Kathy, When do you need the money for this?
On Fri, Aug 15, 2014 at 10:06 AM, Kathy Lussier <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi all, > > The MassLNC Development Committee met earlier this week to ascertain what > we need to move forward with some of our development projects this year. > With PINES' assistance, we are close to moving forward with two development > projects, but we still need a small amount of funds for each project. > > Alert development: This project has three components that give Evergreen > sites more control over their alerts: 1)The ability to designate copy > alerts as either checkin alerts or checkout alerts 2)The ability to add > temporary alerts to copies, primarily so that staff in one library can add > alerts to copies belonging to another library (e.g. "patron says this DVD > needs cleaning"), and 3)the ability for a library to suppress some system > alerts, such as the alerts that tell staff they have checked in a lost, > missing, long overdue, or claims returned item. > > Our libraries believe this project is important because, although alerts > are sometimes necessary and relay critical information, many of our > libraries find that some alerts do not provide information they need to > know at certain points of the circ transaction. These alerts, therefore, > add unnecessary steps to the workflow. Although clicking through one > unnecessary alert may only add a couple of seconds to the workflow, those > seconds add up throughout the hundreds or thousands of circ transactions > that occur throughout the course of the day. Also, if we remove the alerts > that are unnecessary, staff are more likely to pay closer attention to the > alerts that provide important information. > > MassLNC needs just $5,000 to proceed with this development project. > > The Message Center project will provide a central area where patrons can > view library messages. An Evergreen site can configure which notices will > appear in the message center (e.g. overdues, cancelled holds, pre-due > notices). The center will also display any public notes added to the patron > record. These notes now display in the account summary area, but can easily > be missed if the patron isn't looking for them. Logged-in users will get a > visual cue, similar to those used in many other web sites, that lets them > know when they have a new message (see mock-ups at > http://masslnc.cwmars.org/node/2927). > > Our libraries believe this project is important because users have come to > expect web sites to provide important information, not just through e-mail, > but also through the user account area of the web site. E-mail > communication for notices is not always reliable, and the message center > provides another means for communicating important information to the > patron. This project also takes a piece of information currently available > in the patron account area (public patron notes) and provides a needed > visual cue that lets patrons know the note is available. > > MassLNC just needs $2,900 to proceed with this development project. > > If your library is interested in either of these projects, but cannot > contribute the full amount required, please let me know. If we get enough > libraries that can only contribute a portion of the funds required, those > funds will quickly add up. > > Please contact me directly if you have any questions on either of these > projects. > > Thank you! > > Kathy > > Kathy Lussier > Project Coordinator > Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative > (508) 343-0128 > [email protected] > Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier > > On 7/25/2014 5:32 PM, Kathy Lussier wrote: > >> Hi all, >> >> I'm pleased to announce that Georgia PINES has joined MassLNC to help to >> fund the Enhancements to Evergreen Alerts and Message Center projects. >> Thank you Georgia PINES! >> >> We have also received some interest from Evergreen sites on the activity >> metric project. >> >> MassLNC would really love to see all three of these projects implemented >> in a future release of Evergreen. If anyone is interested in the projects >> and can contribute some funds, even if it's only a small amount of money, >> please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with your >> questions. >> >> What do you get out of being a partner on one of these development >> projects? Putting funds to a development project is your opportunity to >> make a contribution to the future direction of Evergreen. It's a great >> feeling to see a new feature in Evergreen and to say to yourself "I helped >> to make that new feature happen." Budgets are tight everywhere, but by >> pooling our funds together, we can see some great new functionality at a >> lower cost for each partner. The recent MVC/CRA project (aka icon project) >> is a great example of a development project where many small development >> contributions, combined with a couple of contributions from some larger >> sites, resulted in some nice improvements for the whole Evergreen >> community. Being a development partner also ensures that you will be part >> of spec discussions and testing, allowing you to watch out for the needs of >> your users while the project is being shaped. >> >> But, wait, there's more! If you participate in a MassLNC development >> project, your organization will be added to the MassLNC Wall of Fame where >> we acknowledge and thank all of the sites that have worked with us on >> development projects over the years - http://masslnc.cwmars.org/node/3067. >> The large number of libraries and consortia listed there is a testament to >> the great community we have and the fact that there are so many sites out >> there that want to contribute what they can to help make Evergreen better >> for everyone. >> >> But that's not all! For a limited time only, if your organization decides >> to help fund one of these projects, you will receive a batch of cookies >> made by MassLNC coordinator Kathy Lussier (that's me). The cookies will be >> hand-delivered to you at the next Evergreen conference (or, if we're both >> there, at the next Evergreen hack-a-way). >> >> Please take some time to look over these projects and let me know if >> you're interested. >> >> Have a nice weekend everyone! >> >> Kathy >> >> Kathy Lussier >> Project Coordinator >> Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative >> (508) 343-0128 >> [email protected] >> Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier >> >> On 7/1/2014 2:45 PM, Kathy Lussier wrote: >> >>> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> Today marks the first day of the new fiscal year for MassLNC, and our >>> development committee has identified a few new enhancements we are hoping >>> to sponsor over the next year. >>> >>> We have received proposals from Equinox for all three projects, but >>> MassLNC needs help to fund these projects. I am sending out this e-mail to >>> see if there are other Evergreen sites interested in helping us fund any of >>> these projects. For more details, you can e-mail me directly at >>> [email protected]. >>> >>> >>> Also, if you are already working on a similar project or just want to >>> provide some feedback for our proposed projects, please feel to share your >>> feedback on the list. >>> >>> These three projects are listed on the new Proposed Development Projects >>> wiki page at: >>> http://wiki.evergreen-ils.org/doku.php?id=evergreen_ >>> features:proposed_development_projects >>> >>> ACTIVITY METRIC FOR RELEVANCE RANKING >>> The goal of this project is for a title's activity (circulations, number >>> of holds, etc.) to affect the relevance of that title when retrieving >>> search results. Google and Amazon use popularity with much success when >>> ranking search results. I think Evergreen would see similar success if it >>> were to incorporate activity into its relevance algorithm. >>> >>> As an example, if a user were conducting a keyword search on "abraham >>> lincoln," there are many books, movies, etc. in most US libraries where >>> the words "abraham lincoln" show up in the title. There would be no way to >>> tease out the titles that are getting the most attention by readers. In >>> fact, a title like "Team of Rivals" ranks very low in our search results >>> even though there is a fairly high likelihood it is the title the patron is >>> seeking. By applying a metric based on activity, we might be able to see >>> those more-recently popular titles floating higher in the search results >>> list. >>> >>> The current proposal is to make factors like circulation and hold >>> activity, record and item age, and item ownership counts available as an >>> activity metric. Each factor will embody a "popularity badge" that a bib >>> record can earn, and each badge will have a five-point scale, where more >>> points indicate a more popular record. >>> >>> The average of the badge points earned by each record will constitute a >>> "popularity star rating". The number and types of badges will break ties >>> for average popularity. >>> >>> A new sort axis of popularity will be created to sort first on the >>> cumulative popularity of each record, followed by the query-specific >>> relevance available today. >>> >>> ENHANCEMENTS TO EVERGREEN ALERTS >>> I mentioned this project in the recent thread on problems with items not >>> checking in properly - http://markmail.org/message/rnm5s7wdxjgy3tym. >>> >>> This project would give Evergreen sites more control over which alerts >>> appear during check-in and check-out. The project has three components: >>> >>> - Separate checkin and checkout copy alerts >>> - The ability to add temporary copy alerts from the checkin, checkout, >>> and item status screen >>> - A library setting that allows sites to determine if some system alerts >>> should appear at checkin and checkout. >>> >>> MassLNC's full project requirements are available at >>> http://masslnc.cwmars.org/node/2764. >>> >>> This project is not slated to begin until Fall 2014 after sprint 1 of >>> the web client project is complete. >>> >>> MESSAGE CENTER FOR THE PUBLIC CATALOG >>> This project would create a message center that communicates important >>> messages to patrons. Public patron notes will display here, and sites will >>> have the ability to configure any action/trigger notice to also deliver a >>> notice to the message center. >>> >>> MassLNC's full project requirements are available at >>> http://masslnc.cwmars.org/node/2927. >>> >>> Feel free to let me know if you have any questions! >>> >>> Kathy >>> >> >> > -- Ruth Frasur Director of the Historic(ally Awesome) Hagerstown - Jefferson Township Library 10 W. College Street in Hagerstown, Indiana (47346) p (765) 489-5632; f (765) 489-5808 Our Kickin' Website <http://hagerstownlibrary.org> Our Rockin' Facebook Page <http://facebook.com/hjtplibrary> and Stuff I'm Reading <http://pinterest.com/hjtplibrary/ruth-reads/>
