DALNET Details Newsletter

System Work Groups Update

Almost all System Work Groups 2014 have had their initial meeting and have begun carrying out their task of " . . . assessing the system needs of the consortium in their defined areas and to develop a list of criteria for future system selection." At their second scheduled meeting this month, each work group will work on completing a list of criteria to be included in forthcoming member surveys to assess the criteria. Work groups will also give their input to the DALNET office about how the surveys should be designed to both assess the importance of listed criteria to member institutions and to gauge the perceptions of how well members' current systems meet the identified criteria.

Anyone that wants to keep up with all of the work that each group is doing can access meeting notes, conference call recordings, and other materials in the Committee section of the Member Website here. [Login Required]

Enterprise/Portfolio Upgraded

The DALNET shared Enterprise/Portfolio catalog was successfully upgraded to the latest release at the end of March. The release incorporates minor new features and bug fixes. Of note, members using the system may now sign up to accept online fine and fee payments from patrons using the system. For a nominal annual fee and minor charges libraries can now contract to use ProPay for accepting secure online credit card payments that are credited instantly to patron accounts. For more information or to sign up please contact Steven Bowers in the DALNET office.

Shared eBook Collection Task Force

The DALNET Shared eBook Collection Task Force is scheduled to have its first meeting, via conference call, from 2-4 PM on Tuesday, April 22. To prepare for their meeting, task force members are reading several articles about consortiums and ebook collections. This member-driven task force will be exploring the interest, feasibility, cost models, and other aspects of creating a shared ebook collection within DALNET for members that wish to participate. They will likely also discuss other ways that DALNET may explore shared collection development within the consortium. Anyone else that wishes to take a look at the articles that the task force will be reading can view them in the Committee section of the Member Website here. [Login Required]

Shared System Test Database

As noted in last month's Reports training, the Horizon Shared System Test Database is online and once again accessible for member use. The test database is a great way to try out functionality, do internal training, run reports, or perform other risky tasks that you may not want to try out live first in the production database. That's what the test database is for! Anyone interested is configuring a connection for using the test database should contact George Marck in the DALNET office for further information.

A simple reply to any email from the DALNET Help Desk FootPrints system will update your help desk case automatically, without the need to login to the help desk system online.

April 2014