Email Dissemination of Circulation Notices From the UHCARL System

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In the Fall of 1995, John Haak, University Librarian, requested information on the feasibility of 
distributing circulation notices to library patrons via email in place of paper US Mail delivery.  Email 
questionnaires were sent to the Head of Hamilton Circulation and the Computer Operations Manager of 
Systems and preliminary information was gathered from the Director of ITS, the Director of Admissions 
and Records, Director of Technical Support at CARL Corp. and Audrey Nishioka of the Hamilton 
Mailroom.  In addition, the CARL-L Listserv was polled to find out if any other CARL site had 
implemented an email notification system.

In March of 1995, CARL indicated via email that they have "been considering a late-1996 project to 
develop an email notice capability [but] have not yet drafted specifications, [and] can't give you any 
details on functionality or cost implications [...] the project is tentatively planned for the 4th quarter [... 
however] it did not receive any "votes" in either the User Group Meeting or the Director's Retreat."   
(emphasis added)

As a result of CARL's verbal commitment to development of email notification capability, Lindy Naj 
requested that Systems:
•	estimate how long it will take to get a spec for enotices back to Trish 
•	come up with a process for developing the spec in conjunction with Circ, ILL and/or Reserve staff and 
work with relevant parties to produce a spec

During the feasibility investigation conducted October through February a number of initial specifications 
were identified and are attached.  Systems recommends that additional information be gathered before 
a final decision is made on whether it is advisable to proceed beyond the specification development 
stage with this project  

Preliminary analysis indicates that cost savings for switching some notices to email distribution are likely 
to be small at best.  In addition, management of the email Circ notices will require comparable staff 
attention to that paid to paper mail procedures therefore no appreciable staff time is likely to be freed up.

---------------------------
prepared for John Haak, University Librarian 
and Lindy Naj, Head of Library and Network Systems Division
by James Adamson, Martha Chantiny, Jackie Vargo


--------------------------
Additional Recommendations

We recommend that additional information be gathered before a final decision is reached as to whether 
it is advisable to proceed beyond the specification development stage with this project.  Systems and 
Circulation recommend that the following information be obtained:
•	Estimate of how many UH Manoa patrons would be likely to choose email notification over paper 
mail notification 
•	Determine whether there will be a charge for implementation of this function, or if UHM will receive it 
at no additional cost because of the (inevitably time consuming) effort Systems and Circ staff will put 
into debugging and testing of the product
•	Determine what priority Library Administration assigns to this project in relation to resolution of the 
current top priority Circulation and Reserve bugs

Additional Considerations

In addition to the technical specifications, issues that also need to be considered include:  

•	Will implementation of email notification require development of new circulation policies and 
procedures (and public hearings or BOR approval?)
•	Whether the cost savings (which may be minimal) justify the commitment of limited staff resources 
of Systems and HL Circ for perhaps up to 6 months of testing and debugging
•	Recognition that implementing a new add-on feature such as this has the potential to destabilize 
important working functions
•	The Head of HL Circ  wants to ask each patron when they come to the Circ counter if they want to 
receive notices by email.  Then they can voluntarily provide their addresses. Systems suggests that 
ITS be asked if they will send a global message to all email addresses telling them that if they wish 
to receive Library Circ notices by email, they should send a reply to a specific Circ email address 
(which would have to be set up in advance)
•	Security.  Email transmission is completely UNconfidential.  It can be "legally" intercepted.  This 
should be recognized if the project is actually undertaken.  A policy and position statement will need 
to be adopted by Admin.  (For instance, how would you feel if the email notification listing your 
overdue books on Famous Librarian Terrorists and Sex in the Stacks were intercepted by your 
organization's system administrator and printed out for your boss?  How will the library react if this 
patron makes a complaint?)




Specifications for Development

Systems can envision at least 2 methods for accomplishing email notification.

1.	Email notice creation and transmission is done completely within the Tandem/CARL environment 
using FTP or other mainframe based mechanism for transfer of the enotice online file(s) to the 
campus/organization email server.

2.	Email notice file(s) are created on the Tandem and then uploaded to a microcomputer where email 
distribution and management of bounced mail, re-transmission and/or printing is done using 
software residing locally on the microcomputer.

Ideally the product developed by CARL could be user configured to make use of either option depending 
on the needs of a site.

The email notification function requires that:

1.	A place (not already utilized for something else) in the borrower record be created to store the email 
address and/or a link from the borrower record to the email address if stored in a different file 
2.	The email address should display in the PIP address information 
3.	Must be able to accommodate storage of email addresses of lengths of up to 50(?) characters and 
which include special characters such as "@" and "%" etc.
4.	Must be able to produce notices for both email and surface mail in same overnight/batch procedure  
5.	Email notices must contain the same information as the printed notices
6.	Must have as many customizable aspects as possible folded into the DPM ;
	for instance:
a. An additional flag needs to be created to indicate patrons who wish to have email sent (e.g. an 
"E" flag as well as the "P" for Primary address and "S" for Secondary address)
b. Need to be able to specify what type of notices are sent electronically (e.g. only overdues, 
recalls and invoices. Pickup notices and statements will be hardcopy).
c. Need to be able to specify a return email address to be included in the enotice transmission 
(address for bounced mail to go back to)
d. Must have option to create log of sent email notices with name, email address, and date sent 
for confirmation purposes
7.	Must be able to receive notification of "bounced email"  and to reproduce undeliverable email notices 
in hard copy


Specifications for Development (continued)

8.	Must be able to receive, store, upload and transfer files large enough to accommodate mass 
mailings (e.g. as many as 7000 notices in one run)
9.	Email distribution will be an option for any new notice types supported in future; e.g. confirmation of 
online renewal 
10.	Format differences of each type of notice may need to be considered.  Depending on how and when 
the notice data is captured to a file and/or transmitted to an email server - there may be different 
headers, spacing and so forth in the email file(s)
11.	EMAIL format.  How and to whatever system the file(s) are transmitted, the text must be in a 
condition so it doesn't end up being truncated by most "standard" receiving email systems OR result 
in one long line that just wraps endlessly (or worse gets truncated at the 81st character of the first 
line)  


Appendix A - Email research questions

Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 11:53:51 -1000
From: James Paul Adamson  
To: Kevin Kamisugi 
Subject: *** Information Request **

Your assistance is requested in answering a few questions in regards to a certain batch run.  We are 
currently investigating circulation notice generation. Please research these questions and reply to me no 
later than next Tuesday. 

Operations
1. How often are circulation notices generated? 
2. In brief and from your perspective, describe the current 
method used for producing these notices, (e.g. trace the programs that run (giving program names and 
the steps that take place after a run is completed.
3. What is the volume of notices produced? (e.g. 4000 each run) 
4. How many people are involved in completing a run. 
5. How much time is spent (man hours) in carrying out the production of circulation notices?
6. How much paper is used? (e.g. 1 box 8 1/2 x 11) 7
7. How long does it take for the entire job to run on the Tandem? (hrs) 

Patron Record
1) Are email addresses currently stored in either the MSO or Admissions and Records patron data files? 
(contact either if your not sure) 
2) If not... would it be possible for either to supply it? 

Future Logistics
1) If circulation notices were bounced because of an incorrect email address, what do you see 
Operations responsibility being, if any? 
a) no involvement 
b)somewhat involved 
c) Operations would take care of 




Appendix A - Email research questions (continued)

Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 18:38:45 -1000
From: Jackie Vargo 
To: Susan Murata 

Admin is interested in the possibility of sending Circ notices electronically to email addresses of UH 
staff, faculty, and students. I have been charged with doing a feasibility study on this topic and need 
your input from the Circulation perspective in the following inquiries. If you have any questions, please 
let me know. I would appreciate it if you could provide me your responses to the questions by no later 
than 5pm Tuesday, October 3rd. Thanks!
=============================================================
I. Current Method:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. briefly describe the current method of distribution of notices to patrons (including all borrower types).
2. how often are notices produced/shipped? 
3. what is the average volume of notices shipped weekly? monthly? 
4. how many man-hours, staff are devoted to this task? 
5. what is the average cost factor for shipping notices? 

II. E-mail addresses:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. is there a place in the patron record that could be used to store a person's email address?
2. if email address needed to be manually added to patron record, what impact would this have on staff 
time?
3. can a patron have the right to refuse providing their email address? 

III. Development:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. are there any changes that would need to be made in the Circ module DPM files?

IV. Management:
~~~~~~~~~~
1. if a notice were bounced due to invalid email address, how would this notice be delivered?
2. how would email addresses be checked for currency? 
3. how would non-UH patron notices be distributed? 

V. Other:
~~~~~~~
1. List "pros" in sending notices electronically 
2. List "cons" in sending notices electronically 
  	Systems suggests putting an inquiry in the Ka Leo and Ku Lama, as well as asking ITS if they can send 
out a global email "questionnaire", and considering putting a postcard reply form in the next large Circ 
notice mailing (Invoices?)  Email responses could be sent to a generic Circ email address that should 
be set up ahead of time.
  	Changes to the structure of the borrower record would require "massaging" of the current borrower file 
records
 	This presumably will require a modification to the overnight CRCCLEAN program
 	Will probably require, at minimum, addition of a new "Notice form code" to all Borrower Type records
 	If email is transmitted from a microcomputer using a file uploaded from the Tandem, then bounced mail 
notification and reprinting or re-transmission may be a function of the email software used on the micro 
and/or of the campus email system (Pine on a UNIX platform).