LINKcat News

News Summary for 5/1/15 through 5/31/14

News:

• 5/30/14 GetIt was upgraded last night. See the release notes for details.
• 5/30/14 We are hosting a GetIT/Acquisitions User Group at SCLS Headquarters on June 25th from 9:30 am - 12:30 pm. You can still registeronline.
• 5/30/14 27,392 items and 6,912 bibliographic records with only withdrawn items attached were deleted in the monthly batch deletion of withdrawn items. 3,319 bibliographic records were added and/or updated in the database between 5/1/14 and 5/15/14. We will cover the second half of May and all of June in the June authority control process.
• 5/28/14 GetIt Acquisitions will be upgraded starting at 5 pm on 5/29. GetIt will be down while the upgrade is happening. Please see the release notesfor more information on the upgrade. Check the status wiki for updates.
• 5/27/14 There will be a point release upgrade starting at 5 pm on 5/27. There is no downtime. See the release notes for details on the bugfixes.
• 5/27/14 The minutes from the May CSC Subcommittee Meeting have been posted online.
• 5/21/14 The minutes from the May CMC Subcommittee Meeting have been posted online.
• 5/20/14 The Portage County Public Library data migration begins today. Please check the status wiki for updates.
• 5/9/14 Response time recording begins on May 12 and ends on May 25. Please see the Link2.0Koha blog post on the "how to."
• 5/2/14 The monthly LINKcat.info and LINKcat Mobile reports are posted.

Known Problems: Recently Added & Updated

• 5/30/2014 GetIt not matching ISBNs from POs to Koha bibs: The "Catalog link" column in the PO says "No matches" even when the ISBN in the PO Line matches an ISBN in Koha. When there is a matching ISBN in the PO Line, the "Catalog link" column should say "Matches found." This problem has been reported to LibLime. (SCLS Support Ticket 703)
• 5/30/2014 FIXED GetIt Editing Templates causes Location to change. (9/13/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40936)
• 5/30/2014 FIXED GetIt If there is no address in the Vendor Account record, you cannot print a PO. (3/13/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 41895)
• 5/30/2014 FIXED GetIt PO screen displays 20 PO Lines even though bottom toolbar states that 15 PO Lines are displayed. (8/17/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40759)
• 5/30/2014 FIXED GetIt Bottom toolbar settings do not hold/toolbar disappears from PO. (6/7/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40201)
• Applying a Template to a PO Line causes vertical scroll bar to disappear. (6/17/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40296)
• 5/30/2014 FIXED GetIt Problems with adding items to an Invoice for large vendors: If more than one page of search results is received the second page of search results does not always display. (9/8/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40927)
• 5/30/2014 FIXED GetIt Invoice Charge box hangs after clicking Save. The changes to the Invoice Charges go through, but the the pop-up box does not disappear from the screen. It hangs there until you x out of it to close it. (8/14/13) (SCLS Support Ticket 45706)
• 5/30/2014 FIXED GetIt After opening the Fund hierarchy, if you open another tab, like Vendors or Invoices, the Fund hierachy is "gone" when you return to it. If you close and re-open the Funds tab, then the Fund hierarchy is again displayed. (3/13/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 41772)
• 5/20/2014 New. Items with status in the "Other item status" category are included in the "Available on shelf" facet / limit. These statuses include AV Repair, Defect Reported, Display, Lost in Transit, Mending, Missing Inventory, and Parts Missing. This is a problem both when you click on the "Available on shelf" facet and when you check the "Only items currently available for loan or reference" box in the Advanced Search. This problem has been reported to LibLime. (5/20/14) (SCLS Support Ticket 604)
• 5/16/2014 UPDATE. We have requested a report of all refunds dated 4/1/2013 through 4/15/2014, that were partiall applied to debits during the data migration be un-encumbered. Libraries will have to look at the refunds on each of the records to determine whether or not they are eligible to be refunded, need to be cleared or can be (re-)applied to debit amounts on the records. 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)
• 5/16/2014 BUG Internal Server errors are produced when Items set to Lost before 4/11/2011 are checked in. The check-in does modify the Items status to Available but there is no "Item Lost now Found" pop-up and no pop-up to send items in Transit to their owning library. If this happens report the item barcode and the Internal Server error number (if you can) on the Koha Support form. (SCLS Support ticket 546)
• 5/16/2014 BUG If staff use the Pay button in the Action column when paying for a single Lost item, the Description recorded in the Account History screen is the Payment description you entered instead of as description of "Lost item: <title>". Use the checkbox and Pay Selected button to ensure the Lost item: <title> informaiton is recorded. (SCLS Support ticket 245)
• 5/7/2014 FIXED BUT MONITORING. Advance Notices script running sporadically. The script for the Advance notices has only run TWICE since the upgrade; the morning of 4/21 and this morning. We have reported the problem to LibLime and hope to have an update soon. (SCLS Support ticket 395).
• 5/2/2014 New. 4.18 bug: Item Checkout History screen sporadically records incorrect information in the Library columns.Reports of the Issuing Library column displaying the Owning library information and the Renewal Library column displaying the Issuing (check out) library information. A partial fix has been applied but now the library code in the Renewals Library column does not change when an item is renewed at a library other than the check out library. Still working to get this completely fixed. (SCLS Support Ticket 402)

Koha 4.18: No more zero-amount Manual Invoices added as Notes.

Some library staff have used zero-amount Manual Invoices as a way to place a Note in a patron's Account screen. With the modifications to the accounting rules in 4.18, staff will no longer be able to create zero-amount Manual Invoices.  Staff will have to use the Circ Notes field or the Messages feature on the patron's Check Out screen to add informational notes to the patron's record.  Please be diligent about deleting those Messages that are out of date or no longer needed.

As part of a development project to create a Patron Note or Message history, all current zero-amount Manual Invoices will be migrated from each patron's 4.16 Account page into their 4.18 Patron Block History page (Circulation History).  The other part of the development will be to add a "history" or "save" hyperlink to each message that will provide staff the opportunity to retain the message in the Patron Block History screen (which will be re-named).  We don't have a date for when this new hyperlink will be implemented but as soon as it is available in the Sandbox for testing we will let you know.

Drafts of Koha 4.18 documentation posted

Drafts of modified circulation documentation for the Koha 4.18 upgrade have been posted on the Circulation Services SubCommittee webpage:  Payments workflow, Waiving charges workflow, Refunds and Unallocated credits workflow and Circulation Manual sections VII Fines and Financial transactions and VIII Problem Items.  The workflows are embedded in the manual sections but some libraries may want to print these as separate documents to assist in training.  Please submit suggestions for change, questions or corrections to Heidi Oliversen at hjo@scls.lib.wi.us.  All input is appreciated.

 

 

What happens if I put two email addresses in this field ... ?

Joe at Madison-Central used a recent "what-if?" moment to test and confirm a 'new' feature: multiple email address notification.  You can put more than one email address in the Primary email field, separated by a comma, and when notices are generated, each address will receive a copy of the notice.  This will be a nice benefit for families or patrons with hold pickup authorization who frequently pick up holds for others.

Please inform patrons if you think it may be useful.

LSTA 2014 Technology Grants

In the past two months we have solicited ideas for the 2014 LSTA Technology grants via Technology and ILS Committee cluster reps. The ideas were discussed at the committee and then evaluated by the SCLS ILS and Technology staffs. Below are the grant projects that we submitted. 

1)      RFID Tags. 9 of the 43 SCLS libraries in the shared ILS (LINKcat) are using RFID technologies. LINKcat libraries benefit from an open resource sharing policy.  When items from non-RFID libraries are received at RFID libraries to fill patron requests, it is beneficial to tag the item for the ease of patron self-checkout. Patrons will benefit from a standard self checkout process at the RFID libraries. Non-RFID libraries would benefit by having their items tagged should they someday implement RFID as well.

2)      Integrating LINKcat with 3^rd party databases.  LINKcat is the shared ILS using LibLime Koha for 43 of the SCLS member libraries.  Since Koha is an open source ILS, SCLS has developed the searching interface to be a modern and highly functioning retrieval tool for materials held in libraries.  We also load bibliographic records for electronic resources such as Wisconsin’s Digital Library (OverDrive).  However, these records are not integrated and patrons cannot see current status, etc.  Some third party databases such as OverDrive and Ebscohost have developed APIs that allow the ILS to integrate more completely.  The goal of this project is to pursue development for LibLime Koha so that patrons will be able to search electronic resources databases such Wisconsin’s Digital Library and Ebscohost (via BadgerLink) and to see real-time statuses where appropriate.  All patrons using LINKcat will benefit from this project.  By incorporating electronic resources searching into LINKcat, the opportunities for finding appropriate resources expands greatly.  This is particularly true for patrons in rural areas who may not be as close to their library as in more urban communities.

3)      Increasing bandwidth in libraries. The majority of the libraries using the SCLS managed network do not have enough bandwidth to meet the ever increasing demands of their patrons.  Access to wireless is becoming even more critical as more patrons bring their own wireless devices into the library.  SCLS has been working for several years to find ways to increase bandwidth.  We have created a plan to increase bandwidth based on critical need to moderate need.  We are moving forward, but with increased bandwidth come increased hardware costs as a large number of the network routers will need to be upgraded in order to accommodate increased bandwidth.  Increasing bandwidth will meet the needs of all types of patrons using both wired computers and their own wireless devices in the library, including those seeking jobs, students doing homework, those doing research on the internet, foreign workers attempting to stay connected with their relatives and friends back home, those downloading electronic resources and those who are using the internet for recreational use. 

4)      Joining the SCLS Shared ILS. SCLS has 10 libraries that have not joined the shared ILS. Many of these are very small, rural libraries. For them it is often difficult to come up with the costs necessary to join the system, such as the ILS vendor software setup fee.  Larger libraries tend to have higher startup costs as they often pay migration fees in addition to a setup fee.  SCLS would like to assist libraries with startup fees and migration costs by allocating a portion of the LSTA grant to them. Libraries that have not joined the shared ILS will benefit from this service as they will be able to access the resources of all LINKcat member libraries. 

Authority Control - Step Two

In preparation for our Koha upgrade to version 4.16, we have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes. The next phase begins this afternoon.

For the past couple of weeks, our authority control vendor has been updating nearly all of our bibliographic records.  (A large number of authority records for names, subjects, series, and genres have changed with the adoption of a new cataloging standard called Resource Description and Access, or RDA. The authority control vendor has updated our bibliographic records to match the new standard. ) Now, the second step of our authority control project is to receive applicable changes to our bibliographic records. Today LibLime will begin loading the changed bibliographic records that came from the authority control vendor. This will take several days as 900,000+ records will be loaded. This means that most bibliographic records with biblionumbers up to and including 972129 are unavailable for editing for the next couple of days. Madison TS will track Problem Bib Record Reports for records in this range and will make the changes when the loading is complete.

You can still edit, add, and delete item records attached to these bibliographic records. You can still add BSEs, GEN, PERM, LOCAL, and Acquisitions BSEs to the database. However, we ask that you refrain from sending Purchase Orders with more than 100 titles from GetIt Acquisitions for the next couple of days.. Also, new BSE records may take longer to index because of the large number of bibliographic records that are being re-loaded into the database.

After the 4.16 upgrade, subject, series title, and author links will be more reliable and we will be able to resume regular updates to our database on the back end.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact Joanna at jmesser@scls.lib.wi.us.

Access to the Crystal Reports dashboard now available

The Crystal Reports dashboard provides libraries with a dashboard from which they can run Hourly Circulation reports or Weeding reports as needed.  It is now available for general use.

Your library's Director was sent the login and password information in a delivery envelope on Friday, May 31. Please share the login/password information only with staff that will be running the reports.
We will be adding reports to the module as they are developed; some of those reports may contain sensitive patron information.  In order to maintain a higher level of security, Crystal Reports can only be accessed from a PC within the SCLS Network.

We have a limited number of licenses, so your access may be blocked if 5 other libraries are logged in.  If you attempt to log in and are blocked as there are already 5 concurrent sessions, please record the date time and report it on the Koha Problems and Questions form.  This will help us to determine whether we need to purchase more licenses.

We have added a Crystal Reports page to the ILS Support/Reports website; on this page you will find documentation for each report, Excel tips for editing the reports you create and a Crystal Reports FAQ.   This support page will Go Live on Monday, June 3, 2013. 

If you are running a report and it seems to be taking an excessive amount of time or times out on you, report it on the Koha Problems and Questions form; including the date, time and the report parameters (collection code, shelving location, etc.) You can also call the ILS Help Desk with any questions or problems.

Authority Control - Step One

In preparation for our upgrade to Koha 4.16 taking place later this summer, SCLS will be performing some database maintenance work on bibliographic records.

The first step is to send all bibliographic records added to the database from 4/19/2011 (migration) to 4/1/2013 to our authority control vendor for initial processing. This means that bibliographic records with biblionumbers in the range between 815696 and 954059 with full MARC cataloging (most records) will be copied to our vendor as they appear in the database on Thursday, May 30th at 6pm.

Any changes requested by libraries for bibliographic records with bib numbers in this range will be made if they are important for access to the record. Madison TS will be tracking these changes, since they will have to be re-applied once we receive updated records from our vendor later in June. You can still edit, add, and delete item records attached to these bibliographic records. You can also still add BSEs, GEN, PERM, LOCAL, and Acquisitions BSEs to the database.

We will also be performing larger database maintenance tasks during and after the time of the upgrade to improve authority control linking. In general, subject, series title, and author links will be more reliable and we will be able to resume regular updates to our database on the back end.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact Joanna at jmesser@scls.lib.wi.us.

Edited to add: 106,764 records were extracted and sent to our vendor for processing.

New This Week list available April 1 in LINKcat

On April 1, we will launch the New This Week list. This list will show all bibliographic records added to Koha in the last seven days. The list will change daily, as new bibliographic records are added. The link to the New This Week list will be in the "blue bar," next to the link for the Don't Miss Lists. It will also be linked from the Don't Miss Lists web page.

The New This Week list allows patrons to more easily find the latest titles as they are added to Koha. It will not replace the Don't Miss Lists.

The New This Week list will show all bibliographic records in the order that they have been added to Koha. Placement of records may change as they are overlaid with full MARC records.

Patrons can use the facets on the left side of the screen to limit by format, author, library, etc. (Please note: BSE records will appear on the New This Week list, but they will not have all of the coding necessary to properly limit by format until they are overlaid by a full MARC record.)

New Owning Library facet

A new "Owning Library" facet is now available. The facet allows staff and patrons to limit by owning library, regardless of the item's status. The facet lists the library by code, not library name, so it's a feature that will be more useful to staff than patrons. However, it is available in both the PAC and staff client. At this time, we cannot limit it to the staff client, nor can we display the library's name instead of the library's code. It's the last facet listed in the "Refine your search" column.