Dear Colleagues,

This message is an update to Ohio's K-12 library community regarding the progress we are making to migrate from MultiLIS to Sirsi K-12 library automation software. The INFOhio Union Catalog (now Curriculum Resource Catalog) and library automation were our first two components. Starting in 1993, INFOhio's first two automated buildings have grown to almost 2,200. Our partners at the OECN Data Acquisition Sites report that more than 540 buildings are now using Sirsi K-12 through INFOhio. (You can track our progress with the Transition Statistics link.)

Ready for more good news? The last wave of DASite providers begin their training cycle this month. As they are trained, the providers will begin migrating a few of their districts to the new software. As they become comfortable with the process, they will migrate other districts, much as the previous waves of DASites are doing. To better understand our sequence, visit the Transition Timeline.

INFOhio and our hard-working technical support staff at NOACSC are on track to finish the DASite migrations by June 2006, when plans are to migrate the Curriculum Resource Catalog to Sirsi. In addition to training and assisting DASite staff in their migration, Tech. Support is working to add Ohio-friendly components to Sirsi K-12, much as we did with MultiLIS. Examples include better K-12 reports and more automated procedures. I am pleased with the documentation INFOhio and many users have developed for Sirsi, both Tip Sheets and Flip Charts that are excellent resources for library staff. [This file is password protected. Sirsi participants may obtain a username and password from their DASite provider.]

INFOhio started as a grassroots effort, and we remain committed to you, our user base. Our "seasoned MultiLIS veterans" will recall that INFOhio made significant enhancements to MultiLIS over the years. We are listening to your comments and ideas regarding Sirsi and several efforts are now underway to enhance the software, with more planned over the next several months. Also, INFOhio is in close contact with Sirsi's product developers to make sure the software evolves to meet the needs of Ohio and other K-12 customers. As Sirsi's largest installation, INFOhio is being heard at the company's highest levels

From what everyone has learned through migrating almost 550 buildings, I urge those yet to migrate to do ALL of the following:

1) Use as much time as you can spare to perform database cleanup. Better records, especially item information such as call numbers and collection codes, make for better migrations. An important bonus: Better records mean your patrons are more likely to find the materials they seek. To learn more about database cleanup, visit the INFOhio Web site.

2) Attend training. While most of those who have already migrated agree Sirsi K-12 takes less training than MultiLIS, there are several differences between the text-based MultiLIS and the Web-based Sirsi software, as well as several new features and new terminology. Everyone is still learning more about the software, so INFOhio plans to add tips and shortcuts to a new section of our Sirsi Transition pages. Watch for an announcement about the first few tips soon.

3) Practice! Practice!! Practice!!! It's not just for Carnegie Hall, it's for Carnegie (and other) librarians, including those who want to be comfortable with new library automation software. Use the training/test database your DASite support staff sets up to practice and explore. Look for circulation and cataloging anomalies that may be present. Finding such problems BEFORE your final migration will enhance the entire experience. Your provider can resolve many glitches before you migrate, avoiding the need for you to solve them afterwards.

4) Communicate. If Sirsi doesn't seem to be doing what you think it should, contact the INFOhio Support Staff at your regional ITC and/or support@infohio.org. INFOhio gets stronger as it listens to everyone, so we want to hear your comments. We don't have all the answers, yet; but we're working on it. Everyone at INFOhio is dedicated to making sure YOU are satisfied with the migration from MultiLIS to Sirsi.

While I am pleased with so many buildings already migrated, numbers alone do not determine the success of our endeavor. I want to make sure that everyone is happy with the experience, even if it means our benchmark dates have to slip a bit. Our progress is even more significant in light of the funding cuts INFOhio has experienced over the last two state budgets. We are a living example of doing more with less, and I'm confident our students and teachers will benefit from our efforts. Thank you for being part of our journey!

Theresa M. Fredericka
INFOhio Executive Director