[784] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Re: Electronic Access Inquiry
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (MELODIE SANDERS)
Tue Jul 21 09:31:03 1992
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 08:17:22 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
From: MELODIE SANDERS <MES@VAX2.UTULSA.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1992 08:57:43 CDT
> From: "Patt Leonard" <leonard@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu>
> Subject: Re: Electronic Access Inquiry
>
> As a user of an university library online catalog, I would
> love to be able select an e-mail function, while standing at
> the catalog's terminals, and send messages to various departments
> of the library, such as notes about typos in the catalog,
> suggestions for material I would like the library to purchase,
> suggestions for improving the catalog interface, and reference
> questions.
>
> I can imagine a system in which a menu of possible
> addresses appears, and, once the user selects the appropriate
> person to send mail to, the system walks the user through
> the necessary steps. For example, in order for users to
> receive answers to their reference questions, they are going
> to have include their phone number or e-mail address in their
> messages, and the system could prompt them for that information.
>
> Patt Leonard
> leonard@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu
Some of what you want is already available in a few systems. Penn
State University's LIAS system and University of Tulsa's LIAS system
allows an "oops" function. With this command, anyone on the catalog
can send a message to Processing Services regarding typos, suggestions,
incorrect information, or any comment they wish to make. If the
sender adds their name and "address" or "telephone", at University
of Tulsa, I always attempt to send or call an answer to the message.
(For more information on "oops", see the "Help" screens).
Also at University of Texas at Austin, as well as other systems,
you can send "oops" or "comments" type messages. Hopefully, the
next step in all systems will be access to e-mail.
For the "activated" staff at University of Tulsa and Penn State,
we have a menu item on our "select" menu, in which we access both
mail and file transfers (Kermit and FTP). Although the public
"select" menu does not have this option now, the capability is
already in place.
Melodie Sanders Internet: MES@VAX2.UTULSA.EDU
Reference Librarian/Cataloger
McFarlin Library
University of Tulsa (Oklahoma)
