KLAS Users Conference 2000

A Letter from Kay Holloman, CEO Keystone Systems.

April 17, 2000

Re: KLAS Users Conference 2000

Dear KLAS Users:

How wonderful it was to have so many KLAS users in one place from all over the U.S. for the KLAS Users Conference 2000. There were about 50 participants representing 20 different libraries. We were happy to be able to comply with the pre-conference requests for “Nice Weather” by Alex from Colorado and Bessie from Utah. It is the prettiest time of the year, here in Raleigh, with white and pink dogwood trees, cherry blossoms, richly colored azaleas, tulips, pansies, irises, all in bloom.

Also, it was a very productive conference. Active participation from the well-prepared attendees in the conference sessions, as well as the pre-conference training sessions produced invaluable insight to current and future requirements for further development of KLAS product. Breakout sessions allowed us to discuss each specific area more in detail.

For talking book libraries, the many new features released in Version 5.7r4 were well received. In particular: the A-Z Search - - inclusive catalog search showing patron’s has-now items, exclusions, availability, etc., and being able to assign, request and reserve right at the screen; the continuous subject and author preference rotation function for nightly auto-selection; the improved list and labels function from any query set; and the improved WebOPAC where patrons can search for and request their own books.

For instructional materials resource centers, many improvements were released in patron order processing linking with purchasing functions, and materials handling including consumables and instructional aids.

In Version 6.3r3, substantial improvement has been made to the user interface and to transition KLAS to the MARC format for Holdings Data standards. Many of the components of Version 6 form the base for Version 7 graphical user interface that will meet the accessibility requirements for all users.

We, Keystone’s whole staff, were very relieved to see your positive feedback on the Version 7 prototype, a graphical user interface with “JAVA thin-client”. What this means to you and us is that KLAS will be able to operate in a graphical mode over WANs (Wide Area Networks), such as on the Internet, without loss of performance and speed. Furthermore, staff using the adaptive workstations will have the full access to the applications. This will also help us in moving our outsourcing operations to a new level.

As you are aware, we have been searching for such a solution for sometime. It is still very much in pioneering stage and we are the leading edge company for applying such technology to library applications.

We can not stop talking about how productive the conference was and how enjoyable and informative the friendly and lively exchanges of our participants were. We thank all of you for making it such a success.

Looking forward to seeing all of you, again, at the KLAS Users Conference 2001 in Oklahoma City!!!

Sincerely,

Kay Holloman
Chief Executive Officer

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