LINKcat News

Delivery codes for the Portage County Public Libraries

On Tuesday, May 27, the 4 Portage County Libraries will Go Live in Koha.  Library staff will no longer be sending items to Madison-Central or using Direct CKO to fill holds for patrons at these libraries.

Starting Tuesday, when you scan an item barcode to fill a hold, the location information in the Hold Found pop-up will read as the following for the 4 libraries: 

Portage County PL - Almond (ALM)
Portage County PL - Plover (PLO)
Portage County PL - Rosholt (ROS)
Portage County PL - ​Stevens Point (STP)

Library staff will, as usual, use the three-character Delivery code when filling out the Post-it note (delivery label). Until library (and Delivery) staff get used to using the new codes we may see an increase in items destined for a patron at one of the PCPL libraries being sent to POR, or Portage Public Library.   Please remind your staff to use the Delivery Codes​ when sending an item in transit to fill a hold.  We have updated the sheet; please reprint it if you have it posted.

News Summary for 4/1/14 through 4/30/2014

News

• 4/30/14 24,887 items and 3,353 bibliographic records with only withdrawn items attached were deleted in the monthly batch deletion of withdrawn items. 5,853 bibliographic records were added and/or updated in the database between 3/28/14 and 4/29/14.
• 4/18/14 Due to the problem with older fines and lost item charges reappearing on certain patron records, we will not be running reports for Notices of Unresolved Charges (billing notices) OR the debt collect reports to send to Unique Management until the situation is resolved. UMS is aware of the problem. Additionally, daily circulation reports will NOT be posted for 4/15, 4/16, 4/17, etc. until the situation is resolved. LibLime is currently working on this issue.
• 4/15/14 The upgrade to LibLime Koha 4.18 will begin at 7 pm tonight (read more). Staff should not use the system on the morning of 4/16 until the all clear is received. We will announce the all clear on the SCLS status wiki, via an email and via a phone call.
• 4/10/14 The recording from yesterday's Acquisitions 1 Webinar is available online.
• 4/2/14 The monthly LINKcat.info and LINKcat Mobile reports are posted.
• 4/2/14 The recording of the Linking 1: Searching and Matching Webinar is available online.

Known Problems: Recently Added & Updated

• 4/30/2014 FIXED. Default sort order of active and suspended holds in LINKcat is title, instead of placed on date. Please note that you can click on the column headers to re-sort both the active and suspended holds lists in LINKcat. (SCLS Support Ticket 336)
• 4/25/2014 FIXED. 4.18 bug: Multiple check-ins will apply multiple overdue charges. When Lost items are checked in, the system charges the patron overdue fines.  If you check in an item multiple times, the system is assessing fines each time the item is checked in. THIS IS PRIMARILY A PROBLEM FOR LIBRARIES WITH SORTERS, because after the sorter checks in a Lost item, it sends the item to the Exception bin. Then staff have to check in the item a second time to remove the entry from the patron's Lost Items list.
  Until this is fixed, libraries with sorters should Waive the duplicate overdue charge from the patron's record right after they remove the Lost Item entry from the patron's record.  Any other library staff that may have to check-in an item multiple times needs to be aware of this problem and waive the duplicate fines as soon as possible.  After this problem is fixed we will run a report to catch any records that were missed and waive the duplicate fines. This has been reported to LibLime. (SCLS Support ticket #387).
• 4/25 UPDATE We have submitted a request to have LibLime delete the older 4.16 fines. 4/18/2014 New. Circulation/Fines. Patrons with duplicate overdue charges. The system is working correctly and applying accruing overdue fines to items that were overdue prior to the upgrade, and converting the fines to Overdue once the items are returned or renewed. The problem is that many of those records with Overdue fines already had fines accruing/assessing on the accounts in 4.16. We are asking LibLime for a way to identify the records that have duplicate overdue fines for the same item. Once we have assessed the problem, we will know if it has to be manually adjusted or if we can use an automated method to adjust the records. This has been reported to LibLime. (4/18/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 319)
• 4/24 UPDATE: We are reviewing affected records in order to decide the best way to proceed. 4/18/2014 RESOLVED. Circulation/Fines. Older fines reappearing on patron records; large numbers of Notices of Unresolved Charges as a result. A number of patrons have old fines and lost item fees re-applied to their records as a result of the upgrade to 4.18, though the transactions were resolved and no monies are due. The problem has been reported to LibLime as our highest-priority fix. On 4/17, LibLime applied "System-generated credit for incorrect REFUND handling" lines to affected patrons. (4/16/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 295, 298)
• 4/24/2014 FIXED. Circulation/Fines. Overdue fines accruing incorrectly for items checked out at fine-free libraries and subsequently renewed at fine-charging libraries. Items checked out at fine-free libraries and subsequently renewed at fine-charging libraries are incorrectly being charged overdue fines. This has been reported to LibLime. (4/16/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 309)
• 4/24/2014 UPDATE. We have a report of these items and will review them before making a recommendation. 4/17/2014. New. Circulation/Fines. Deleted lost items are reappearing on Lost Items tab for certain patrons. Older deleted items where charges may not have been resolved correctly are reappearing on certain patron records. The patron records do not have charges on their records for these items. This has been reported to LibLime. (4/16/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 299)
• 4/24/2014. FIXED. Circulation/Sorter. Lost items not going to Exceptions bin. Codes for Lost items are not triggering a route to the Exceptions bin in sorters. This has been reported to LibLime. (4/16/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 310)
• 4/18/2014 FIXED. Circulation/Patrons. Add Child template does not default to Juvenile category. Part of the work done for 4.18 changed the Patron Category pull-down menus. This template was missed when the menus were updated. This issue has been reported to LibLime. (4/18/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 320)
• 4/18/2014 FIXED. Circulation/Fines. Reports of inability to waive individual fines or apply partial write-off/waive. The Waive option is not working correctly when attempting to Waive Select or use checkboxes. This functionality problem has been reported to LibLime. This problem is now fixed. (4/16/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 277)
• 4/17/2014. New. Circulation/Fines. Unallocated credits are auto-applying to outstanding debits in some cases. This has been reported to LibLime. (4/16/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 308)
• 4/17/2014. New. Circulation/Fines. Incomplete payment records for payments made on 4/15/14. Certain patrons had resolved their outstanding account balances with libraries on 4/15/14. These payments and writeoffs are not being reflected correctly on their accounts after the upgrade. This has been reported to LibLime. (4/16/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 294)
• 4/17/2014 FIXED. LINKcat Mobile app not displaying holds in patron account. The app should now display holds. This problem has been reported to LibraryThing as an urgent problem. (4/16/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 292)
• 4/16/2014 FIXED. Cataloging. Batch Edit Items function is not displaying Other Item Status values. Field k, the Other Item Status, is not displaying in the Batch Editor. We have reported the problem to LibLime for a priority fix. FIXED. (4/16/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 276)
• 4/16/2014 FIXED. Circulation/Lost Items. Lost items and overdue fines: one of the fixes in the upgrade was that patrons are no longer being charged double fines when Lost items are returned. The system is applying the correct overdue fine when the item is marked Lost at 29 days. The Max. Accruable Fine per Issue is no longer automatically applied when any Lost item is checked in. Lost items are charged for no more than 29 days when the item is returned. Ideally, the system should charge the total accrued overdue or the Max. Accruable fine, whichever is smaller, when the item is returned. We are seeking clarification from LibLime. (8/10/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40701** Fixed in 4.18)
• 4/16/2014 FIXED. Circulation/Debt Collect. "Sticky" Debt Collect messages. Sporadic bug that does not clear Debt Collect message on patron's Check out screen after the patron pays off their entire balance owed. (10/5/2011) (SCLS Support Ticket 41166*. Fixed in 4.18)
• 4/16/2014 Fixed. Circulation/Fines. Refunded Overdues: If patrons pay overdue fines and then the overdue items are checked in using a back-dated check in, the system will "refund" the overdue payments. Initially it was thought that this was the remainder of items checked out under the CircControl bug that was fixed in the 4.10 upgrade but recents tests show that it is a result of back-dating. Admin and Liblime staff run weekly reports to clear these refunds. This problem has been reported to LibLime. (3/19/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 40697** (with 48.18) / 4.10. Fixed in 4.18)
• 4/16/2014 Fixed. Circulation/Fines. Manual Invoice barcode field problem. When you are entering a Manual Invoice as a Note, and leave the barcode field blank, the system is populating the field with an OuterLoan barcode. This has been reported and should be fixed shortly. Put an "x" in the field to prevent the barcode from filling in. (9/11/13) (SCLS Support ticket 45932. Fixed in 4.18)
• 4/16/2014. Fixed. Circulation/Patron. Patron Search Results are no longer strictly alphabetical. When staff search for patron names using a single last name or partial elements of both the first and surname [WAL CAM or SMITH ROB or ROBERTS], the system no longer displays the search results in alphabetical order. This has been reported to LibLime. (8/15/13) (SCLS Support ticket 45608** / 4.16. Fixed in 4.18)
• 4/16/2014 Fixed. Serials. Not for loan status in serials subscription records: Like the "Suppress" field, it appears that the Not for loan field is defaulting to the top of the list for the Not for loan selections. You will have to alter this field every time you edit a subscription record, just like having to alter the Suppressed field from Suppress to Do Not Suppress with each entry. (11/16/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 39941*. Fixed in 4.18)
• 4/16/2014 Fixed. Serials. When editing a subscription record, the "Suppressed" field flips from "Do Not Suppress" to "Suppress" every time you edit the record. You must manually change it each time you edit a subscription. (5/11/11)(SCLS Support Ticket 39887**. Fixed in 4.18)
• 4/16/2014. Fixed. PAC/Patron accounts. No sort arrows in list of checked out items: Some patrons do not have sort arrows in their list of checked out items in their patron account in the PAC. Also, the most recently checked out items appear by default at the top of the list rather than the bottom of the list. We have found that if the patron has at least one active hold, then the list is sortable. But if all holds are suspended, then the list is not sortable. Also, patrons who do not have any holds do not have sort arrows in their list of checked out items. This problem has been reported to LibLime. (4/3/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 40448** / 4.10. Fixed in 4.18)
• 4/2/2014 Resolved. This problem results due to an automated process that kills the notice script in Koha. When it happens, we need to report it to LibLime and they adjust the time before a script is killed. Intermittant problems with "Advance Notice of Item Due" (pre-overdue) notices. We have received reports that some pre-overdue notices were not generated and emailed on 10/13 and 10/15. Also, some pre-overdue notices were not generated on 10/1 (and again in early 2014). This has been reported to LibLime and they are investigating the cause of the problem. Please continue to report examples with the patron barcode, item barcode and due date of the item. (SCLS Support ticket 46285)

Koha Response Time Testing

In order to help pin-point response time problems on Koha, we are asking libraries to record the problems. We are targeting the weeks of May 12 and May 19 to do this tracking.  Here is how it will work.

1) You may use any browser, but if using Firefox, you may want to use the Lori add-on to track how long each transaction takes.  Below is the link.  Click the green Add to Firefox button and follow the directions.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/lori-life-of-request-info/

In order to get Lori to display, you will also need to do the following in Firefox.  Click on View, then Toolbars, then Add-on Bar.  You will now see a counter on the bottom right of your browser screen. This is a toggle and you can turn it off.

2) Print out a response time form to keep track of response time issues.  You will want one for each PC.  Record the Library Name and PC name on each form.  (Note: form is behind the ILS secure web site; login required).

3) Keep track of any respones time issues.  Be as detailed as possible.

4) When a page is complete, send it to Vicki Teal Lovely at SCA via SCLS Delivery.

We will be compiling the data to see if we can isolate any patterns of response time issues in the Koha software.  We may also decide to do network anylysis or PC analysis based on these results as either may also contribute to response time problems.

Thanks for your help!