The Urge to Merge(aka The More the Merrier)

University of Arizona Libraries

For whom is this information going to be useful?

A. Space PiratesB. Anyone bringing up IIIC. Those on III bringing in another III library,

library on another ILS or one not on an ILS at all

D. Multi-site libraries that have different needs that necessitate collaboration

E. Answers B, C, D

UA Facts

• Student population: 37,217– Undergraduates: 29,070– Graduate: 8,147

• Faculty and staff: 14,466• Number of library branches: 8

– Main, Science Engineering, Fine Arts, Center for Creative Photography, Special Collections

– Health Sciences (Tucson + Phoenix)– Law

System Facts

• Health Sciences - Sirsi migration to III• Version of Millennium = 1.3 v. 2006• # of bibliographic records loaded =

100,000• New Size of “catalog” = 3.6 million records

Merging: The Main Library’s Story

• Lean years at University of Arizona• Several campus libraries with standalone

systems• Expectation of significant cost savings moving to

one system & sharing maintenance costs• Growing need to have a single point of access

for all library resources available to the campus• Introduced proposal to integrate other libraries

into III ILS system

Merging: The medical library’s story

• Yearly budget cuts • Library IT scheduled to move into consolidated

College of Medicine IT• Worry about continued onsite support• Evaluated other options:

– III’s merger estimate in 2002 judged too costly– Hosted site at Sirsi

• Recognition that faculty & students were losing by having to access two catalogs.

•

Merging: Agreement

• Main Library proposed to use the UA student library fee for fund merger

• Each library to pay ½ III implementation costs • Main Library to provide III expertise & training• AHSL to pay for extraction & authority work.• Scopes would be set up to help each site

maintain a unique identity

Set the stage for collaboration

• In order to foster collaboration throughout the process, establish:– What support will be provided during and after

the system migration– Who to contact for various problems you may

encounter or who to ask general questions– Who is going to be responsible for

completing each of the tasks

How much time should you plan to spend on merging systems?

A. 6 monthsB. 5 yearsC. 2 weeksD. It depends…

Talking Points for timeline:

• Answer: D) It depends…• Initially the UA Libraries thought that we

could complete this process within two months.

• III provided the UA library with a timeline• Depends on the number of staff that are

going to be involved• Timing considerations

A good time to bring up your merged systems would be

A. April 1st

B. Finals weekC. Winter BreakD. Summer

Timing Debrief

• Answer: For us, it was winter• Consider the potential impact on your

users as there is going to be down time associated with the migration

• We didn’t want to ‘pull the rug out’ on our customers

• There was also a benefit to staff as this allowed time to learn how to use the new system

Major Tasks to Be Accomplished

• Extract the catalog records from Sirsi– Sirsi MARC Export– MARC Edit– Perl Programming– Reconcile MARC fields & cataloging protocols

• Configure circulation module– Recognize when to conform vs what is unique– Knowledge of “loan rules” & “determiner table”

Major Tasks to Be Accomplished

• Create shared patron database– Identify & tag AHSL faculty & staff– Create programming script

• Authority work with LTI• Create Scopes

– Select formats & locations for searchable subsets

• Web development (i.e. the OPAC)

Here was our timeline• July

– New location codes finalized (Page # 106049)

– Set up clients (i.e. user interface) at new site – Set up holding symbols (Page # 105807)

• August– Set up PTypes, ITypes, loan rules, loan rule

determiner table (Page # 106052, Page # 106044, Page # 105408, Page # 105407)

– Started mapping bib and item records and prepared for data extraction

• September– Testing!!!

Timeline continued• October

– More Testing!!!– Scopes installed (Page # 106715)– Tested patron load (Page # 106004)

• November– Created separate serials and accounting units – Final load over 1 ½ days– Established staff permissions/authorizations (Page # 106327)– Circulation went live (ahead of schedule)– Training

• December– Live system– Test server

Aftermath I

• Cataloging – 10,000 duplicate records • Authority – unexpected failures in

updates to both MeSH and LC subject headings

• Acquisitions -- new fund codes, ordering system, order records

• Serials – new checkin records, holdings notation, claiming methods

Aftermath II

• Scopes – unexpected search results highlight new problems with subject headings, ERM use, cataloging methods

• Tweaks to circulation –patron load• Major catalog cleanup• New problems continue to emerge…..

Side Benefits

A. It forces you to review policies and procedures and balance the needs of multiple libraries

B. You will probably discover things you could do that you didn’t know about previously

C. Communication between different library sites will increase

D. You will retire independently wealthy as a result of the merger

E. A, B, and C

What was helpful

• Having an libraries-wide oversight group set up before hand – already had some working relationships established

• III documentation and getting started manuals (available through CS Direct)

• Main Library work with Loan Rules and Tables the year before

What was helpful

• Having subgroups (Circ, Cataloging, Financial)

• Support from III - some good, such as group listserv that included III; some not so good

• Test frequently, but could have tested more (accounting unit) –at on point lost printing functionality.

• Being persistent with III. Provide them with specific information.

And most helpful . . .

Willingness on everyone’s part to compromise & seek solutions for all

libraries

Contact InformationCirculation Questions:• Mona Ammon, ammonm@u.library.arizona.edu• John Miller-Wells, wellsj@u.library.arizona.edu• Travis Teetor, teetort@u.library.arizona.edu

System Questions:• (III) Gene Spesard, spesardl@u.library.arizona.edu• (III) Lee Hemphill, hemphilll@u.library.arizona.edu• (Sirsi) Robin Sewell, rsewell009@tamu.edu

Cataloging Questions:• Tom Marshall, marshallt@u.library.arizona.edu• Mary Holcomb, mholcomb@ahsl.arizona.edu

General Project Questions:• Joan Schlimgen, joan@ahsl.arizona.edu