ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 988 / C& RL News and o th er publicity announcing th e tim e and place. You are also urged to atten d th e BIS Think Tank C om m ittee m eeting on Sunday morning, January 7, from 9:00-11:00 a.m., if you have any ideas to pass on to th e com m ittee. ■ ■ Installing a lo c a l area com p act disk netw ork By Joan Carey C om puter Services Coordinator Brandeis University and Virginia M assey-Burzio Head o f Reader Services Brandeis University Patron acceptance o f databases on CD-ROM justifies their installation and expense. B randeis is a small, highly competitive re ­ search university. Its two libraries, the Main and Science Libraries, support an u n d e r­ graduate population o f 3,500 students and a gradu­ ate student population of approximately 900. R e­ cently th e Main L ibrary (Social Sciences and H um anities) was selected as a test site for the installation of SilverPlatter’s M ultiPlatter local area netw ork (LAN). T he overall reaction to the n e t­ work has been very enthusiastic. The CD-ROM network On January 26, 1989, th e SilverPlatter Multi- P latter system was installed. This is a slightly modi­ fied version o f C D -N et, developed by M eridian D ata C orporation. The basis for th e netw ork is Novell N etw are running over Thin W ire E thernet. The network server consists o f five stacked drives with a 286 processor. Because th e server does not have a hard disk drive, access software is m ounted on each individual workstation. O u r installation was unique in many ways. W e w ere th e first to run M ultiP latter on an E th e rn e t (Boston College has a Token Ring LAN). W e also w ere th e first to use non-uniform hardw are. O u r c u rre n t hardw are configuration consists o f five workstations: one IBM XT, one IBM PC with a hardcard, two Zenith AT compatibles, and one Wyse M310 workstation. T he two Zenith stations are equipped with color monitors. F o u r o f these stations are located in the public area near th e reference desk. T he fifth station, located at th e reference desk, is used for a variety of additional functions which include: dial­ up access to online search vendors like Dialog and BRS; access to o th er B oston-area online public catalogs; connecting to o u r cam pus-wide network; and w ord processing. All stations are connected to H ew lett-Packard “Thinkjet” printers. A nother unusual aspect of this project was the n u m b er and variety o f com pact disk (CD) products installed. W e have te n disks from five different vendors, with only five slots in our server. T h ere­ fore, reference staff m ust “swap” disks on a regular basis. Patrons choose th e disk they wish to search from an A utoM enu Screen. A com m and informs December 1989 / 989 them if the disk they seek is not m ounted on the system. We have also had to install th e software for five different vendors in each com puter. C urrently we own: SilverPlatter: Psychological A bstracts— C u r­ rent, Psychological Abstracts—Archive, Monthly Catalog of G overnm ent Publications. Wilson: Social Sciences Index, Library L itera­ ture, MLA Bibliography, R eaders’ Guide to P eri­ odical Literature. PAIS: Public Affairs Inform ation Service. UMI: N ew spaper Abstracts. MicroSoft: Bookshelf. F or about one m onth after th e initial installation the system worked well. T hen th ere was gradually in c re a sin g tro u b le w ith “f re e z e s .” T h e te rm “freeze” is used to describe times w hen one or more of our workstations would not function. None of the keys worked when pressed. Sometimes reboot­ ing th e individual workstation would solve the problem , b u t m ore often than not, all stations would freeze simultaneously and only resetting the M ultiP latter server w ould solve th e problem . Sometimes erro r messages would appear on the monitors, but not always. Initially freezes were a couple of times p e r day, b u t soon they w ere several times an hour. By mid-M arch we w ere virtually at a standstill. W e isolated and tracked a variety of problem s, suspecting either our workstation hard­ ware or one of the disk products to be the cause. W hen no recognizable p attern em erged, Silver- P latter decided to replace the server. T he new server was installed on M arch 30,1989. T here have been no m ore “freez e” problem s, b u t several months later one drive failed. It was a straightfor­ ward type of problem and th e drive was replaced by SilverPlatter. W ith the cu rren t configuration, th e system is at capacity as far as n um ber of drives because o f the m em ory limitations in each station. Wilson p ro d ­ ucts, in particular, require large am ounts of m em ­ ory. I f we continue to run Wilson products, we cannot presently add additional “tow ers” to our M ultiPlatter configuration. A tow er is the basic M ultiPlatter unit. Each tow er holds five o r six drives. Towers are chained together to add addi­ tional drives to th e system. Because of th e way Wilson has im plem ented MicroSoft Extensions, m em ory becomes an issue w hen networking these products. This issue has been discussed with Silver­ P latter and they are currently working on a solution to this problem for their system. Adding monthly and quarterly updates is rela­ tively easy. However, because vendors have m ade th eir software so easy to install, they have assum ed th at m inim um docum entation is sufficient. C onse­ quently, adequate docum entation is not always available for those wanting to m anipulate files. File nam e analyses are n ee d ed and default settings should be m ore clearly defined. At Brandeis, with the current configuration, the library' is lim ited to keeping certain products in certain drives in th e M ultiPlatter tower. This again appears to be a result o f variations in the way different vendors have im plem ented MicroSoft Extensions. W ith some products a particular drive in the M ultiPlatter tow er m ust be perm anently assigned. This limits flexibility because th e product m ust always be resident in the particular drive to be accessed. This is somewhat inconvenient when swapping disks, b u t certainly not a major difficulty. If we had one drive for each disk, disk location would b e inconsequential. Another, much larger problem is created by the fact that patrons m ust e n te r and exit a variety of different software products on the same system. However, this in no way dam pens the intense enthusiasm patrons have for th e system. O ne p ar­ ticular issue th e reference staff would like ad­ dressed by Wilson is that of entering and exiting Wilson databases. It is very easy to inadvertently end up in the w rong database. A nother im portant n ee d is a front-end p roduct that would allow for searching different vendors’ products with a single search software. T r a in in g F o r over a year, Silver P latter’s PsycLit disks have been available for patron searching. T h ere­ fore, it was assum ed that our staff would be able to search th e o th er SilverPlatter product acquired, the GPO Monthly Catalog. However, they were apprehensive at the thought of having to leam four m ore search software products and seven new databases at the same time. W hat proved to be effective was setting up a single drive station in the R eference W orkroom. This allowed m em bers of th e staff to experim ent with each product at their leisure and in a com fortable environm ent. N ever­ theless, we soon realized that m ore than just access to th e products was needed. As a result, “Anti- Anxiety Sessions” w ere im plem ented. The core reference staff m et in small groups to examine each product. A new product was selected each week and tim e was set aside to discuss and dem onstrate its use. This was a valuable forum for venting frustrations. A leader was assigned to guide each session. T he sessions w ere informal and repeated as necessary. A decision was m ade to introduce products to th e public in a staggered fashion. In this way undue pressure was not placed on staff to becom e “ex­ p erts” at every database before allowing patrons to use them . W e w ere still thinking in term s o f online searching w here cost requires th e librarian to be thoroughly prep ared before beginning to search. W e have since learned th at not only are most 9 9 0 / C&RL News patrons satisfied with the simplest o f searches, but that it is quite acceptable for us to try a variety o f approaches and to check th e manual when neces­ sary as we assist our patrons. Another and more difficult training issue was and continues to be that o f training non-core refer­ ence librarians and graduate student assistants. We are assisted at the reference desk by as many as 8-10 graduate students, several librarians from other departm ents and library assistants. Skill-based checklists w ere created . T hese checklists itemize the skills reference desk person­ nel need to have, from booting a com puter to finding names in a particular database. Staff filled them out and then received small group and indi­ vidualized training according to the needs indi­ cated by the checklists. This was extremely labor- intensive. Much reinforcem ent was needed by the core staff. This support group has understandably had the toughest tim e coping with th e new tech­ nologies. P a tr o n tr a in in g Because our patrons like to be independent, most o f our instruction is at point of use and in small groups. However, patrons seem to require a core 15-minute period of instructional tim e to begin even simple searching. Patrons are enthusiastic and anxious to use th e C D databases, but the products do require training. W e have created introductory docum entation for database use, but m ore work needs to be done in this area. Vendors could really help reference librarians by providing on-disk tutorials and instructional guides to their products. SilverPlatter is th e only vendor who has created good docum entation for users, both in p rint and online. D a ta c o lle c t io n a n d p e r fo r m a n c e Over these first six months, use of th e network has been very heavy. D uring the busy times o f the sem ester it was not unusual to have all stations occupied all day. However, we w ere unable to collect accurate use statistics. In June 1989 Silver- P latter installed a prototype of a statistics collection module. This package will allow us to track usage by day, week, m onth and year. Users can be tracked by database and statistics like average minutes per session can be obtained. This is a brand new pack­ age, currently limited to individual workstations, b u t we are looking forward to network-wide collec­ tion capabilities. No significant levels o f degradation in search time w hen several users are searching the same database have been noticed. W hat has been seen are major differences in search tim e because o f the variety o f hardware used. The Zenith machines are noticeably faster than any o f the others while the PC with a hardcard is very slow. Patrons remain largely unaware o f these differences. Once they have experienced C D searching, they don’t like to re tu rn to th e use of p rint indexes. I m p a c t o n r e f e r e n c e s e r v ic e T here have been several noticeable effects on reference service. The most gratifying has been the public relations value for th e library. O ur patrons have m ade it clear that we have given them some­ thing that they value. A m arked decrease, almost 30%, in online searching has been noted. In an academic environm ent, patrons seldom pay for searches out of th eir own pocket unless they have a grant or special funding for search purposes. While many o f our online search patrons have moved over to C D searching, many who were unable to afford online searching have em braced these “free” data­ bases. U ndergraduates make up a large part o f this new group. W hen a library provides a good service, it natu­ rally creates an increased demand. Patrons want more and more CDs. Hum anities scholars (espe­ cially in history and music) are clamoring for a product in their disciplines. Many users are asking about th e availability o f full-text o f the indexed articles. Some have also requested dial-up access from home, office, or dorm room. A natural next step from the library’s point o f view is an expanded network to connect different CD s betw een librar­ ies on campus. While we are pleased by this new technology and hope to continue to expand, th ere have been a couple of issues on the down side. O ne is th e effect on the workload of the reference staff. As m en­ tioned above, patrons need 15 minutes o f introduc­ tion to basic search techniques. Originally we as­ sum ed that the tim e spent teaching someone how to use a C D would be about th e same am ount of time spent on teaching users th e use o f a print index. The additional work associated with the CDs was not anticipated, especially in a network setting. W ith a print index, a user looks up one term , or phrase or name at a time; with a C D several terms can be combined, thus th e user needs to under­ stand basic search strategies. Librarians have also had to spend valuable pro­ fessional tim e engaged in routine low-level tasks such as replacing p aper and changing ink. A second issue of concern is the high cost of network licens­ ing fees. PsycLit has charged th e library this fee for next year’s subscription. I f all the vendors follow this trend, libraries might not be able to afford to support or expand C D access for patrons. The price of p rint indexes are often based on the size of the library and its budget. This would seem to be a more acceptable approach. December 1989 / 992 C o n c lu sio n In summary, our C D network has been a tre ­ mendous success, but it has forced us to address the issues of what services can be realistically provided and what services must be reduced or eliminated. Over the past ten years more and more services have been added without appreciable staff in­ creases. Because professional positions are expen­ sive, it usually takes years to add just one position, and we are now creating a new reference model with a changing role for reference librarians. This new role has the potential to eliminate the refer­ ence desk as we now know it. Last year we added a HyperCard Information Station1 which has made a significant impact in lowering the num ber of direc­ tional questions asked. We are investigating how electronic technology can further assist us in serv­ ing our patrons and allow us to function more efficiently and effectively. ■ ■ 1Paul Carnahan, “Designing a HyperCard Infor­ mation Station: Principles for Product Develop­ ing,” in Computers in Libraries, 1989, 4th Annual Conference and Exhibition, Conference Proceed­ ings, ed. Nancy Melin Nelson (Westport, Conn.: Meckler, 1989). Letters L e a d e r s h ip To the Editor: In a recent letter to C&RL News (October 1989, p.799), I inadvertently allowed a kingly error to pass through undetected. Freud, I ’m sure, would have been delighted. In my letter I was arguing for the importance of making greater commitments to professional development and the importance of reading smart as one step to prepare for leadership. I noted that we all have a stake in the future and therefore must continue our commitment to career development, “...particularly of those who will someday assume the reigns of leadership.” I must have been recalling with some nostalgia the days when directors reigned rather than assumed the reins of leadership, which is more typical today. Those who noticed the slip may have assumed I said w hat I m eant.— R ichard M. D ougherty, Editor, Journal of Academic Librarianship, Uni­ versity o f Michigan. C h in e s e a c a d e m ic lib r a ries To the Editor: W e read, with some interest, Susan Tsui’s short report on academic libraries in C hina in the Sep­ tem ber 1989 issue (pp.662-64). Though it is obvi­ ously impossible to give a complete picture of academic libraries in a country as vast and diverse as China, there are several points in the article that deserve further comment. First, though the author is basically correct in her figures for Chinese library salaries, it should be pointed out that in China the employer is respon­ sible for providing a vast range of fringe benefits unheard of in N orth America. The most im portant of these is housing, which is provided at an ex­ trem ely low cost (about 10 yuan or $3.00 per month) and extra payments are made for coal, oil, and food. Also, various levels of government pro­ vide coupons that allow citizens to purchase food at highly subsidized prices. Chinese academic salaries are certainly not high, but the bare figures provided by Tsui paint a bleaker picture than exists in reality. The author also seems to judge the staffing of Chinese libraries by current North American stan­ dards. While it is true that many senior library staff in China do not have MLS or equivalent degrees, it is incorrect to think of these people as political appointm ents. T h ere is a critical shortage of trained librarians in China, especially over 30 years of age, and it is not uncommon for other academic staff to be assigned to work in the library. Many of these people have been librarians for many years, while others have been assigned more recently in an attem pt to fill the gap of staff in their middle years (35-50) caused by the disruptions of the Cul­ tural Revolution. This appointm ent of non-librari­ ans to library posts existed not so long ago in North America, and it is fair to point out that the Librarian of Congress is an em inent scholar rather than a trained librarian. As more librarians become avail­ able and the possibilities for staff mobility increase in China, this situation is expected to change. In the health sciences, subject access to library collections is becoming the norm. The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) have been translated into Chinese, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (the Chinese MEDLARS Center) is d e­ veloping a M EDLARS-compatible database of Chinese-language citations. Though many Chinese libraries do continue to use classification, rather than subject headings, ās the key to their collec­ tions, most give several class num bers to each book. This system is not unique to China, though it may