A User's Take on the User Meeting Jenny Levine, Suburban Library System	Also in this issue News & Notes Bailey named director 4.0.2 released 3.1 support ends Tips & Techs Adding a sparse index ILL primer
NOTE: The 3rd Open SiteSearch User Meeting was held March 22-24 at the headquarters of OCLC in Dublin, OH. We asked attendee Jenny Levine, Internet Development Specialist at the Suburban Library System (SLS), to share her observations of the proceedings with the rest of the community. The text is based on notes she prepared for her colleagues in Illinois. We thank her for her cooperation. The Suburban Library System is a consortium of multi-type libraries based in Burr Ridge IL. Jenny can be reached at levinej@sls.lib.il.us.

Summary statement			Illinois is VIC-torious
	Overall, this meeting was very educational for us. We attended the meeting to learn how Open SiteSearch would help us plan for Illinois' VIC project (see sidebar) and were pleased with the results. We encourage you to attend future meetings to learn more about the scope of the Open SiteSearch software and how others implement it.		Excitement is growing in Illinois about a state-wide project called VIC, the Virtual Illinois Catalog. We are using Open SiteSearch to build a virtual catalog of multi-type library holdings to ultimately create a true state-wide union catalog. The VIC project appears to be one of a few in the country to unify diverse catalogs from multiple vendors. We are beginning with the primary circulation systems of the 12 library systems in the state and plan to eventually add all other libraries outside of the network. An challenge we have is authenticating patrons against their home system's database -- a difficult task considering the number of vendors involved. We are beta testing VIC currently and hope to go live this summer. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Jenny Levine
Day 1
Training session	Understanding and Using the Access Component Jeff Penka and Dena Bovee, OCLC
Training slides	This training session is exactly the kind of class OCLC should be providing to its users. We gained a much better understanding of the advance features (and limitations) of the Open SiteSearch Access Component. Jeff showed us the process of authentication and how the access tables interact with the underlying databases. We also learned how to build user profiles, each specifying access to a unique set of databases. We are more confident about using the Access Component to regulate access to databases. We plan to add the class handouts to our standard documentation.
Day 2
User presentation	Formatting Class Forum Larry Baerveldt, INCOLSA Sandy Card, Binghamton University Stan Furmanak, Lebanon Valley College Tim Prettyman, University of Michigan
Sandy Card's slides Tim Prettyman's slides	It was very illuminating to hear directly from those who have made the most customized "behind-the-scenes" changes with Open SiteSearch. Binghamton University has focused on customizing the full record display by adding several MARC fields and hotlinks to the visible record. The University of Michigan has extensively re-coded formatting classes to remove some of the formatting options from the holdings classes. Labels and fields are configured outside of the standard OCLC classes. They have also developed custom methods for adding holdings data. INCOLSA also has developed new methods and classes for record display. Stan Furmanak of Lebanon Valley College showed how he mapped fields across OCLC FirstSearch databases to implement greater standardization. An open discussion of formatting classes followed. Users commented that the current Out-of-the-Box Interface (OBI) is difficult to configure and maintain. Some suggested that the formatting specs should be included in the database ini files in order to separate the formatting classes (the coding) from the databases (the display). OCLC responded that they are looking into an enhanced OBI version of Open SiteSearch for those users who prefer more of a turnkey product that requires limited programming. The summer release of version 4.1 will allow more flexibility within the database files. This was hailed by the users as a major step in the right direction because it will also make it easier to maintain and add databases. Users also requested the addition of "wizards" that would help novices create ini files. OCLC noted that this could not be done in time for the summer release, but they will consider it for the future.
User presentation	Creating Your Own Access Client Phil Boyer, WRLC Tod Olson, University of Chicago
Phil Boyer's slides Tod Olson's slides	The presentations provided valuable insights into ways we could use the Access Component in the future. Phil Boyer discussed the methods and classes he developed at WRLC based on institution location and barcode. They use SQL database tables to determine access rights for a range of patrons. Tod Olson provided a handout of how the University of Chicago has customized classes to authenticate directly against their local database. Highly recommended reading. We also learned that the majority of Open SiteSearch users authenticate patrons against a single patron database maintained on one vendor's system. We seemed to be one of the few projects that will authenticate patrons against different databases from different vendors.
Breakout sessions	These were individual group "chats" devoted to specific topics. The sessions were a chance for users to ask questions and provide feedback for the future directions of Open SiteSearch. In general, users asked that OCLC improve the scope and detail of user documentation. OCLC has promised to address this issue. Our group attended three of the six sessions. Resource Sharing Issues Points covered included: the importance of planning and defining one's goals with resource-sharing; migrating to extended circulation systems that allow patrons to initiate requests; the challenge of displaying holdings information from multiple vendors; and patron authentication across multiple resources. Non-Z39.50 Resources This session was more of a presentation by Lisa Cox of OCLC. She detailed the steps for connecting WebZ to WAIS, a non-Z39.50 target. A discussion of the theoretical applications of this process followed. FTP Lisa's presentation here. Access Component Two major areas covered were patron authentication and the security of record updating. Users asked for an administrative-type tool to better manage the Access Component. Users also noted if the access server is down, the default setting allows open access to resources -- a real security issue. Users asked that OCLC help them develop the user network in order to convince vendors to better comply with industry standards.
User presentation	Performing Usability Testing with Your WebZ Interface Vicki Mills, University of Arizona
Vicki Mills' presentation	Vicki Mills explained how usability testing helped direct changes made to the user interface at the University of Arizona. She demonstrated some of the testing techniques they employed. We found this instructive because we plan to implement further usability testing for VIC.
Day 3
User presentation	Understanding and Using the Access Component Brad Baxter and Alan Horne, University of Georgia Ben Wallberg and Lily Wee, University System of Maryland
Brad Baxter's presentation Alan Horne's presentation Username: OCLCUser Password: fahren8 Download Ben and Lily's presentation	GALILEO's programmers have had great success configuring Open SiteSearch 4.x. Brad Baxter showed the modified GALILEO interface that uses JavaScript. He discussed how GALILEO uses profiles and demonstrated a gadget he wrote that allows the patron to toggle between graphical and text-only versions of the interface. Alan Horne then showed a graphical user interface, Galiad, that GALILEO developed for their user profile database. Galiad simplifies data entry and maintenance. Ben Wallberg and Lily Wee of the University System of Maryland spoke about modifications they made to the Open SiteSearch classes. Ben talked about various problems with (and solutions for) interfaces and formatting displays. For example, he has written a gadget that more clearly shows the patron whether or not a record has been saved.
Open SiteSearch presentation	The Future of the Open SiteSearch Suite Brenda Bailey, Becky Babyak, Lisa Cox, Victoria Miller and Pat Stevens, OCLC
OCLC slides	The managers of Open SiteSearch highlighted upcoming changes, most notably this summer's release of Open SiteSearch 4.1. The following will be included in this release: Record merging and de-duping Vocabulary-assisted searching -- (thesaurus searching) Support for configuring all six BIB-1 attribute types including truncation Improvements for sending customized queries on a database-by-database basis An optional non-frames environment On-the-fly record updating within the OCLC Database Builder component
Training session	Interface Gadgets Jeff Penka and Lisa Cox, OCLC
Training slides	Jeff Penka walked us through some exercises for making changes to interface styles, searching options, and HTML screens. One of the best handouts was the "OBI Interface Gadget Classification" that helped break down the roles of the major gadgets. This was a very educational session that should be part of the initial Open SiteSearch training and documentation.

[Main][Documentation][Support][Technical Reference][Glossary][Search]