LINKcat News

Discovery Layer Note in Patron Records - additional problem with the Enter character.

ILS and IT staff have identified another problem that can happen when Library staff use the "Enter" character when adding new or additional notes in the Discovery Layer Note in a Patron record.  Here is the information you and your circulation co-workers need to be aware of:

Discovery Layer note. The Discovery Layer note is a free-text note that staff can create from the patron’s Edit screen.  This note displays to staff on the patron’s Details screen and in the patron’s Discovery Layer dashboard.  KNOWN PROBLEM: The (hidden) character produced by using the Enter key in this Note field has been known to cause self-check sessions to completely fail and will cause massive MyPC issues when that software encounters that character when interfacing with Bibliovation.

DO NOT USE THE ENTER KEY WHEN ADDING NEW NOTES OR ADDING ADDITIONAL NOTES TO THE DISCOVERY LAYER NOTE FIELD IN A PATRON RECORD.

This information has also been updated in the Circulation Manual, Section VI Circulation Alerts, Blocks and Notes, Part E Notes in the Patron Record.

Local Holds: additional format approved and new Item Type added

On February 5, 2025, the ILS Committee approved DVD7 materials as eligible for Local Hold Parameters.  The new  Item Type DVDLH7 was created for this use.

 

This new Local Hold Item Type,  "DVD, Local Hold, 7 day (DVDLH7)" will be used for Newly Released, 7 day DVDs. This code has been added to the list of Item Types in Bibliovation. 

• The Default Library Circulation Rule "LH 0.00 fines, 7 day loan, 0 renewals, home holds" was created for this new item type.
• If your library charges overdue fines for these materials at your library, you must submit a Circulation Rules Change Request form to create a library-specific circulation rule charging overdue fines.

A reminder to all libraries assigning Local Hold parameters to their materials: Use is limited to new items and the amount of time these parameters can be applied is a maximum of 60 days.  Follow the rules located in the Linking Manual, Appendix I Local Holds.

New Patron Category: RB - Reciprocal Borrower

The new Patron Category "RB - Reciprocal Borrower"  has been added to Bibliovation and you can apply this category to existing and new patron records as needed per the description below:

• Use this patron category for patrons that have been provided a LINKcat library card, with your library as a home library, but have a legal place of residence outside of SCLS Counties.  These patrons are not "contractually" eligible to use your locally subscribed databases outside of the library.  Using this code is optional per local library policy.

This Patron Category was recommended by the Circulation Services Subcommittee on 11/12/2024 and approved by the ILS Committee on 12/4/2024.  As noted above, using this Patron Category is optional and use is determined by the library listed as the "Home Library" for the patron record(s).

7.02.37 Bibliovation Upgrade, Wednesday, Sept. 6

We are pleased to announce that there will be an update to Bibliovation at 9pm on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. The upgrade does not require system downtime. This release (7.02.37) includes fixes to Circulation and the Staff client. See the Release Notes for a full list of issues addressed in this upgrade.

This upgrade includes fixes that have been tested by SCLS staff. To the best of everyone’s assessment, the fixes are working well and any bugs identified during testing have been fixed. However, as we learned with past upgrades and patches, we may experience unexpected results following the upgrade. We may also discover new problems. We will use the Known Problems page to document any post upgrade problems. After the upgrade, please clear your browser cache before using Bibliovation.

Bibliovation Upgrade, May 16, 8pm

We are pleased to announce that there will be an update to Bibliovation starting at 8pm on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. This update will require system downtime of about one hour. This release, 7.02.34, includes fixes to all areas of Bibliovation (except Serials). See the Release Notes for a full list of issues addressed in this upgrade. Some, but not all, of the fixes, changes, and new features are listed below.

This upgrade includes fixes that have been tested by SCLS staff and at some libraries. To the best of everyone’s assessment, the fixes are working well and any bugs identified during testing have been fixed. However, as we learned with past upgrades and patches, we may experience unexpected results following the upgrade. We may also discover new problems. We will use the Known Problems page to document any post upgrade problems. After the upgrade, please clear your browser cache before using Bibliovation.

High Priority Fixes

This release includes fixes for the following high-priority problems (these problems are also listed in the Release Notes):

• Check in: message about Item barcode not in system (API error)
• Offline Circulation timestamp off by 5 hours
• Caching/retaining search parameters
• Staff View of patron Reading Record - incomplete displays
• Selfcheck renewals by scanning item in checkout mode do not work
• Checkouts made from selfchecks have a timestamp 6 hours ahead
• Editing Item from Item Statuses page
• Bibliovation not retaining text of deleted Lost items
• Items with a Lost status (Lost, Trace, Missing) must be checked in before allowing checkout
• Account Receipt will not generate if certain charges are in the record

Changes and New Features

This release also includes the following changes and new features (these changes are also listed in the Release Notes):

• Patron Group functionality
• Proxy Borrowing
• Patron Merge
• Patron Delete

Non-fiction multi-part TV series, mini-series, documentaries can circulate together as a set

Effective immediately, you can now circulate non-fiction multi-part DVD TV series, mini-series, and documentaries together as a set, in the same way that we have been circulating fiction multi-part DVD sets. This change to the Videorecordings Searching and Matching Policy was approved at the April 5 ILS Committee meeting. 

 

Please note that instructional and travel sets would still circulate separately if each part can stand alone. Travel sets can be large, and cover different states or countries on separate discs, so that is why travel sets would continue to be split. For instructional sets, there are some sets that are circulated together, such as the Great Courses, because they come with a booklet that is used with all discs and these would continue to circulate together. However, if each part of an instructional set can stand alone, then it would be circulated separately.

 

Moving forward, you can treat non-fiction multi-part TV series, mini-series, and documentaries in the same way that you have been treating fiction sets. Any new non-fiction sets can be added to Bibliovation as a full set. The Linking Manual and Linking Training materials have been updated. These are all linked from the Cataloging page (under the Multi-part DVDs Project header): https://www.scls.info/ils/cataloging. The FAQ for Multi-Part DVD Packaging has also been updated.

REMINDER: Update Bibliovation URLs by September 1, 2022

This is a reminder that all links to the Bibliovation staff URL must be changed to scls.bibliovation.com by September 1, 2022. After September 1, the old URL of scls.kohalibrary.com will not work. This change only affects staff. It does not affect patrons using www.linkcat.info. See below for more details on updating URLs. 

Where are the staff URLs saved?
Some places where URLs might be stored are:

• Bookmarks in browsers on staff computers
• Shortcuts on staff computers
• Internal library websites that are only used by library staff
• Documentation and instructions that your library created for staff
• Receipt printer shortcuts on staff PCs
• Spine label shortcuts on staff PCs

How do I update the URLs?
For browser bookmarks and shortcuts, you can edit the existing bookmark/shortcut and replace the old URL with the new URL. You can also delete the existing bookmark/shortcut and create a new bookmark/shortcut with the new URL. For internal documentation or websites, you can do a find and replace to update the URLs.

How do I update the URL in the receipt and/or spine label printer Firefox profile shortcuts?
There are special procedures for updating the receipt and spine label printer shortcuts. Instructions are posted on the ILS Support Manuals page.

Can I use my library's unique Bibliovation URL?
Yes! In Bibliovation, each library can use a unique URL for staff as well as for patrons. Your library's unique URL is <agency code>.scls.bibliovation.com. (For example, the URL for SCA will be sca.scls.bibliovation.com.) If you use your library's unique URL, then your library's items will display first on the "Detail" screen of the bib record, the "Edit items" screen of the bib record, and on the "Item status" screen of the bib record.

What about the LINKcat URL?
The generic URL for LINKcat is www.linkcat.info. The www.linkcat.info URL is not changing. Each library also has a unique LINKcat URL, which can be used for patrons. Your library's unique LINKcat URL is <agency code>.linkcat.info. (For example, the unique URL for SCLS is sca.linkcat.info.) Always use <agency code>.linkcat.info for any patron-facing information. Please do not use the scls.bibliovation.com URL for any patron materials or websites. If you are copying and pasting URLs into websites or other patron materials, be sure that you are using <agency code>.linkcat.info instead of scls.bibliovation.com.

What does this mean for patrons?
Patrons should not notice a change. Patrons will still be able to use www.linkcat.info to access LINKcat. Patron PCs in the library will continue to take patrons into the library's custom-branded LINKcat instance.

I need more help with this
If you need help with updating bookmarks, shortcuts, or anything else, you can contact the Help Desk. See the Get Help page for information on contacting the Help Desk.

Special note about GetIt Acquisitions
Libraries who are using GetIt Acquisitions must continue to use their library's unique URL in order to use GetIt. The library's unique URL is <agency code>.scls.bibliovation.com.

New Collection Code, Shelving Location, and Item Type limits available in Advanced Search for staff only

New limits for Collection Codes, Shelving Locations, and Item Types are now available in the Bibliovation Advanced Search for staff only. These limits are not available to patrons. To see the new limits, log into Bibliovation using a staff login, and click Search in the top toolbar to access Advanced Search. If you don't see the new limits, please clear your browser cache and verify that you are logged into Bibliovation using a staff login.

Reporting Bibliovation Response Time Problems

SCLS staff are working with LibLime to determine areas of Bibliovation where intermittent and short-term slowdowns are a problem and we are looking for your help. If you experience response time problems with Bibliovation, please open a ticket using the SCLS Help Desk Portal or send an email to [email protected].

In order to provide the most specific information possible to LibLime about response time, please report any problems at the time that they occur, and with as many details as possible. For example, if there is a problem when checking out to a patron, please provide the patron’s barcode number, as well as information about whether the patron has a large number of items already checked out or is checking out a large number of items. If there is a problem when viewing a bibliographic and/or item record, please provide the bibliographic number and/or item barcode number and the specifics of the problem. It’s also important to provide the date and approximate time when the problem occurred.

If Bibliovation is unusable or seems to be having major problems, please contact the Help Desk immediately (use the After Hours Support Number during evenings and weekends).

NEW WORKFLOW for re-queuing a patron's hold at Checkin or from the hold shelf.

In order to re-queue a patron's hold for the following situations,

• Item in Transit to fill hold
• Staff pulls an item out of a delivery bin that is in poor shape or is missing a part and cannot fill the patron's hold.
• Item Waiting on hold shelf.
• Staff and patron can't find item on hold shelf or item is discovered to be defective before checkout.
• Item on hold shelf, patron requests a different pickup location
• Patron has an Unexpired hold on your hold shelf that they would like to be sent to a different pickup location.

the same, initial step is to CHECK IN THE ITEM AND CLICK THE IGNORE BUTTON.  Doing this will disengage the patron's hold from the item and re-place their hold at the top of the Holds list.

More information and detailed instructions for each situation are located in the Circulation Manual, Section VIII Problem Statuses and Workflows, Part K How to Re-queue a Patron's Hold and in Section IX Placing and Managing Holds, Part G Other Holds Procedures.

The Problem Item form has been updated to reflect this change in the workflow.  See this page for both the full and half-sheet forms

Bibliovation Staff URL Change May 31, 2022

The Bibliovation staff URL will be changing from scls.kohalibrary.com to scls.bibliovation.com during the day on May 31, 2022. LibLime will be doing a redirect from the old URL to the new URL until September 1, 2022. Because of the redirect, the change will happen behind the scenes and should not impact existing URLs right away. However, any links to the “old” URL will need to be updated to the “new” URL sometime between June 1, 2022 and September 1, 2022. Unfortunately, this is not something that can be done automatically by SCLS staff. No URL updates should be done prior to June 1, 2022.

Where are the staff URLs saved?
Please take some time between now and June 1 to think about where your library may have saved URLs to Bibliovation. Some places where URLs might be stored are:

• Bookmarks in browsers on staff computers
• Shortcuts on staff computers
• Internal library websites that are only used by library staff
• Documentation and instructions that your library created for staff
• Receipt printer shortcuts on staff PCs
• Spine label shortcuts on staff PCs

How do I update the URLs?
For browser bookmarks and shortcuts, you can edit the existing bookmark/shortcut and replace the old URL with the new URL. You can also delete the existing bookmark/shortcut and create a new bookmark/shortcut with the new URL. For internal documentation or websites, you can do a find and replace to update the URLs.

How do I update the URL in the receipt and/or spine label printer Firefox profile shortcuts?
There are special procedures for updating the receipt and spine label printer shortcuts. Instructions are posted on the ILS Support Manuals page.

Can I use my library's unique Bibliovation URL?
Yes! In Bibliovation, each library can use a unique URL for staff as well as for patrons. Your library's unique URL is <agency code>.scls.bibliovation.com. (For example, the URL for SCA will be sca.scls.bibliovation.com.) If you use your library's unique URL, then your library's items will display first on the "Detail" screen of the bib record, the "Edit items" screen of the bib record, and on the "Item status" screen of the bib record.

What about the LINKcat URL?
The generic URL for LINKcat is www.linkcat.info. The www.linkcat.info URL is not changing. Each library also has a unique LINKcat URL, which can be used for patrons. Your library's unique LINKcat URL is <agency code>.linkcat.info. (For example, the unique URL for SCLS is sca.linkcat.info.) Always use <agency code>.linkcat.info for any patron-facing information. Please do not use the scls.bibliovation.com URL for any patron materials or websites. If you are copying and pasting URLs into websites or other patron materials, be sure that you are using <agency code>.linkcat.info instead of scls.bibliovation.com.

What does this mean for patrons?
Patrons should not notice a change. Patrons will still be able to use www.linkcat.info to access LINKcat. Patron PCs in the library will continue to take patrons into the library's custom-branded LINKcat instance.

I need more help with this
If you need help with updating bookmarks, shortcuts, or anything else, you can contact the Help Desk. See the Get Help page for information on contacting the Help Desk.

Special note about GetIt Acquisitions
Libraries who are using GetIt Acquisitions must continue to use their library's unique URL in order to use GetIt. The library's unique URL is <agency code>.scls.bibliovation.com.