July 15, 2010
NCIP Conference Call
July 15, 2010
Present on the call
Susan Campbell - College Center for Library Automation (CCLA)
Rob Walsh - EnvisionWare (Maintenance Agency)
Karen Wetzel - NISO
Tony OʼBrien, John Bodfish - OCLC
Rob Gray, John Barr - Polaris
Dhaval Kotecha - RapidRadio
Kevin Stewart - Relais International (muted)
Gail Wanner (Chair) - SirsiDynix
Thalia Dickson - The Library Corporation
Pascal Calarco, Rick Johnson - The University of Notre Dame; the eXtensible Catalog Project
Collette Mak - The University of Notre Dame
Dave Lindahl - The University of Rochester; the eXtensible Catalog Project
ALA Updates
* NCIP Social - Wanner reported that the social event held at ALA was well attended. There
were at least 16 people present, and we know of others who had trouble finding the group.
We will plan another similar event next year, and we should ensure that we have signs to help
people find us.
* Cooperative Remote Circulation Forum (LLAMA-SASS/RUSA-STARS) - Wanner reported that
this meeting was lightly attended. There has been a change in the leadership of the group,
and, from the discussion, it appears that they are working to redefine themselves. We have a
solid opportunity to continue this relationship. At the meeting, Wanner and Walsh provided
some background on NCIP and a report on recent events and activities. In addition, they
discussed the idea of using next yearʼs meeting as an opportunity to provide a live demo of
NCIP.
* Other
* Campbell reported attending a Drupal Interest Group meeting. She said that Lindahl
reported on work within the eXtensible Catalog Project to implement NCIP Version 2
for the NCIP Toolkit.
* Walsh reported attending the LITA Standards Update meeting where an update on the
Institutional Identifier (I2) Project was given. He suggested that we should remain
aware of this effort and consider how it relates to NCIP as a means for identifying
agencies. Wetzel mentioned that the I2 working group has released a mid-term
progress report, and Walsh agreed to review it and post comments.
NCIP Revision Update
Walsh reported that we have missed the end of June target for publishing the first revision of
NCIP under continuous maintenance. There were delays getting editable documents from
NISO and in getting the updated schema. Also, an implementer in China has discovered and
reported some fairly significant discrepancies between the published version of the Standard
and the schema. Walsh recently posted to the NCIP-IG list a request to change the disposition
on all of the revision items accepted at the March 2010 meeting to “Accepted for Further Study” to allow us to complete the necessary edits and a proactive review of the Standard looking for
additional mistakes. OʼBrien asked what specific change requests would be affected, and
Walsh reviewed for the group the requests accepted at the March 2010 meeting. Gray
expressed concern over the slow pace of progress and asked whether we have enough
resources to ensure the work will get done going forward. Walsh indicated that the issues were
largely related to this being the first edit under continuous maintenance and to the fact that there
are undiscovered problems with the published document. Wetzel added that changing the
items from “Accepted” to “Accepted for Further Study” did not mean that the items would be
reconsidered at the September 2010 meeting. Walsh agreed to send individual requests to
those who will be affected by the change in status asking for permission to defer. Wanner
asked if anyone objected to this course of action, and, although the group seemed disappointed
that the changes could not be made on time, no one spoke against it.
Implementer Updates
In the interest of time, Wanner skipped a standing agenda item for Implementer Updates.
NCIP Forum Update
Barr and Kotecha reported that NCIP now has a forum available for trial use (http://
www.ncipnow.com). They request that group members take a look and provide feedback on
what specific sections are needed and if there are links to other resources that should be added.
Also, we need volunteers to serve as moderators. Wanner asked how the “Ask the Experts”
section is handled. Are there assigned responders or do we simply rely on people to “jump in”
as they have answers. Wetzel asked whether the intent is for this to be a formal extension of
the NCIP-IG or an informal external resource. Barr indicated that the hope is that the forum will
become self-perpetuating and that it should not be necessary for it to be managed or controlled
by the NCIP-IG. Walsh asked how this will be different from the current general interest NCIP
list which has many subscribers but very little activity. Barr agreed that represents an area of
concern, but he said we should consider this an experiment. Some added that the forum should
provide a more accessible archive of information over time than the current list.
Implementer Registry
Wanner reported that Campbell has the Implementer Registry site (http://
ncip.dev3.webenabled.net) ready for live testing. She has removed fake data and wants people
to replace it with real information. Everyone is encouraged to review the site and enter
information about their own implementations.
[Editorʼs Note: Susan Campbell provided some corrections to the report given on the call. Here
is a bit of the email she sent:
The minutes say Iʼve removed the fake data. Itʼs actually still fake data at http://
ncip.dev3.webenabled.net, just better fake data. I have real names and products
entered, but the only active accounts are mythological names and products (Mercury
Libraries with product Mercury Griffin, Zeus Library System with the product Zeus
Dragon, etc.) The user is now really a user too, no longer a company name. I finally
realized trying to get a two-fer that way was a bad idea. Accounts will need to be created
for actual users. Itʼs a simple, quick task though. I can do that using the NCIP-IG roster before I call the site finished. I thought the fake data would make it easier for your folks
to see intent/functionality and yet know what needs to be removed. I have added a page
with disclaimers (it is my first Drupal site) for admin-eyes-only and with mention of
things that would be nice, but are beyond my skills.
Next Call
Wanner reported that the next call is scheduled for August 19, 2010 at 1 pm Eastern. During
that call, we need to get a headcount of those planning to attend the September 2010 meeting
in Chicago.
July 15, 2010
Present on the call
Susan Campbell - College Center for Library Automation (CCLA)
Rob Walsh - EnvisionWare (Maintenance Agency)
Karen Wetzel - NISO
Tony OʼBrien, John Bodfish - OCLC
Rob Gray, John Barr - Polaris
Dhaval Kotecha - RapidRadio
Kevin Stewart - Relais International (muted)
Gail Wanner (Chair) - SirsiDynix
Thalia Dickson - The Library Corporation
Pascal Calarco, Rick Johnson - The University of Notre Dame; the eXtensible Catalog Project
Collette Mak - The University of Notre Dame
Dave Lindahl - The University of Rochester; the eXtensible Catalog Project
ALA Updates
* NCIP Social - Wanner reported that the social event held at ALA was well attended. There
were at least 16 people present, and we know of others who had trouble finding the group.
We will plan another similar event next year, and we should ensure that we have signs to help
people find us.
* Cooperative Remote Circulation Forum (LLAMA-SASS/RUSA-STARS) - Wanner reported that
this meeting was lightly attended. There has been a change in the leadership of the group,
and, from the discussion, it appears that they are working to redefine themselves. We have a
solid opportunity to continue this relationship. At the meeting, Wanner and Walsh provided
some background on NCIP and a report on recent events and activities. In addition, they
discussed the idea of using next yearʼs meeting as an opportunity to provide a live demo of
NCIP.
* Other
* Campbell reported attending a Drupal Interest Group meeting. She said that Lindahl
reported on work within the eXtensible Catalog Project to implement NCIP Version 2
for the NCIP Toolkit.
* Walsh reported attending the LITA Standards Update meeting where an update on the
Institutional Identifier (I2) Project was given. He suggested that we should remain
aware of this effort and consider how it relates to NCIP as a means for identifying
agencies. Wetzel mentioned that the I2 working group has released a mid-term
progress report, and Walsh agreed to review it and post comments.
NCIP Revision Update
Walsh reported that we have missed the end of June target for publishing the first revision of
NCIP under continuous maintenance. There were delays getting editable documents from
NISO and in getting the updated schema. Also, an implementer in China has discovered and
reported some fairly significant discrepancies between the published version of the Standard
and the schema. Walsh recently posted to the NCIP-IG list a request to change the disposition
on all of the revision items accepted at the March 2010 meeting to “Accepted for Further Study” to allow us to complete the necessary edits and a proactive review of the Standard looking for
additional mistakes. OʼBrien asked what specific change requests would be affected, and
Walsh reviewed for the group the requests accepted at the March 2010 meeting. Gray
expressed concern over the slow pace of progress and asked whether we have enough
resources to ensure the work will get done going forward. Walsh indicated that the issues were
largely related to this being the first edit under continuous maintenance and to the fact that there
are undiscovered problems with the published document. Wetzel added that changing the
items from “Accepted” to “Accepted for Further Study” did not mean that the items would be
reconsidered at the September 2010 meeting. Walsh agreed to send individual requests to
those who will be affected by the change in status asking for permission to defer. Wanner
asked if anyone objected to this course of action, and, although the group seemed disappointed
that the changes could not be made on time, no one spoke against it.
Implementer Updates
In the interest of time, Wanner skipped a standing agenda item for Implementer Updates.
NCIP Forum Update
Barr and Kotecha reported that NCIP now has a forum available for trial use (http://
www.ncipnow.com). They request that group members take a look and provide feedback on
what specific sections are needed and if there are links to other resources that should be added.
Also, we need volunteers to serve as moderators. Wanner asked how the “Ask the Experts”
section is handled. Are there assigned responders or do we simply rely on people to “jump in”
as they have answers. Wetzel asked whether the intent is for this to be a formal extension of
the NCIP-IG or an informal external resource. Barr indicated that the hope is that the forum will
become self-perpetuating and that it should not be necessary for it to be managed or controlled
by the NCIP-IG. Walsh asked how this will be different from the current general interest NCIP
list which has many subscribers but very little activity. Barr agreed that represents an area of
concern, but he said we should consider this an experiment. Some added that the forum should
provide a more accessible archive of information over time than the current list.
Implementer Registry
Wanner reported that Campbell has the Implementer Registry site (http://
ncip.dev3.webenabled.net) ready for live testing. She has removed fake data and wants people
to replace it with real information. Everyone is encouraged to review the site and enter
information about their own implementations.
[Editorʼs Note: Susan Campbell provided some corrections to the report given on the call. Here
is a bit of the email she sent:
The minutes say Iʼve removed the fake data. Itʼs actually still fake data at http://
ncip.dev3.webenabled.net, just better fake data. I have real names and products
entered, but the only active accounts are mythological names and products (Mercury
Libraries with product Mercury Griffin, Zeus Library System with the product Zeus
Dragon, etc.) The user is now really a user too, no longer a company name. I finally
realized trying to get a two-fer that way was a bad idea. Accounts will need to be created
for actual users. Itʼs a simple, quick task though. I can do that using the NCIP-IG roster before I call the site finished. I thought the fake data would make it easier for your folks
to see intent/functionality and yet know what needs to be removed. I have added a page
with disclaimers (it is my first Drupal site) for admin-eyes-only and with mention of
things that would be nice, but are beyond my skills.
Next Call
Wanner reported that the next call is scheduled for August 19, 2010 at 1 pm Eastern. During
that call, we need to get a headcount of those planning to attend the September 2010 meeting
in Chicago.