ANs, SDIs, and SP visit

[Kimberly Parker <kimberly.parker@yale.edu>]

I've stacked up a list of topics about which I need to communicate, so be
prepared to wade through them.

(1) Removing ANs from the default record display.
        At the time we were asking to automatically have the abstracts display
in our default record display, there was the suggestion, that we could remove
the AN in order to save a little space.  It turns out that this is not as easy
as adding something in.  In fact, the only way we could do this, would be to
decide what fields we wanted to show in every single database default
display. 
Right now the defaults are slightly different for each database.  Adding isn't
a problem.  Subtracting is, unless we were to go to standard default fields
for
every database.  Since AN subtraction would not gain us a whole lot of space,
and I couldn't foresee that it would be easy for all of us to reach agreement
about exactly which fields should display for every dbs, I told SilverPlatter
that we weren't prepared to do that at the present time.  Please yell, if you
feel differently.  If in the future there is another major field we want to
remove from the default display, we can revisit the issue.

(2) Turning on capability for SDIs.
        Betty Cohen talked to one of our SP reps at the Med Lib Assoc
conference, and returned to ask me about whether we could turn on the
capability for SDIs in the Java version of SilverPlatter.  (not available in
the reg web version.)  The answer is yes, if we turn it on for all the
databases.  This "auto-run" search capability emails the result sets to a user
on a schedule of their choice.  What I don't know is how the SDIs are deleted
or modified, since we use IP authentication for SilverPlatter.  The info from
their documentation is:
SDI
An SDI creates a saved search which is run automatically on a schedule you
designate. Records retrieved by the search
are emailed to you.
To create an SDI:
1. Perform one or more searches.
2. Use the Search History to select the search you want to use for your SDI.
WebSPIRS suggests that you rerun the original search with all databases in
the group opened so that you can see the results that will make up the SDI
baseline search. If you do not need to see the entire baseline before
completing
the SDI (for instance if unopened databases cover earlier research and you
are only interested in the most current research), click Continue to
proceed to
the next step.
3. Click to open the Create New SDI page.
NOTE: If there is no Create SDI button, you are not authorized to create SDIs.
Contact your system administrator for authorization.

(3) Training/update visit from SilverPlatter reps.
        At the same time, Betty asked whether we could arrange a
training/update visit from our SilverPlatter rep to remind us of features we
may have missed, not thought about, or may not have realized could be
enabled. 
She's offered the EPH computer training classroom as a venue for this.  I'm
perfectly happy to arrange it, if people are willing to speak up about when
they will be in town.  Once arranged, of course we could advertise to a wider
audience (like yulpub, yulinst, and others).
        So if you are interested in such a visit/demo, would you reply listing
week of 6/7, 6/14 or early part of 6/21 would be better for you?  I will then
coordinate with Betty, the Library Events calendar, and the SP people as to
when to actually schedule this.

(4)  Finally, for those who may not be aware of this, there is a pdf document
on the SilverPlatter corporate website that is a training guide to WebSpirs
version 4 (the java version) http://www.silverplatter.com/erl/websp4.pdf and
another for WebSpirs version 3 (the web version)
ftp://ftp.silverplatter.com/documentation/SoftwareDocumentation/WebSPIRS/Wel
comeWebSPIRS.pdf that you might find helpful in preparing instructional
materials. (careful of the second url since it wraps in email.  You may
need to
cut and paste twice into the location/netsite field in Netscape)

--Kim 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kimberly Parker
Electronic Publishing & Collections Libn
SML 606 or Med Lib TS
432-0067 or 785-7116
mailto:kimberly.parker@yale.edu