Dallas Baptist University Moving to WMS Presented by Debra Collins, Director of Library Services
Dallas Baptist University Snapshot Traditional and online, co-ed liberal arts university – Total Enrollment, Fall 2012 = online students 539 international students, representing 54 countries – FTE, Fall 2012 = Undergraduate 1392 Graduate 155 Doctoral 68 undergraduate majors, 23 master’s programs, 47 dual master’s degree programs, 2 doctoral degree programs, and 20 accelerated bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in seven colleges – 130 full-time faculty – Affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas
DBU Library Snapshot Library staff 7 full-time professionals 2 part-time professionals 4.5 support staff 34 student workers Collection size 229,246 print materials 62,369 e-books Former ILS – Ex Libris Voyager ( ) EZProxy for authentication
Decision Factors Began explorations in 2010 for a discovery tool Looking to improve library’s contribution to the learning process Concern over information literacy of our students Concern about campus IT support Looking for ways to integrate our print resources and databases Looking at new technologies Experimented with WorldCat Local “Quick Start” in 2011, but never fully implemented Exposed to WMS at various meetings and through OCLC Cost comparisons between WMS, Ex Libris, and EBSCO Signed contract December 27, 2011
Migration to WMS January 2012 Cohort group Training and preparation – Spring 2012 Collection test analysis – May 2012 Batch loading – June 2012 Patron load – August 2012 Circulation load – September 2012 WMS testing began – October 2012 Live testing – November 2012
Learning Curve Lessons Make necessary preparations Clean up your data Batch loading issues Learn from the experiences of others Assess and adjust Think and react creatively Still using Voyager alongside WMS
Would I do it again? YES! Allows us to focus on our students and their research needs Leads to greater effectiveness in discovering the resources we have purchased Will improve efficiency of processing and cataloging Will simplify our workflows Reduce the total cost of technical services Overall impact on my budget Just need to recognize the challenges that come with any new system, especially one still in development
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