Greetings: 

SERIALST participants have been most helpful in the past.  I was wondering if participants would be willing to provide “best practices” (i.e. how we do it) feedback (on or off-list) relative to the following:

The OPAL Electronic Resources Task Force (OERTF) met to outline general strategies, define roles, and identify goals/scope/content. 

Mission statement:

The OPAL Electronic Resources Task Force (OERTF) will examine the concepts, resources, and methodologies associated with providing “OPAL catalog” access to electronic resources through efficient channels that are intuitive for users and promote the use of sustainable maintenance and updating processes.

It was determined that the concepts, resources identified, and methodologies used for providing “OPAL catalog” access to electronic resources would follow three recommended scenarios, selected to address current/future economic conditions, program content, political landscapes, etc.

· Status quo = Use of current Innovative Millennium ILS (Integrated Library System)

· Open-source architecture = OPAL migration to open-source ILS (i.e. Koha, etc.)

· Discovery-based strategy = using combinations of system functions/features to create new OPAL catalog

I. Core concepts

Question: What do we want to do?

Answer(s): a. Provide access through most efficient channels.

                  b. Recommend solutions that are intuitive for users.

                  c. Identify sustainable maintenance/updating processes.

                  d. Focus on electronic resource-based materials that we own or license (via contractual obligation)

                  e. Migrate from the “junk drawer” mentality when referring to the use of the OPAL catalog

                  f. Provide several of the aforementioned scenarios to illustrate options/task force rationale.

I’m particularly interested in how, nationwide, consortial library networks like ours are doing this (special interest in the treatment of serials/continuing resources and the New England/Northeast region).  Find out more about the Ohio Private Academic Libraries (OPAL) consortium at http://www.opal-libraries.org/index.php/about/

Thank you so much for your past/present/future help!

Tom

Tom Adamich

Head of Metadata Services

Government Documents Librarian

Muskingum University Library

163 Stormont St.

New Concord, OH 43762

Office: 740-826-8015

FAX: 740-826-8404

email: tadamich@muskingum.edu