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LU centerenceNOPL connects

Terwlnal ElnulatorsUN Update

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calendarUPAC Questions Answered

UN aailllJ ReportSOLUUET Workshops

UN Workstation Hintsmls Release 5.2Navlgatr Screen

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mEditor: Lii Beene

WHAT A YEAR!by Ralph Boe’, LOUIS Project Director

I would like to congratulate everyone whohas played a part in the successfulimplementation of the Louisiana OnlineUniversity Information System (LOUIS)and the Louisiana Library Network(UN). These projects stand as models forthe state and the nation. The cooperationand initiative from so many individualsand institutions have made 1994 the mostproductive year for automating Louisianaacademic library holdings and for provid-ing Internet access to Louisiana publiclibraries. The State Library of Louisiana,academic and public Louisiana libraries,higher education computer centers, andthe State Office of Telecommunicationsare to be congratulated for their accom-plishments.

During 1994, the LOUIS Phase II institu-tions (Northwestern State University,Louisiana State University at Shreveport,McNeese State University, DelgadoCommunity College, and Louisiana StateUniversity at Alexandria) had their OCLCholdings and authority records loaded intothe NOTIS Library Management System(LMS) running on the LSU mainframe.The initial data conversion meetings wereheld in November, 1993 and the last grandopening ceremony was held in November,1994 to mark the completion of theLOUIS Phase II installation.

The Louisiana NOTIS Users GroupMeeting, which was held at LouisianaTech University, was a success again this

See Yew on page 3

LAPLEASELOUISIANA PusLlcL I B R A R I E S EL E C T R O N I CA C C E S S SE M I N A Rby Zeezee Cumin

An enthusiastically welcomed and highlyappreciated five-day seminar on accessingthe Internet, called LaPLEASE, was heldon Jan 3 - Jan 7.1995 in Baton Rouge bythe School of Library and InformationScience (SLIS), at LSU. Representativesfrom sixty-one parish libraries and theState Library attended the seminar.

The LaPLEASE seminar was the result ofa $30,000 U.S. Dept. of Education grantwritten by Dr. Connie Van Fleet and Dr.Danny P. Wallace, SLIS faculty members.It was conducted by Drs. Van Fleet,Wallace, Barry (SLIS faculty), CarolGramman (Computer Resource Coordina-tor, SLIS), Sara Taffae (AutomationConsultant, State Library) and membersof the LOUIS staff.

The topics covered the theoreticalbackground of the Internet and hardwareand software configurations in thetelecommunications and PC environment.For many of the attendees it was their firstlook at the “innards” of a PC. Managing,assessing, and evaluating the electronicresources, and navigating the networkwere discussed in the seminar and werefollowed with hands-on exercises in thelab. The lab sessions were very popularand on special request, more lab time wasprovided. Field trips were made to LSU’sSystem Network Computer Center and to

See L.uPL.EASE on page 4

OPAC GRAND OPENINGSLaird

Four institutions have recently come onboard LOUIS. Northwest-em, LSU-A, McNeese, and Delgado held the grand openings oftheir OPACs last fall.

Northwestern’s grand opening of their OPAC GENIE was held onOctober 4. Julie McInnis won the campus-wide contest to name thenew online catalog. On November 7, LSU-A’s online catalog ALECwas presented before a large audience including twenty-eight localmayors. Their ceremony consisted of a ceremonial tossing of thecard catalog.

McNeese’s online catalog FRED (FRazer Electronic Data) joinedLOUIS on November 11. For the grand opening, OPACs werecovered and dramatically unveiled when a cord was pulled.

On November 30, Delgado’s online catalog ISAAC was presented.Dr. James A. Caillier, System President for Board of Trustees, wasone of the featured speakers at their ribbon cutting ceremony. Leji to right: Dr. Edward W. Graham (Vke President for Academic

Affairs), Dr. Martha Henderson (Coordinator of Library Automa-tion), Dr. Ada D. Jarred (Director of Libraries), and Dr. Robert A.Akxt (President-Northwestern State University)

Congratulations to these institutions! With the grand openings ofthese four academic libraries, Phase II of the LOUIS project iscomplete, and the total number of academic institutions on theOPAC is now twelve.

LSU-A. Left to right: Floyd Bennett, Mrs. Marilyn James, Mrs. McNeese State University Library Directors. Left to right: RuthBeverly Beebe, Mrs. Yvonne Vanmol, Dr. Anna Burns (Director), Mrs. Reedy (Director til’ 1980), Nancy Khoury (Director 1991 tilMary Connell, and Ms. Pam Deloach. present), Richard Reid (Director 1980-1988)

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LOUIS WELCOMES CATHY

Cathy Sicard has been working at Administrative Information Systems at LSU for the past 7 years. She received a Bachelor ofScience in Education from LSU. Cathy was responsible for providing system support to users on campus, investigating and correct-ing system problems, and making user requested enhancements to online and batch applications. Her most recent accomplishmentwas reengineering the Admissions system. As a member of the Admissions project team, she gained extensive knowledge ofdatabase technology including design, implementation and maintenance of mainframe systems. Cathy has also coordinated andconducted training sessions in SAS for other computer analysts at AIS.

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LUI C O N F E R E N C E SC H E D U L E Dby Lisa Beene

Louisiana Internet users now have a conference to call their own - LUI (Louisiana User’s of the Internet). LUI will be held on June 1 and 2at the Hilton in Baton Rouge. This two-day event will be for educators, administrators, librarians, computer professionals, state agencypersonnel, or anyone interested in learning more about providing and using Internet services. Some of the subjects to be cover-ed include: WWW and Gopher Servers - starting and maintaining: Internet Use Policies at Public and School Libraries: Domain NameServers; Info Louisiana; Impact of Our Expanded Community; and The Future of the Internet.

LUI is cosponsored by the State Library of Louisiana and LOUIS. Registration forms and information will be available at LLA or can beobtained after LLA from the State Library by phoning Shatilynn Aucoin at (504) 3424939 or mailing requests to Sharilynn Aucoin, StateLibrary of Louisiana, PO. Box 131, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0131.

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year with over one hundred participantsattending the function in Ruston. Sixtyacademic personnel from I+UISinstitutions attended another productivemeeting, the Systems Administrator’sMeeting, in January at McNeese.

The NOTIS LMS release 51.2 isscheduled to be released in the firstquarter of ‘95, and the hardware to loadthe Wilson indexes has recently arrived.PACLink, which makes the NOTIS LMS239.50 compliant, and the TAG havebeen implemented. This will afford usthe opportunity to define the GramblingState University OPAC and other 239.50OPACs on the LOUIS menu. LouisianaTech implemented Circulation this pastfall, Nicholls implemented Circulation inJanuary, and Northeast, UN0 andMcNeese plan to implement Circulationwhen the NOTIS LMS release 5.2 isavailable.

We are looking forward to loading thedata for the Phase III LOUIS institutions(Southern Shreveport-Bossier, LouisianaState University at Eunice, Southern NewOrleans, and Nunez Community College)later this year.

The implementation of the LLN com-menced with a meeting in Lake Charleswith the Library Southwest organizationin June. During the summer months nineacademic institutions (Northwestern StateUniversity, Louisiana Tech University,Northeast Louisiana University, Louisi-ana State University at Alexandria,Louisiana State University at Eunice,McNeese State University, LouisianaState University, Southeastern LouisianaUniversity, and Nicholls State University)volunteered to function as regional hub

sites to provide Internet access to publicand school libraries in their geographicalareas. Because of the actions of theregional hub sites, the public and schoollibraries are saving an enormous amountof money in circuit costs. Beginning inAugust, hardware and communicationlines were ordered, configured, installed,and implemented at the regional hub sitesand the public libraries. Each regionalhub site and sixty-one of the sixty-sixpublic libraries and the State Library ofLouisiana were operational before theend of 1994.

The database selection committee metfrom February to September evaluatingvendors to access full-text databases.The decision to contract with UMIthrough the Dynix Vista search enginefor Periodical Abstracts (Library edition),Periodical Abstracts (Research IIedition), ABI/INFORM, and NewspaperAbstracts for twenty-seven newspaperswill provide Louisiana patrons with full-text to over 800 journals from January,1995 through December, 1995.

The LOUIS staIf traveled over 3,CKKlmiles during the month of August tointroduce the public library staff to theLLN implementation strategy. Another5,000 miles were traveled by the staff toinstall hardware and software at eachpublic library site, and an additional5,000 miles were traveled to ten trainingsites. Over two hundred public librarystaff members attended two-day trainingclasses on the use of LOUIS, the Internetand accessing full-text from Vista. Iwould like to thank the librarians fromLouisiana State University, McNeese,Louisiana Tech, Southeastern andNicholls who helped the LOUIS stafftrain the public library staff.

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All of the public libraries participating inthe LLN have also been provided e-mailaccounts by one of the following univer-sities: Northwestern State University,Northeast Louisiana University, Louisi-ana Tech University, University ofSouthwestern Louisiana, University ofNew Orleans, Southeastern LouisianaUniversity, Nicholls State University, andLouisiana State University. A great big“thank you” is in order for these univer-sities.

The LOUIS statf has only provided thepublic libraries with the technology andtools to access a multitude of data. It isthe responsibility of each library to learnwhere appropriate data for its patrons is‘hidden.” By providing this type ofaccess to sixty-six highly motivated andcreative staffs, with unique environmentsand constraints, I am expecting numer-ous suggestions to materialize. Some ofthese ideas may need further investiga-tion by the LOUIS staff, but we do notintend to impede research. Many spin-off projects will evolve from this initialinvestment and I would like Louisiana tobe in a position to sham its findings andaccomplishments on a national level.Librarians in each library should alwaysbe ready to publicize their ability toprovide valuable information to patronsat a reasonable cost.

1994 has been characterized as a year ofcooperation and was dedicated toplanning and building a foundation forthe future. This year will be a year fordiscoveries. Let’s make the most of1995 and help Louisiana take a leader-ship role in the information age!

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NEW ORLEANS PUBLIC CONNECTS TO LLNby Elisabeth A. KonradHead, Technical S&vices, NOPL

The New Orleans Public Library had justcompleted a system upgrade to a Sequentmainframe, which supports the TCP/IP(Internet) protocol, when we werenotified about the LOUIS grant award.When the options for connecting NOPLto the Internet were presented, we werein a position to connect our mainframe tothe LOUIS router thereby allowing us250 access points, one for each of ourterminals and dial-up lines. Our routerwas installed in mid-June, and it tookabout three weeks for us to get thesoftware necessary to present a “userfriendly” Internet menu to our staff. Thisis the Gateways module provided byAmeritech Library Services. Severalmembers of our staff who had priorInternet experience located severallibraries and databases which they feltwould be of interest to our stalI and,later, our patrons. Our users connect tothe Internet simply by selecting thedesired site from a menu. Throughoutthe summer, we gave numerous work-shops to the staff outlining the resourcesof each of the various databases. OnLabor Day, we opened our gateways tothe public.

Since we are primarily using “dumb”terminals, it has been a challenge to findsources which support ‘dumb” orWyseSO emulation. They are out there,although they are few and far between.ThisisoneofthereasonsthatUMIdatabases have been such a hit -terminals, dumb or smart, can handle thedisplay through the Vista interface.

We’re glad to have access to full-textonce again. We’ve had the IAC databaseloaded inhouse since 1991 but werebeginning to suffer from disk overcrowd-ing as we added full-text. Now, we haveour full-text access again and disk spaceto spare.

Two gateways we are eager to add to ourmenu are the Greater New Orleans Free-Net and the Government Printing Office.The GNO Free-Net was incorporated oneyear ago and is currently developing itscommunity databases and electronicconnections within the City. As for theGPO gateway, in just a few weeks wewill be able to offer online access to theFederal Register, Enrolled Bills, and theCongressional Record!

We have not yet begun to give trainingsessions for the public other than forthose curious dozen or so who “crash”the staff training sessions; that’s on ouragenda for this year. Most of our patronsjust “surf ‘n learn”; some have travelledto Finland and back. Our most enthusias-tic responses have come from our dialaccess patrons who are generally ourmore sophisticated users. In fact,gateways had been available barely 10minutes before being discovered! We’veheard such comments as: “cool”,“welcome to the 21st century”, and “fine,now when will we be able to do filetmnsfers.” Looks like we’ve got ourwork cut out for us for a long time tocome!

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the Office of Telecommunications. All the sessions had lively discussions on theimpact of the Internet, not only on the library patron but the library staff and adminis-tration as well.

As a result of the introductory training provided by the LOUIS staff during the last twomonths of ‘94, and the exposure to the different components of the Internet providedby LaPLEASE, the public librarians are now poised to accept responsibility and aleadership role in the use of the Information Super Highway.

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TE R M I N A L EM U L A T O R Sby John Guillory

Emulators are software applications thatrun on your personal computer to enableit to talk to the IBM mainframe. So ifyou have a PC on your desk and want toreach the LOUIS mainframe, you needan emulation program and a networkingcard like an ethernet card, token ringcard, or coax card

There are many advantages to installinga LAN in your library. From one PC, atechnical services staff can searchOCLC, export to GTO, retrieve therecord in NOTIS and compare the recordto the original OCLC record; ILL staffcan search OCLC, print records, andinitiate ILL tasks; acquisitions staff cansearch OCLC and export to GTO. Also,you can centralize the printer and sharefiles by using a file server and allpersonnel can send and receive mail overthe LAN.

Before you acquire the hardware andsoftware you’ll need to network yourlibrary, you should plan now to spend theextra money to equip your departmentwith PCs instead of additional dumbteminals. When you do, you’ll need aemulator that supports two basic techni-cal services functions: file transfer usingIBM’s IND$FlLE file transfer protocoland the ALA character sets. IND$FILEis IBM’s protocol to transfer files fromthe mainframe to your computer. Itenables the mark/print and mark/sendfeatures of the NOTIS OPAC.

However, you don’t always need tosupport the ALA character sets-let’s sayit’s a public access PC in reference, not astaff terminal. In this case PC3270emulation will do. It supports theIND$FILE protocol but not the ALAcharacter sets, which the public probablydoesn’t need to see. PC3270 is IBM’sstandard terminal emulation which costsabout $700 per PC for the coax, boardand software. You can buy cheaperversions, but IBM’s is well-known,reliable, and your computer services staffmay already be familiar with it.

Alternatively you can buy YTERM.Version 4.0 for DOS claims to support

See Emulaton on page I1

LLN UPDATEby Sum Zimmerman

Whew! Can you believe we actuallymade it through 1994? We began theyear with a piece of paper (worth$2.48M) that had to be understood,researched, investigated, presented,explained, refined, configured, pro-grammed, and implemented, and endedup with a state-wide library system to beenvied by anyone. Sixty-six publiclibraries networked with PCs, software,icons, routers, DSUs, 56kb circuits,regional hub sites, E-Mail support sites,training, training, and more training. Notto mention all the phone calls andtelephone tag. Everyone involveddeserves a pat on the back. You haveeach embraced this project in yourindividual libraries and are now excitedabout the future and set to move forwardinto the electronic information age andprovide a much needed service to yourpatrons.

Of the sixty-six sites, sixty-one are “up”meaning they have their circuit in placeand connected to their workstation ormainframe. Vernon Parish is the onlystand-alone parish not “up”; they arewaiting for the new building to be

completed. Of the mainframe sites,Beauregard is also waiting for the newbuilding; Lafayette and St. Mary are stillworking toward getting their hardwareand software in place. Bossier willbecome a new remote site until their newsystem is implemented.

Some up and running mainframe sitesstill cannot access the LOUIS librariesbecause of 3270 emulation problems.This is a major focus for us to resolve inthe near future. Other issues we willcontinue to hold dear are determining e-mail capabilities on a permanent basis,and evaluating the electronic database useand needs for the future.

In mid-April, LLN Parish participantswill be receiving evaluations forms forthe public and/or staff workstations.These will be used to gauge user satisfac-tion with the equipment and software.Also, around the end of May, all thepeople who participated in the LLNTraining pre-test will be sent a post-test.

We have begun the K-12 portion of theLLN project and have begun orderingcircuits for the schools. These schoolswill be given the same configuration thatparish libraries received and are required

to abide by the same constraints. If aschool wishes to expand the networkthey must contact the LOUIS Office andthe Regional Hub. Additionally, if aschool currently has a network in placeand wishes to expand that network, theschool must accept all responsibility forthe network and hardware/software on it.

The schools selected are BenjaminFranklin High, Thibodaux High,Hammond High, Natchitoches CentralHigh, McDonogh #35 Senior High,Ruston High, Tara High, AlexandriaSenior High, Lakeshore Elementary,Mangham High, A.M. Barbe High,Haughton High, Central Lafourche High,Crowley High, Logansport High,Franklinton Junior High, MandevilleMiddle, Southside Elementary School,and Tioga High. Lines have beenordered for ten school libraries and weexpect to start installing the PC worksta-tions at the school libraries in March.

P.S. Now that you feel comfortable usingyour PC, please begin training other staffmembers. It’s always a good idea tohave at least two people that know howto operate the workstation.

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Greek Affairs of LSU sponsored Taste ofthe Tiger, a food sampling fair last fall.The proceeds of the charity project wereintended “to benefit the greatest numberof LSU students,” said the Director ofGreek Affairs Kathy Marcel. Taste of theTiger raised about eight thousand dollarsand the funds were donated to MiddletonLibrary. The money purchased 2 new PCworkstations and 5 printers at whichstudents and faculty will have access tothe Internet (using Gopher and WWW)and 800 journals of full-text articles fromUMl through Dynix Vista. The PCs willbe stationed in Middleton ReferenceDepartment.

Taste of Tigerfund-raiser results in donation for LSU’s Middleton Library. Pictured during the check presentation are (lefi to right): JenniferCargill (Dean of LSU Libraries), Ralph Boe’ (LOUIS Project Director), Dianne Carney (Co-Chair of Greek Steering Committee), Conrad Smith(Member of Greek Steering Committee), Amy Lewis (Treasurer), Kathy Marcel (Director of Greek Affairs), and Dr. William L. Jenkins (fice-Chancellor & Provost).

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DATABASE ACCESS STATUS REPORTby Carolyn Coca

The $2.48 million Department ofEducation grant which funded theLouisiana Library Network includesfunding for statewide access to full-textjournal databases. Access to the data-bases is provided to 103 sites ma& up ofacademic, public and school libraries inLouisiana.

As you may recall from the last LOUISNewsletter article which discussed thedatabases (vol. 2, no. 3, page 2), ourcommittee found that the best option forproviding statewide access is to use theDynix Vista search engine, using theInternet to telnet to the Dynix mainframein Provo, Utah. Dynix has worked veryhard over the last few months to meet themany demands of setting up access for103 sites with various needs, and arecontinuing to help the LOUIS staffimprove this product. The technology foraccessing commercial full-text data viathe Internet is in its infancy. Once again,LLN finds itself in the position of blazingnew trails in the library world!

On February 24, Ralph Boe’ and I will begiving a presentation at the COD1(Customers of Dynix, Inc.) conference inSalt Lake City, Utah. We hope not onlyto publicize the work that all of us inLouisiana are doing, but also to encour-age other states to fotm similarconsortiums. We will also be meetingwith Vista staff in order to discusssuggestions gathered from academic andpublic librarians regarding the Vistaproduct.

Following is a list of the databasescurrently available through Vista, adescription of the database, and the statusof each:

UMI’s Periodical Abstracts, Libraryedition (full-text included): Providesabstract-and-index coverage of over 500general reference publications, plusASCII full-text articles from over 150 ofthose journals. Coverage dates vary fromjournal-to-journal, although the earliestcoverage for full-text articles begins in1992. A sampling of journals with full-text article coverage includes: Car &Driver, Harper’s, Industry Week,MacLean’s, Mother Earth News, Parents,People Weekly, Sports Illustrated, andlime.

UMI’s Periodical Abstracts, ResearchII edition (full-text included): Providesabstract-and-index coverage of over 1,600general reference and research-orientedpublications, plus ASCII full-text articlesfrom over 450 of those journals. Cover-age dates vary from journal-to-journal,although the coverage for full-text articlesbegins in 1992. A sampling of scholarlyjournals which include full-text coverageincludes: Art Journal, Economist, EnglishJournal, Journal of Marketing,Kiplinger’s, Omni, Online, PsychologyToday, and World Press Review.

UMI’s ABI/Inform (indexes now, soonto be full-text): As we go to press, theABI/Inform indexes are currentlyavailable, and Dynix is beginning to loadthe full-text data gradually over the

coming month. They expect to befinished with the load for this databaseby the end of February. It providesabstract-and-index coverage of over1,000 business journals, including 350published outside of the United States. Itwill also include ASCII full-text articlesfrom over 530 of those journals. Cover-age dates vary from journal-to-journal,although the earliest coverage for full-text articles begins in 1991.

UMI’s Newspaper Abstracts (indexonly): Dynix expects to load this indexby mid March. This includes abstracts“virtually cover-to-cover” of articlesfrom 27 national newspapers, includingNew York Times, Chicago Tribune, LosAngeles Times, and the Wall StreetJournal.

American Heritage Electronic Dictio-nary: Currently available. Providesinformation on over 200,OfKl defmitionsand includes alternate spellings, abbre-viations, related words, parts of speech,and word origins.

If you have any questions or commentsregarding the Vista search software or theUMI databases, please e-mail me atcoco@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu or call at 504/388-3722. I am particularly interested incomments about the software that I canpass along at the COD1 conference inFebruary, and in any success stories youmight have to tell about how the datamay have helped you or your patrons.Thank you!

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In a few months, we will be using the NOTIS Infoshate software to load Wilson Indexes onto the RS/6000 at LSU. We areplanning to utilize the new Silverplatter ERL databases in order to accomplish this goal. Databases which will be loaded are:

Wilson’s Biological and Agricultural IndexWilson’s Education Index.

In addition, we plan to load the following databases after the Wilson Indexes are operational:

Compendex and Inspec: Grant money has recently been obtained for access to these databases for thesix Louisiana Universities with Schools of Engineering.

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NUGMNOTIS USERS’ GROUPMEETINGby ZueZee Zumin

Representatives from Phase I and Phase II libraries attended NUGM’94 in Chicago onOtt 27-29,1994. This was the first time that such a large contingent from Louisianaattended and actively participated.

‘Planning and Implementing a Statewide Consortium’ was presented by Ralph Boe’,John Guillory, and ZeeZee Zamin. ‘Developing Synergism for a Consortium’ waspresented by Ralph Bee’, Kay Adams (SLU), and Glenn Manino (UNO). ‘GTO in aConsortium Environment’ was presented by Nancy Nuckles (LSU-BR). Carolyn Cocahad a Poster Session titled ‘Something for Everyone: Choosing Databases for theDiverse Needs of a Statewide Network’.

As NUGM ‘94 was being held in late October, the organizers decided to have Hallow-een as the theme for the evening reception. The Louisiana contingent decided to go asMardi Gras revellers, wearing the LOUIS t-shirts, beads, masks, and playing ‘As TheSaints Go Marching In’ on kazoos. Mike DiCarlo and Nancy Nuckles, selected bysecret balloting over LaLINC-L, reigned as King and Queen of the motley krewe.There is no doubt that the impact of the group was felt by all, and it was greatlyenhanced when Paul Sybrowsky, President of Ameritech Library Services, was made anhonorary member of the krewe, and led the parade, enthusiastically throwing beadsfrom a balcony. Surprisingly we won the prize for the Best Group Effort We arepositive that having Mike DiCarlo as one of the judges did not sway their decision atall! Not a bit! Photographs of the Louisiana group can be viewed on the Internet. Theaddress on WWW is ‘http://netpub.notis.com/ISC327’.

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LANUGMLOUISIANA NOTIS USERS'GROUP MEETING

ZeeZee Zumin

LaNUGM took place on November l&l994 in Ruston at Louisiana Tech University.There was a total attendance of 102 people from Phase I, II, and III libraries, LSUMedical Center (Shreveport), and Tulane University.

Mike DiCarlo, the current President of LaNUGM, made excellent arrangements. Itbegan with a general welcome session, where each institution gave a short status report.Then break away sessions took place on Cataloging, Serials, ILL, System Administu-a-tors, Collection Development, OPAC/Bibliographic Instruction, Acquisitions, Autbori-ties, and Circulation. It ended with another general session. Ralph Boe’, addressed thelast session and gave an overview of the current status and future directions of theLOUIS project.

April 9-15 National Library WeekApril I4 Holiday-LOUIS Office

closed (Easter)April 21 Authorities Training

for Phase III Librarians -Baton Rouge

April 28 Parish LibraryAdministators Meeting -Lafayette

MAYPost-Test Given for Evaluationof LLN Training

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NICHOLLS BRINGS UPCIRCULATIONby Mary L.aird

Nicholls State University implemented the circulation module of the NOTIS system onJanuary 17. Elizabeth Doolittle, System Administrator of Ellender Memorial Library,says the staff is “pleased to take full advantage of all features that NOTIS has to offer.”Deannie Melancon, Head of Circulation, reports they are now entering course reservematerials and continuing to barcode. With circulation at Nicholls, the number ofacademic libraries with the NOTIS circulation module is now at four - LSU-BR, LSU-Law, Southeastern, Louisiana Tech, and Nicholls.

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FEBRUARY

Feb. 22-24 COD1 Conference(Customers of Dynix,Inc.) - Salt Lake City

Feb. 28 Matdi Gras Holiday -LOUIS office closed

MARCH

March 1 Circuits installation atK- 12 sites

March 8-10 LLA Conference -Lafayette

March I7 OPAC Training forPhase III Librarians -Baton Rouge

March 23-24 CatalogingiLSYSTraining for Phase IIILibrarians-Baton Rouge

March 31 Phase III hardwareinstalled

APRILForms Distributed to LLN Sites

for Patron Evaulation

June I-2 LUI Conference(Louisiana Users ofthe Internet) -Baton Rouge

June 22-29 ALA-Chicago

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LANUGM OPAC SESSION: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!Coca

On November 18th, LaNUGM was held in Ruston on the Louisiana Tech campus. For a summary of LaNUGM events, see the“LaNUGM 1994” article in this newsletter. LOUIS staff members were present at many of the sessions, and one of the sessions Iattended was the OPAC session. Many good questions were raised, and the following is an attempt to answer and share them withthose who attended as well as with others who may have the same questions!

1. DIACRITICS: Why do diacritics work at some LOUIS sites and not at others?

A: Diacritics are the punctuation marks for foreign language materials found in bibliographic records when viewed on an ALAterminal (IBM 3 15 1, model 862). Two examples are the German “umlaut*’ or the French “accent grave.” For most sites (except forLSU-A and Northwestern which mysteriously had no problem) whose data was loaded using the NOTIS LBC30 program into theLSU mainframe, these records which should have included diacritics did not. Instead, other “strange” characters were inserted inplace of the diacritics, or the diacritics were left out entirely. Members of both the LOUIS and NOTIS staffs tried, but were unable topinpoint the reason why diacritics did not load properly... possibly a shortcoming with the LBC30 software. At any rate, for therelatively small number of records that were affected, coupled with the huge amount of effort it would take to rectify the problem (wewould have to re-load each site’s data), it was decided that it would not be feasible to try to rectify these errors. Also, if we reloaded,any edits to records that have been made since the initial load would be lost.

The lack of diacritics in staff records has not caused as much of a problem as the lack of special characters in records viewed inOPAC, which were left out of some foreign language records altogether. Special characters are actual foreign language alphabetic-type characters (as opposed to diacritics), such as the “a” and “e” combined character. Unlike diacritics, if the special character occursat the beginning of a search phase, it may change the way the patron would need to search the record in the OPAC, thus retrieving nohits when there should be one.

If these errors are causing problems for any given record, there IS a way to correct it. A cataloger can find that same record on OCLC,download it through GTO, and overlay it on top of the flawed record. Diacritics and special characters DO work properly on ALAterminals for records that have been GTO’d to the database.

2. CIRC MESSAGE: For sites which do not have their items available for NOTIS circulation, the phrase “circ. info not available”appears under the status column. Patrons are often confused by this. Can this message be changed from site to site?

A: The short answer to this is, “no, it can’t be changed from site to site, but it could be changed globally for all sites.” The longanswer, however, is a little more complicated...

This cite message is the NOTIS default message which is embedded in the NOTIS LMS program. The code for this part of theprogram is extremely lengthy, and this circ phrase is embedded in several parts of it. Each time that we receive an LMS upgrade fromNOTIS (about twice a year), this same default phrase would need to be changed in all parts of the code. So far our policy with thisphrase, as well as with others which would be equally time-consuming to maintain, is to keep the default phrase which NOTISsupplies whenever possible.

If there is a consensus among a majority of LOUIS libraries 1. on a replacement message and 2. that the maintenance of a replace-ment message should be made a priority over other tasks, then we need to know! I encourage any of you who feel strongly about thisto discuss suggestions over this LALINC-L discussion list to see if there is agreement on these two issues... we’re open to your ideas!

One last note...as more of the LOUIS libraries bring up NOTIS Circulation at their sites, fewer sites will be using this default phrase,as it will be replaced with phrases that give the actual circulation status for each individual piece. This permanent solution is onewhich is most satisfying in the long run, and one that we hope will be the norm for LOUIS libraries as we move beyond OPAC andCataloging functions.

3. RESETTING TERMINALS: For most LOUIS OPAC terminals, patrons use the “reset” key in order to unlock the keyboard, andalso in at least one case (Tech), where they use IBM 3154’s as OPACs, patrons must hit “cntrl+ r” in order to reset terminals. How-ever, for both types of dumb terminals, the reset command does not take you to the home position (the position where you can begintyping). It merely “unlocks” your terminal and enables you to use either the arrow key or tab key to move the cursor into place in

c o n t i n u e d o n next puge

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TRAINING, TRAINING, AND MORE TRAININGLi sa Beene

Library personnel from across the statereceived LLN Training during the lastquarter of ‘94 and fiit quarter of ‘95.The two-day sessions covered LOUISCatalogs, Dynix Vista, Windows,Gophers, and the World Wide Web.

The first day usually consisted ofLOUIS, Vista, and Windows training.Participants learned how to access anduse the LOUIS catalogs and VISTAdatabases using Windows icons. Forsome, this was their first introduction tothe “mouse.” Using the game of solitaireto illustrate mouse techniques, proved tobe quite popular! This game and thetutorial are located in the applicationswindow and solitaire can be removed

after people become familiar withWindows.

Gopher and the World Wide Web werecovered on the second day. Accessing,manipulating, and just plain findinginformation was explained and illus-trated. We were amply able to illustratethe problems and frustration sometimesexperienced when exploring the Internet.On the other hand, we were also able toshow some of the wonderful sources ofinformation like the CIA World Factbook1994 or the Genealogy Help and Guidespage.

The LOUIS staff would like to thank thefollowing libraries for hosting these

workshops: LSU, Lincoln, Allen,Ascension, WBR, DeSoto, Franklin, RedRiver, Concordia, St. Tarnmany, Iberville,and Jeff Davis. These workshops couldnot have happened without your assis-tance with equipment, meeting rooms,staff, and of course refreshments! Aspecial thanks to the participants at theAscension workshop in Donaldsonville,for being patient with all our technicalproblems.

We would also like to thank theseacademic librarians who assisted inteaching: Nancy Nuckles, Joe McNeill,Elizabeth Doolittle, Mike DiCarlo, andGentry Lankewicz.

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LOUISIANA SOLINET WORKSHOPS SCHEDULED FOR WINTER, 1995

Format Integration (Phase I)This half-day workshop focuses on whatformat integration is (and what it is not),changes in tagging practices for variablefields, and documentation available. In-class exercises will be given.Participants: Professional and parapro-fessional cataloging staff.Cost: $40 SOLINET Members ($30early registration), $60 Non-SOLINETand FEDLINK ($50 early registration).Dates, Sites, and Times: Mon., Feb. 13,Tulane University, New Orleans, 1 PM to

4 PM. AND Thurs., Feb. 23, LouisianaTech, Ruston, 1 PM to 4 PM.

Cooperative Collection DevelopmentThis workshop will present an overviewof cooperative collection developmentand its impact on individual librarymanagement.Participants: Anyone who mightparticipate in or be affected by collabora-tive decisions affecting local collections,to include bibliographers, referencelibrarians, collection development

librarians, and others with responsibilityfor collection maintenance.Cost: $110 SOLINET Members ($100early registration), $160 Non-SOLINETand FEDLINK ($150 early registration).Dates, Sites, and Times: Tues., Mar. 3,University of New Orleans, 9 AM to 4PM.

For registiation information, contactJulie Sherlund, Solinet WorkshopPlanner, l-800-999-8558, ExL 236.

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Questionssont. from pg. 8order to get to the home position afterresetting. Can this be changed?

A: No, unfortunately. This is a limitationto the current IBM (and IBM compatible)hardware. Our best suggestion, whichmany sites have already done, is to post a“cheat sheet” on or next to each of yourOPAC terminals, which explains theproper procedure for resetting theterminal in the event of a “lock-up.”

“autoinitiate,” (which means to come updirectly without typing in any com-mands) to the Navigator screen first thingin the morning. Each morning, CICS“grabs” each opac terminal connected toa control unit in the LOUIS network.This happens once a day, when thesystem comes up (at approximately 600am). If that session is successfully made,CICS considers this task completed forthe day. If that session is broken bytoken-ring or controller problems orotherwise, CICS will not attempt toreconnect to that terminal when itbecomes available again. Note that thisis a different situation than if CICS itselfhas problems that require a restart. Arestart of CICS will always attempt toautoinitiate opac terminals.

There is currently no easy way to getCICS to reacquire a lost OPAC terminal.However, Barry at LSU’s ComputingCenter is investigating the possiblesolutions, and I will share his findings onLALINC-L when they become available.

5. INFOSHARE: LINK TO HOLD-INGS?: Will LOUIS sites be able to linktheir holdings to the Wilson indexeswhich will be available on Navigator inthe future?

4. AUKXNITIATING TO OPAC: Towhat extent can we expect that our OPACterminals will come up directly to theNavigator menu, either fmt thing in themorning or after a system interruption?

A: Yes. We are just now beginning toplan and negotiate with NOTIS for theload of Wilson Indexes on Infoshare. Lisais in charge of this particular project, andis looking into this and other possibilitiesfor tailoring the index information.A: All LOUIS OPAC terminals should

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-31LLN PARISH LIBRARY WORKSTATIONS - WHAT TO DO???by Mutt Barker

Q. Problem connecting to LOUIScatalogs?A. There is a problem with the TN3270software used to access LOUIS. Everytime there is a bad connection, TN3270creates a log file. It names these fileswith the first three letters ‘TCP’ followedby a letter of the alphabet then a fourdigit number. Once the program has usedevery letter in the alphabet, it will not runbecause it ran out of file names to call thenext log file. We have called Novellabout this problem and will contact LLNlibraries when a permanent solution isfound. In the meantime, if you havetrouble connecting, call the LOUIS staffat (504) 388-3700 and we can temporarily correct the problem.

Q. What to do in case of a power failure?A. You will need to follow all the startupprocedures for the PC. The router andDSU will boot on their own, but thesetwo machines take a long time to boot.Wait fifteen to twenty minutes beforesurfiig the Internet again.

Q. How do know if the circuit is down orif there is an application problem?A. First, try to open all the applications -LOUIS, WinWeb, Gopher, and DynixVista. If you are not able to start any ofthese, it’s probably the circuit and youshould contact your hub site. If you’re

-only having a problem starting one or twoof the applications, write down any errormessage(s) like “Unknown host” or“Remote computer not responding” andcaII the LOUIS office.

Q. Rebooting your PC - when and why?A. If you’re stuck in an application andcan’t get your mouse to move or any ofthe commands to work, hold down theCtrl and Ah keys and press the Deletekey. You will see a screen that gives youthe option of pressing Esc to cancel andreturn to windows, pressing Enter toclose the application, or pressing Ctrl,Ah, and Delete again to restart yourcomputer. Most of the time, just closingthe application will solve your problem.Of course if that doesn’t do it, Ctrl, Ah,and Delete to reboot your machine (alsoknown as a warm boot). Turning off thecomputer (CPU) and back on performs acold boot. Use this as the last resortbecause it’s hard on the CPU. Wait 30seconds before turning on.

For those of you that attended theLaPLEASE conference, you heard therewas an upgrade to the WinWeb program.When we are able to upgrade, you willreceive a call from one of the LOUISstaff. You will be instructed on how toset up the workstation so our staff can logon and install the new version. Newfeatures in WinWeb are: 1. When loadinga document in the upgraded version ofWinWeb, you will see a bar that indicatesthe amount of the document that has beenreceived. 2. You can view a file on adiskette that you saved earlier usingWinWeb download function to diskette.3. If receiving a graphics image, you cancancel and still get the document withoutgraphics.

Handy items to have....A long telephone cord If you don’talready have a phone by your worksta-tion, it might be a good idea to purchase aregular long telephone cord. Having aphone by the computer will come inhandy when we are trying to updatesoftware, figure out a problem, or assistyou in finding a source.

A mouse pad. You will find the mousemuch easier to use with a mouse pad. Itis usually a square piece of material thatgives the mouse the correct surface tooperate on.

If you know of anything else that you’vefound helpful, send us a message andwe’ll include it in the next newsletter orput it on LLN-L.

By now most of you know that come theend of February I will leave LOUIS. Ihave taken a job across campus withInformation Technology Support. IfLOUIS needs my help I will be closeenough to be able to help in a smallcapacity, but I am leaving the LLNproject in good hands. John Guillory andLisa Beene know just as much as I dowhen it comes to the workstations. Ifyou have any problems you can talk withthem. Thanks for being patient with mewhen you did have problems. I enjoyedworking with you all. Good luck in thefuture.

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CIRCULATION CHANGES IN RELEASE 5.2!Nancy Nuckles, Assistant Dean for Automation and Systems, Middleton Libra-y, LSU

Circulation staff, you have a great deal to there is no connection between NOTISlook forward to with enhancements to and the e-mail, since libraries use manycirculation functions in NOTIS Release types of e-mail and NOTIS did not select5.2, coming in summer 1995. I want to a default package to connect to. There ishighlight just a few changes for you here. easier handling of processing of lost and

missing items: if you have seen theYou will have more options for searchingfor information about patrons, itemscharged out, how much the patron owesor items on hold, etc. There is more roomfor information on the patron record, suchas au e-mail address for your statf to referto when sending mail to a patron regard-ing library transactions. At this time,

current process, you will know this islong overdue (pardon the pun)!

Our LOUIS analysts will be glad to seethe new batch programs which run thereports for overdues, bills, and regenerateindexes. The librarians will have easiersystem administration maintenance be-

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cause of security tied only to the operatorid, instead of also to the terminal id.

Public service librarians, you can lookforward to searching course reserveitems through the OPAC. You will beable to search by course & section,instructor, patron group, and the good oldauthor, title, and call number.

Please refer to 1995 NUGM Sessions 23/110 and 8 1, or the preconference formore information, or contact me or LisaBeene of the LOUIS staff.

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- -=-aBIGCHANGESINSTOREFORTHELOUIS NAVIGATORSCREEN!by Carolyn Coca

First of all, you might be asking, what is the Navigator screen? The Navigator screen isthe first thing you see when you log in to search the LOUIS library catalogs (OPACs).This screen contains the menu which lists the 12 (and soon to be 16!) LOUIS sites, andalso lists the codes and commands with which to access each of them.

Over the next few months, you will begin to see changes made to this screen in order toaccommodate new LOUIS catalogs, Wilson indexes, and Paclink sites. Paclink sites arethe catalogs of non-LOUIS universities, including some in Louisiana such as Gmmbling,which we will access using the NOTIS Paclink software.

As the screen is organized now, each LOUIS library has their own library listed first, andthe other LOUIS libraries are listed in varying order (according to where you are access-ing the data). One problem we have already encountered is that once the list of librariesgrew beyond 10 sites, not all libraries were able to be listed on the first page of theNavigator menu. Many patrons do not realize that there are additional libraries listed on asecond screen.

Given this problem, and with the upcoming addition of Wilson Indexes that will beaccessed through the Navigator screen , plus the future addition of PacLink sites, theNavigator is in dire need of a structural overhaul.

Louisiana Online University Information Systemwelcome to LOUIS!

TyPe HELP to see a map of LOUIS libraries.To move between catalogs tyPe CHOOSE end the library code.--------------------------------------------------------------CATA Delgado, LW, LSIJ Alexandria, LSU EuniceCATH LSU Law, LSD Shreveport, Louisiana TechCAT’2 McNeese, Nicholls, NortheastCATD Northwestern, Nunez, Southeasternc!ATH Southern N.O., Southern Shreveport, Univ. of N.O.CAT2 Other Library Catalogs

InfoBaseIWILMWIL-------_-------------------------------------- + page 1 of 9 -------------=LP Select a database label from above e8, FoRward

NHWB (Library System News)

Database Selection

At the LOUIS System Administrators meeting at McNeese on Jan. 9th, LOUIS memberlibrarians discussed several possibilities for reorganizing the screens into menus and sub-menus. Limitations and requirements of the system were discussed, and we came to aconsensus that the initial screen should list groups of sites in alphabetical order. Patronscan enter the code for an OPAC group (or database group for Wilson indexes) from thefirst screen, and then on the second screen, the code for that library will be listed. Ineffect, the new Navigator screen will necessitate that the novice patron go through oneadditional menu layer in order to get to any site. However, patrons should also be madeaware that if they know the code for the catalog they wish to search, they can type this inat the command line from the first screen and go into that catalog directly.

Emulato~-con~ from pg. 4

file transfer with additional software youcan get from Yale. It is inexpensive andif all you need is ALA support in anemulator, then you can get Yterm for only$50 per site. For more information aboutacquiring Yterm contact Yale Universityat yterrneyalevm.A better choice is McGill’s TCP3270product. If you want an emulator thatwill expand with your networking futureneeds, this appears to be the best producton the market. Version 2.5 can run inWindows 3.1 (enhanced mode only),Windows NT’, and DOS. It supports theALA character sets, has built inlND$FILE File Transfer protocol, and anauto restart feature to reconnect telnetsessions that are dropped by the hostsystem (should you &et to the LOUISmainframe). For public access you caneven disable features like the menu andtoolbar. The DOS version lets yousimply move the mouse over the word F3and the system presses F3 automatically.I talked to Tom Robertson who net-worked the technical services departmentat Indiana State University. He said theyuse Yterm 3.0 but would prefer McGill’sTCP3270 because it’s easier to use andhas more features than Yterm. McGill’sTCP3270 costs $750 for either of theplatforms (DOS, Windows, WindowsNT) per site (one time). For moreinformation about ordering and pricingoptions contact Pierre Goyette, Devel-oper TCP3270 Systems,pierr@cc.mcgill.ca, 5 14-398-3270.

Additional emulators include E78 Plus($395), Crosstalk, and IRMA Worksta-tion (10 users $3,495) from DigitalCommunications Associates (DCA mainnumber 404/442-4fKKl, sales support l-800-348-3221). All three products arecommunications software for LANenvironments. They all come withsimilar features, but none support theALA character sets.

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A map of Louisiana with LOUIS sites highlighted will also be featured on a help screen.The help screen map can be accessed by typing in “h” at the command line from theNavigator screen. Patrons will be able to refer to the map to see the location of LOUISsites in order to ascertain which sites are closest to them.

The Navigator commands will work in the same way that they have in the past, and codesfor each site will remain the same. Most patrons should have no problem adjusting tothese changes. Our thanks go to Nancy Nuckles, Assistant Dean for Automation andSystems at LSU, for volunteering to spearhead the discussion at MC-Neese and for settingup a preview of the new menu in the NOTIS training region! Also, we welcome yourinput and/or questions on this topic on the Lalinc-L discussion list.

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VidUMI Journal Lists are in!These will be distributed at our booth atLLA, or LLN participants can pickthem up before then at our office atMiddleton Library, LSU.

T-Shirts: We have postponed orderingLOUIS t-shirts while we design newLLN t-shirts. We expect to order bothtypes within 2 months. Watch LLN-Land LALINC-L for details!

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LOUIS MAILING ADDRESS AND STAFF LIST:LOUIS officeLouisiana State UniversityAIS/ 30 Middleton LibraryBaton Rouge, LA 70803FAX: X)4/388-3709

LOUIS CoorclinatorRalph Boe’Phone: (504)388-3740Internet: rJ$@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu

NETWORK INFORMATIONSPECIALISTS (LIRl):

Lisa BeenePhone: 504/388-3735Internet: beene@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu

Carolyn CocaPhone: (504)388-3722Internet: coco@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu

John GuilloryPhone: (504)388-3758Internet: johng@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu

PROGRAMMER/ANALYSTS(TECHl):

Matt BarkerPhone: X)4/388-375 1Internet: mattb@lsumvs.sncc.lsu.edu

Shaolong HuangPhone: 504/388-3767Internet: huang@lsumvs.sncc.lsu.edu

Mary LairdPhone: 504/388-3753Internet: bron@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu

Cathy SicardPhone: (504) 388-3786Internet: cathy@lsumvs.sncc.lsu.edu

Sara ZimmermanPhone: (504) 388-3705Internet: sara@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu

TELECOMMUNICATIONSMANAGER:

Zebra ZaminPhone: (504)388-3747Internet: zehra@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu

Mark DugasPhone: (504) 388-6396Internet: mjd@te6OOO.otc.lsu.edu

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LLN LISTSERV UPA N D RUNNINGby Lisa Beene

Most of the LLN participants now have e-mail accounts and have learned to sub-scribe to at least one LISTSERV. LSU hasagreed to host a new LISTSERV calledLLN-L. This is an excellent way for us toconvey information to LLN participantsand for LLN participants to post questions,suggestions, tips, etc. To subscribe:

Send an e-mail message to:listserv@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu

Leave name and subject line blank.

In the message area, type:subscribe lln-1 yourfiitname

yourlasmame

DO NOT type anything else because it willgive you an error message.

After subscribing, you’ll receive a messageoutlining the procedure to post messagesand unsubscrik. If you have trouble ordon’t understand how to send an e-mailmessage, please call your e-mail provider.

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LOUIS OfficeLouisiana State University

30 Middleton LibraryBaton Rouge, IA 70303