MOUSS Interlibrary Loan CommitteeAriel Update
ALA Toronto 2003
June, 2003
Jenny Connelly
Senior Product Manager
Infotrieve
10850 Wilshire Blvd, 8th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310-234-2022
Ariel worldwide distribution: over 9,600 copies sold
- 49 of 50 top academic libraries have licenses; 46 have multiple copies
Infotrieve uses Ariel to send documents to our customers. On average we send 350 documents per day via Ariel, for a total of 7,000 documents per month.
Ariel Technical Support Update
Free technical support is available for users of Ariel 3.x. Please contact ariel@infotrieve.com, or telephone 800-422-4633 x1.
Tech Support Statistics for March – May 2003
March: 531 incidents
April: 767 incidents
May: 647 incidents
The Ariel help desk handles an average of 69 phone calls per week and answers an average of 97 e-mails per week.
Top Tech Support Requests
1. Firewall/NAT
2. Installation and setup
3. Scanners
4. Patron delivery/e-mail
5. Information on purchasing Ariel
6. Store & forward server
ALA Midwinter Summary
Infotrieve held an Ariel User’s Group meeting at ALA Midwinter, immediately following our acquisition of Ariel.
Promises made at ALA Midwinter:
- Infotrieve will not raise prices
- prices have not changed
- Infotrieve will not add tracking devices
- Infotrieve is considering creating “Ariel Corporate Edition,” to meet the needs of corporate customers that want better tools to ensure that their patrons comply with copyright. The message: academic institutions do not need this and WON’T have to buy it.
- Ariel users drive the future of Ariel
- “Wish List” is ongoing
- Infotrieve will create an Academic Advisory Board.
- First meeting: ALA Toronto.
At ALA Midwinter, Infotrieve collected enhancement requests from the group, to be added to the Ariel “Wish List”
Top 4 requested enhancements at ALA:
1. Network – Share address book and patron database
2. Supplier-to-Patron – Notification to Patron and Requester
3. Better Patron Delivery solutions and documentation
4. More scanner options
Infotrieve progress since the acquisition of Ariel:
Senior Product Manager hired
2 Technical Support Specialists hired
Academic Advisory Board created
New store and forward server
More supported scanners
In progress: Software developers are being hired
Coming Soon: Ariel 4.0
Ariel 4.0 will include the following wish list requests:
Network-able patron & address list
Enhanced security
Supplier-to Patron-delivery with notices to borrower and patron
Multiple versions of Patron Notices (e-mail) for Web Delivery depending on service
Ability to categorize patrons
BUG FIXES
PLUS MUCH MORE!
Ariel User Group Meeting at ALA
Sunday, June 22
7 – 9 pm
Marriott Bloor Yorkville
Toronto, Canada
(follows OCLC ILLiad meeting, in same building)
Also, visit us at RLG Booth # 2304
