----------1
Subject: Re: LARS software
From: "Mark Hemhauser" <mbhhbm@american.edu>
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 12:38:25 -0400

Who is telling you the learning curve is prohibitive? If your bindery can
supply the software with some basic titles styles, it should not be very
difficult for you to create the title records for a few hundred titles.
Then at binding time you just look up the titles by the first two letters
of each word, or by the issn or bib record number if you chose to enter
those fields when creating titles. Entering the binding information for
each title for a shipment is a piece of cake.

If you are not currently sending electroinic files of your annual binding
to your binder, then they have to type all your binding info into their
system each year. Either that have already created the core titles and
colors, etc. or every year they start from scratch. They probably have the
titles in their system, so they could probably get them loaded into LARS
and all you would have to do is use it.

It's not very difficult too use. I guess the real issue for you is how much
"refreshing" you would have to do each year to use it and print the reports
and ftp the file to the bindery. We send stuff every two weeks. So
forgetting anything is hard to do. A detailed list of step-by-step
instructions ought to make it easier to "remember."

Mark Hemhauser
American University Library

----------2
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 11:49:07 -0500
From: Susan Andrews <Susan_Andrews@tamu-commerce.edu>
Subject: Re: LARS software

Are you sending just periodicals or periodicals *and* books?  In my
opinion, depending on how you are set up with your binder now, there is not
that much work to using LARS.  For periodicals, there is, in fact, less to
type (so less chance for typos).  You mostly just fill in a few blanks.  If
your bindery already has your periodical information computerized (ours
did), it should take no effort for start up beyond adding the software to
your computer.  The only place where there is a learning curve is if you
have to set up new titles very much.  That can be a little tricky sometimes.

As to doing the books, we only send a book shipment once or twice a year
and we don't seem to have any major problem with doing it that
infrequently.  We went with LARS 2 or 3 years ago and my people have loved
it from the start.  It takes less time to do a shipment and, as I said,
there are fewer errors and it is mostly just fill in the blanks.

Susan Andrews
Head, Serials Librarian
Texas A&M University-Commerce
P.O. Box 3011
Commerce, TX 75429-3011
Susan_Andrews@tamu-commerce.edu
(903)886-5733
"Your Success Is Our Business"

At 09:14 AM 07/18/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>I would like to hear any feedback re the ease (or lack thereof) of use LARS
>binding software. We are being told that the learning curve this software
>entails would be prohibitive for a library of our size (we have one small
>binding shipment/yr).  I would like to determine if I should lobby harder
>for the right to use the software, or, if the interface design is genuinely
>so poor that I should just avoid it altogether. Any insight will be
>appreciated. . . .
>
>Thank you,
>
>Kendall Vance
>Interlibrary Loan/Periodicals Management Assistant
>Waubonsee Community College
>Todd Library
>Route 47 at Harter Rd.
>Sugar Grove, IL 60554
>Ph# 630.466.7900 x2333
>Fax# 630.466.7799
>kvance@waubonsee.edu
>