This decision proved to be wise. The conversion to ALEPH 3.2-5 was not easy for those libraries which did convert (part of the Hebrew University) and the process of weeding out the bugs took several painful months. Had all or most of the other universities converted at that time the debugging and patching process would have been greatly complicated and both the libraries and ALEPH- Yissum would have had a much more difficult time.
By Winter 1994/5 version 3.2-5 was considered stable and relatively bug-free, and the university libraries were promised that the stability of the version would be maintained throughout Summer/Fall 1995.
The Mt. Scopus Library for Humanities and Social Sciences of the Hebrew University decided not to wait for the Summer break and converted to version 3.2-5 over the long weekend of the Purim holiday in March. While the conversion did not create any unexpected problems, the library reported recently that version 3.2-5 is more time and resource consuming. Virtually all of the Hebrew University libraries are now in version 3.2-5, although several smaller departmental libraries are still in version 2.5.
Four of the university library systems (Bar-Ilan, Haifa, Tel-Aviv and Weizmann Institute) intend to convert during Summer/Fall 1995. The remaining two institutions (Ben-Gurion University and Technion - Israel Institute of Technology) do not intend to convert at this time.
One of the conclusions from the 1994 conversion was that the computer resources required for version 3.2-5 were significantly greater than the original 20% estimate. As a result, the Hebrew University system (which was already on several VAXes) was forced to further decentralize with additional VAX computers.
With the announcement by ALEPH-Yissum of an ALEPH version for ALPHA-OVMS, and the attractive price of ALPHA computers relative to the upkeep of the older VAXes, the four libraries about to convert have ordered ALPHA-Server computers to replace their VAXes as part of the conversion process.
In Fall 1995 the "junction-computer" which supports three joint ALEPH files will convert to version 3.2-5 as well. The "libraries" on this computer are: 1) LCMARC, 2) the Union list of serials (ULS), and 3) the Union list of monographs (ULM). The ULM file is built and maintained automatically from miminal data records downloaded on the individual computers and ftp-ed to the ULM computer where they are uploaded using an algorithm designed to locate and unite duplicate records. The existing ULM file will not be converted, but rather a new ULM will be built from scratch. The new ULM will have enhanced processing software which will enable automatic deletion and/or correction of existing records.
The Users Committee is currently negotiating a new contract with ALEPH-Yissum. This contract will include a timetable for stabilization and distribution of new versions, and a mechanism for reporting on future development plans and (hopefully) for greater dialog and involvement of the university libraries in the development process.
Inter-library searching within the same version is reasonably simple, but searching across versions requires a remote re-login (preceded by a warning/explanatory message).
The ALEPH 3 based network displays the screens of the remote library but uses tables of the local host - this has led to cases where a list of BASE commands at one library did not match the BASE tables at another and where the same BASE command had different meanings at both. This has led to the conclusion that the BASE commands used across the network must be centrally coordinated to prevent duplication and confusion. The mechanism for doing this is currently being set up.
Since TCP/IP based ALEPH 3 networks can be international as well, some thought should be given to international coordination of unique identifying codes.