Cover Story
Ex Libris Contract Approved!

Features
Web Sites for Everyone

The Making of an Accessible SUNYConnect Web

Web Accessibility: a Q&A

Accessibility and SUNYConnect Databases

Nothing but Net:
SUNYConnect and netLibrary

Announcing The SUNYConnection

Aleph Configuration Team

Additional LMS Updates

How to Contact Us

Linkable Links

Link to the OLIS Committees List

SUNY Meets Ex Libris Staff
Librarians from the pilot sites met Ex Libris personnel that are taking on project management and other roles for the various implementations. For the current NOTIS sites (Binghamton, Buffalo and Stony Brook) the project leader is Ms. Marie Erdman.

Marie Erdman. Marie is a librarian who comes from the University of Wisconsin. There she was involved in strategic planning, project implementation and in systems. Her experience is a valuable resource in the position of Implementation Librarian at Ex Libris. http://www.exlibris-usa.com/news.asp

Mr. Michael Blake has project responsibilities for the Oswego and TC3 implementations.

Michael Blake has worked most recently at the Godfrey Lowell Cabot Science Library of the Harvard College Library at Harvard University, where he served as Head of the Reference Department from 1990 to 2000. Previously he worked at Emory University's A.W. Calhoun Medical Library, the Houston Public Library, Harvard University's Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Bain & Company, Inc. (consulting firm), and the Treadwell Library of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also worked in several positions in the Health, Safety, and Environment Division of Shell Oil Company. Upon joining Ex Libris, Michael said that he "was attracted to Ex Libris by the opportunity to use the knowledge and skills I`ve built over 20 years in librarianship and by the chance to expand my knowledge and acquire new skills in a dynamically growing company. I look forward to being a link between practicing librarians and the developers and designers of our online products." Michael received his B.S, with a double major in biology and botany, from Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, FL) in 1977. He has his M.Ln. (Master's in Librarianship) from Emory University. He serves as an editorial advisor for the Garden Literature Index and does reviews for Library Journal and E-Streams. He has previously served on many library and information newsletter boards. He is the co-author of Teaching the New Library (New York : Neal-Schuman, 1996) and Designs for active learning : a sourcebook of classroom strategies for information education (Chicago: ACRL, 1998). He has served on many ALA and ACRL committees and continues to be active in the ACRL Instruction Section. http://www.exlibris-usa.com/news.asp

Ex Libris also introduced implementation programmers to the groups. Mr. Galen Charlton previously worked for Endeavor Information Systems. Among his duties at that time was the conversion programming needed to move a Multilis library (University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth) to their new library system. Galen will be working on the Oswego and TC3 migrations.

Mr. Randy Menakes has been assigned to work on the NOTIS migrations.

Randy Menakes. Randy is a well-known, highly respected librarian and industry veteran having 15 years of experience with NOTIS systems. Randy is also well known for his active participation on standards committees and his work in the field of inter-library loan. He joins Ex Libris as a Senior Analyst and will continue his work on standards committees and ILL. http://www.exlibris-usa.com/news.asp

Ms. Marlene Harris has oversight responsibilities for the SUNY project as a whole as well as specific responsibilities for Fredonia's implementation. See SUNYergy Vol. 2 No. 3 for information on Marlene and other Ex Libris employees with major roles in the SUNYConnect LMS implementation.

Project Communication / Hardware / Data Extraction
Technical concerns, political issues, policy setting, governance decisions are among the areas that have to be dealt with in this project project which is the SUNYConnect LMS implementation. In addition to these areas, practical matters of communicating in a complete and efficient manner must also be accomplished. For Ex Libris - SUNY communication, various email lists and project-specific email addresses have been established. For now, those SUNY libraries waiting to begin the ALEPH implementation process are asked to send their questions via electronic mail to olis@slscva.sysadm.suny.edu

October 24 and 25, 2000 saw additional discussions and decisions on hardware specifications for the project. This includes machines that are designed for data conversion and testing as well as machines to be utilized by the initial host sites: Buffalo (hosting Fredonia) and Oswego (hosting TC3).

Data extraction work has begun. Fredonia has been busy verifying the capabilities of their PALS system in this regard. Initial conversion tests by Ex Libris of Multilis data has also occurred.

Please remember that for a project of this sort "attitude is everything."