LINKcat News

Change in procedure - no longer need to add "T1-" prefix to phone numbers for Hold Filled text messages.

Staff are no longer required to enter the "T1-" prefix in the patron's Phone (primary) field so that Bibliovation will deliver Hold Filled messages as text.  Since the Patron Messaging Preferences are now so granular, the system extracts phone numbers for messages  based on the PMP setting and not prefixes or extra characters in the phone number field(s).

 

Based on information provided by LibLime and testing done in our Production database, the script extracting phone numbers to deliver Hold Filled messages to the Talking Tech server, both phone and text, is extracting the phone number from the Phone (primary) phone field in the patron record and is not requiring the T1- prefix for text messages.

 

Please share this information with any staff that create and modify patron records so that they no longer add the "T1-" prefix to any phone number field in a patron's record. 

 

We are updating documentation and forms with this change.  We have also submitted a data clean-up ticket to LibLime to strip out the "T1-" prefix from all phone fields in our database, as well as the "*" asterisk used to prevent patrons from getting Telecirc phone messages (in Dynix and Koha).

7.0 Bibliovation - post-upgrade Circulation problems and information

The following Circulation problems have manifested in 7.0 Bibliovation after the upgrade on 1/11/2022.  The links are to the Known Problem entries. We will update the Known Problem entries and the Support tickets as information is provided

Reported to LibLime:

• SCLS Support ticket #27963 "Item already checked out" block/warning pop-up is missing
• SCLS Support ticket #27976 Accessing Patron records sometimes produces Internal Server Errors
• SCLS Support ticket #27956 Items are renewed without giving the pop up warning
  
  

Informational entry, not a bug.

• SCLS Support ticket #27958 Guarantor Information section displays in form when creating a new adult patron record

Thank you for your attention.

Bibliovation 7.00.15 Upgrade: Monday, January 10, 2022 after 9pm

Bibliovation Upgrade

We are pleased to announce that there will be an update to Bibliovation starting at 9pm on Monday, January 10, 2022. The upgrade will require system downtime from approximately 9pm to midnight. This release (7.00.15) includes fixes to most modules of Bibliovation; however, most of the fixes are in Circulation. 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):

• Reduced Transportation Holds not working
• Advanced search option "Only items currently available for loan or reference" includes items not available for loan
• In transit holds not counted as "active" holds on Patron Dashboard page
• Hold requests on Holds Queue report blocking walk-in check out on self check unit
• Patron data in left sidebar not cleared when using Clear screen button

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: (This feature will not be enabled until after the upgrade.) A new feature allows staff to link family members together. One patron record is designated as the Leader of the Group, and other family members are linked to it. (Please note that this does NOT work in conjunction with the linked accounts functionality in the Solus Mobile App.)
• Delete Patron functionality moved: Delete Patron functionality used to be located in the “More” button located on many of the Patron record screens. In Bibliovation this functionality was moved to the left screen menu list and an internal permission was added to designate which staff had the ability to delete patron records.
• Sort options now customizable: We now have the ability to customize the sort options that are displayed on the search results page.

Change of practice - Entering more than one email address in the Primary email field

Past practice for entering more than one email addresses in the Primary email field was to place a comma or a semicolon between the addresses.  This has been a very useful tool for parents/guardians to (also) receive email notices that their children/guarantees receive, as well as other types of situations where more than one email address is provided for a patron record.

 

Oregon Library discovered that if a semicolon is used to separate addresses, the address after a semicolon will not receive the email notices.

This was confirmed and reported to LibLime, who stated that we should ONLY be using commas to separate email addresses.

 

Please inform all of your staff that create/edit patron records that if they are asked to place multiple email addresses in a Primary email field, to ONLY use a comma to separate the addresses.

 

There were 71 patron records in our database that were using the semicolon, LibLime has replaced all of those semicolons with commas.

Reduced Transportation Holds setting change - effective 11/22/2021.

On 11/22/2021 the Reduced Transportation Holds setting, "FillRequestsAtPickupLibraryAge", will be changed back to 60 days.  This was approved by the ILS Committee at their 10/06/2021 meeting. 

There is a bug affecting this setting in Bibliovation version 6.2 (Production).  The algorithm for this setting is incorrectly calculating from the item’s Checkin date rather than the Hold (Placed) Date.  That means that some materials checked in, which should stay at your library to fill a patron’s hold, will leave your library to fill the oldest active hold in the Holds Queue. 

The fix for this bug has been tested and confirmed fixed in the 7.0 version of Bibliovation, currently in our Sandbox.  We hope to upgrade Production to that version in December. 

For more information about the Reduced Transportation Holds settings, please read the Circulation Manual, Section IX Placing and Managing Holds, Part I Reduced Transportation Holds (aka RTH). 

New Requirements for entering data in a patron's phone number field(s)

As of October 2021, the FCC is mandating Wisconsin phone companies to require customers to enter a 10-digit phone number to make calls.  This means that all phone numbers entered in the Bibliovation database should be entered with the area code and correct formatting.  

 

Both of the Talking Tech services, phone hold notices and text hold notices, will require the area code and correct formatting to successfully deliver notices.

 

Format for data placed in the phone number field(s):

• For "regular" phone numbers, the format is xxx-xxx-xxxx.  Use hyphens, not parentheses.
• For text message phone numbers, the format is T1-xxx-xxx-xxxx
• Please do not enter 000-000-0000 or a Note to indicate that a patron has not provided a phone number.  Leave the field(s) blank if that is the case.

Enrollment period of Limited Use and Limited Use-Juvenile patron categories changed to 12 months.

At their September 14, 2021 meeting, the Circulation Services Subcommittee recommended that the enrollment period for the Limited Use [LU] and the Limited Use-Juvenile [LUJ] be changed to 12 months.  The ILS Committee approved the recommendation at their October 6, 2021 meeting.

All new patron records created with these patron categories will have this enrollment period set automatically. Patron records with these categories that are renewed will have a new, 12 month expiration date based on the date of renewal.  Libraries that would prefer a shorter enrollment period can set the expiration date manually to comply with their local library policies.

NEW INFORMATION: Platform upgrade rescheduled for 7/27/2021.

As you know, LibLime had to abort the platform upgrade this week.  The date has been changed to the night of Tuesday, July 27.  

 

In the morning of Wednesday, July 28,  check your email and the SCLS status wiki to confirm the platform move was completed before accessing Bibliovation and before self-check/sorter libraries make the changes as previously instructed.

 

Best case scenario:

 

The move will begin at 9 pm CDT and complete by 7 am on Wednesday, July 28. Indexing will start. Libraries will have access to the system and may begin regular functions. Libraries can adjust their self-check and sorter settings and the other IP setting work will be completed by SCLS and the database vendors. Searching may be unreliable for much of the day until the re-indexing is complete.

 

Worst case scenario:

 

The move will begin at 9 pm CDT and allowed to continue until completed.  Libraries will not have access to the system and may not begin regular functions until we notify you. If the move is not complete by the time libraries start to open, they will need to use Offline Circulation or an alternative method to check out materials until the move is complete.  

• If your library uses Offline Circulation, confirm that each of your staff Check Out stations has the Firefox extension installed before 7/27.  The step-by-step instructions for installation and use of Offline Circulation is in the Circulation Manual, Section XV Offline Circulation.

Once the move is complete, Indexing will start. Libraries can adjust their self-check settings and other IP setting work will be completed by SCLS and the database vendors. Libraries will be able to access patron records, check out item to patrons and check in materials but searching may be unreliable for much of the day until the re-indexing is complete.

 

SCLS staff will provide ongoing communication via the SCLS status wiki and emails.

 

Thank you for your attention.

Rio Community Library goes LIVE in LINKcat on 6/21/2021

Rio Community Library will officially join the LINKcat libraries on Monday, June 21, 2021. They have been working hard to get ready while getting ready for and starting their Summer Library programming and also coordinating the Summer Lunch Program at the library.  

Optical scanner required to read digital patron barcodes

With the advent of the new LINKcat Mobile App, patrons are able to store their library cardnumber (patron barcode) in their app.  However, the laser barcode readers, Metrologic and Honeywell, will not read these digital barcodes.

If you are accepting digital library cards at your library, you may wish to purchase an Optical Barcode scanner to read these barcodes at your Check Out station(s).  Bibliotheca and Envisionware Self check units have optical scanners, though one Bibliotheca library reported that their older model Bibliotheca unit had a laser scanner for patron barcodes.

Craig investigated optical scanners a few years back and his purchase recommendation is located on the Peripherals Order Form.