Meeting called to order: 1:40 PM at Warwick Public Library
Those present: Chair Pat LaRose (NPY), Mary Ann Quinn (WAR), Linda Caisse (NKI), Julie McBride (PAW), Michelle Gario (ROC), Ann Poulos (PRO), Barbara Bussart (WNS), Jenifer Bond (WES), Beth Johnson (CRA), Dorothy Swain (GVL).  Not in attendance: Mary Skaba (BUR), Becky Turnbaugh (SKI).

Review of minutes from last meeting:  There was discussion about the number of collection/location codes for each library.  The minutes indicated that there would only be 8 per library, but this was thought to be mistaken, that the codes would be renamed but would remain about the same as in Horizon.  We will verify this.

Tentative date for going live is Mid-March 2006.

It was mentioned that in Millenium, if someone anywhere in the system had a patron record open, that record could not be opened anywhere else.

The Millenium OPAC links to the Internet.  Is it possible to disable this link, or will all of our OPACs be vulnerable to people accessing the internet?  Some libraries block web access on pacs.

The Millenium interface (OPAC?) will not sort by date, but you can limit by year.  Also, when you do a search, the date is not listed on the list of results.  You must access each item to find the date.

In the HELIN web opac, a patron cannot place a hold if there is a problem in a record.  In Horizon, staff could place the hold and fix the problem later.  How will this work in Millenium?

In Horizon, you cannot place a hold on an item if the status of the requesting library's copy is "on shelf".  What is the comparison in Millenium?

Rick Payette is responsible for "tweaking" the look of the interface.  He is open to suggestions from this committee.
1) Does all of the adjusting of the interface have to be done before going live?  If not, what must be done before going live, and what can be done later
2) Does each library have the potential to adjust their own look, or will all libraries have identical looks?  This committee would opt for standardizing the look of the OPAC.

Can we open circ and catalog modules at the same time?  Rick thinks that this might require a license for each module.  Does the OPAC also require a license?  If all of this is true, do we have enough licenses for the system?  If  CLAN has purchased 470 licenses (we will be verifying this information), this averages approximately 6 per library. This does not seem to be nearly enough.  Also, how limited are the ports?

How or will Horizon bibliographic numbers migrate?  If not, how long will they stay around? Some libraries have bibliographies that are created with these numbers.

What will we be able to use for negative bar codes?  Will ref staff be able to add to holdings records for items "on order", will that need to be done in cat module?

Reference training:
Pat showed the circ training schedule, with Mary Skaba's note that these sessions are for circ people only. since so many circ people need it, and space is limited.  Ref staff who do circ functions may need training beyond what our committee is looking for for ref people.   Mary Skaba has already offered to help train ref people.  Catalog training might be possible.  Julie McBride will ask Paul Arsenault about cat plans.
Can we ask some of the CIRC and CAT trainers to train reference staff?  Kathy Berrigan and Chris Jeffers were mentioned as possible trainers.

Peter's email to Pat LaRose states that the Steering committee has stipulated that HELIN will help with training for reference staff.  Cindy's email states that this will be in addition to the "train the trainers" that CLAN is working with.

Is HELIN's OPAC similar enough to what we will be using to be worth the effort?  And will this training include the circulation and catalog modules that our reference staff will need to use, or just the OPAC?  Academic reference librarians do not do the same job as public reference librarians, and we need more than just the OPAC to do our job as we have been doing it.

The MARS system in Massachusetts uses III.  Can we send someone to one of their libraries to talk to reference staff and see how it works for them?  Should we possibly ask for assistance from the staff at some of the MARS libraries?

Michelle Gario found information in the online guide for InnoPAC which states there is a staff login to OPAC, but it does not appear to allow you to change anything in records, just view more than the patron can.  To change information, you still seem to have to use the Millenium circulation module.

Are there any people on this committee who would be willing to serve as a trainer for reference staff?  Barbara Bussart volunteered, and Mary Ann Quinn and Michelle Gario both volunteered to work within their area (Mary Ann in the Warwick system, and Michelle in the Providence branches).  Others will consider it, but it is a very large time commitment.

Once trainers are trained, they should create documentation so that everyone is trained equally, similar to what circ and cat trainers are doing.

Are there any children's or young adult librarians that might be interested in joining this committee?  We need input from all who will need to be cross-trained the way that reference staff needs to be.  Pat will post a message soliciting childrens/YA staff for our committee on clanmail.

The next meeting will be Monday, Dec. 12 at 1:30 PM at Warwick Public Library.
We will ask Rick Payette and Bob Aspri from HELIN to attend.

There was a very short discussion on the subject of changing the name of this committee.

We also had a brief discussion about the list of functions that we as reference staff will need to use, and the request that we consider this list between now and the next meeting, and add to it as we come across more functions that we use.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara J. Bussart, Woonsocket Harris Public Library