LIBRARY TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES (Submitted with 2004-2005 Annual Report)
Enhanced Public & Staff Printing We continue to have problems with printing in the reference area. A print queue would help us to balance the load on the two printers and would also allow one printer to take over if the other is out of commission. In addition, we could manage the print jobs sent to the queue from one central location instead of visiting and logging on to each individual PC. Target date: ASAP
ERes?: Continue to develop service While the ERes? server is fully functional and the program is very popular, we are continuing to look into ways of making the service more attractive and easier to use. For example, we would like to develop a web form that will take a course page request and automatically establish an account and course page on the system. To create such a form, we need access to the database and underlying program on the ERes? server. Target date: Ongoing
Instant Messaging for Reference At the Computers in Libraries 2005 Annual Conference (March 2005), there were several sessions regarding the successful use of free and ubiquitous instant messaging (IM) services for remote reference. Speakers and presenters enthusiastically recommended IM as a way to reach students and other patrons with a technology they use daily. We would like to explore the possibilities of using this technology at the reference desk. Target date: Fall 2005
Weblogs (Blogs), Wikis and RSS for Communication We are all inundated with email from every corner of the world. The systems department would like to investigate using some of these other technologies to inform and share important information. The concept would be that people would be able to go to one place to read important announcements and developments, and they would not have to archive the information on their own PCs?. Target date: Fall 2005
Database-driven Web Pages The library maintains well over 500 web pages, on which we link to more than 5,000 unique URLs?. To this date, we have been maintaining all of these links by hand – individually editing HTML pages. We need to move to a more dynamic and efficient process; by harvesting our current links and creating a database, we could maintain all the links in one central location and serve the links out to individual web pages. In addition, we would like to develop an interactive resource that will dynamically create customized subject guides for individuals, based on user input. For an example of such a resource, please visit: http://systems.lib.ecu.edu/piratesource/. Target date: Spring 2006
Instructional Web Tutorials Statistics for most library web sites show there is significant database and web site usage from remote locations. Since the librarians are not available for live help 24/7, we intend to create web tutorials that will provide basic and advanced assistance for remote users. These tutorials may eventually interact with the database-driven web pages described above. For an example of a similar project, visit http://www.sunywcc.edu/library/tutorial/psychology/index.htm. Target date: Prototype Fall 2005, additional Spring 2006
Institutional Repository The Library has been exploring the possibility of creating and maintaining an institutional repository to initially contain the documents and materials related to the Global Access Project. We intend to expand the repository to include special collections of digital materials appropriate to the scope and mission of the University. Target date: Fall 2005
Digitization of Truman Warner archival collection The University Archivist and Special Collections Librarian is interested in digitizing and providing electronic access to the public domain materials in WCSU’s Truman Warner collection of World War II photos and letters. This is a unique collection that could potentially be useful to researchers around the world. Such a project will require a significant investment in equipment and human resources, but would provide us an opportunity to gain more experience in creating metadata schemas and web-enabled digital collections.
Digitization of Library Album Collection The Library has been systematically replacing its vinyl albums with digital recordings whenever possible. We believe, however, that there will still be a significant number of albums that will not be converted to CD, yet still have some relevance in the WCSU curriculum. We would like to work closely with the music department to determine which records would benefit from digitizing. We will also be consulting widely regarding copyright issues and technical issues. Target date: Spring 2006
Federated Search Engine Much like Google, federated searching allows the user to enter keywords in a simple interface and retrieve articles from multiple full-text and bibliographic databases simultaneously, such as the library catalog and any number of article databases. The CONSULS strategic plan (prepared by the library directors of CCSU, ECSU, SCSU, WCSU and the CT State Library) calls for investigating and installing such a product within 2 years. Federated search engines require significant server space and power – we would want this server to be located in the library. Target date: Fall 2006
My Library Customizable library portal See current projects at http://www.library.vcu.edu/mylibrary/cil99.html. Target date: Fall 2006