ABLE™ / Ex Libris Interface

in Action at Harvard

June 2004.  Widener Library and the Harvard Law School Library are the first to use the ABLE™ / Aleph barcode interface for binding preparation. Using the interface, the library binding preparation staff must simply swipe a barcode to capture instructions for the bindery. This quick action replaces the slow, error-prone task of manual typing of binding titles and call numbers. Early reports are that the process is easy to use and FAST. The bar code pulls information from the Aleph database into an ABLE™ record and maps MARC fields to the appropriate prompt matching existing binding title formats.

On Tuesday, June 1, 2004, Laura Morse of OIS at Harvard assisted Oliver Cutshaw and Emmett Murphy at Widener to get the first installation running. In the afternoon, Laura assisted Willis Meredith and Pam Peifer at the Law Library to get their interface breathing. It is estimated that the interface will save substantial staff time and enable much faster access to bound volumes by library patrons.