Computerisation of the University of·Malaya Library (UML):Issues of Implementation

Teh Kang Hai*

Abstrak: Perpustakaan mula melaksanakan projek pengkomputerannya pada Januari 1991.Perlaksanaan sepenuhnya akan melalui 2 fasa. Fasa I meliputi pemasangan dan pengen-dalian sistem komputer VAXdan perisian perpustakaan ATLAS. Sebanyak 100 buah terminalakan dipasangkan dalam sistem Perpustakaan untuk dihubungkan kepada sistem komputermelalui rangkaian seluruh kampus. Fasa /I akan melibatkan beberapa peningkatan kepada...ingatan, storan dan perala tan sampingan lain supaya sistem komputer dapat menampung •keperluan 300 terminal. Ini termasuk terminal tambahan di perpustakaan cawangan, dan jugadi fakulti dan jabatan lain di kampus yang ingin berhubung dengan rangkaian perpustakaanini. Fasa I yang sedang dijalankan dilaksanakan secara 'turnkey', dan dijangka siap padahujung tahun 1991. Tiga bulan pertama dijadualkan untuk kerja persediaan tapak danpembekalan perkakasan komputer, dan 3 bulan berikutnya untuk pemasangan perisianaplikasi, latihan, ujian dan penerimaan sistem. Sistem akan seterusnya ditinjaukan dari segiprestasi pengendaliannya dalam keadaan sebenar bagi tempoh 6bulan hingga hujung tahun1991. Setakat ini, semua kerja dijalankan mengikut jadual, kecuali sedikit ke/ewatan tentangkerja 'outdoor cabling' diakibatkan kekurangan kabel tertentu. Perlaksanaan perisian ATLASakan mengutamakan kepada modul-modul yang akan membawa manfaat yang ketarakepada pengguna secara amnya. Untuk melaksanakan projek yang besar seperti ini,masalah pasti timbul, tetapi semua sudah dise/esaikan secepet mungkin.

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Abstract: The Library started implementing its computerized integrated library project inJanuary 1991. The complete computerization of the Library is envisaged to take place in 2phases. Phase I encompasses the installation and operation of the VAXcomputer and theATLAS integrated library software. A total of 100 terminals distributed within the Librarysystem will be connected to the main computer system in a campus-wide network. Phase /Iwill involve some upgrading to the hardware configuration in terms of memory, disk storage,and other encitterv equipment to accomodate up to 300 concurrent users to the system. Thisincludes the additional terminals for the branch libraries as well as the links from users in thevarious faculties, departments to the library network. Phase I which is currently in progressis being implemented on a turnkey basis, and is scheduled for completion by the end of 1991.The first three months have been scheduled for site preparation and delivery of the computerhardware, followed by three months of application software installation, training, testing andacceptance of the system. The system will be monitored in actual operation for the next 6months till the end of 1991. Work has been going on according to schedule, save for ananticipated delay in the outdoor cabling work due to a shortage of the required cable. Im-plementation of the ATLAS software will focus on getting some modules to becomeoperational as early as possible, to allow library users in general to enjoy tangible benefitsfrom the computerization project. Problems in implementing a big project like this isinevitable, but to date all have been speedily resolved with the vendor.

So the contract is finally signed, and we cannow see the light at the end of the tunnel. Ithas been a long, long wait for this moment. Ithas also been an exercise of patience, temperedwith periods of anxieties and frustrations. Butin reaching this moment, is it the end or thebeginning of another ordeal?

Hardly had the ink on the contract dried,anxious librarians were asking as to when the com-puters would be moving in. There was a lot ofpreparatory work to be done before the first piecesof equipment rolled in. The whole project is to beimplemented on a turn-key basis. Everything that isgoing to take place had all been time-tabled

* Librarian, Automation Division, University of Malaya

Kekal Abadi 10(1) Mac 1991

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according to an agreed schedule. In the projectthe ATLAS (A Total Library Automation System)integrated library package developed by DataResearch Associates, Inc. (DRA) of the UnitedStates, will be implemented to run on DigitalEquipment Corporation (DEC) VAX6410 minicom-puter. All the libraries in the UML System will belinked up in a campus-wide network.

The Exhibition

The signing of the agreement for the purchaseof an integrated library system, is a milestone eventin the history of UML. All the efforts made in the last15 years or so is soon to bear fruit. The event toowas eagerly awaited by the successful vendor towhom the tender was awarded. Their successfulbid for the tender was not merely another sale, butthe importance lies in the fact that this was going tobe the first installation of the ATLAS software in thecountry. Moreover, the University of Malaya Li-brary is the oldest and largest academic library inthe country and, the system that was going to beimplemented with 100 terminals is by far the singlelargest computerized library system in the country.

The Library was equally glad the tender awardhad been finalised. Besides the news carried in thenewspaper, the Library intended to keep the usersinformed of the changes about to take place withcomputerization, and more importantly what bene-fits it will bring them. Towards this end, the Libraryset up a committee to plan for an exhibition on thecomputerization project The committee went aboutits task in earnest and had an exhibition ready bythe end of February 1991. The exhibition traces thehistory of computerization in UML, gives informa-tion on the hardware, software and networkingcomponents of the library system. The exhibitsalso include the implementation schedules andbooks on library computerization. The exhibitionwill run for the duration of the implementation ofthe library system until it is fully operational bythe end of 1991.

Phases of Implementation

Computerization of UML system can bedivided into two main phases as follows:

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Phase I - Establishment of a complete integratedlibrary system comprising the installa-tion of the hardware and applicationsoftware with 100 terminals hooked up.

Phase II - additional terminals to be linked (up to300 in ali); memory upgrade and addi-tional disk storage.

Phase I

The first phase of the implementation isbasically to establish an operational integratedlibrary system to handle most of the importantday-to-day work processes within the UMLsystem. All the hardware and the software tofacilitate this would have been installed withinthis phase. A total of 95 terminals as well as 5microcomputers whtch can be used in terminalemulation mode, would be hooked up to thecomputer system. Initially, all these terminals andmicrocomputers will be distributed within thelibrary system only, comprising the Main Libraryand all its branch libraries. External links to theNational Library of Malaysia and the MalaysianInstitute for Microelectronics System (MIMOS),which are two mandatory requirements, will alsobe established within this phase.

This first phase of our computerization which iscurrently in progress can itself be divided into thefollowing sub-phases:

1) site preparation

2) delivery of equipment and installation of thesystem software

3) installation of the application softwares

4) downloading the bibliographic databasesand training

5) testing and commissioning of the system

6) system monitoring

Site preparation and delivery of equipmentwere scheduled to be completed over a three-month period. Installation of the application soft-ware and downloading of the bibliographic data-base for testing were scheduled for the next threemonths, with full acceptance and commissioningof the complete system at the end of that periodshould all tests be successfully carried out in ac-cordancetotheagreed specifications. Asix-monthperiod of monitoring follows from the AcceptanceDate in which the system will be observed as to itsperformance in an actual 'live' environment. It wascoincidental that the agreement to the tenderaward was signed at the end of December 1990. Itallows for ease of monitoring the implementationschedules which should be as follows:

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By March 1991 - site preparation and deliveryof hardware equipmentwould have been completed

By June 1991 - the application softwarewould have been Installed,the bibliographic recordsdownloaded and testing ofthe library integrated systemwould have been completedand commissioned

By December 1991 - Barring any hitches, thesystem would have beenmonitored with regards to itsperformance in actual opera-tion, and the vendor wouldbe deemed to have success-fully executed the terms ofthe agreement.

Refer also to the chart as shown in Fig. 1.Come the end of 1991, and barring any unforeseendelays, a fully functional integrated library systemwould be in operation.

Site Preparation

This phase of implementation pertains to thepreparation of the computer room, laying of theEthernet cable within the Main library, indoorcabling works within the library system to hook-upall the terminals servers, modems, multiplexersand the terminals. This phase also encompassesthe outdoor cabling work which required the layingof O.9mm data communication cable around thecampus to facilitate communication between thecomputer system in the Main library to all the otherbranch libraries.

Preparation of the computer room and layingof the Ethernet backbone as well as other indoorcabling works were undertaken by Digital Equip-ment (Malaysia), the supplier of the Digital hard-ware system. This gave added confidence to thelibrary, because of Digital Equipment's reputation,not only in the performance of their VAX computersystem but also their strengths in computernetworking. Work began in January and wascompleted on schedule by the end of February.. '.While the work was in progress, there was nodrastic Interruption to the normal library activities.Save for the first few days when part of the wallsin the designated computer room had to be brokendown, the noise and dust resulting from the activi-ties of the workers were at an acceptable level.In this aspect, a pre-site preparation meeting withthe vendor and their contractor had proven to bevery useful. At the meeting the contractor wasasked to cooperate by trying to minimise the levelof noise and dust pollution while carrying outtheir work. The library was particularly concernedalso because the students were preparing fortheir final examination and the library was fullyoccupied during this period.

At the same meeting the vendor and theircontractors also had the opportunity to meetwith personnels of various departments of theUniversity to which they would have liaison. TheUniversity Chief Security Officer briefed them onthe protocols for the workers to follow while inthe university premises. The University's civil andelectrical engineers were present to advise onstandard work protocols to ensure, for exampleproper place for keeping building materials,disposal of construction wastes etc. The electricalengineer advised on standard procedures requiredfor electrical wiring, laying of cable trunking and

Fig. 1. University of Malaya Library Computerization Implementation Critical Path

Commissioning PertodSigning 01Agreement

1

Monijoring System Performance

iDelrvery T85tln9 PrOVIsionalDate Date Acceptance

(Beginning of DateCommiSSioning)

AcceptanceDate(End ofTesting)

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11 Month.12

rCommissioningDate

Successful Executionof Agreement(End of PerformanceBond)

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placement of switch boxes. At the same time thevendor was able to communicate to the electricalengineer the power supply requirements of thecomputer system and the need to pull a 60 Ampsubmain supply line for the computer system.

Although this is a turn-key project, theUniversity's Estate Office lent their staff to super-vise the initial stage in the site preparation of thecomputer room. This had been done to ensure thatthe contractor's workers carry out their work inaccordance with agreed procedures with regardsto the disposal of waste, taking care to salvageusable items like doors, wood panels and glasspanes to be returned to the Estate Office.

Regular meetings were held with the vendorsto allow each side to voice any problems that mighthave arisen as work progressed. There has beenno serious problems and whatever issues broughtout were quickly resolved.

Delivery of Equipment

The VAX computer and all its ancillary equip-ment were delivered well ahead of schedule. Therewas no doubt that the supplier, Digital Equipment(M) Sdn. Bhd., was all ready to move as soon asthe contract was signed. In fact the machine wasready to be flown in from the United States atvery short notice, but owing to the unforeseendelay in the negotiation over the contract, theequipment had in fact been kept in store until theofficial order was made.

The computer was switched on for the firsttime on the first week of March and has been inoperation since. The VMS operating system wasinstalled and the disk drives, tape drives andprinters had been configured. The Ethernet cablewas tapped at appropriate points for connection tothe terminal servers. This made it possible for someterminals to be hooked up. Currently some termi-nals in the Cataloguing Unit, the Acquisition Unitand Automation Division in the Main Library havebeen hooked up to the computer system.

Application Software

Soon after the computer system went 'live',the application software was installed, by thesecond week of March, and downloading ofUML bibliographic records from the MALMARC(Malaysian MARC) database was successfullycompleted two weeks later. A total of 98,120

records were downloaded. A smaller file contain-ing records for serials from the PERPUNETdatabase was also merged into the ATLAS data-base. Tapes containing the name authorityrecords in the MALMARC database have beenreceived and will be downloaded.

Since a few terminals have been hooked upto the main computer system, the cataloguing andacquisition librarians have been able to get'hands-on' experience using the ATLAS softwarepackage and creating records in a demonstrationdatabase. Staff from other divisions within the MainLibrary too would be able to do likewise as soon asmore terminal servers and terminals are hookedup. However, hands-on training at the vendor'spremises have also been arranged so that libra-rians can familiarize themselves with the use ofthe ATLAS software, and have the benefit of assis-tance from the vendor's supporting staff. Formaltraining on the use of the ATLAS software has alsobeen scheduled, and will be conducted on-site.

While we envisage that all modules would beoperational by the end of the year, there is somedegree of prioritisation as to which module be-comes operational first. The Cataloguing moduleshould definitely take precedence, to allow for thecreation of the bibliographic databases, as well asto facilitate retrospective conversion of the cardcatalogue. At this point in time, the Cataloguingmodule has been the most studied and tried outand thus the best understood amongst themodules. Even well before the installation of theATLAS software, the Chief Cataloguer has beenuntiring in her efforts to make a comparisonbetween the new method of inputting in theLCMARC format as opposed to the MALMARCformat with which all our cataloguers are morefamiliar. Those areas where input conventionsdiffer have been noted, and new input forms havebeen designed to incorporate those differences.Briefings had been given to all cataloguers from thewhole library system on the major differences andthe new conventions to be observed for input.With this it is hoped that the transition fromMALMARC to LCMARC or ATLAS MARC wouldbe a less painful experience. However problemsremain that still need to be resolved.

The Circulation module is considered with somepriority for implementation. A major constraint tothe full implementation of the circulation module, isthat only about one-sixth of the Library's biblio-graphic records is in machine-readable format,

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and those already in that format need to be inven-toried. However, this will not deter us from bringingthe circulation module into operation as soon as isfeasible, while at the same time efforts are beingmade to convert the card catalogues as soon aspossible. The effort to implement the module isfacilitated as the Main Library collections havebeen completely bar-coded since 1989. To date,the testing of the circulation module has beenhampered by the problems encountered in settingup the complete circulation policy file. This task isalmost completed, and it is hoped that the modulecan be tested before the end of May 1991.

The Library plans to make the OPAC (Onlinepublic access catalogue) module accessible to theusers as soon as possible. This should not be toomuch of a problem as the information in OPAC isvery much dependent on the information capturedat the stages of cataloguing and acquisition. Butit has been given a somewhat high priority forimplementation, because together with the circula-tion module, implementation of these two modulesare the ones most likely to have direct benefits tothe users. The circulation module allows for fastercheck-out, check-in, ease of reservation and queryon loan-related information. The OPAC also allowsease of querying the catalogue and gives the usermore information about the status of a book.

The Library will be sensitive to the needs of theusers in its implementation schedule, and wishesthe users to enjoy some tangible benefits fromcomputerisation. Computerisation must not be seenas benefiting the librarians only, but it should haveimmediate positive impact to the library users aswell, in terms of better and more efficient service.

Testing and Monitoring the Ubrary System

Testing of the Library system concerns testingboth the VAX computer hardware and the ATLASsoftware components running in unison, as well astesting the integrity of the library network as awhole and also the mandatory links to the NationalLibrary of Malaysia and MIMOS (if the latter twolinks are possible by then). Emphasis will be on theresponse time of the system when performingcirculation transactions, both when the system isconfigured for 100 and then 300 concurrent users.A standard benchmark test or some other suitabletest protocols to be mutually worked out with thevendor will be used.

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The 6-month period of system monitoringfollowing the successful installation and testing ofthe complete system will give the Library anopportunity to monitor both the hardware and soft-ware performance. It is hoped that by the end ofthe period of monitoring, we would have gonethrough varying experiences and situations work-ing on an actual 'live' system, to be able to detectany hardware defects, software bugs and any otherserious deficiencies in the system as a whole.

•Phase II

The second phase envisages some upgradingin the real memory, disk storage and the installa-tion of additional terminals or microcomputers tobe linked uptotheLibrarysystem.lnthetender, thevendors had been told to propose a hardwareconfiguration which should be sufficient to cater to300 concurrent users in all, with minimal or noupgrading to the start-up configuration of thecomputer system. This means that there should beno adverse degradation in response time whetherthe system is configured for 100 users initially or300 users eventually. In the negotiation with thevendor UML had been quite adamant about this,but the vendor is confident that the hardware willdeliver given the sizeable memory of 128-MBwhich has been configured for the Librarycomputer system.

Although the Library does not envisage anysubstantial upgrading to the system for the nextfew years or so, it will be realistic to prepare forsome upgrading in view of the expanded networkto accommodate 300 concurrent users or moreeventually. It is hard to imagine how the networkwill grow and what the demands are going to be likefor direct links to the library system from those de-partments outside of the library system. We expectthe growth to be fast, because the Library networkis the first really 'big network' that allows staff inmany departments for the first time to establish alinkto a computer outside of their own department.If not for anything else, it may just be for the merejoy of being able to query the Library cataloguesand databases from the comfort of their own roomsor offices, to allow the computer to do the walking,so to speak. Besides the link to the faculties anddepartments, there will be additional terminals ineach of the branch libraries to cater to their needsin both the workroom processes as well as theservice points. There is therefore the need forextra modems and multiplexers or even additional

terminal servers. The Library has already addressedall these issues and had made an application formoney under the 6th Malaysia Plan to fund suchpurchases.

The various faculties and departments havealready been informed of the feasibility of a link tothe library system in the near future, and have beenadvised to request for funds to acquire the neces-sary equipment like a terminal or microcomputer, amodem as well as a terminal emulation software tofacilitate the link. Already queries have come infrom some departments regarding these require-ments. The Library, working with the vendor, willadvise them on the appropriate equipment in duecourse. Most departments already possess micro-computers which can be used in the VAX VT320terminal emulation mode with the use of the Kermitcommunication software, together with a modemand the telephone line. The only constraint to thislink now is probably the shortage of directtelephone lines in the Library to allow many usersto dial into the library system simultaneously.The Library has applied for an additionaltelephone line to test this link feasibility, and atthe same time to use it for remote diagnosis of theVAX computer systems by the vendor, as well asto allow us to do electronic mail, be it to anothercomputer installation locally or to an overseasinstalliation like the ATLAS principal in America.More lines will be applied for when the systembecomes fully operational.

Vendor Support

An important issue in the implementation of aturnkey library package such as this, is the level ofvendor support and the competency of theirsupport personnel in the software. The ATLASlibrary package is the first to be installed in thiscountry. However, six libraries in Singapore areusing it, and support to those installations comesfrom the vendor's principal office in Singapore. Thevendor's personnel in Malaysia supporting UMLare relatively new to the package, but the threelibrary specialists, including one senior consult-ant specially assigned to work on UML projecthave shown a keen interest to learn and ensure

smooth implementation. Backup support will comefrom their more experienced colleagues in Sin-gapore who will be involved in the formal training aswell. Overall, the Library Is satisfied with the com-mitment of the vendor, and the close cooperationbetween their support staff and UML librariansaugurs well for the Library project.

Problems and Delays

In implementing any big computerisationproject, problems and .some resulting delay areinevitable. We have our fair share of problems, butnone which can be said to be insurmountable. Allhave been speedily resolved with the vendors. Ananticipated delay in our implementation scheduleis the problem with the external cabling works.The vendor informed UML in March that there hasbeen some problems sourcing the O.9mm cablesrequired for the outdoor cabling to link the branchlibraries and the Main Library. Supply is reportedlysaid to be available only in July of this year, whichwould result in some delay to the schedule for thetesting.

Conclusion

By and large the implementation of theUML computerisation project has progressedrather smoothly. Site preparation, cabling works,delivery of equipment and installation of bothsystem and application softwares have goneon as scheduled. The main problem, as men-tioned, lies in the current shortage of the O.9mmdata communication cable for the outdoor cabling.Save for one or two months of delay tothe original schedule, ILMU (Integrated LibraryUniversiti Malaya) which means Know/edge inMalay, and which is the name given to the Librarysystem, is expected to be fully operational by theend of 1991. This will make it the largest fullyintegrated library system in the whole country. Itis also exciting to know that, for the moment, thenetwork infrastructure laid for the library system isalso the largest computer network in the universitycampus.

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