Since our last update two NERS voting snapshots (4th and 5th) have been taken resulting in the submission of 8 global and 4 regional CKB resource addition requests to Ex Libris. Fuller information about resources including, where we can, updates on the status of such requests is normally circulated via the MetaLib list. The 6th snapshot will be taken on 14 August, synchronising with the SFX NERS group.
Jeremy Acland, MetaLib PWG Coordinator.
The IGeLU MetaLib PWG needs volunteers
The IGeLU MetaLib PWG needs you to volunteer to join the Group for two years from September 2011, to continue the essential work of the Group. We are always looking for people to participate in IGeLU activities, in particular the work of the MetaLib PWG.
The IGeLU MetaLib Product Working Group represents the MetaLib customer community within the wider context of the IGeLU. Members of the PWG are on the MetaLib Advisory Group and the URM (Alma) Focus Group, contributing to the development respectively of MetaLib Next Generation (or Primo MetaSearch) and Alma.
There is also an occasional joint meeting with our ELUNA MetaLib PWG partners and Ex Libris on matters of current interest. Recent discussion items include the Primo Central Index and MetaLibPlus, MetaLib Advisory Group updates, and MetaLib service packs and CKB enhancements.
As MetaLib moves into its next generation, this is a particularly exciting time to represent users’ interests in participation in MetaLib’s forward development in partnership with Ex Libris. If the future of the MetaLib user interface lies in Primo, perhaps a merger with the Primo PWG could be a subject worth taking forward. In the meantime, Primo Central certainly provides grounds for cooperation with the Primo group.
Current work includes consolidation of the New Enhancement Requesting and Voting System (NERS) with the ELUNA MetaLib PWG as an effective means of prioritising the addition of new resources to the MetaLib knowledgebase. Regular voting snapshots, coordinated with the SFX NERS group, are taken and communicated to Ex Libris, who have committed to add winning resources to the CKB where technically possible.
The availability of the Primo Central Index (PCI) of articles, conference papers, ebook content and other resources on favourable terms to Ex Libris MetaLib customers without Primo as a MetaLib target and as a service through a Primo user interface, was won through the work of IGeLU and the MetaLib PWG. MetaLib is available to PCI users through the Primo UI service by way of the QuickSets for metasearch and the Find Database functionality.
The MetaLib PWG is currently three strong and has been coordinated by Jeremy Acland since the Ghent conference in September 2010. In addition, Lukas Koster represents the PWG on the IGeLU Steering Committee. The Group meets about monthly via Skype, and there are in addition two face-to-face meetings per year, this year in Ghent after the conference and in Amsterdam during February, for which we receive financial help from IGeLU.
The Group is in urgent need of 2 or 3 willing volunteers to resume the work of the Group after the Haifa Conference in September. If you are interested, please contact any or all of the PWG members below.
IGeLU MetaLib Product Working Group:
– Jeremy Acland, coordinator (j.acland@qmul.ac.uk)
– Stefan Lohrum (lohrum@zib.de)
– Jussi Brunberg (johan.brunberg@helsinki.fi)