SIRS Meeting August 14, 2002 Present: Otis Chadley, Ross Laguerre, Alan Mattlage, Yahaira Norris-Gonzalez, Beth Roberts, Debb Stefany, Susanna Van Sant (facilitator), Cindy Todd, Mary Winker, Evelyn Yocco, Michael Zeliff (notetaker) ANNOUNCEMENTS. Susanna noted that for roughly two hours between 5 and 7pm the previous night, Tuesday, a print server was down and so there was no pay-for-print. Until there is a formal server rebooting procedure, we should call and leave a message at the Photocopy Center. Mark will correct the problem as soon as he can. CT will see that this information is on the SIRS page. (August 26th: Reporting procedures for problems with the payment card/print system continue to change. As of this morning, if copiers and payment card system devices in ONE library are down at any time, call Mark Wilkerson at x5-9057 and leave a message IF copiers and payment card system devices in TWO or more libraries are down during regular business hours call Mark at x5-9057 and leave a message, BUT after Photocopy Services closes or on weekends, call the Dining Services Help Desk at 301-704-6675 . You will need to ask Dining Services to check their server. Explain that the Libraries payment card system runs on their server and that the payment card system is not working in certain libraries.) AGENDA: Item 1. Special permission procedure for reference materials. Beth distributed the latest draft procedure. Our goal is to utilize the borrower verification and circulation control available by sending Special Permission Loans through the regular circulation processes. Based on conversations with Jessie H. and with Terry S. SIRS agreed to the following: --Only librarians can give permission for special loans. Except in extraordinary cases, these can be granted to graduate students and faculty. --The borrower needs to completely fill out the Special Loan form and the librarian will assign a date due (generally one day) and sign the form. --The Info Desk will keep and file the top, white copy --Patron takes reference item and completed yellow copy of the Special Loan form to the McKeldin Circulation Desk. --Circulation will perform its usual verifications that the patron is an eligible borrower and in checking out the piece will over-ride the 'noncirculating' status of the book. Circulation will desensitize and attaches due date to reference item --The patron keeps the yellow slip --The least amount of time for which, at present, reference material can be checked out through this process is a day Users should return the materials to Circulation, and Circulation will perform its usual procedures and see that the material returns to Reference for reshelving. --By way of follow-up, one week after the material is due to be returned, Service Plus staff will take the original (top) copy of the special loan form and see that the material has returned to the shelf. SIRS recommends that failure to return material on time be “billed” at the maximum fine possible. We discussed special permission loans of reference cd-rom and agreed that many of the cd-rom that are in the Media cabinet ARE eligible for special permission loans. However, cd-rom (like books) which are required to support classes or are heavily used should NOT go out of the building. This would include products like Valueline, Morningstar, Encyclopedia Judaica, or On Common Ground. should never go out. We agreed that Cindy would grant permission to patrons wishing to check out cd-roms, and that whenever possible she will consult with the appropriate subject specialist. AGENDA: Item 2. Printed guide survey Mary reported the results of a survey conducted to ask if we should continue printing the various library guides that are distributed from the desks or available free for users. Based on survey results we agreed to: · Withdraw and stop maintaining all of the “downloading, e-mailing and printing from databases” guides (10 guides). · Rely on Pay-4-Print for “Subject Guide to Electronic Databases & Indexes” and "Finding Library Items Using Call Numbers · The guides distributed from the desk (such as the McKeldin Self-guided Tour, Library Hours, library and university maps, WAM lab guides, and others) will continue to be available in paper as current practice. · We will continue to support paper production of 13 of the subject guides. · We will rely on Pay-4-Print only for the remaining approximately 50 subject guides. AGENDA: Item 3. Annual Report on SIRS due September 1 Cindy asked committee members to list highlights and accomplishments for SIRS during the past year. The final list consisted of the following: 1. SIRS implemented the Welcome Desk. 2. SIRS relocated the Information Desk twice. 3. SIRS implemented the new Dybold pay-for-print service. 4. SIRS complete new shelf reads of the reference collection four times. 5. SIRS downsized the reference collection and moved atlases out. Among the challenges faced by SIRS in the past year, the committee listed three: 1. SIRS offered decent services amid noise, crowds, detours, and other sources of confusion. 2. SIRS coped with and handled Dybold-related server problems, such as the fact that whole classes of patrons (e.g., faculty, staff) cannot obtain terrapin express accounts at the atm's in the library. 3. SIRS assumed a large part of the responsibility for manning the Welcome Desk. ROUND ROBIN. Mostly, we discussed a number of troublesome patrons and were reminded that we can always ask patrons for I. D. and/or call the campus police if we have a problem. -- Cynthia Todd Coordinator for Information & Research Services McKeldin Library University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 voice: 301-314-7224 fax: 301-314-9416 ct15@umail.umd.edu