Resources for Users Committee -- Minutes
August 27, 1999 -- 10:00 AM
VCCS Office, James Monroe Building Richmond
Gene Damon, Presiding
Present: Gene Damon, Jacque Dessino, Sharon Gasser, Pat Hausman, Pamela Morgan, Susanna Pathak, Kathy Perry, Jim Rettig, Jane Schillie, Sylvia Rortvedt, & John Walsh.
1. Announcements
Gene announced that he would like to continue the Collection Committee practices of starting and ending on time and of rotating the taking of minutes among the committee members alphabetically.
2. Changes to agenda
IEEE report to be given by John Walsh;
Academic Press renewal update by Sharon Gasser and Kathy Perry.
3. Budget -- K. Perry
Kathy Perry distributed an estimated 1999-00 VIVA collections budget, a financial benefits spreadsheet, and a revised VIVA Fact Sheet.
Kathy reported that VIVA is in the process of receiving the monies originally disbursed to individual public institutions.
John Walsh reported that there should be some additional uncommitted funds available from what had been projected for FirstSearch.
Since most collection funds are already committed, we will probably have limited funds for new projects this year.
4. Status of Proposal for VIVA funding, 2000-2002
Kathy reported that she is working with Carol Pfeiffer and SCHEV on different ways of handling the budget proposal using SCHEV's tables and format.
The proposal includes the base funding, funds for an inflation rate of 8%, and new collection monies for both years. In the Proposal the new money is targeted at distance education and full text for sciences and technology disciplines.
5. Discussion of Committee Organization
A significant portion of the meeting was spent discussing the charge for this Committee in the new VIVA organizational structure.
Key elements of the charge are collection recommendations, assessment, training, and product management. How are we going to implement, coordinate and integrate the various elements of the Committee assignment?
Collection issues discussed included the status of the product management teams, publicity, our relationship to existing products, and long range planning for possible collection development projects.
Kathy Perry announced that Ralph Alberico is chairing an assessment subcommittee of the Steering Committee. His committee has to have a 2-3 page summary for SCHEV by 11/1/1999 and may be hiring a consultant.
Assessment discussion centered on what this committee should be assessing and how to accomplish that assessment. The committee focused on assessing the value and usefulness of VIVA resources.
The possibility of evaluation teams was discussed. The committee could identify, through volunteers or recommendations by directors, a pool of resource consultants who would agree to be available to evaluate products, either new or existing. This pool could include discipline specialists and general reference consultants.
It was moved and seconded (Susanna Pathak, Sharon Gasser) that the committee implement a pilot product review process and that the first product review be done on the Galenet subset of the Gale Group resources. The motion passed. The committee will decide how the evaluation and review will be conducted and how the resource consultants will be identified. The goal of this first product review is to develop a model for the product review process.
The outcome of the Galenet review will be incorporated into next year's Galenet renewal decision. Gene and Kathy will identify the chairperson for the product review.
Training issues discussed included identifying VIVA training needs, identifying the specific training materials needed by VIVA institutions, disseminating training information, the usefulness of vendor training, and the possibility of providing training from within the VIVA community.
Jane Schillie mentioned that the previous User Services Committee had been compiling a list of the basic elements VIVA required of training and trainers, but the project had not been completed.
The Committee discussed the possibility of providing training through a mechanism similar to the product review teams.
An ad hoc committee was formed to look at training:
Jane Schillie, chairperson, Pat Hausman, and Jacque Dessino.
Representation from the Outreach Committee may be requested after the committee has decided on direction and focus.
New product managers were identified. Product managers monitor the product for changes and make sure the committee gets the renewal recommendations on time.
Kathy or Gene will send out a 'job description' for the new members.
Product Assignments:
ABC-CLIO - Pamela Morgan;
ACM - Pat Hausman;
Britannica Online - Jim Rettig;
Cambridge Scientific Abstracts - John Walsh;
Chadwyck-Healey - Susanna Pathak;
CIS - Pamela Morgan;
CIAO - Michael Walker;
Dow Jones - John Tombarge;
FirstSearch - John Walsh;
Galenet - TBA;
HarpWeek - Jim Self;
IDEAL -- Sharon Gasser;
MathSciNet - Pamela Morgan;
Muse - Susanna Pathak;
OED - Jim Campbell;
OVID - Sharon Gasser;
InfoTrac (Searchbank) - Jacque Dessino;
Stat-USA - Sylvia Rortvedt;
6. Report on training sessions held in August
Jane Schillie reported the InfoTrac trainer was new and did not know the product or the audience. The initial OVID training sessions had also not met our expectations. The trainer did respond to suggestions and criticisms. By the third location, the training was receiving positive evaluations. Additional OVID training sessions were scheduled for the week after the meeting.
7. Highwire
Gene Damon reported for Jim Self on the most recent Highwire price quote for the 10 journals that had been identified as of most interest to VIVA in the Highwire collection. Highwire also provided a quote on Annual Reviews and Science Online.
The committee rejected the current proposal and asked that Jim Self pursue the possibility of lower pricing for the 10 journals of greatest interest to VIVA.
8. IAC Biography Resource Center
After questioning how much overlap this product might have with other Galenet resources and whether or not it had finished its initial development phases, the committee decided to fold the review of this product into the Galenet review (see item 5 above).
9. Chadwyck-Healey
Susanna Pathak reported on the offer from C-H for International Index to Music Periodicals Full Text and the International Index to the Performing Arts Full Text. The price quote was based on Chadwyck-Healey's prediction of the number of VIVA institutions that would subscribe individually to the databases and the number of simultaneous users each institution would support.
The Committee felt the price for IMPFT and IIPAFT was too high and the pricing model not one we can support. In addition, the accuracy of their sales predictions for the VIVA market was questioned.
10. OCLC Update
John Walsh reported that the new FirstSearch is not fully implemented. About 2/3 of the features are available and about 1/2 of the databases are available. The software also still has bugs. He will communicate to the VIVA users that it is not really ready.
The new FirstSearch will allow cross database searching. In adding this feature, OCLC has designed it such that the user will be charged one block search for each database included in the cross database search. Because this feature could result in a significant increase in VIVA's FirstSearch costs, perhaps well beyond what VIVA's budget can support, VIVA will not support cross database searching. VIVA institutions will be notified that the FirstSearch administrators must not enable cross database searching when they implement the new FirstSearch.
The committee agreed that FirstSearch access should be turned off for databases now available through OVID. John Walsh will send out a message that FirstSearch administrators must block PsychFirst and CINAHL. ERIC access does not have to be turned off since it is part of the base package and does not use up block searches, and Sociological Abstracts access should already be blocked since we have access through CSA (through 12/31/99).
11. A&I RFP
The OVID databases became available August 15. Sharon Gasser reported that OVID now knows that training is a hot issue for VIVA and they are setting up a training site. The OVID rep will be at the VIVA Users' Group meeting at VLA.
12. Academic Press
Sharon Gasser reported that the actual Academic Press price increase turned out to be 9% rather than the 8% projected earlier. During the discussion, questions were raised about the price split between VIVA and the individual institutions, how the individual institution portion is divided, the value we receive from the product, and whether we want to support the IDEAL pricing model now that there are other options.
The committee approved the current renewal and supported a pricing split that would not increase the dollar amount paid by the individual institution. Sharon Gasser and Kathy Perry will work out the price and budgeting to maintain this commitment. The committee recommended that the IDEAL subscription be reevaluated before the next renewal.
13. Status of recent purchase recommendations
CIAO: Kathy Perry reported that they are working on the contract now. She thinks it will be up by the first of the year.
14. IEEE
John Walsh reported on the IEEE proposal for IEL access.
The pricing model divided the VIVA institutions into tiers. Institutions in tiers 2 and 3 would only be allowed 1 simultaneous user and access would be limited to a workstation within the library only. The final price was much larger then VIVA can support at this time.
The proposal was rejected.
15. Cambridge Scientific Abstracts
The CSA renewal will not include Sociological Abstracts. Access will continue, however, until the end of the year. John Walsh will check with Cambridge to determine if Language and Language Behavior Abstracts, which Cambridge has provided at no extra charge, will continue to be available when CSA is renewed.
16. New Opportunities
Tabled until the next meeting.
17. Next meeting
The tentative meeting schedule is October 22, 1999, November 19, 1999 (if needed), January 21, 2000.
Meetings will normally be held at UVA from 10 am to 2 p.m.