Mid-Atlantic CODI was held April 26-27 at SAS Institute, in Cary NC. These are the combined results from those completing the survey (approximately 25 folks)

1. How would you rate the overall success of the meeting (1-low to 10-high):
Average score 9.25
Please rate the meeting space (1-low to 10-high):
Average score 9.66
Please rate the snacks and lunch (1-low to 10-high):
Average score 8.45
Consensus was that snacks were great and plentiful (though some wished more coffee
could have been available!). However lunch fell short with a good number of folks. The
lack of choice – which was particularly difficult for our vegetarian friends, was a
disappointment. We’re sorry about that, and we’ll definitely make sure we give a better
choice next time!
Did you find the Town Hall meeting? Why?
By and large, you all thought it was a success. Folks really appreciated getting some first
hand answers at what they’ve seen so far, and what to expect in the future. Some specific
quotes:
“Very helpful! Well worth the time to come to the meeting”<<someone who
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traveled 3 hours to attend.
“Good to obtain clarification about Rome”
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“Felt we finally got some real information on the ‘why’”
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“It gave opportunity to ask questions and get some answers face to face”
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“Yes and no. It is always good to speak face to face with people (in this case
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representatives from SirsiDynix). However, I cannot say that I was entirely
satisfied/pleased with the sales spin used to mask the reality that our ILS has been
essentially EOLed.”
“Yes, but is was too long. The same issues came up over and over again.
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Sometimes I had no knowledge of the issue (systems problems) so that time was
difficult to sit through.”
“Positively! Contact with the principals is essential. In times of great change,
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even more so.”
“Yes. You could ask your questions of SirsiDynix face to face and if they didn’t
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really answer your question you could keep asking follow up questions. With the
webinars (hosted by SD) you would type in chat questions, SD would give an
answer and then quickly move to the next question.”
“Yes! Many questions were answered, and we were able to ask follow up
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questions to clarify and get more details.”
“Not particularly – I’m through that ‘stage of grief’ J ”
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Did you find the Friday morning demo helpful? Why?
All folks were happy to receive the information. Some specific quotes:
“Yes. Good to see what Rome will be based upon”
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“Yes. Gave overall view of product”
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“Yes and no. It was my first introduction to Unicorn; helped me to become
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familiar with the GUI and some of the functionality. But it was rushed. Would
have been more useful for members of my library’s staff.”
“Yes. I now know something about Unicorn. I had known zip the day before.”
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“This was extremely beneficial and interesting”
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2. “It’s interesting to see what SD promises. Now let’s see what they deliver.”
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“Highlighted features I had not found on my own”
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“Yes. I hadn’t seen Unicorn since 1995! (Lookin’ good!)”
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“Yes – gave concrete demonstrations of what had been disputed items”
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“Yes. The features they showed did look good and that made me feel a little bit
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better, but then the demos of Horizon 8.0 looked wonderful, so I still have a
nagging doubt if this is going to work like we are led to believe in the demos.”
“Yes. We got a fell for the capabilities already available in Unicorn – a sense of
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the differences and similarities.”
“Yes. It was something concrete”
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“Yes…it’s good to see what’s coming”
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“Yes. Had not investigated or used Unicorn”
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“I had no idea what Unicorn was and it seems like it will fit our library needs as
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we migrate eventually to Rome”
“It was OK. Hard to see and too much information covered, but it was
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interesting”
Did you find the break-out sessions helpful? If so, which ones:
Folks seemed generally happy with the outcome. Some specific quotes:
“Yes. I started with the SysAdmin but could not see the laptop screen so I move
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to Future ILS session.”
“Yes – Future of ILS – good discussion”
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“Yes – cataloging. It is always beneficial to meet with other catalogers.”
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“Yes – the cataloging group was wonderful. I heard many good ideas.”
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“Yes. RFPs, open-source and more. You got to hear what others were going
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through, how this was affecting them, their concerns and if they are going to have
to do an RFP if they change from Horizon 7x”
“Yes – there were three groups I wanted to attend!”
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“Not as much”
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“More helpful insight from SirsiDynix reps”
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Did you appreciate having SirsiDynix staff present at the meeting?
A unanimous YES
Currently, the Mid-Atlantic Group meets annually, in the Spring. Is this frequency
perfect, or would you like to meet more often?
The large majority thought this frequency was perfect. Some specific quotes:
“Annually is fine. If we could meet with the suggested media of Opal
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(www.opal-online.org) that would be good”
“This is good. I doubt I’d come to a second meeting (not for lack of interest but
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for lack of time)”
“The spring works well with National CODI in fall”
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“If two times a year were feasible it would be good. Sometimes we don’t have
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funds for annual CODI”
“Meet at ALA or SLA or Computers in Libraries conferences”
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“Hopefully the electronic forms of communicating (blogs, listserv, wikis) can fill
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the gaps”
“Spring works best”
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3. “I’d probably prefer twice a year, but I recognize that would be too much for
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many”
“Depends if there is information to impart or just meeting for the sake of meeting”
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“I think the annual meeting is good with training sessions or conference calls
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quarterly”
Would your library be willing and able to host a future meeting?
Had some nibbles here – will follow up with those specifically
Where or what area in the Mid-Atlantic would you like to meet next time?
Specific quotes:
“Georgia – Savannah”
q
“South Carolina?”
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“NC”
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“Richmond/Roanoke”?
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“North Carolina since it’s midway in the region”
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“Central locations – Raleigh/Charlotte/Richmond”
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“DC or Virginia”
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“VA or NC”
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“Central or Triad area of NC”
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“Raleigh, NC”
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“SAS next Spring?”
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If we paired a Mid-Atlantic CODI meeting with an onsite class the day before or
after the meeting, what type of class would you like to see offered?
Responses were mixed on whether or not this would be desirable. Specific quotes:
“Like the two day meeting format”
q
“Web 2.0” (4 votes)
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“SQL/Sys Admin/HIP Admin” (5 votes)
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“Creating wikis or blogs”
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“I’d like to see a detailed overview of Rome functionality”
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“Not interested”
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“Cataloging or Acquisitions workshop”
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“Web Reporter and other reports”
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“More in depth training of what specific modules can do – ie ACQ, CAT”
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How can CODI, and specifically the Mid-Atlantic CODI support your work in the
Librarian world?
Only got a few responses here – perhaps survey fatigue, or very satisfied folks! Specific
quotes:
“Networking”
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“Through the sharing of information”
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“Information resources and great people network”
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“Let us know what other libraries are experiencing or trying and how it is working
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for them”
“Help us stay in touch with each other and share expertise”
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“Current platforms are fine for me”
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“Continue to provide opportunity to interact directly with SD reps and network”
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“Blog and emails/listserv to share ideas” (2 votes)
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4. “Fewer sales people, more ‘this is what we’re doing’ from libraries”
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What worked well during the meeting?
Specific quotes:
“Enjoyed Mary Miller’s presentation”
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“Demo and Q&A” (3 votes)
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“The town meeting. (2 votes)
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“Liked the two day format” (3 votes)
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“Networking/breakout sessions” (2 votes)
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“Personality of the Planning Committee”
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o Comment: “Ah, flattery WILL get you anywhere…” J theresa
“Everything – hosts, location, best overall group of reps I’ve seen yet from SD,
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topics, format”
“Open discussion worked well”
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“Timing and coordination”
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“All of it!”
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“Great meeting site”
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What could be improved?
Specific quotes:
“Weather?”
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o Comment: “OK, I’ll take it up with the “Big Guy” next year” J theresa
“The breakout sessions could have met in separate rooms, to reduce background
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noise. Other groups could be heard by us; it was distracting.
“Not much! More time or less to go over? Q&A sessions are highly useful”
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“Having a conference hotel or 2 at the most so you could network with others at
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the hotel”
“I couldn’t see the screen during the Unicorn presentation, but I don’t have a
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solution”
“Sound system; provide list of questions ahead of time”
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“Need to make sure to have microphone available for meetings so everyone can
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hear at all times!”
“Map of area or driving directions from points north, south, east, and west.”
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“The demo was too long, it would have been better if there was some pause after
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the demo of each module giving one time to absorb the information”
“Shouldn’t we change the name: C O ? I”
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Please share any additional comments:
“Very well done. Well worth the trip”<< Someone who traveled 4 ½ hours to
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attend!
“SAS site was a wonderful place to have meeting!”
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“Thanks for setting this up. $15 is a bargain.”
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“I thank you for all the work you put into pulling this meeting together. I wish I
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had made the decision to attend sooner (previous meetings)”
“I’d like to see us start a wiki (instead of a blog) and explore Web2.0 stuff for
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better communication throughout the year”
o Comment: “Hey, this was made by my staff member, Lynn. Lynn –
you’re hired!” J theresa