Customers of Dynix, Incorporated

Editor’s Note: Please send submissions for the next issue of "CODI News" by May 10, 1999.

Send mailing changes and other pertinent inquiries to: Frances Orton, CODI Membership Services Coordinator, 381 W. 3700 N., Provo, UT 84604. 801-226-6054. codi@uswest.net

• President’s Letter "For 75 Bucks . . ."
• 1999 10th Annual CODI Conference – Update
• Dynix System Administrator Certification Program
• CODI / ALA informational meeting
• Tampa in 2000, the real reasons to go!
• CODI Board Member Meeting –December 9, 1998
• CODI Board Member Meeting – November 16 & 24, 1998
• CODI Board of Trustees 1998 / 1999
• As seen on Dynix_L -- A Year Zero Bug?
• Editorial Musings

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You might be able to buy a brass floor lamp for your study or living room. You might be able to indulge in a bread maker. You might be able to buy a NASCAR select Exide auto battery, or a low-end pair of car audio speakers. You might be able to buy a basic, no-frills microwave to heat hot water and soup for your staff break room. Or, you might be able to put on a really good pair of work boots or athletic training shoes. For 75 bucks, you might be able to buy a week’s groceries, or maybe 75 gallons of gas if you live in the Midwest, or two months of cable TV subscription. Or, you might be able to make one of four payments on a Big Bertha golf driver to impress your friends on the greens!

For over 10 years your CODI membership dues have stayed stable at $50 per year. What a bargain for such a dynamic organization! Your CODI Board continues to hold the line on excessive expenses. Incorporation as a not-for-profit a few years back gave us a wake-up call to smell the coffee. We now no longer hand over a share of money each year to Uncle Sam. We now are accountable for all that money, and with accountability comes responsibility: wages and benefits for our membership services coordinator; wages for accountants to do our taxes correctly; wages for lawyers to keep our not-for-profit status clear and up-to-date; contractual commitments to our conference planner. Postage has gone up, supplies have gone up, travel costs have gone up. The cost of business simply is not what it used to be in 1989.

At the CODI Conference, I used the analogy of setting aside a dollar bill each time we read something helpful on Dynix_l: maybe one of John Hurley’s recall statements, or any post that gives us an idea, a thought, a creative boost, a substantial work around. If you set aside a dollar bill each time you read something that helped you manage your system a little better, how far into the year would you go before you had a stack of 75 one-dollar bills next to your keyboard? Would you go through a whole year? Six months? A month?

Your vote of YES on the membership dues increase in May when you receive your nomination ballot will greatly assist CODI in planning for the next 10 years. Our product is *not* dead: our user organization continues to be vibrant and influential. There is much to do on a regional and global scale to carry our needs and wishes into the new century.

I hope that you will continue to agree that investing in CODI continues to be one of the best bargains around!

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Greetings!

Thanks to all 545 of you, this year’s CODI conference New Directions – Y2K and Beyond in Seattle was successful! The hotel, conference planner, membership services coordinator, and conference committees worked together to give us a conference of distinction. The evaluations indicated the variety and diversity of programs and the smooth running of the conference were the strengths of this conference. Susan Marshall’s "Dynix to Horizon" was the most popular program giving attendees concrete, useful information to look at our future. Michael Schuyler’s presentations, all PAC for Windows sessions, Serials Bindings, Leading and Managing Technology Projects, EDI, and Recall and Roundtables sessions had many comments noting them as the best sessions attended. Where as the concept to have luncheon speakers was not well received due to the mere fact that everyone wanted an opportunity to converse with their tablemates. Thus, allowing time to just relax and enjoy networking with other CODI members.

The evaluations gave rave reviews to Conference Web page and the work done by the conference committees, conference planner, and from the local arrangements committee their Dinner Groups and Seattle Guide. The binders were great but lacking in the Handout section. Most handouts are available on the CODI web page http://www.sbu.edu/codi/1999proceedings/programs.htm for those received to date.

The Seattle conference did make money for the organization with the increase of registrations from our original estimate of 450. Cathy Schappert, CODI Treasurer and I, are in the process of finalizing the expenses and any proceeds from the conference. With the popularity of credit card use for this conference, the CODI Board is exploring this option for future conference use. A final conference report is planned for the summer newsletter.

Again, I thank our sponsoring organizations for their generous contribution to this conference – Ameritech Library Services, EBSCO, 3M and Unique Management. Many libraries and business in the greater Puget Sound area contributed in-kind services as well.

susannew@kcls.org

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Statistics as to the number of workshops, participants, tests taken and graduates as of 2/1/99 were published in the CODI binder and are available in this newsletter. The concern I hear most often is with the multiple answer questions on the Security Exam.

This asks for all appropriate answers to the question and if you miss one or if you miss all of them you miss the whole question. Some have failed the exam because of these types of questions and felt that partial credit for the answer should be given. Ameritech's response was that in the area of security if you miss blocking one tiny hole in your system you become as vulnerable to break-ins as the person who has missed three or four openings. Unfortunately this is true and presents a valid argument. I was also reminded that all exams are open book.

Others have mentioned that they put the "expected" answers to questions and then took the time to write essay length answers on why they thought differently. More to keep Workshop team members busy and thinking.

As more libraries consider the move to Horizon and/or Sunrise and the future of the product there were questions about the certification transferring or how it will be updated.

While these workshops are still "in the works" there will be workshops for new systems, as old concepts will no longer be valid. Each System Administrator will still have the opportunity to take the test without taking the workshop if they feel comfortable with the covered material. New products mean new workshops. Certified SA's still need to be re-certified every two years.

A group picture of several certified SA’s taken at CODI: http://www.plu.edu/~media/codiphotos/12/12-019.html

compiled by Ginger Olson

* This number includes re-takes.

# of customers who have taken at least one exam: 53

# of customers who have passed at least one exam: 35

# of customers certified: 12

# of customers needing to pass one more exam to certify: 6

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An informational meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 29^th from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (location to be determined.) We will begin with an update on projects like JAD and the Good Ideas database plus basic information about CODI. Following this session, ALS representatives will present on Dynix software development, as well as a discussion and demo of the new Sunrise modules.

Hope to see many of you there with your concerns, questions and suggestions on how CODI can make a difference.

susannew@kcls.org

I realize we are just back from another excellent CODI conference, but it is never too soon to start planning for next year. With this thought in mind, I present several very compelling arguments provided by the Tampa local arrangements committee. Be sure to attach them to your travel request when you submit it to your boss!

--Editor

by Al Carlson

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As the local arrangements committee for Tampa 2000, our first thought was to tempt you into coming by describing all the great attractions our area has to offer. But then we realized that would be wrong! You should be coming for work related reasons. You should be coming because you care deeply about library automation. You should attend because of the theme of next year’s conference. (Whatever the heck it is.)

So, when you fill out your travel request, don’t mention great weather or long sandy beaches. Avoid any reference to the Gasparilla Pirate Invasion, our version of the Mardi Gras. Pretend you’re unaware that the Blue Jays, the Tigers, the Yankees, and other professional baseball teams do their spring training and play exhibition games in the area. If someone mentions the life size dinosaur statues at MOSI, the Museum of Science and Industry, tell them you just wanted to see the public library branch there. And act as though you’d never realized that SCUBA diving, sailing, kayaking, and jet ski rentals were part of everyday life in Tampa. Pretend to be surprised if anyone mentions the great restaurants and exciting nightlife in Ybor City, a stone’s throw away from the Conference Center. And don’t let on that the Conference Center itself is right on the water.

So, as you fill out your travel request, keep it straight, keep it businesslike, and act as though you don’t care about the location. Oh, yeah. Be sure to bring your sunscreen.

Conference Call 2:00 pm CST

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Present: Tenglund, Schuster, Schappert, Olson, G. Freeman, Johns, Woodford, Hendricks

Guests: M. Freeman, Ricc Ferrante, Ron Pasmore

Minutes approved with no questions or additions.

Schappert had previously distributed her report. There was discussion about how to show payments for the conference planner in order to have the payments in the correct fiscal year for a conference as well as showing the correct milestones for a specific contract. It was agreed that the payments this year should show as the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th for this contract. The report was approved.

Ricc Ferrante (Horizon Product Manager) and Ron Passmore (Director of Marketing) joined Gretchen in reporting on the implementation of a ALS new pricing model. The new model consolidates Dynix and Horizon pricing and builds in migration pricing from Dynix to the next generation product. A description of the new pricing model will be included in the 1999 Dynix Product Plan delivered to all Dynix customers in January/February, 1999.

Marge Freeman joined the Board discussion to present some new alternatives for getting the Bright Ideas project off the ground. The Board feels a need to pursue this more actively, while also realizing it is critical for the process to be workable for Ameritech staff. There needs to be a way for CODI members to routinely provide new ideas for the products, but unless this information is integrated with Dynix product development it will not be truly beneficial.

ACTION: M.Freeman, G.Freeman, and Ginger Olson will continue to discuss the various issues the next day, December 10.

Marge Freeman and Susan Johns had previously distributed an extensive written report of the Horizon conference to all Board members. They did not attend any of the Horizon board meetings, but had a full schedule selecting from the conference presentations. They reported on the sessions they had attended, and how aspects of the meeting and the product compared to CODI and Dynix. Marge presented a session on the JAD development process, which was not well known by the Horizon membership. Horizon has a substantial number of non-U.S. users, and they were able to spend time with some of the international representatives to the meeting. Invitations have been extended to the Horizon board to attend the CODI conference in Seattle.

Woodford had previously distributed a complete V.P. report to the board. Updating that with current registration figures from Schappert, the minimum guarantee needed for the Tillicum Village banquet has been met. Woodford will inform Tillicum that the December payment is in the mail process. The percentage of hotel rooms booked is ahead of last years percentage for this length before conference, so that is also looking good.

Conference planner Pia Jones had previously distributed a report to the Board from her site visit to Tampa. The site appears very good, and the Board approved a motion for her to continue negotiations for dates and rates with the hotels she reported about.

Johns had previously distributed to the Board a draft of potential by-laws issues that need to be researched. Some of the issues, such as electronic meetings of the Board, should be fairly straightforward. Other issues, such as the changes needed as a result of Ameritech corporate restructuring and the implications that has for CODI international representation, will require more research. After some discussion about the number and complexity of the tasks for one committee to work with, it was decided that it is critical to get a committee working on these issues, and that if necessary further restructuring of the assignment can be done in the future. The Board approved a motion for Johns to appoint a committee to begin By Laws work. Johns requested that additional suggestions for membership be sent to her immediately; she will share the suggestions with the board and contact the nominees to determine their availability.

Woodford will draft a list of issues that will need to be explored prior to resolving any future joint conference possibilities with Horizon. Johns intends to appoint another committee to look into these issues.

WEB - Tenglund provided written report that the servers are running well and previous problem pages have been taken care of. She will be working on updating Who’s Done What, putting up the next newsletter edition, and preparing for the 1999 Conference Proceedings.

JAD - Olson’s report was included during the discussion with Marge Freeman.

REGIONAL GROUPS - Hendricks has forwarded chair changes as necessary.

AMERITECH - Gretchen had reported along with the Ameritech guests at the beginning of the meeting.

Most of the Board will be attending Midwinter in Philadelphia. If a quorum is possible we can hold our January Board meeting at that time, in addition to the general Informational Sessions for all CODI members. The Board reviewed specific issues that Ameritech could address at that time, and Johns will forward the list to Gretchen Freeman. Finalization of the Informational Session agenda, and the various meeting times, will be done by email and then posted for the membership.

schuster@selway.umt.edu

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PRESENT: Ann Tenglund, Bonnie Schuster, Ginger Olson, John Hurley, Susan Johns,

Susanne Woodford, Thom Hendricks

Shappert had faxed board members the detailed report. It was approved as faxed.

YTD Inflows = 29,258.80

YTD Outflows= 13,500.53

Johns has received the annual escrow confirmation for the software code, and had has requested a detailed report which she will share with the board once it has been received.

Woodford had faxed complete report to board members. Registrations are coming in. Several exhibitors have confirmed, and some will be sponsoring. Woodford reports the preliminary program has been posted to the website. Board members were reminded to submit their annual reports by December 15 for inclusion in the conference packets. Susan and Susanne will work out details for board meetings, regular meetings, international and other representatives, etc.

Tabled until December, when hopefully JAD Coordinator, Marge Freeman, will be able to join the board meeting.

Motion approved to direct Frances Orton to donate the old CODI computer to a deserving library.

WEB: Tenglund had faxed report. No intentional changes, but after the Web server had crashed, someone had used the wrong backup tape to restore the system. Ann is in process of revising the files based on her personal backups. There is standard link checking software operating, but this is not helpful for detecting incorrect files or sites.

ACTION: Board members will routinely check the site to help Ann detect problems. Email discussion will take place to explore possible options for the website when Ann’s term as At-Large Liaison expires this year.

JAD: Olson and Marge Freeman are planning to survey JAD libraries to determine what does and does not work well. Appropriate methods for non-participating libraries to keep updated and provide additional input still need to be finalized.

REGIONALS: Hendricks had attended the UMDUG meeting in October. There was concern about how the SA Certification program was working. Thom also provided updates on regional contact persons to the website and newsletter.

Pia Jones had provided the board with a revised report for Eastern sites. She was still negotiating for prices at some of the sites. The board agreed price should be the determining factor in selecting a site. Motion approved to have Pia make a site visit and report back, following which the board hopes to finalize a site.

Johns introduced the idea of appointing a committee of non-board members to examine our current by-laws. Both organizational changes within Dynix/Ameritech and CODI’s desire to include international participation mean that our current by-laws need scrutinizing. Since there are numerous issues to consider, it will require some dedicated work. An appointed committee could draw on those with experience on other boards as well as those with previous CODI board experience.

ACTION: Johns, Woodford, Hurley will draft a charge for the committee. Board members will forward membership suggestions to Johns.

Upcoming newsletter will be the first with print copies going only to those libraries who have paid for paper subscriptions. All others will receive electronic format.

ACTION: Johns will post reminded to dynix_l that print copies are now by subscription only.

Johns reported on the Horizon conference she and Marge Freeman attended.

There are many noticable differences between CODI and Horizon conferences. In order for us to consider joint conferences in the future, these issues will need to be discussed and resolved by both boards. The Horizon board approved a motion to put a joint conference decision to a vote of their entire membership, as required by their by-laws. Until that vote, there will probably not be a lot of input from them on the topic. CODI needs to draw up our questions and suggestions for both ALS and Horizon. We will be able to discuss the idea at our Seattle Conference. That will give us an opportunity for more membership input, but it will be before the Horizon vote results are known.

ACTION: Parliamentary committee will be charged with exploring the joint conference issues along with other by-law changes needed. CODI Board will continue discussion of the issues via email and at future board meetings, as appropriate.

schuster@selway.umt.edu

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C O D I

http://codi.sbu.edu/codiofficers.html

The Year ‘0’ Bug

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An interesting quirk recently discovered by a fellow Dynix user from across the pond. A new and rather insidious millenium problem if you ask me.

--editor

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WOW! What a year, and it’s not even April yet. I’ve traveled clear across the continent and back, pulled the plug on an old and faithful software friend, nursed its successor into existence, and was let go from the editorship of a very famous and popular newsletter.

CODI in Seattle was another memorable event. Every year I wonder how the conference can get any better. This year was no exception, although it might have been a little more special because it was my last as a Dynix user. Three weeks after I returned home Richland County "brought up Horizon," the second public library in the U.S. to do so. (I believe we were also the 2^nd public library is install Dynix.) And so, while I may not see any of you again at CODI, I’m looking forward, in a few years, to HUG’ing many of you at the OTHER conference!

So, this leads me to the next point, I’ve been sacked. Gee, can’t the board cut me some slack? We’re still using Ameritech software. I still belong to Dynix_L. But NO. . . Actually, I asked Susan and the Board to find a replacement, since I won’t have as much time to stay on top of happenings in the Dynix world as I have in the past. I will remain editor through the next (Spring) issue and will then pass the ‘editorial keyboard’ over to Caren Soltysiak of the Vernon Area Public Library District in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Caren has worked at VAPL for 11 years and is currently the Head of Technical Services. Her library has been a Dynix site since 1993. Please welcome her as she begins her duties this summer. Thanks for volunteering Caren.

I had hoped to be able to include information about candidates for the coming CODI election in this issue. But not all candidates have submitted information by press time. Keep checking either the CODI website or Dynix_L for more information.

brh@richland.lib.sc.us