Meet RACER

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Meet RACER

• An OCUL VDX Project Overview and Update

Amy Greenberg Sue McGillivray
OLA January 2004
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Today's Presentation at a Glance

• Scholars Portal VDX Project Overview
• Historical Background
• Timelines
• RACER
• What is it?
• What does it do?
• Hardware
• Features
• Functionality

• RACER Statistics
• Challenges Benefits
• What's Next
• Questions

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Ontario Scholars PortalAccess to Scholarly
Information Resources

• OII Strategic Programmes
• Ontario Council of University Libraries
• 20 Institutions
• Scholars Portal Website
• Content Coordination via CNSLP
• Scholarly Information Resources (SIRS)
• Implementation of link resolution
• and O-Space

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Ontario Scholars Portal Objectives Goals

• Offer access to a unique set of shared
  information resources and services
• Ensure rapid and reliable response time for
  access to information services resources
• Provide long-term secure archiving of
  information resources
• Create a network of intellectual resources by
  linking ideas, materials, documents resources
• Provide an environment that fosters innovation in
  response to the needs of Ontarios researchers

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Why VDX and Why Now?

• Arose from OCUL members wish to replace AVISO
  interlibrary loans management software
• October 1999
• Tri-University Group reviewing available ILL
  management software
• University of Toronto reviewing ILL software
• March 2000 OCUL ILL staff put forth a
  recommendation to Directors unanimously
  recommending Fretwell-Downing's VDX software

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Benefits Web Accessible ISO ILL Management
Systems

• Comprehensive
• Cost-effective
• Single way of dealing with ILL requests
• User-centric, online anytime of day or night
• Automates many routine tasks and decisions
• Unifies statistics
• Interacts with new ISO ILL systems that come
  along
• Eliminates paper files forms
• Facilitates international ILL
• NCIP

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VDX Project Timelines

• Summer 2002 ? System Configuration
• ? OCUL Single Search Catalogue Access
• Fall 2002 ? Group 1 Setup, Training Testing
• Winter 2002/03 ? Group 2 Setup, Training
  Testing
• Spring 2003 ? Group 4 Setup, Training Testing
• Summer 2003 ? Group 1 2 Production
• ? Group 3 Setup, Training Testing
• Fall 2003 ? 5 Additional Sites Go Production
• ? System Upgrade to 2.4
• Spring 2004 ? Bilingual RACER Interface
• ? Group 3 Production

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Project Milestones

• April 2000 OCUL established the OCUL ILL Task
  Group
• 2000-2002 FD contracts, equipment purchases, TIG
  staff hired
• June 2003 First 8 libraries go Production
• Brock, Guelph, Ryerson, Trent, Waterloo, Western,
  Wilfrid Laurier, Windsor
• September 2003 2 more libraries go Production
• Carleton, Lakehead
• Fall 2003 More sites go Production
• York Law, Windsor Law, Nipissing, Queens, Toronto

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Project Team

• Tactical Implementation Team (TIG)
• Shane Chan (System Administrator)
• Amy Greenberg (User Support)
• Sue McGillivray (User Support)
• Vidhya Parthasarathy (Programmer)
• Carol Stephenson (Project Manager)
• OCUL ILL Sub-Groups
• End User Instruction Working Group
• French Language Sub-Group
• and many more!

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RACERWhos Online?

• Brock
• Guelph
• Ryerson
• Trent
• Waterloo
• Western
• Wilfrid Laurier
• Windsor

• Carleton
• Lakehead
• York Law library
• Nipissing
• Queens
• Toronto

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RACERImplementation Schedule for 2004
Spring 2004

• Ottawa
• Laurentian
• York
• McMaster

• UOIT
• Ontario College of Art and Design
• Royal Military College

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http//www.library.utoronto.ca/scholarsportal/vdx/
support/index.html
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What is RACER?

• Rapid Access to Collections by Electronic
  Requesting
• ZPortal VDX
• ZPortal Search the library catalogues of 20
  Ontario universities and place or view requests
  online
• VDX ILL management system
• Bureau Model
• Web and Windows

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Bureau ConfigurationWilfrid Laurier
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All OCUL
Catalogues
Single Access
Interface
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RACERFeatures

• ISO ILL Protocol-compliant product
• Auto alerts
• DocFind (but requests are still staff mediated)
• Patron initiated requesting
• Automated Good-bye paper forms
• Local catalogue blocking
• Customized reports
• Vendor co-operation for development of an Aviso
  Generic Script translator
• Allows for batch uploading of patron records or
  patron self registration

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RACERNew Features in 2.4

• Bilingual French-English interface
• DocFind Responder
• Rota based on availability and serial holdings
  information down to volume/issue level
• Customized mandatory fields on request forms
• Ariel integration
• 2 separate Web sites for VDX (Staff)
• ZPortal (Users)
• Revised system architecture allows
• for greater customization

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Collections
User Profiles
Old New
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Request Form
Old New
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RACER Project StatisticsMeasuring Success

• 125,000 requests requested in the first 6 months
• 1 M projected requests annually once all 20
  institutions are onboard
• Each student and researcher in Ontario has access
  to a combined collection of over 20 million
  library items

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Still More StatisticsILL Staff Support Numbers

• 1554 User support questions answered
• 166 OCUL staff at 17 institutions with thirteen
  2-day classroom and hands-on training sessions
• Ten 1-day hands-on specialized
• training programs

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OCUL VDX Usage in 2003Number of Borrowing and
Lending Requests Generated
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OCUL VDX Usage in 2003Borrowing and Lending
Requests by Institution
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OCUL VDX Usage in 2003Borrowing and Lending
Requests by Institution
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RACERChallenges

• OCUL on the cutting edge of the new technology
• Steep curve for Staff and User education
• Transition
• Workflow changes
• Issues associated with using the system to
  support both Document Delivery and ILL processes
• Different functionality
• DocFind effectiveness / reliability

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RACERMore Challenges

• Email reader for multiple external forms from
  individual catalogues
• Generic Script (GS) messaging with legacy non-ISO
  GS (Aviso ) systems
• External messaging with sites without ILL Systems
• External messaging testing with Docline and other
  ISO systems
• Location record maintenance and ISO on the fly
• Multiple vendor systems
• Z39.50 pitfalls

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RACERWho Can We Communicate With?

• CISTI (ISO)
• BLDSC (ISO)
• National Library of Canada (ISO)
• Ontario public libraries (INFO)
• CREPUQ (Soon!)
• Canadian libraries using Aviso
• Canadian and international libraries without an
  ILL management system (Web form)

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RACEREnd User Benefits

• One stop shopping to Ontario university
  collections via a common search interface
• Patron initiated online requesting
• An easy to complete electronic request form with
  pickup location options
• Ability to track their requests is a new feature
  for users of interlibrary loan services
• Email notification for receipt or
• cancellation of materials

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RACERStaff Benefits

• Quicker turnaround time
• Real time vs batched
• Auto-populated forms, labels and daily workflow
  reports
• Potential lending locations identified and listed
  (rota) automatically
• Automatic email alerting for patrons

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Benefits of an OCUL Wide Initiative

• "RACER has in effect produced a more level
  playing field for all OCUL institutions. By
  providing centralized server support and
  maintenance, it has alleviated much of the local
  institution system support for interlibrary loan
  processes. For both end users and staff, RACER
  provides many features that many of the smaller
  institutions would not have been able to develop
  locally."
• Dialogue regarding policies and guidelines
• Co-operation across Universities
• Networking and workshops to share experiences
• Development of best practices

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RACER Better Access

• A quote from Trent's student newspaper, the
  Arthur
• For all the other books you need that weren't
  found on Topcat, you can use the Inter-Library
  Loan program, RACER, to get practically any book
  you want (I am still in awe of this program --
  you should definitely check it out). One might
  say that, with the high-speed internet and
  programs like RACER, the world is at our
  fingertips.

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RACERFaster Delivery

• From an ILL staff member at Lakehead
• One of the aspects of RACER that has exceeded my
  expectations is the speed with which our
  materials are getting to us. I have overheard
  patrons coming into the ILL office marvelling at
  the "lightning speed" of the service.

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What's Next?

• New hardware
• Staff VDX upgrade 2.4
• Enhanced End user interface Zportal (2.4)
• Ariel
• French interface
• Additional reports
• Messaging Testing, Testing, Testing
• More location records
• Upgrade to 2.7 or 3
• NCIP

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Questions?

• http//racer.scholarsportal.info/vdx/index.html
• Amy Greenberg
• 416-946-8616
• amy.greenberg_at_utoronto.ca
• Sue McGillivray
• 416-946-8618
• sue.mcgillivray_at_utoronto.ca
• racer.support_at_utoronto.ca

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The VisionFully Integrated Peer to Peer ILL
Aviso
Relais
Other VDX Sites
CISTI
OCUL ILL / RACER
ILL Manager