The purpose was to keep all library systems maintained and ready for use by students and employees. This was accomplished via requests from the library staffs, requests from the students, and requests from the vendors.

Cheryl Laieski installed 3M Self-Charge stations at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Mesa Community College, and Phoenix College. These stations allowed library users to charge out materials without intervention by library staff.

Online catalog workstations mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act, were provided by Facilities Planning (thanks!) and were installed at all ten colleges. These machines translate text to voice and magnify text. The equipment included over-sized tracking balls and keyboards that accommodated inhibited physical dexterity.

Each college library's Alpha 1000 operating system was upgraded for year 2000 compliance, as was the Novell CD-ROM server. The workstations and software were also configured and maintained.

The DRA database upgrade project was largely concluded when bibliographic and control record databases were loaded in the fall. With the aid of a grant from the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records (ASLAPR), LTS submitted a final tape to the Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC) in Dublin, Ohio, in May to upgrade the last 9,000 records. Obviously, the New Era is becoming more and more electronic based.

Cataloger workstations were converted from LAT to IP. New student information was loaded into DRA, and Automation fulfilled many requests for DRA and online database usage reports.

The LTS web site was revised significantly, which included an online form on which library staff could submit evaluations of web-based information sources. If the sources were deemed appropriate to the libraries' mission, LTS created hyperlinks to the sites in the library catalog.

This summer Melanie Fritz, Vince Jenkins, and Lori Threlkeld worked on some DRA screen shots of specific modules in preparation for districtwide training this fall. Cheryl will work with this group to set up the accounts later this summer.

Bob Davidson and Cheryl Laieski began the year as a team supporting all library automation projects. Early in the year, the long-term illness of one of the members reduced the team to one member for most of the year. Cheryl worked with the three library user groups to fulfill all the needs and requests of the students. She also had to come up to speed with the back-end intricacies of DRA. The glue was once again weakened to only one-person districtwide trained on its workings. Also during this summer the one person, Cheryl, was on maternity leave. Our campuses were very cordial about not logging calls at this time.

DRA continues to develop updated modules that will need to be loaded at Maricopa. Since we are one of the older customers, we do have the luxury of not being in the forefront of installation with the upgrades. This may buy us two years and then, up to six revised modules will be available and Maricopa will need to initiate a districtwide business plan to pay for the upgrades and training.

The other looming issue is the cross training of another person in the DRA and library automation systems. Maricopa and ITS can no longer be held captive because only one person has the skills. This is not a safe environment for the students. So, the desire is for a permanent FTE who is a back-up person, cross-trained in other integral systems.