Bibliographic Service - University of Siena

Update report / by Guido Badalamenti

Institution name:

• Servizio Bibliotecario Senese - Universita' di Siena
• Bibliographic Service - University of Siena
• Description: Metropolitan Consortium of more than 30 research, public, special, and private libraries.
• Subject areas covered: Medicine, Law, Economics and banking, Physical and Natural Science, Pharmacy, Arts and Humanities, Mathematics, Social Works, Engineering, Theology.
• Catalogue configuration: 1 local library and 16 sublibraries.
• Records:
  • 267.934 monographs
  • 210.000 analytical records linked to the monographs
  • 18.403 journals

• Guido Badalamenti,
• system library manager
• Universita' di Siena
• SAB: Servizio Automazione Biblioteche
• Via Fieravecchia 19, 53100 Siena (Italy)
• tel. and fax: +39-577-298524

• Version implemented: 3.2_5-11
• Functions implemented: Opac, Cataloging, Serial, Circulation, Maintenance, Iutil.
• Operating system: VMS, release 6.2
• Server type: Dec ALPHA Server 2100 with 256 MB of RAM and 5 disks of 2 GB each one;(+ VAX 3100)
• Network configuration: DECNET, TCP/IP
• Type of workstations: Digital Terminal VT320, VT420, VT510, PC, MAC.

Major developments since the last ICAU meeting:

• Migration to the new hardware (from Vax 6610).
• Extention of the number of workstations.
• Implementation of Aleph new version: conversion of data (15 days, see below), configuration of screens (about 15 days), activity of problems solving (in progress).
• Installation of WWW-Server (in progress?: see below).
• Configuration of national network with others Aleph installations (in progress).
• Implementation of CIRculation module in 11 libraries.
• Barcode assignement of monographs.
• Adoption of a common circulation policy for all the libraries.
• Procedure for weekly check and import of borrower's records (25.000) from the administrative database.
• Retroconvertion of card catalogues (by scanner, OCR/IR and reformatting software Malachia).

Major developments planned:

• Implementation of ACQuisition module.
• Implementation of ILL module.
• Replacing of many terminals with PC.

Open problems:

• WWW and LINK.
  The first characteristic of our catalogue is the number of analytical records linked (for display and holding) to the main records, they amount to about 2/5 of all the catalogue: we cannot open WWW server because our users would see the records but they couldn't see the location of the document.
• Reorganisation of files.
  The procedures for the reorganisation of files - mainly for word files - are too long. The weekly and monthly activities for the maintenance of a big database force us to close the catalogue for a long lapse of time.