Ex Libris, a ProQuest company will manage the development of Summon. Exactly what this means is still uncertain in terms of product development but Ex Libris has a long standing agreement of customer interaction through the IGeLU(global) and ELUNA(NA) organisations. Following a discussion between Ex Libris and the customer organisations a joint IGeLU/ELUNA Working Group (PWG) for Summon has been created. The PWG will also represent 360 Link for an interim period until Ex Libris has clarified the status of the product. The PWG will look to all aspects of the products but with special attention to the 360 Knowledge base, 360 Link interface, Summon Knowledge base, Summon user interface (UX) and the Summon API.
The role of a PWG is to maintain contact with Ex Libris product management on a regular basis to raise concerns and share information. It is recommended that there is a conference call once a month. Ex Libris has agreed to devote 150 development points (the same as for Primo) to the customer enhancement process. IGeLU/ELUNA uses a system where customers suggest and vote on new features. Ex Libris is then committed to developing those features using development points. The more complex of enhancement the more points. Only members of IGeLU/ELUNA can participate in the enhancement process.
By adopting the same customer product enhancement process for Summon as for other Ex Libris products we are entering a new phase of customer interaction and we are likely to see a development backlog. It is an interesting change to the previous process. It is also a new phase where the user groups are maintaining the role of PWGs instead of the company (as was done with the Advisory Board that had little influence over product enhancement). If you are interested in joining the Summon PWG, please express your interest to the contact below.
Another important role of the PWG is to participate in the organisation of the annual user conferences. Hopefully the PWG can help to promote user initiatives and a build a strong Summon track.
ELUNA and IGeLU has waived membership fees for new ProQuest customers during 2016. For further information see respective user group website.
The current PWG is a smaller group and we would be happy to expand with a broad global representation and institutions of different sizes.
Daniel Forsman ([email protected]), Library Director, Chalmers university of technology (SE), chair
Susan Johns-Smith ([email protected]), Systems Librarian, Pittsburg State University (US)
Angela Sidman ([email protected]), Electronic Resources Librarian, Yale University (US)
Lesli Moore ([email protected]), Systems Librarian, Texas Health Science Libraries
Dr. Annette Specht ([email protected]), Librarian, Universität Bonn (DE)
Susan Tegg ([email protected]), Team Leader – Library Systems, Griffith University (AU)
Steering committee liaisons for the PWG are:
Judith Drescher (ELUNA), Theo Engelmann (IGeLU) and Paul Joseph (ELUNA)
If you have any questions concerning the groups work please feel free to contact any of the above. If you are interested in joining please send a short bio and motives for joining the group to [email protected]