LINKcat News

News Summary (11/1/2019-11/30/2019)

News (in case you missed it!)

• 11/26/2019 The minutes from the November 20 DIS Meeting can be found online.
• 11/26/2019 The minutes from the November 21 IC Meeting can be found online.
• 11/26/2019 The minutes from the November 12 CSS Meeting can be found online.
• 11/25/2019 27,966 items and 3,428 bibliographic records (with only withdrawn items attached) were deleted in the monthly batch deletion of withdrawn items.
• 11/20/19 The minutes from the November 13 CMS Meeting can be found online.
• 11/11/2019 Migration Tips #1 -- weekly post with tips for making the migration a great experience!
• 11/1/2019 The monthly Koha reports for October 2019 can be found online.
• 11/1/2019 The monthly LINKcat.info and LINKcat Mobile reports for October are posted.

Migration Tips #3

Get to Know Offline Circulation

During the data migration to Bibliovation, libraries may use offline circulation for checking out materials to patrons. We have a new version of Offline Circulation. While the new Offline Circulation software is very easy to use, we recommend that you practice using it prior to the downtime (December 6 at 9 pm). Here are some tips:

• Read through the documentation. It contains instructions that assure the best possible experience (such as do not click the red "Delete All Queued" button). Prior to the downtime, you may use offline circulation and practice uploading transactions into the Bibliovation Sandbox (go to the Training page (login required) and scroll down to the Bibliovation sandbox section.)
• Offline circulation is now a Firefox extension and it has been installed on all SCLS supported staff PCs.
• The old Koha Offline Circulation software and Desktop shortcut will be removed from staff PCs on December 6^th. This will make it impossible for staff to accidentally use it during the downtime.
• If for some reason, you don't see the Bibliovation Offline Circulation icon in Firefox, you may have an issue with the private browsing settings in Firefox. SCLS Help Desk staff have written a blog post to help you resolve this issue if it happens.
• If you have trouble with Offline Circulation during the migration, we will have Help Desk staff available Saturday and Sunday during library open hours. You may contact them using normal methods. 

Promotional Materials

Last week, the media kit with tools for promoting the migration was made available. Today, bookmarks announcing the downtime will be sent out in delivery to every LINKcat library and branch. Next week we will be distributing a refreshed set of LINKcat help bookmarks to every LINKcat library and branch.

Migration Tips #2

Communication

During the migration from Koha to Bibliovation, there are two phases: "down time", when the system won't be available, and "go live", when the system will be restored. There are actually many services within the system that will be restored at varying times. Therefore, it is important to know the primary sources of communication during the migration. 

Status Wiki 

The SCLS status wiki will be the primary source used to report restoration of services throughout the migration period. We will also use the status wiki to post problems with services during the "go live" phase. To learn more about the status wiki, check out this Technology News blog post. Tip: Make sure you and other library staff are familiar with the status wiki and bookmark it in your browser. 

Email Lists

Email lists for specific services (such as databases, iBoss, MyPC, and self-check). Detailed information about the services will be sent to the appropriate email lists. The list that will be used has been posted in the relevant section of the Bibliovation Migration Events page. If you participate in a specific service someone from your library should be signed up to the appropriate list. You sign up for lists on the SCLS Mailing Lists page (login required). If you aren't certain if you are signed up for a particular list, you can go ahead and sign up and you will receive an email confirming your registration or letting you know that you are already signed up. Tip: Review the available email lists and make sure that you or someone from your library is signed up to those that are relevant for your library. 

Media Materials

Press materials will be made available today. An email will be sent to link-directors announcing the availability. Bookmarks announcing the downtime will be distributed to libraries as soon as they are printed. Libraries should not begin making announcements until November 21. The LINKcat help page (https://help.linkcat.info/) will be used to announce information to patrons, along with informational slides. This page will be updated on November 21. 

Logins for Bibliovation

Information about logging in to Bibliovation will be sent to the link-directors email list today. 

Migration Tips #1

We have four more Monday mornings before the migration from LibLime Koha to Bibliovation. Each Monday, we will provide some tips that will help you prepare for the migration. So, let's get started.

Practice, practice, practice!

Much of the functionality in the new software is the same. However, there are some differences in look and feel, some feature names have changed and there are some differences in how things work. If you work with patrons in either circulation or helping with LINKcat, the more comfortable you are with the changes, the better. There is a training page designed to help you with this.

https://www.scls.info/bibliovation-training-information-library-trainers

This page includes training outlines, checklists and crosswalks. The crosswalks help guide you through things that are different in Bibliovation and they are highly recommended! 

Promotional Materials

The PR Work Group is working on a press kit to help libraries announce the down time and changes to LINKcat. The press materials should be available by the end of this week. Watch for an email about this.