CONTENTS
- January "Opening" of the CDL Web Site - Update
- Patron Initiated Requesting Project - Updates Scheduled
- OCLC Ports and Response Time Developments
- JSTOR Collection of Journals is Now Accessible by UC Users
- CDL Milestones
- Contacts for Questions or Problems
- Information about the CDLINFO-L Listserv
1. January "Opening" of the CDL Web Site - Update
Campus libraries are making a substantial contribution to the design of the fully integrated CDL web site. This web site, which will replace the current description-only web site, will be available on a trial basis in November and released in January.The site design process has progressed quickly, thanks to enthusiastic input and directed feedback from many library staff polled across the system. Attention has focused on the design of the directory of collections and services, which will allow collaborative maintenance and ease of searching while also supporting the goal of reducing duplicative effort across the campuses. Technical services, public services, systems staff, and current web managers have reviewed design principles and established functional priorities for the first and later releases of this gateway to CDL's collections and services.
Watch CDLINFO for updates as the November release date approaches.
2. Patron Initiated Requesting Project - Updates Scheduled
The Patron Initiated Requesting (PIR) Project, designed to facilitate rapid access to physical materials on all campuses and in the Regional Storage Facilities, is holding its first staff update meeting.The Updates will be attended by representatives from SOPAG (Systemwide Operations and Planning Group), HOPS (Heads of Public Services), HOS (Heads of Systems), HOPS ILL, Interlibrary Loan Managers, Circulation Managers, and Technical Services/Systems staff.
The next meeting will be (South) Monday, October 12 at UC Irvine, 1:00-4:00 p.m. and (North) Thursday, October 15 at UC San Francisco, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Agenda items will include an overview of the PIR Project, interface design, interlibrary loan participation, and publicitity and educational issues.
PIR will be available initially to UC faculty, staff, and graduate students beginning in January of 1999. Its debut coincides with the release of the revised CDL web site, which will fully integrate collections and services, replacing the current description-only web site.
3. OCLC Ports and Response Time Developments
Over the past several months, CDL has collected detailed statistics about the causes of turnaways to OCLC's FirstSearch databases. While the largest number of turnaways is due to ports being full, there is still concern over the percentage of network-related problems. After a series of meetings between OCLC and CDL staff to discuss possible improvements in response time and turnaway problems, the following changes will be implemented for the fall term.
- CDL has renewed the UC FirstSearch agreement for 1998-1999 at the level
of 27 simultaneous users (with limits of 10 users for PAIS, MLA
Bibliography, ArtAbstracts, and Books in Print, and 5 users for RILM).
- OCLC will set the actual level at an UNLIMITED number of users for the
months of September, October, and November. With this experiment we will
benchmark the number of ports that might really be used during peak times.
Note that the removal of SocAbstracts may lighten the demand for ports.
This period of unlimited access will also provide additional information on
the effects of "ports full" versus failure to connect for other reasons.
- CDL and OCLC will conduct a limited study of Internet response time by comparing access to FirstSearch in two ways: via the Melvyl Z39.50 client and via standard Web access directly to OCLC's FirstSearch interface. Session logs will be compared for the designated time period. In addition, CDL and OCLC will evaluate timeout settings in both systems and network routing configurations as other possible sources of problems.
Users with questions about or problems with the OCLC FirstSearch databases should contact the CDL Helpline at 510/987-0555.
4. JSTOR Collection of Journals is Now Accessible by UC Users
This collection contains full-text articles in 55 journals covering Anthropology, Asian Studies, Ecology, Economics, Education, Finance, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, Population Studies, and Sociology. JSTOR plans to make available 100 titles by January 1, 2000. Titles such as American Economic Review, American Historical Review, American Political Science Review, American Sociological Review, Econometrica, Journal of Political Economy, the Journal of Asian Studies, Ecology, Journal of the American Mathematical Society, and Population Studies show the range of JSTOR's journal collection.JSTOR's focus on digitizing entire back runs of core scholarly journals makes this digital collection unique. Many of the initial issues of titles date as far back as the 1880s. While current issues of journals may be available in print or through other electronic subscriptions, digital access to back files made available to all UC campuses is a significant addition to collections, and addresses preservation and storage needs as well.
High-resolution (600 dpi), bit-mapped images of each page of each issue are linked to a text file generated with optical character recognition (OCR) software. Partnered with innovative Table-of-Contents indexes, these links permit complete search and retrieval of the journal material. The electronic database is housed at the University of Michigan, where this technology was developed, and is mirrored at Princeton University.
JSTOR is an independent, not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1995 by William G. Bowen, President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and was funded initially by that institution.
On September 14, CDL announced the completion of a licensing agreement and subsequent systemwide access to JSTOR. The press release can be read at http://www.ucnewswire.org/ or at http://www.ucop.edu/ucophome/commserv/cdljstor.html.
Complete information about JSTOR is available at http://www.jstor.org/.
To reach the JSTOR database from the Melvyl Home Page, select Resources from the sidebar and then select Electronic Journals.
5. CDL Milestones
CDL Milestones are now posted on the new CDL informational web site [http://www.cdlib.org/] under News and Developments.6. Contacts for Questions or Problems
If you have problems accessing or using the Melvyl system or have questions, including questions about the status of electronic journal collections and Internet resources, you can contact CDL staff in one of the following ways:
- For immediate assistance, call the CDL Helpline at (510) 987-0555. Callers with TDD equipment, please call 1-800-735-2929 in California for the telephone relay operator.
- Send an e-mail message to melvyl@www.melvyl.ucop.edu.
- Click on "News" on the Melvyl web system (http://www.melvyl.ucop.edu/) for information about system outages, problems with particular databases, the status of a resource, etc.
For information about whether your UC campus has access to a particular electronic journal or Internet resource, contact your local collection development officer.
7. Information about the CDLINFO-L Listserv
The CDLINFO-L listserv is designed for UC library employees as a first step in CDL efforts to build an active communications program to inform the UC community about progress in creation of the CDL, policy issues under discussion, and newly available electronic resources.
We hope that subscribers from the UC libraries will pass on selected
information from the listserv to faculty, staff, and students on their
campuses, as appropriate. As a next step in developing a communications
program to reach UC faculty, staff, and students, as well as others outside
of UC who may be interested in our activities, we have launched a web site
with descriptive information about the CDL (
Eligible subscribers: UC library employees
To subscribe: Please send the following line to listserv@listserv.ucop.edu
Frequency of publication: Biweekly, generally on the 1st and 15th of each
month, or as new information warrants.
Communicating with the listserv: While the CDL Listserv does not accept
submissions, subscribers are encouraged to send suggestions, thoughts, and
comments on material in the listserv or on related issues to the CDL at
cdl@ucop.edu.
SUBSCRIBE CDLINFO-L /your name/