast Relais Consortium (ECRC) In April 2003, the Novanet Policy Group set up a small Task Force to pursue the questions of funding and timing for Novanet libraries to join ECRC. The results of the Task Force survey indicated that most Novanet libraries preferred to wait until the borrowing functionality of the Relais system was available. A tentative schedule for UCCB and SFX to begin using the lending functionality in the early fall and other Novanet sites to join the consortium in the spring of 2004 was proposed. Due to the testing and upgrading that occurred in the fall, ECRC was not able to invite UCCB and SFX to join as anticipated. A new proposed timetable will see the current members of ECRC move into production with the borrowing module in August 2004 and have UCCB and SFX test the entire system this fall. If the testing process proceeds smoothly they may then move into production in December. Other Novanet sites could join the ECRC beginning in the spring of Current members of the consortium are: Acadia University,, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Mount Allison University, Université de Moncton, University of New Brunswick (Fredericton), University of New Brunswick (Saint John), University of Prince Edward Island. N ovanet System Operations Committee The Novanet Systems Operations Committee (NSOC) held five meetings during the year and participated actively in the 2004 Novanet Planning Day. NSOC was instrumental in ensuring the successful implementation of Geoweb 5 and worked closely with the Distance Education Task Force to integrate distance education services within the Novanet system. NSOC reviewed and made recommendations to the Novanet web site redesign. P AGE 5

9 NSOC struck an Electronic Reserve Task Force composed of members from the Lending, OPAC and Cataloguing Functional groups, with a staff member from the Novanet Office as a technical resource. The mandate of the Task Force is to investigate the implications of electronic reserves on other Novanet functions and to explore display implications of the proposed Geac fix. Recommendations are to be made to NSOC by July 30, When NSOC was created, it was stipulated that a review of the mandate and activities would be undertaken within two years. The review was conducted in the fall of 2003, and several recommendations were brought to both NSOC and the Novanet Policy Board. It was agreed that it would be efficient to have a recording secretary outside of NSOC. It was also agreed that there would be benefit in merging overlapping functional lists to improve information sharing and for NSOC to be better informed by having more direct access to the system vendor. The former has already been implemented and the latter will be incorporated into the implementation of a new system. Throughout the year there was much discussion and activity involving the Integrated Library System Request for Proposals. All functional areas contributed to system specifications and key criteria. It is expected that much of NSOC s time for coming year will be devoted to selection and implementation of a new system. The Novanet community is very well served by all Functional Representatives. This is a time consuming and important responsibility critical to Novanet s continued successful operation. P AGE 6

10 10 N ovanet Planning Day 2003 Novanet held its annual planning day in Antigonish on May 8 th, In preparation for consideration of the need for a new integrated library system and new portal technologies, presentations were made by Geac Corporation and by Memorial University Libraries. Geac reviewed planned enhancements for their existing Advance product, currently in use by Novanet, and presented an overview of their new VUBIS integrated library system scheduled to make its debut in North America in Memorial University Libraries provided a presentation on a new library portal system being developed by Sirsi, an established library software vendor. Both presentations provided topics for discussion at afternoon round tables and essentially began the process which led to the issuing of RFP s for both a portal product for the Atlantic region and a new integrated library system for the Novanet consortium. S taffing In January 2003, Novanet hired a Director of Information Systems after the Policy Board made the decision not to fill the position of Executive Director which was deemed to be redundant, given the current activities of the consortium. The Director of Information Systems was hired to expand the technical capacity of the Novanet staff. The skills of the Director, however, proved not to match the needs of the Novanet Office and the individual was therefore let go by mutual agreement at the end of the initial probationary period. The Policy Board has been exploring options to ensure that the technical support required to operate the library management system will remain adequate for the present system as well as for any system which is chosen as a result of the integrated library system RFP process. P AGE 7

11 B OARD OF DIRECTORS Dr. William Close (Chair) Atlantic School of Theology Mr. Tom Traves Dr. Sheila Brown Mount Saint Vincent University Dr. Phillip Hicks Principal Nova Scotia Agricultural College Mr. Paul Greenhalgh NSCAD University Mr. Ray Ivany Nova Scotia Community College Dr. Colin Dodds Saint Mary s University Dr. Sean Riley St. Francis Xavier University Dr. William Barker (Vice Chair) University of King s College Mr. John Harker University College of Cape Breton Mr. William Maes (Secretary/Treasurer) Chair, Policy Board P AGE 8

12 12 N OVANET POLICY BOARD Dr. William Close (Chair) Atlantic School of Theology Ms. Ilga Leja Director Of Library Services NSCAD University Ms. Madeleine Lefebvre University Librarian Saint Mary s University Ms. Susan Cameron University Librarian (Acting) St. Francis Xavier University Mr. Wayne Cole Director of Library Services University College of Cape Breton Mr. Drake Petersen Librarian University of King s College Ms. Joyce Thomson Library Director (Acting) Atlantic School of Theology Ms. Bonnie Waddell Chief Librarian Nova Scotia Agricultural College Ms. Stephanie Walker University Librarian Mount Saint Vincent University Mr. William Maes (Chair) University Librarian Ms. Marie DeYoung (Vice-Chair) Director, Library Services & Online Learning Nova Scotia Community College P AGE 9

13 Novanet Executive Committee Mr. William Maes (Chair) University Librarian Ms. Marie DeYoung (Vice-Chair) Director, Library Services & Online Learning Nova Scotia Community College Ms. Bonnie Waddell (Member-At-Large) Chief Librarian Nova Scotia Agricultural College Novanet Systems Operations Committee Marie DeYoung Nova Scotia Community College Patrick Ellis Bob Cook Saint Mary s University Ella-Fay Zalezsak Bill Slauenwhite Peter Webster Saint Mary s University Resources Staff Dylan Boudreau, Novanet Inc. Richard Lamer, Novanet Inc. Novanet Inc. Staff Dylan Boudreau, Novanet Inc., Data Systems Administrator Richard Lamer, Novanet Inc, Data Systems Administrator P AGE 10