Present: John Anderson, Laura Cohen, Randy Gadikian, Carey Hatch, John Homburger, Eleanor Heishman, Pam Peters (Chair), Janet Potter, Larry Randall, Judy Sikora, Barbara von Wahlde, Maureen Zajkowski, Connie Perrin (Staff)

Excused: Tom Neiss, Mike Pisa, Laurie Thompson

Review of Agenda Items

Carey requested that a discussion of a possible McGraw Hill contract be added to the agenda.

Welcome New Members, Overview and Background of SUNYConnect Program

Pam welcomed the new members to the Council and invited all those present to introduce themselves. Pam mentioned that Tom Neiss, Mike Pisa and Laurie Thompson were absent.

Carey provided a brief overview of the history and goals of SUNYConnect. He discussed SUNY's relationship with Ex Libris and the implementation of Aleph 500. He identified several topics which are ongoing focuses of this group: SFX, the Union Catalog, ground delivery service, Information Literacy, The Higher Ed Initiative, reference service, storage and the budget.

Approval of Minutes for April 30, 2002

The minutes for the meeting of April 30, 2002 were approved. For the benefit of the new members, Pam explained the procedure for drafting, reviewing and distributing the minutes.

LMS Update

Maureen discussed various issues pertaining to Ex Libris and the migration schedule. Her emphasis was on the differences between the migrations of the Pilots and Group 2 and how their experiences will affect Group3. She explained that during the Group 2 migration, the Office of Library and Information Services assumed more control of the process, including template development, conversion analysis, web opac customization support, and documentation. The OLIS staff also provided its first Intro to Aleph training session and set up review days for Aleph tables. Maureen and the OLIS staff members feel it is noteworthy that they were able to build on the experience of the pilots.

Maureen stated that by mid-July fourteen campuses are expected to be up and running. Meetings have been held with Ex Libris representatives to further streamline the Group3 process. Regarding the migration process, Maureen said that available Ex Libris staff resources for conversion services does have an impact on the number and timing of campus implementation activities. In respect to this, discussion focused on changes to the migration schedule. It was proposed that all dates be removed except those proposed for the upcoming group.

Action Items: Carey agreed to draft a letter to all campuses explaining the modifications to the Group3 schedule. Upon completion of the Group3 migration, the campuses will be asked to respond as to how their schedules will be impacted by these changes.

Maureen will be sending Group3 the MOU which has been distributed to the Directors and the members of SAC.

Below is the report Maureen submitted to this council today:

Aleph LMS Migration Update

Pilots

1. Tompkins Cortland had upgraded to Patch 2 and in now in Ex Libris Support. 2. Problems with the Aleph 14.2 install on the OLIS server has limited the amount of work Fredonia can do to prepare for its migration from Aleph version 12.4 to 14.2.

Group2

1. Onondaga, Broome, and Morrisville switched to production. 2. Cayuga, Cortland and Herkimer are expected to switch to production in June; Upstate Medical in early July. 3. An Aleph tables day was set up through OLIS to aid Group2 campuses in the Aleph configuration setup.

Group3

1. Ex Libris and OLIS staff met in Albany to discuss the implementation for the Group3 migrations. Topics focused on the framework for initial meetings with the sites and gathering appropriate conversion related information for effective formatting of data for migration. Follow-up conversations will need to more fully explore Ex Libris and OLIS staff roles in supporting campuses through the migration process. 2. The implementations will likely start in mid-August. Based on Group2 experiences, a 7-month migration schedule is reasonable. Consequently, switch to production dates will likely take place during Spring 2003 semester. This will add more time to the SUNY wide migration schedule but will provide a more realistic timeframe for the implementations.

Group 4

The current SUNY-wide schedule (last reviewed in March 2002) has Group4 starting implementation in November 2002. This will need to be adjusted to better reflect the amount of time each group will need to work through the implementation process.

Union Catalog

Ex Libris and OLIS staff began work on loading bibliographic records into the prototype union catalog. A number of technical difficulties related to programming scripts and setting appropriate parameters continue to be addressed.

Server Environment

1. ITEC installed the operating system and Oracle on the E6500 server (named WestAleph.sunyconnect.suny.edu). Ex Libris stated they would install Aleph 14.2.4 version on the E6500 server the week of June 10. 2. ITEC, OLIS, and Oswego server site staff met by conference call to begin discussions related to roles and responsibilities for those involved in multi-campus server site support. 3. An Ex Libris DBA met with ITEC, OLIS, and Oswego staff to primarily review Oracle configuration topics as it related to the Aleph software. 4. Ex Libris is scheduled to install a fresh version of Aleph on the OLIS server at the newer 14.2 patch 4 level the week of June 10 5. Ex Libris is scheduled to install the 15.3 version of the Union Catalog software on the OLIS server (the current 15.2 version is considered beta).

Core Database Selection Progress Report

Because of time constraints, Larry agreed to e-mail SAC a progress report about the core database selection. The information he distributed today is below.

1. SLiCAT decided on a 2-step evaluation process, using two instruments developed after reviewing similar documents from other libraries and consortia, e.g., University at Albany, California State University, VIVA (Virginia Virtual Library) and Florida Center for Library Automation. The documents SLiCAT developed incorporate the best features of those from other sources. SLiCAT also used these other sources to help determine what approaches or standards did not make sense in the SUNYConnect environment. 2. The document entitled SUNYConnect E-Resource Selection Criteria will be used in making an initial evaluation of products under review. Products surviving the first cut will be evaluated using the SUNYConnect Electronic Resource Evaluation Worksheet. These documents, which were referenced in a presentation on June 6 at the SUNYLA Annual Conference, are available at http://www.sunyconnect.suny.edu/sunyla2002.htm 3. Databases from the aggregators of principal interest (EBSCO, Gale Group and ProQuest) were made available in trial to SLiCAT by mid-May. 4. SLiCAT met on May 24 to review progress to date and to discuss questions and problems that arose regarding the evaluation process. 5. The next SLiCAT meeting is scheduled for July 10.

Web Site Development

Laura reported that she and Randy have been reviewing the web site. She briefly discussed its two components: the public facet and Footprints.

Action Items: Laura offered to post the recommendations for the web site to this list for review.

There will be a Footprints demonstration at the next SAC meeting.

Announcements

* Pam announced that an RFP for the Delivery Service has been sent out again.

* Randy is in the process of developing a Privacy Training Video.

* Carey explained that ALIS is in discussion with McGraw Hill regarding multi-media instructional materials. He asked if these materials are appropriate for inclusion in SUNYConnect if funding comes from other sources. General discussions regarding the pros and cons of such an approach took place. Carey agreed to update SAC periodically as discussions with McGraw Hill continue.

* Carey discussed the document he sent to Directors asking for responses to the proposed implementation of SFX. Replies are due June 21 and will be reviewed by SAC.

Election of Officers

Pam presented the following nominations:

Janet as Chair; Randy as Vice Chair/Chair Elect; Pam as Secretary. There were no additional nominations. The secretary was instructed to cast one ballot for this slate.

Pam passed the gavel to new Chair, Janet Potter.

Janet expressed her appreciation on behalf of the Council to Pam Peters for her service as Chair and to outgoing members Eleanor Heishman, Mac Holmes and Dick Mann.

Janet presented the following resolution:

Whereas Eleanor Heishman was the founding chair of LASG. the predecessor to SAC, in which capacity she was a vital participant in the creation of a project financial plan that served as a model for SUNYConnect;

And whereas her strong leadership has been instrumental in creating the system-wide, collective environment that characterizes the SUNYConnect project;

Therefore, be it resolved that the SUNYConnect Advisory Council thanks Eleanor for her many years of exemplary leadership that has done so much to shape SUNYConnect, and wishes her well in her retirement. We will miss her.

The Council members expressed their appreciation to Eleanor for all her service.

SAC Meeting Schedule for 2002-2003

The following dates were proposed for the 2002-2003 SAC meetings.

Tuesday, August 6, 2002 Albany Tuesday, October 8, 2002 Syracuse Tuesday, December 3, 2002 Albany (meet with Provost in pm) Wednesday, February 5, 2003 Syracuse Wednesday, March 19, 2003 Albany (meet with Provost in am) Wednesday, June 11, 2003 Syracuse

Adjournment. Respectfully submitted, Pam Peters, Secretary Draft prepared by Connie Perrin (Staff)