Resource Discovery Meeting Minutes

1. Welcome, Apologies for Absence and Membership Update

Present: William Marsterson (Chair - WM), Gavin Beattie GB), John Gilby (Minutes - JG), Robert Hall (RH), Rosemary Lynch (RL), Marion Peulevé (MP), Maureen Wade (MW)

Apologies: Stewart Brownrigg (SB), Catriona Cannon (CC), Brian Murphy (BM).

2. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes

The minutes from 17 May 2006 were approved.

3. Action Update and Matters Arising

Actions and matters arising from the previous meeting held on 17 May 2006 are summarised below:

• Action 3.1 & 3.3 from March 2006 meeting, plotting usage trendlines and weekly 'visits' for the four InforM25 services, action continues - New Action 3.1
• Action 4.1 - JG reported that a rough estimate from the web designers for moving Find-a-library into the CMS was £1,200. A custom CMS component would be required to provide the required functionality. Due to the on-going discussions with the LLDA and other parties, it was agreed to not proceed with this activity for the time being. Action complete.
• Action 4.2 - JG had written a mini-project specification for revision of the M25 Subject List, see under Item 4 below. Action complete.
• Action 4.3 - JG had looked further at potential costs of installing the Index Data product Metaproxy, see under Item 4 below.  Action complete.
• Action 4.4 - JG had written a draft 'Landscaping' document for the Search-catalogues service, see under Item 4 below. Action complete.
• Action 5.1 - WM & JG had drafted the group's Action Plan, see under Item 6 below. Action complete.
• Action 6.1 - BM had contacted UCL about a potential partnership bid in recent JISC call and had reported earlier that there did not appear to be any possibility for a bid. Action complete.
• Action 8.1 - JG had arranged further group meetings. Action complete.
  

4. M25 Systems Team Manager's Report

JG gave brief highlights from his recent report that also went to the M25 Steering Group:

• Oxford Brookes, UCCA and the Wiener Library had been added to Find-a-library
• The response rate for updates to Find/Visit-a-library was again poor with only 19 Consortium members having contacted JG thus far. Some ideas were discussed to try and improve on this.
• IDS, Oxford Brookes and the Wiener Library had been added to Visit-a-library
• The problems with Kingston and UEL's Z-servers had been overcome and testing of the ARU Z-server had shown some need of configuration. The Wiener Library had recently installed and configured their Z-server ready for testing.
• Installation of the (new to InforM25) ZOOM:Perl Z-client continues, the ULS having the Z-client working and requiring further testing, particularly to look at search attributes. Installation of the Z-client within the Search-catalogues software was also progressing and should be easier, the work based on that carried out for the ULS.

InforM25 User Interfaces

ULS and Find-a-library Interfaces

JG demonstrated progress with the revisions to the InforM25 user interfaces, firstly showing the ULS which had all its HTML templates revised. The group commented on the look & feel of the pages and this will be fed back to the design company. Questions were raised also about the accessibility of parts of the interface, particularly the expansion and contraction of the results details.

Next JG showed the revised Find-a-library interfaces complete with one option for a replacement clickable map and a new method for selecting subjects from the list. Again comments will be fed back to the designers. There was also a suggestion to try out the interfaces on users, particularly those suffering from dyslexia.

InforM25 Map Options

JG showed a number of different ideas from the designers for the map used on Find-a-library and Search-catalogues. Suggestions and comments included showing the regional boundary of the Consortium (based on three Regional Development Agency areas), having an accessible alternative to the map, clearly indicating that the North & South zones extend beyond the M25 motorway and that the final map might be of use elsewhere within the Consortium website or on publicity material.

Header Options

JG explained that the headers on the new InforM25 pages were the key method to help users recognise which service they were using. In addition to having the service name in the header (such as Find-a-library, Search-catalogues, etc.) there would be a different photo associated with each service and the more general InforM25 pages. JG showed a selection of headers for each service and the group agreed on which options to adopt. JG commented that the FAQ page headers would be similar to the different service headers with a question mark superimposed, this was also agreed.

Action 4.1 JG to feed back comments to the web designers and investigate accessibility issues, particularly for the map and ULS results.

M25 Subject List Mini-project

JG had previously circulated the M25 Subject List Mini-project document detailing the tasks involved in revising the M25 Subject List. JG clarified that the bulk of the work could be carried out anywhere but that the actual editing of Find-a-library data (to amend library/subject entries) would need to be done at the LSE.

The group discussed how to advertise for someone to carry out the work that was estimated to consist of seven person days spread over a 2-3 month period. Action 4.2 WM to arrange a suitably worded email to go to M25 directors inviting candidates to contact WM and JG.

Search-catalogues 'Landscaping'

JG had circulated a draft paper describing the current 'Landscaping' functionality used within the Search-catalogues service, its limitations and a survey of what other similar services offer to users for selecting which library catalogues to search. JG commented that the section on ideas for the future was in need of further work.

Comments and ideas arising from the draft document included:

• trying 'Static Landscaping' ideas (such as grouping catalogues by access scheme) and monitoring their usage to guide what might be done with 'Dynamic Landscaping'
• offering 'mini-clumps' by regions such as in and around Brighton, East Anglia and so on
• possibly re-visiting the number of M25 zones and their boundaries

Z-Z Middleware for Search-catalogues

JG reported that he had met with Index Data and now had a greater understanding of how the Metaproxy product worked and what potential work was involved in its installation. The overall cost was felt to be quite substantial (for the Consortium) particularly since further development would be required to offer the same functionality currently offered within Search-catalogues.

Action 4.4 JG to continue investigating Z-Z Middleware options and report back to the group as appropriate.

5. Plans for InforM25 Re-launch and Promotion

6. RDWG Action Plan and Terms of Reference

WM & JG had drafted and circulated the group's action plan for 2006-7 for comment. Following discussion, the group agreed some changes to the draft.

Action 6.1 WM to edit plan and forward to the M25 Administartive Assistant for inclusion in the overall Consortium Action Plan.
Action 6.2 JG & WM to draft a risk analysis for the next meeting.

The Terms of Reference were also reviewed by the group and changes agreed.
Action 6.3 JG to edit the group's Terms of Reference on the M25 website.

7. Systems Team Service Delivery Plan

JG highlighted changes made to the Systems Team Service Delivery Plan, mainly for clarification and addition of further details of the tasks carried out. The group agreed to the changes.

8. Resource Discovery Implications of Scanning & Digital Repositories

The group were asked to consider resource discovery implications of scanning and digital repositories by the M25 Steering Group. Following a short discussion, the group agreed that this topic should be considered at a later meeting.

Some ideas arising from the discussion included creating an overview of repositories and what is available for the benefit of Consortium members. Also ideas of how members can learn from each other's experiences. Action 8.1 GB, RL, WM and MP to meet together to take these ideas further.

9. AOB

JG reported that he had been approached by one of the library system vendors firstly concerning some possible work for the Systems Team utilising their Z39.50 knowledge and experience, and secondly about the RDWG meeting with the vendor to explore ways in which the vendor's products may be of interest to the Consortium. It was not clear if the vendor was offering payment for the proposed Systems Team work so once this was clarified, the group would then be able to ascertain the benefits of the activity to the Consortium.

Regarding the other suggestion, the group agreed that it would be inappropriate to talk in detail to a single vendor when several were currently supplying the Consortium libraries. Further discussion led to the idea of inviting a number of vendors to present to the RDWG and Steering Group their visions for the future regarding library and associated resource discovery systems.

10. Future Meetings

Future meetings will be held at the LSE all at 2pm on:
22 September 2006
24 November 2006
23 February 2007

Minutes by JG
28 July 2006