"Go Live" Reference Training Dates Announced

From: Cynthia White, Staff Development
To: All Managers

Below are the ILS training dates for ALL part-time and full-time Reference staff. Please contact Cynthia White (email: whitec or phone: ext2722) to schedule your staff.

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This training will cover:

• Workflows (Replaces Circle; covers Item Searching and Holds)
• EPS/Rooms (Online Library Catalog and other online content)
• Central Search (Federated searching tool that can search all library databases).

Please note that two evening sessions will be conducted for part-time staff who cannot attend daytime sessions.

Because of the number of staff to be trained, attendance is limited to one session. We can review Refresher training needs after Go Live/June 14, 2007.

Also, because of the number of staff to be trained, some staff will be trained well before Go Live. It is crucial for these staff to spend time at their agency refreshing their skills leading up to Go Live/June 14, 2007.

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Go Live SIRSI Reference Training Dates/Times Available
1. Tues	May 1	9:30a-12:30p
2. Wed	May 2	9:30a-12:30p
3. Fri	May 4	9:30a-12:30p
4. Tues	May 8	1-4p
5. Wed	May 9	9:30a-12:30p
6. Fri	May 11	9:30a-12:30p
7. Mon	May 14	1-4p
8. Wed	May 16	9:30a-12:30p
9. Mon	May 21	1-4p
10. Tues	May 22	9:30a-12:30p
11. Wed	May 23	5-8p
12. Fri	May 25	9:30a-12:30p
13. Tues	May 29	1-4p
14. Wed	May 30	5-8p
15. Fri	June 1	9:30a-12:30p

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All sessions will be held in the Computer Training Lab-L50.

LJ article on Central Search and "clustering"

Library Journal recently featured an article about Serials Solutions' introduction of Vivisimo Results Clustering to its Central Search federated search product. You can find this article, which offers a good overview of what clustering is all about, in the November 1, 2006 issue, or read it online here. Then head over to the MPLIC Central Search test page to try it out for yourself.

Central Search -- test installation is live!

Our new federated search system, Central Search, has been successfully installed by Serials Solutions. The site can be accessed here. (Please note that the URL can only be accessed by PCs within the library.) This site represents the "advanced search" interface for federated searching, which allows for narrowing searches to particular subjects or databases, and presents search results in "clusters." Basic federated search will ultimately be available through the EPS OPAC search box.

This is a work-in-progress, as Serials Solutions is still building connections to a number of our licensed databases.

The Federated Search / Link Resolver Subteam of the EPS Implementation Team will be reviewing the site over the next couple of weeks, but all interested staff are welcome to give it a test drive and submit feedback to Alan Stewart. (Please do not share the URL with library customers at this time.)

Product news from SirsiDynix

Several new Unicorn and Unicorn-related product developments have been announced by SirsiDynix in the October, 2006 issue of the electronic newsletter SirsiDynix OneSource. Among the more interesting items:

• Rooms/EPS Version 2.2 is in the final stages of internal development. Version 2.2 includes many “catalog parity” features with respect to the iBistro interface, including support for “Try These Too” categories, and support for “Find it Fast/Kids Library.”
• Central Search now offers additional search categorization using the Vivisimo Clustering Engine. This search results clustering feature will be included at no extra charge to Central Search subscribers.

Project milestones in September

Members of the Sirsi ILS implementation teams reached the following milestones in September:

• The second week of onsite Sirsi training concluded on Sept. 1.
• The Central Search Connection List, providing information about MPLIC databases to be included in our federated search interface, was provided to Serials Solutions and SirsiDynix on Sept. 8.
• The Library's version of the Unicorn ILS was upgraded from GL 3.0 to the newest version, GL 3.1, on Sept. 11.
• The Library's production server was copied over to the test server on Sept. 13.
  This means that staff are now working with the library's own records when using Workflows and the Rooms/EPS site, rather than a generic training database. Although not all OPAC customizations are in place yet, you can begin to get an idea of the enhanced experience in store for MPLIC customers and staff.
• 9xx and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) training was conducted for Acquistions and Cataloging staff on Sept. 25 and 27.

Coming up in October:

• The new Pocket Circ handheld devices are scheduled to arrive by the beginning of the month.
• SirsiDynix will provide onsite training on Unicorn Reports and Pocket Circ.
• The Acquisitions Team will have a three-day summit with our SirsiDynix SureStart Consultant, Diane Cunningham.
• Phone lines for the SVA (SirsiDynix Voice Automation) customer telephone notification system will be installed.

Image courtesy of SirsiDynix.

Guide to the Enterprise Portal Solution, Part 4 (or, What is SingleSearch?)

SingleSearch is SirsiDynix's name for its federated search solution. Federated search, also often referred to by other terms such as metasearch or broadcast search, refers to the ability to search a variety of online information resources -- library catalogs, databases, digital collections, the Web -- with a single interface. The appeal of such an interface to library customers in our Googleized world is obvious. Many people appear to prefer a single blank search box -- in which they can enter their keywords, hit a button, and get satisfactory (if not perfect) results -- to learning the arcane jargon and syntax needed to successfully navigate our catalog and database interfaces. This isn't a preference for which we should blame our customers. As Calfornia Digital Libraries manager and Library Journal columnist Roy Tennant puts it: "Only librarians like to search; everyone else likes to find."

There are, however, some significant challenges to effective federated searching. One is the issue of duplication, when a search across several databases will pull up multiple instances of the same citation. Another is the issue of different resources having different search syntax (use of Boolean and proximity operators, truncation, wildcards, and so on). Response time is also an issue, as many libraries have found that federated searches take considerably longer than the "instant" results customers are accustomed to with Google. Finally, there is the question of how results are displayed. Library staff and customers are used to results being listed in the order of relevance, alphabetically, or chronologically, depending on the type of resource.

Various library technology vendors have been striving to meet these challenges over the last several years, and the rapidly changing status of the technology is reflected in SirsiDynix's recent decision to partner with Serials Solutions for their federated search solution (see yesterday's post). The challenges may never be completely surmounted, but the effort is worthwhile. Effective federated searching should not only save the time of the searcher, but may help library customers discover useful resources they might not have otherwise known about.

Next: What is Resolver?

For further reading:

Crawford, Walt. "The Crawford Files: Meta, federated, distributed: search solutions," American Libraries, August 2004.
Helfer, Doris Small, and Jina Choi Wakimoto. "Metasearching: the good, the bad, and the ugly of making it work in your library," Searcher, February 2005.
Luther, Judy. "Trumping Google? Metasearching's promise," Library Journal, October 1, 2003.

Image courtesy of SirsiDynix.

SirsiDynix partners with Serials Solutions for federated searching and more

SirsiDynix has issued a press release with details about their new partnership with Serials Solutions, a leading provider of electronic resource access and management services, which I reported about briefly in my post from the 2006 Sirsi SuperConference.

This arrangement will directly affect our ILS migration and implementation of the Enterprise Portal Solution, as Serials Solutions' Central Search product will become the foundation of federated searching in the EPS.