Senior Vice President Frederick Rogers, left, listens while Emily Gray, manager of the general book department of the Campus Store, talks about her department's Books in Print online project during a luncheon in the Biotechnology Building on April 3. The luncheon honored service quality and cost-saving initiatives developed by Cornell employees. Denise Weldon/University Photography
A new computer system that has streamlined mailings in the College of Arts and Sciences and the development of electronic access to the popular reference Books in Print are among the 10 employee-initiated improvements being honored by Cornell.
"These initiatives spearheaded by our employees have made great strides in improving service quality and reducing costs," said Cornell Senior Vice President Frederick A. Rogers. "It is important that we honor and recognize these efforts and those whose creativity and foresight made these improvements work."
Rogers honored the employees involved in devising the campus improvements at a luncheon on April 3.
"Target Bulk Electronic Mail Communication" and "Books in Print on the Campus Network" are among the five employee improvements that Cornell has submitted to the Higher Education Awards Program sponsored by the National Association of Colleges and University Business Offices (NACUBO) and Barnes & Noble. The national program recognizes university projects that have improved quality, process and productivity and reduced costs. Winners of that competition will be announced in June.
Target Bulk Electronic Mail Communication
Target Bulk Electronic Mail Communication refers to a new computer program that has reduced the amount of time and resources used by the College of Arts and Sciences to process a mailing to its 4,200 undergraduates. The program, developed by Mike Hammer, a programmer and analyst in the College of Arts and Sciences' Dean's Office, accesses campus databases to retrieve e-mail addresses of Arts and Sciences' students and then sends mail electronically to the specific list. Barring any technological glitch, students receive the message in their electronic mailbox within three seconds. It used to take the college four hours of manual labor, 4,200 envelopes and 4,200 sheets of paper and more than 140 sheets of mailing labels to assemble a mailing that might take up to three days to reach students.
The program also can scan a database for students who meet particular criteria, making it now possible to easily identify and mail information to all freshmen and sophomores from the Midwest or to advisees of a particular department, for example.
Books in Print on the Campus Network
Books in Print, a popular resource at the Campus Store and university libraries, is now available in a fully searchable form from desktop computers on the campus network, thanks to the work of Emily Gray, manager of the general book department of the Campus Store and other employees.
Books in Print went online in spring 1995.
"Having Books in Print available online has allowed us to give our customers better service. We are able to locate books more quickly for them, and we've given them the capacity to conduct their own searches," Gray said.
A major difference from the thick, printed version is that the online Books in Print is fully searchable by keyword and subject. "This feature has proved very helpful, because often someone requesting the search may not know the complete title of the book or the author's full name," Gray said. This online version also enables more frequent updates of the information.
Gray said the online Books in Print also provides users with information on whether a book is currently available at the bookstore. If it isn't, an order form also can be obtained electronically.
To access Books in Print online, enter Bear Access and click on Campus Store, then click on Books in Print. One can also get to Books in Print via telnet through Bear Access, although telnet does not have keyword search capacity.
Both the Arts and Sciences Dean's Office and the Campus Store have a received a $300 cash award from Cornell for the development of these new service-enhancing projects. Other winners of $300 awards include the Department of Facilities and Campus Services' "Emergency Chilled Water Load Shedding System Design," the Department of Risk Management and Insurance's "Maintenance Management Services Program," and the Campus Store's "Textbook List on the Campus Network."
Winners of $150 cash awards are the Central Heating Plant's "Central Heating Plant Ash Hopper Dump Valves" and "Central Heating Plant Coal Conveyors." Winners of $100 cash awards are Cornell-in-Washington's "Yearly Update of Externship Guide," Planning Design and Construction's "Job Internships Strengthen the Human Network" and Cooperative Extension's "Online Time Collection System."