LINKcat News

October 1 Holds Sequence change

On October 1st a new hold sequence in Koha is going to be implemented.  There are plans to implement a larger change that will adjust how all LINKcat libraries are listed in the sequence, however on October 1st only the MPL part of the changes will be implemented as a trial to see if what these changes are hoping to improve actually do so. 

Hold Sequence change; October 1, 2012 implementation:
ACL, BAR, BLV, BER, BRD, CIA, CBR, COL, CSP, DCL, DEE, MAD, DFT, FCH, LAV, LDI, MAD, MCF, MCM, MAD, CEN, MAD, SEQ, HPB, SEQ, MAD, PIN, MEA, PIN, MAD, HAW, LAK, HAW, MAD, SMB, MSB, SMB, MAD, SEQ, HPB, PIN, MEA, HAW, LAK, CEN, MAD, MAR, MAZ, MID, MOO, MRO, MTH, NGL, NOF, ORE, PAR, PLA, POR, POY, PDS, MAD, REE, RKS, SKC, SGR, STO, SUN, VER, WAU, WID, WYO, SCA, SCL, MAD

Because this is being done as a trial with MPL to start, it is likely this will impact the size of each branch's Holds Queue Report.  An increase in the size of the branch's Hold's Queue Report will be one of the indications that what is being tested is working.  However, if there is too large of an increase and it is reported it is negatively impacting branches beyond what can handled, SCLS is will be able to return the sequence immediately back to how it currently exists.

The new sequence will have a hold request from an MPL patron be searched at all the MPL locations before searching other LINKcat libraries.  The larger sequence change that is planned has this concept happening on a county by county level.  For example, this means that a request of any patron of a Sauk County library will be searched to see if the item can be found at one of the Sauk County libraries before moving on in the sequence to search other LINKcat libraries.  The analysis at this time is when this is further implemented throughout the system, increases in the size of the branch's Holds Queue Report will be alleviated from other libraries being grouped together like MPL.

Currently there are imbalances among LINKcat libraries in regards to which libraries are net lenders and which are net borrowers.  It is a goal of the sequence changes to make sharing more equitable among LINKcat libraries.  Also, it is hoped that the proposed sequence we are testing will also improve efficiencies at SCLS Delivery.  For Madison locations, because of the frequency of service received from SCLS Delivery, if more requests from Madison patrons are found at Madison locations, the turnaround time will be faster and patrons will receive requested items even more quickly than they currently receive them.

Bruce Smith
Vicki Teal Lovely
Heidi Oliversen

Final Testing of LibLime 4.14 To Begin

With most of the fixes in place for the Solr indexing upgrade, we are ready to begin the final phase of testing for the LibLime Koha 4.14 implementation.  ILS staff will be sending out emails to module lists asking for volunteers to run through the testing checklists.  If all goes well, we plan to upgrade to 4.14 in the next two weeks.

News Summary for 6/16/2012 through 9/21/2012

After a hiatus this summer, we are back to reporting the LINKcat news.  Here is a catchup blog post.

News

For the most current news, see the ILS Support Main page.

• 9/21/12 The Patron Record & Registration and the Serials Setup & Maintenance Webinars are now available online.
• 9/6/12 Will there be addtional costs in 2013 for Crystal Reports and e-commerce? The answer is no, and you can read about it here.
• 9/4/12 The August reports for LINKcat.info and LINKcat Mobile are posted.
• 9/4/12 The Linking I Webinar is now available to view online.
• 8/23/12 The minutes from the August CSC Subcommittee Meeting are available online.
• 8/14/12 The minutes from the August ILS Committee Meeting are available online.
• 8/13/12 The Acquisitions I Webinar is now available to view online.
• 8/7/12 The July reports for LINKcat.info and LINKcat Mobile are posted. See the LINK 2.0 Koha blog post for more details on these reports.
• 8/2/12 The release notes for the 4.12.1 upgrade have been posted.  There are just two items: problems with sorting in Reading history are fixed and some problems with debt collection are fixed.
• 8/1/12 This is a notice that LibLime will be doing an upgrade to Koha at 6:30am on Monday, August 6.  It should only take about 15 minutes.  This is a minor upgrade with a few bug fixes.  We are working on the release document now.
• 7/20/12 The minutes from the July PACC Meeting are available online.
• 7/20/12 The minutes from the July CMC Meeting are available online.
• 7/17/12 New enhanced Content from LibraryThing is now live in LINKcat. See the LINK 2.0 Koha blog post for more details.
• 7/2/12 New reports for LINKcat.info and LINKcat Mobile have been posted. See the LINK 2.0 Koha blog post for more details.
• 7/2/12 Withdrawn items were deleted from Koha on Friday, June 29. 15,163 items were deleted.
• 6/29/12 The Linking Manual has been updated. Several new sections were added.
• 6/28/12 The GetIt Acquisitions module was upgraded on 6/27. See the Release notes for details on the upgrade.
• 6/28/12 The minutes from the June CSC Meeting are available online.

Known Problems:Recently Added & Updated

• 9/20/12 New problem: Other fields are showing through the Lists drop down menu: If you click on the Lists button, the re-sorting drop down menu shows through the lists drop down. (9/20/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 43108).
• 9/12/2012 New problem Patron Record Expiration date: Saving changes to a patron record will also modify the expiration date to 4 years from the date the record was modified, whether or not the record is expired. A similar problem was reported last September and fixed in the 4.10.5 point upgrade. This 'new' problem has been reported to LibLime. (9/12/2012) ( SCLS Support ticket 43042) 9/13/2012 More details: Changes to fields in these sections change the Expiration date: Patron identity, Main address, Contact, Alternate Address, Alternate Contact, and Patron Messaging preferences.
  Changes to fields in these sections have not affected the Expiration Date:
  Library Management, Library set-up, OPAC login, and Patron Account flags.
• 9/6/12 New Problem GetIt:  Problems with "From search": In the Purchase Order, the keyword search in the "from search" doesn't seem to be working. (9/6/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 43001)
• 9/6/12 New Problem GetIt: Receipt status not updating in invoice: After a PO Line Copy is added to an invoice, the receipt status in the invoice does not update if it's changed from the PO or the Receive area (it will update if you change it from the Invoice). (9/6/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 43000)
• 8/24/12 New Problem GetIt: PO Lines not changing to Closed after Copies are received and invoiced: PO Lines that have been received and invoiced are no longer changing to "Closed." (8/24/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 43133)
• 8/16/12 Fixed GetIt: Creating items on receipt does not send all item info to catalog. If you set a Copy to automatically create an item on receipt, when the item is created it does not send the call number (that was entered in GetIt) to Koha. You have to manually fill in the call number in the Koha item record after GetIt creates it. (6/28/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 42615)
• 8/16/12 Fixed GetIt: X from ISBN-10 is dropped when uploading files. If you upload a MARC file with an ISBN-10 that contains an X on the end of it, then GetIt drops the X when populating the ISBN field in the PO line. (7/5/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 42644)
• 8/16/12: Fixed GetIt: Creating items on receipt fails if you fill in both barcode and call number fields. If you set a Copy to automatically create an item on receipt, and you fill in both the call number and the barcode fields in GetIt, then you will get an error message when you try to send the item to Koha and it will fail. The workaround is to fill in the barcode and call number fields in the Koha item record after GetIt creates it. (6/28/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 42616)
• 8/7/12 New Problem LINKcat Mobile: LINKcat Mobile is not working on some newer Android phones, or phones that have been upgraded with newer Android software. Users get a white screen with text and no links work. This problem has been reported to LibraryThing. (8/7/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 42786)
• 8/6/12 Fixed Sorting Reading History by Title: If a patron has more than 50 titles in the Reading History, then the patron cannot view the entire list sorted by title. They can only view the entire list sorted by date. (3/22/2012) (SCLS Support Ticket 41952) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 7/5/12 New Problem GetIt: X from ISBN-10 is dropped when uploading files. If you upload a MARC file with an ISBN-10 that contains an X on the end of it, then GetIt drops the X when populating the ISBN field in the PO line. (7/5/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 42644)
• 6/28/12 New Problem GetIt: Item created at receipt has status of Available. If you set a Copy to automatically create an item on receipt, the item that is created in Koha will have a status of Available. The status will need to be manually changed to In Processing in the Koha item record. (6/28/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 42617)
• 6/28/12: New Problem GetIt: Creating items on receipt fails if you fill in both barcode and call number fields. If you set a Copy to automatically create an item on receipt, and you fill in both the call number and the barcode fields in GetIt, then you will get an error message when you try to send the item to Koha and it will fail. The workaround is to fill in the barcode and call number fields in the Koha item record after GetIt creates it. (6/28/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 42616)
• 6/28/12 New Problem GetIt: Creating items on receipt does not send all item info to catalog. If you set a Copy to automatically create an item on receipt, when the item is created it does not send the call number (that was entered in GetIt) to Koha. You have to manually fill in the call number in the Koha item record after GetIt creates it. (6/28/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 42615)
• 6/27/12 Fixed GetIt: An error message is received when sending POs via EDI. However, the PO does still go through to the vendor and you will still receive an Acknowledgement. (6/27/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 42611)
• 6/27/12 Fixed GetIt: Receiving creates duplicate bib records if an item record is automatically created upon receipt. When you receive a Copy on a PO Line that has already been sent to the catalog, Koha does not create an item on the existing bib. Instead, it creates a new bib record and adds the item to the new bib record. (5/31/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40139)
• 6/27/12 Fixed GetIt: There is a Contact name field listed in the Vendor Account Addresses display but there is no field for Contact name on the Vendor Account Addresses form, so there is no place to enter a Contact name. (4/14/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 41894)
• 6/27/12 Fixed GetIt: Bulk "Send to Catalog" does not work. Individual "Send to Catalog" works but error messages are received. (8/18/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40807)
• 6/27/12 Fixed GetIt: PO Lines cannot be added to new invoice after original non-approved invoice deleted. (6/7/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40207)
• 6/27/12 Fixed GetIt: Parent fund does not display when Edit fund button is clicked (9/27/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 41896)
• 6/27/12 Fixed GetIt: Cannot select new parent fund in "Edit fund" pop-up. This means that you cannot change the parent fund on any existing funds. You have to delete the existing fund and create a new fund under the correct parent fund. (6/7/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40205) (Development)
• 6/27/12 Fixed GetIt: When editing a fund, you will occasionally get an "Edit fund" pop-up box with three blank Parent fund boxes. When you try to edit another fund, GetIt hangs. To clear this bug, log out of GetIt or refresh Firefox (refreshing Firefox will reload GetIt). (4/20/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40204)
• 6/26/2012: New Problem: Ampersand in search causes problems with browsing search results. If you use an ampersand in a search, then you cannot browse through the search results list. When you go to the second page you lose the search results. (6/26/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 42602)

Ideas for LINKcat slideshow slides

In June we launched a new "slideshow" for the home page of LINKcat. The slides change monthly and include information about new features, databases, Don't Miss Lists, search tips, planned downtime, and other useful LINKcat information.

We are always looking for new slideshow ideas. We've created a Google document where you can share your ideas for useful LINKcat tips to be included in the slideshow. Please keep in mind that the tips have to be communicated in a short sentence and should include a visual representation. Complex ideas could be broken down into separate parts so each part could be communicated on a separate slide.

Removing "My Fines" tab from patron PAC account display

The PAC subCommittee made a recommendation to hide the "My Fines" tab in the PAC patron display because the tab led directly to the patron's Account screen, which displays all resolved and unresolved fines and charges in a patron's record.  The Circulation Services subCommittee agreed with the recommendation, requesting future development that will point the "My Fines" tab to a patron's Pay Fines screen, which only displays unresolved fines or charges.  The ILS Committee approved the recommendation and we will be making the change on Monday, October 8, 2012.

Here is an example of the new screen in the PAC, which can be seen when logged into the sandbox PAC.  Patrons are still able to access their balance from the Fines tab on the My Summary screen.  This tab only displays when patrons have unpaid fines or charges.

If patrons click on the balance owed, the hyperlink will take them to their full Account screen.

Please make certain all of your staff are aware of this change so they can assist patrons as needed.

Koha indexing switch to Solr

The next upgrade to Koha will be a major re-write of Koha's indexing platform. The new software is now available for testing in the SCLS Koha sandbox (both staff client and PAC). If you would like to try it out, you can log into the sandbox using the same login and password that you use for Koha production. 

The sandbox is a work in progress and additional fixes are still being added. After we have an upgrade date, we will post full release notes on the ILS web site.

Why are we switching to Solr?

Solr is an open-source search indexing platform that is faster and offers more flexibility than Koha's current indexing platform (Zebra). It fixes a number of searching bugs and will offer us the ability to create browse indexes in the future.

What are the new features and bug fixes that are coming with Solr?

Here is a list of fixed bugs and new features:

• Indexing of new bibs and items: With Solr, new bib records and item records will be indexed in approximately 5 minutes, instead of several hours. Edits to existing bib records and items will also index in approximately 5 minutes. (SCLS Support Ticket 39738) 
• Improvements to relevancy ranking: Exact main title (245$a) matches are ranked before a main title with the same words, but that is not an exact match. Also, English-language books continue to be ranked above AV and foreign language materials. For example, a title search for The passage will return titles with that exact main title ranked at the top of the list. These titles will be ranked about titles such as Spirit of the passage and The passage of power, which have the same words but are not exact matches. Please note that exact matches are prioritized, so a search for The passage will rank a record titled The passage before a record titled The passage : a novel. In some cases this will cause an AV record to be ranked above a book record. For example, if a record for a book contains a sub-title but the AV record does not have that sub-title, then the AV record will be ranked above the book record, because Koha will rank the main title first, and then rank the English-language books. Finally, these relevancy ranking improvements have been applied to both the title and keyword indexes, as well as the Cataloging search in the staff client.
• Problems with Author search: The author searches in both the staff client and PAC are now working correctly. Previously, the Author searches in the drop-down box on the main page of the PAC and in the advanced search of the staff client were searching title fields as well as author fields. (SCLS Support Ticket 41891)
• Facets work for entire search results list: Facets now include results from the records in the entire search results list. Previously, the facets were generated based on only the current page of search results. (SCLS Support Ticket 40742)
• Searching of titles and authors with diacritics: You can now search titles and authors even if there is a diacritic in the title or author fields. Previously, these searches were failing. (SCLS Support Ticket 40822) 
• Using ampersands in searches: Using an ampersand in the search no longer causes problems with browsing search results. Previously, if you used an ampersand in a search, then you lost the search results when you went to the second page. (SCLS Support Ticket 42602)
• Keyword searching in staff client for titles that are numbers: Using quotes allows you to do a keyword search in the staff client for titles that are numbers. For example, search “1493” to find the title 1493 : uncovering the new world Columbus created. (SCLS Support Ticket 41768) 
• Re-sorting the search results list in the staff client: Previously, re-sorting the search results list did not always work. Instead, you were taken to the Advanced Search page. This only happened when you used an equal sign in the search (e.g. au=john grisham). Because you now must use a colon when you are using a search operator, this problem is no longer an issue (e.g. au:john grisham). (SCLS Support Ticket 39838)
• Punctuation in titles: Searches that include titles with punctuation, such as colons, slashes, exclamation points, etc. no longer fail. Sometimes you may need to use quotes around the title, but you should not need to strip punctuation.

Are there any new search tips?

Yes, Solr offers more tools for refining searches:

• Use double quotes to search an exact phrase in any index. (Single quotation marks are ignored). For example, searching "lord of the rings" will only return records that contain that exact phrase. (NOTE: We will no longer have separate phrase indexes for title, author and subject. These indexes have been replaced by the double quotes feature).
• Place your search terms in parenthesis to return search results on words in any order. For example, searching (lord of the rings) will return records that contain all of those words, but not necessarily in that order.
• Use a question mark for single character right-hand truncation, for example to find nap or naps, search nap?.
• Use a star for multiple character right-hand truncation, for example to find nap or naps or napping, search nap*.
• Use a question mark or star for center truncation, for example to find woman or women, search wom?n [single character] or wo*n [multiple character].
• Use a tilde combined with double quotes to make two terms appear within a certain number of characters of each other, for example "roman empire"~10 would search for the two words within 10 characters of each other.
• You can use the following search operators when using the keyword index to narrow your search. You do not have to use the search operators when using the keyword index – they are tools that are available but they are not mandatory. You must use a colon (:) between the search operator and the search terms, (e.g. ti:the help):
  • ti: (title)
  • au: (author)
  • su: (subject)
  • isbn: (isbn)
  • issn: (issn)
  • biblionumber: (biblionumber)

Are there any known bugs in the sandbox that aren't in production?

Yes, there are some bugs in the sandbox that are not present in production. These bugs will be fixed before we upgrade:

• Library limit (Location and Available limit) in staff client doesn't work. Ok in PAC.
• When searching ISBN-13, ISBN-10 is not found (and vice versa).
• Clicking "more" link in facets column generates error in staff client. Ok in PAC.

There may be more bugs present in the sandbox (that are not already in production). See the next section for information on helping out with testing.

How can I help with testing Solr?

Fill out the Solr testing checklist. If you cannot finish the entire checklist, that's fine, just do what you can and leave the other questions blank. Please complete any testing by Monday, October 1.

You can also report problems that you encounter in the sandbox using the Koha problems and questions form. 

 

Costs for Crystal Reports & Envisionware (e-commerce) in 2012 and 2013

We are moving forward with two projects that will require startup fees in 2012.  There will be some ongoing costs in 2013 and beyond but these costs will not increase the technology or ILS fees for participating libraries in 2013.  We will be using Crystal Reports software to develop an end-user reports interface for Koha.  We are using a portion of the 2012 LSTA Public Library System Technology grant to finance the bulk of the startup costs for Crystal Reports, including procuring a server, server setup, software licenses, training costs and the consulting fees to develop some prototype reports.   The new server will be rolled into the ongoing server maintenance plan.  We may need to pay software maintenance, but for 2013 we would cover those costs out of ILS contingency or with the 2013 LSTA grant. 

We will be contracting with Envisionware for online credit card payment for the LINKcat libraries.  Again, there are startup fees for this service, but they will be paid for out of the ILS contingency.  There is an annual maintenance fee with Envisionware and there will be transaction fees both for the merchant bank and with Envisionware, but these costs will be deducted out of the fines and fees collected before they are distributed to the libraries. 

We look forward to bringing these two exciting services to the LINKcat libraries and we are pleased to be able to do so without an increase in the 2013 payments.

[This article is also being posted to the Technology News blog.  For those of you who read both, we apoligize for the duplication.]