Tag Archives: December 12

Collections News

The Selection Team (Ellis, Simmons, Toth and Warren) met last week to create a selection plan for the remainder of FY09, given that the materials budget was reduced by 5% at mid-year. About one-time purchases, we discussed developing spending limits per subject, but decided to let the system proceed as is and to monitor spending closely. We’ll meet with Terry and Joy to talk about music purchasing, to better understand why we spend the amount that we do on music. We’d like to know what our peers spend and a bit more about our purchasing spending history. We plan to tighten the reins a bit on DVD purchasing and examine the approval plan profile to crates savings there. With subscriptions, we’ll once again examine serial continuations, standing orders, and databases to identify resources we no longer need.

Alas, all news isn’t bad. We entered into package deal with Sage Publications just before we were asked to reduce our budget. As with several other packages, for a premium over the cost of our subscribed titles (12% = $4455), we receive access to the rest of its journal roster, some 400+ titles. Sage publishes more in the humanities and social sciences than sciences, so we thought this deal would provide strong coverage in areas previous deals somewhat overlooked. This deal was funded mostly through canceling our subscription to Global Books in Print ($3800), a publication kept in-house for use by acquisitions staff. Our thanks to Acquisitions for letting us know they can live without GBIP.

LIS HOLIDAY POTLUCK

happy holidays

Mark your calendars for December 17th, for this year’s LIS Holiday Potluck get-together.

Please bring a snack or dessert to share and your own beverage.  The party starts at 3:00 pm in the Panther Reading Room, on the upper level.

Also, since the library will be closing at 3:00 pm, make sure to bring your ID to get into the front doors.

Update from Database Applications & Systems

Submitted by Chris Norris

Here are some of the projects and tasks that DAS staff members have been working on during the past month…

Mike Schuster
– Ran the SYPAEMH process in production to apply Emergency holds for 394 students
– Modified off campus study, field of study database triggers and package to correctly build the first away term for students with multiple curriculum
– Modified SYPCSCC process for applying class codes to prevent it from including winter credits when calculating current credits and also to only copy specific attributes to future terms
– Worked with Jai Shankar to modify the TSRCBIL FormFusion template to print ‘Do Not Remit’ in a few places on student bills when their total is 0 or a negative amount
– Rewrote the LS Apps by Prior College report
– Diagnosed and fixed a problem where custom database procedures were sending email with a timestamp off by 5 hours.
– Modifications to LS & BLSE Financial Aid online web applications
– Expanded the answer box for the college currently attending question on the LS and BLSE Financial Aid applications
– Added error handling in save supplement procedure to check for nonnumeric characters entered as answers to questions looking for numeric answers
– Added text to top of ls_application and blse_application to tell applicant not to use the enter button.  Changed text for “Save” buttons to “Submit” buttons
– Added text to explanations/special circumstances instructions: “Please limit to 300 characters.”
– Added error handling in save_application procedure to alert user if they didn’t enter a ‘.’ or ‘@’ in their email address
– Created a spec for the MIIS web application.
– Modified Faculty Advisee list SSB form to allow users to email all advisees or selected advisees
– Online Room Draw 2009 modifications
– Several modifications to room draw space maintenance SSB form for residential systems coordinator
– Several modifications to room draw SSB forms for student submitted applications
– Planning conversations with Jeff Rehbach, MBS Books, and Bob Jansen about creating a process to upload course information to the Online Bookstore vendor and modifying the course listing pages to include links to the bookstore software

Rob Pekor
– Put final touches on the Phone-a-thon data interface for College Advancement
– Added keyword descriptor to output filename of the segment data produced
– Enhanced and modified Oracle procedures behind a Hyperion Mailing  report
– Corrected issues with the Volunteer web application (Agents-in-Action) for Annual Giving, problems centered around the field length of the home phone number
– Assisted in fixing problem with online donor roll.
– Created multiple data files for various populations (segments) specified by Annual Giving.
– Analyzing and starting to build specifications for the data feed for the Harris online community project
– Put final touches on the Banner/List-Manager (Broadcast Email tool) integration model with Travis
– This required new function to delineate language school and Bread Load of staff, faculty and students
– Set up volunteer data/assignments for Annual Giving
– Enhanced the Agents-In-Action application to allow input of new ask amounts and assignments
– Created new Oracle package/procedures to allow sending files via FTP from database procedures

Travis Stafford
– Banner/List-Manager Integration project
– Defined types and sub-types
– Defined admin model
– Web Forms
– Supported existing Web Forms
– Ongoing migration of new requests to WPcformsII for BLSE, ACE, RCFIA, HR
– Resolved numerous HEAT tickets and provided support for end-users of online services

Liz Whitaker-Freitas
– Hyperion System 9 Upgrade/Migration
– Resolved several post-migration issues
– Responded to unplanned services outages
– Worked with LIS Staff to develop lab images for new HS9 plugin
– Assisted functional/technical leads with publishing, scheduling and provisioning in new environment
– Researched and resolved connectivity issues with existing queries
– Resolved Oracle Client install issues
– Researched causes of failed jobs
– Tested and deployed Patch/SP
– Cleaned up some custom Roles/Groups
– Worked with Velaris on plan for log archiving
– Resolved report issues (Admissions Data Processing Reports, College Advancement Mailing Reports)
– Other Hyperion
– Trained Tech Lead on how to use derived queries and dashboards
– Trained LS on how to publish and maintain ad-hoc reports
– Processed Hyperion security requests
– Resolved Hyperion HEAT tickets
– Prepared list of services currently being performed by Velaris or Midd staff with recommendations for ongoing support
– Ongoing work for the Lockdown project to change reports using saturn or saturn_midd embedded credentials
– FileMakerPro
– Changed views for Athletics FMP application, troubleshooting issues, change nightly schedules to import view data

Ian McBride (was on CTO for a significant portion of this time)
– Participated in the Web Makeover team meetings and work on the Web Redo project
– Installed a test instance of Drupal CMS for this project
– Finalized the soon-to-be-live new News site for Communications
– Moved all non-CMS web applications off the primary CMS server
– Ongoing work to build out site templates for the New England Review in WordPress
– Developed a web service for system monitoring and backup contacts
– Continued work on a web service API for MiddTube

Chris Norris
– Monitoring and Troubleshooting for Online Services
– Identified and resolved Hyperion issues related to SP1 update
– Researched issue related to Banner INB and IE crashes
– Resolved TouchNet Payment Gateway outages and related issues
– Identified and resolved issues related to recent www –> web forms/services migration
– Monitored Online Course Registration (10 days) and resolved related web issues
– Training and Support for End-Users of Online Services
– Conducted a ListManager-Basics workshop for College Advancement staff
– Conducted a ListManager-Advanced workshop for heavy-use broadcast emailers
– Provided ongoing support for CMS editing, resolved HEAT tickets, answered support calls
– Project Specs / Work Definitions
– Refined Banner List Manager Integration project spec with Travis and Rob
– Helped initiate development of Harris Online Community project spec for Communications
– Completed DAS workgroup SWOT analysis for LIS restructuring efforts
– Revised DAS workgroup goals and objectives for upcoming year
– Ongoing Maintenance & Support
– Processed new GO requests
– Updated Middlebury’s United Way web presence
– Coordinated changes to Monterey’s Online Giving Form
– Reviewed Project Phoenix BIA reports, ongoing planning and specification for remote DR web presence
– Tuned GSA Search to improve keyword matching in search results
– New Projects & Tasks
– Configured SubmissionManager web application for Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference
– Participated in the Web Makeover team meetings and worked on related assigned tasks
– Worked with Advancement and Communications on microphilanthropy test for Organic Garden
– Worked with LIS Budget Administrator to help identify areas for cost reductions
– Worked with LIS Licensing to clarify Hyperion software licensing details
– Worked with LIS Policy Advisor to clarify PCI-compliance status
– Worked with Dean of the College and Directory of Public Safety on new Emergency web site specification
– Vendor Related Activities
– Participated in Sun-Guard/SCT Banner DBA weekly status calls
– Participated in Velaris Hyperion SysAdmin weekly status calls
– Initiated contract re-negotiation with Hyperion SysAdmin vendor (Velaris)
– Transitioned DavisUWCScholars.org and DavisProjectsforPeace.org site management duties to external vendor

End-of-term activities

Cataloging staff and other members of CM met earlier this week in a workshop designed to take a look at CONTENTdm, the software used by the Library to manage its digital collections. Topics covered by presenters Richard Jenkins, Brendan Owens, Brendan Smith, and myself included CONTENTdm functionality, portal development, metadata standards for the lecture archive, and cataloging with the acquisitions station.

A Web session hosted by OCLC on the version 5 CONTENTdm upgrade is being held in LIB145 on Tuesday December 16, from 2:00 – 5:00 pm. The room can probably hold a few more people if you’re interested in attending.

Students from Sight and Sound II and Animation Production screened their work on the evening of December 4th in Dana Auditorium. Links to the online videos will be available soon on the Middlebury Film and Media blog.

MCAB will sponsor six films during JTerm, starting with Mean Girls on the 9th at 7:00 and 10:00 pm in Dana Auditorium. Some films will be shown in the Grille — check the College Calendar for details.

LISt News from Research & Instruction

The Undergraduate Research Office is gearing up again for its spring Student Research Symposium, which is scheduled for April 17, 2009. Students from all classes are invited to present their research, and LIS provides them with both research and technology support. Watch for updates and links to the Symposium web site and LIS support pages.

From Brenda: The end of the term brings the last push to finish papers.  Many econ students have emailed, stopped in, or made appointments for help finding data.  Usually they’ve already looked in the obvious places and crawled the web, so their questions aren’t easy. Sometimes a gov’t or international org. website has some of what they need, but they need earlier years, other countries, another variable, etc.

Then there are the usual students who are looking for books and articles for papers. They are appreciative of the help they get both from librarians helping them to identify resources and from the staff and students in ILL, who get all those resources we don’t have.

One of the highlights of the semester was participating in the Jane Austen Dinner and Dance held for Mary Ellen Bertolini’s FYSE1144 Austen and Film class.  It’s held downstairs in the CFA.  Brenda and Mack joined the students in the class for a catered dinner featuring foods mentioned in the Austen novels and then joined in the country dancing afterwards.  We all had so much fun we didn’t want to stop dancing. See: https://segue.middlebury.edu/view/html/site/fyse1144a-f08