Summit changes in 2008: general information

What’s happening with Summit?

We’ll still have “Summit”! The program name will stay the same as we migrate from one technology to another.

• The current service: The Orbis Cascade Alliance members share resources among member libraries through patron-initiated requests using an INN-Reach union catalog. The union catalog is a database built from records automatically flowing from the members' catalogs (local sites, or servers). Where members own the same title, there is a master bibliographic record, and members' holdings and links to electronic resources are attached to that single record. Bibliographic and holdings information is continually and automatically updated in the union catalog. With a single click patron can pass-through a search to automatically repeat it in Summit.

• The INN-Reach union catalog will be discontinued, after a period of careful review and procedures to wind down catalog and circulation activity and stop transactions. An INN-Reach Working Group will help with this phase of the project. Meanwhile, we’ll be working to build up members’ holdings in OCLC so they are as complete as possible when we start using the new technology for patron requests.

• In the “new” Summit, the members would share resources among member libraries, and with others, through OCLC WorldCat. There will not be a separate union catalog operated by Alliance. A “Summit” Group Catalog view of OCLC’s WorldCat will be based on members' holdings as reflected in WorldCat. Records not acquired through OCLC, or for which OCLC holdings haven't been set, will not be reflected in this new group catalog. Patrons will have access to materials in the Summit group, and everything else known to WorldCat.

Pass-through searching should be possible, but will require Alliance and/or local development and support; work is already underway. 

Many members will initiate projects to send batches of records to OCLC to add their holdings. OCLC will be assisting in planning a one-time holdings reclamation project for all the members.  Depending on the circumstances at the member institution, a retrospective project may be appropriate, and/or ongoing batch loads for materials not cataloged through OCLC. OCLC information about "Set or update holdings"  A Catalog Working Group will help with this phase of the migration project, and Alliance staff will help coordinate activity for the members.

How much like Summit Borrowing will this be?

In short: it will look different and work differently. It will have lots of automated features. Some features will work differently but toward the same objective. A few current capabilities may not be possible, but we're still looking into those. Some important new capabilities will be possible for patrons and staff, such as access to materials outside the Alliance group. While working in the same catalog -- and without changing "systems" or initiating new searches -- patrons will also be able to initiate InterLibrary Loan requests for materials not available through Summit Borrowing.

Patrons will place requests directly through the “new” Summit (OCLC Group Catalog), and choose a pickup location. Holds: Where items are requestable but not available, holds are not possible in the current version of software. Patrons will be able to check the status of their requests through the local circulation system, or through OCLC’s “VDX” software that's running the activity behind-the-scenes. Patrons may cancel a request, or request a renewal. Staff will have access to information on demand. For a view of a somewhat similar system, check out these 2- and 3-minute “demos” prepared for a similar system in Canada a couple of years ago.

The Orbis Cascade Alliance is OCLC’s development partner working on software to communicate with local sites to automatically read and update item status, automatically create and delete temporary records for local systems, and to connect patrons to requests and loans through their existing local patron record. As the software is developed, and details are nailed down, we’ll post updates.  A Circ and ILL Working Group will help with this part of the project.

Project planning

Schedule

Implementation will proceed rapidly on several fronts. Some of the immediate work to begin in Spring 2008 will include the following:

For the Summit catalog: developing a system for handling or canceling setup and profiling requests for the current shared union catalog; preparing a plan and helping members update or complete their holdings in OCLC.

For Summit Borrowing: developing an action plan for avoiding and reducing problem transactions that would need to be cleaned up; developing a schedule for winding down Summit Borrowing. example list of activities to include in such a plan.

Training