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This is a vendor demo of the Ares Automating Reserves system (Same folks who bring us Illiad).

• Works with LDAP.
• Instructor Side
• Can post system alerts as well as custom user alerts on front page.
• Pages are in HTML, so it’s customizable. Same (or similar) Illiad style sheets can be applied to this.
• Instructors can: create a new class, look at previous classes taught, look at upcoming classes, and set proxy users.
• Does allow for extra level of security (password a specific class, students only type it the very first time they register for classes within Ares).
• Doesn’t default to email subscription, but you can get emails sent to students when they subscribe.
• Can hold pdfs, free text, images as well as MP3s and videos.
• Incorporates a way to “clone” class to carry documents forward to future sections of the class.
• One-to-one document to class ratio. Each class that uses a document has its own copy. If a class gets deleted, the other files still stay.
• A little electronic learning function built in: professor can have “chat” hours on the Ares system, and if students have questions they can chat with them on the site during those times. Chats can be saved as a reserve item and kept as part of the class.
• Can look at usage by numbers, but also you can look up who is looking at items by name. Up to reserve staff to decide how to set this up.
• Reserve staff can set up privileges for faculty to upload their own items, or can remove that option. Can also have it set up for faculty uploads to be reviewed by library staff before going up.
• Item information form looks a lot like ILL form (not surprising), I wonder if this could be automated.
• There is a question on the upload form: “Have you obtained Copyright permission for this item?” with a checkbox. Can change wording as much as you want.
• Student Side
• See same login and alerts.
• Can create a hotlist of items they’ll look at a lot.
• Can search classes by department, instructors, and course numbers.
• Students can get RSS feed for reserve items. Erik, sound familiar?
• Library Side
• Looks like Illiad.
• This is where you set up system alert.
• Can search entire system by title, author, class info, etc. in case you need to find a missing document.
• Item processing: awaiting processing lists all the items to be scanned, etc.,awaiting review is for library staff after faculty have uploaded.
• Creates pull slips for students/staff who will find materials in the stacks.
• Scanner interface is the same as Illiad.
• Let them know what reports you’d like generated, and they will work up a SQL query.
• Web administration suite has all webpage and server information and lists documents and lets you chose what types of documents you accept.
• Has a dead-link checker and inform you of dead links in your system as well as generating email announcement to let you know.
• Ares directly supported by Atlas.
• Copyright
• Click title and goes to Copyright Clearance Center. (it’s an anonymous lookup until you click on “special order from CCC.”)
• Then you get: pages, ISSN, students it’s good for, prices, and terms. If you agree, click “submit” and you’re done.
• Can also do an “alternative copyright provider” transaction to settle another way other than CCC.
• Trying to give tools to libraries to handle copyright however they already handle copyright.
• Can get “reserve history” to see how often an item is used by class, instructor, in general, etc. (to help you determine when something is past fair use).
• Can cancel request and generate an email to instructor giving reason for cancellation.
• Blackboard
• Can add Ares to course tools.
• Ares in Blackboard: The only time you go into Ares is if an instructor is trying to add an ereserve. Looks like Ares, but can be customized to look like Blackboard.
• Students can view documents through Blackboard, and will come up in another tab (or however you’ve set it up).
• Authentication through Blackboard for one login.