SirsiDynix Symphony Offline Circulation Procedures

From Fred 7/2/13:

Greetings everyone.

Tomorrow is the day we begin conducting all circulation transactions (check outs, check ins, registrations) in the Sirsidynix Symphony Offline Circulation.  Instructions for opening and setting up the Symphony Offline Circulation module is:

https://cohowa.houstontx.gov/owa/attachment.ashx?attach=1&id=RgAAAADMoulUvUHRSoH4N56aqb17BwCHKRnWc1dvTKFzlflnjTfyAABonAO0AACf4OBHoJWARpbT7dX1QPBlAh2%2fLqgKAAAJ&attid0=EACduf9isDpbQbwY7A%2bgGOhN&attcnt=1 

You will need to follow the procedures in the attachment for each computer on which you conduct offline circulation transactions from 07/03/13 through 07/10/13.  

The following are the due dates to set for “Default due date” in step 6 d:

on 07/03/13, set the default due date to 07/24/13

on 07/04/13, we’re closed for the holiday.  Do not set a default due date.

on 07/05/13, set the default due date to 07/26/13

on 07/06/13, set the default due date to 07/27/13

on 07/07/13, set the default due date to 07/28/13

on 07/08/13, set the default due date to 07/29/13

on 07/09/13, set the default due date to 07/30/13

on 07/10/13, set the default due date to 07/31/13

For sites with Self Check and Materials Sorters, you need to also do the following:

Self Checks – leave the self check units turned on, but put Out Of Order signs on them and direct customers to Symphony Offline Circulation stations for service.

Materials Sorters – turn them off at the close of business today (07/02/13).

Thank you for your assistance with this.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Circulation Administration Department.  We will be delighted to help in any way that we are able.

Pedro

Limited Patron Database Access

From Fred 7/2/13:

Hello everyone.

We have some good news to share with you regarding patron database access during the offline migration period – 07/03/13 through 07/10/13.  Along with our colleagues in HALAN, we have figured out a way to make a stripped down version of the III database available to you during the time we will be circulating in Symphony Offline Circulation. 

Between on 07/03/13 and 07/10/13 (inclusive), you will login to Symphony Offline Circulation to provide basic circulation services to customers – Registration, Check Out and Check In.  You will not conduct any financial transactions with customers during this period.  Since the Symphony system will be operating in Offline Mode, you will not be connected to the Symphony server and will be unable to search the user database for customer accounts.  While the III system will no longer be available for circulation services, however, it will still be available to search to determine whether a registering customer already has an HPL account, to see whether a customer has fines owed and, if so, how much is owed.  This will also provide a means by which you can look up a customer’s library card barcode number,  which will be required to circulate to the customer in Symphony.  Keep in mind, though, the III system will not be available for conducting circulation transactions of any type during this period.  It will ONLY be available for informational purposes until the Symphony system becomes fully operational on 07/11/13.

We are delighted to be able to offer this limited access to the III patron database from 07/03/13 through 07/10/13.  I hope this additional tool alleviates some of the frustration and inconvenience of the offline migration period for you and your customers.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Circulation Administration Department at 832-393-2222 (option 3) or email us at circinfo@hpl.lib.tx.us.  We will be happy to assist you in any way we are able.

Pedro

III Customer Account Data - Import FYI about making changes

From Fred 6/28/13

On 06/30/13 , at 4:00 pm, we will send account information for all existing borrower accounts to UMS to be scrubbed.  Thus, any changes that you make to name, address, telephone or alt ID fields on existing borrower accounts after the close of business on 06/29/13 will not carry over to the Symphony system.  This will ONLY AFFECT the fields indicated above, and will not prevent you from continuing to provide service (check out, check in, fine/fee payment, etc.) to customers.   You may continue to create new library cards, change/update email addresses and add notes to borrower records up until the III system goes down at the end of the day on 07/02/13.  If a change to any of the affected fields mentioned above is required during the period between 06/29/13 and 07/10/13, you may note the changes needed to the account on the account edit screen, print the account information and notes regarding the needed change, and put those into a folder for entry after we go live in the Symphony system.  Data for new library cards created between 06/30/13 at 4:00 pm and close of business on 07/02/13 will be sent in a separate file after the III system goes down.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Circulation Administration department at 832-393-2222 (choose option 3), or email us at circinfo@hpl.lib.tx.us.  We will be delighted to assist you.

Pedro

SirsiDynix Info From Managers Meeting 6/27/13

• To use Sirsi you must log in using the generic staff log-in.
• July 2nd is the last day we will use Millenium.
• July 3-10 we use the offline function in symphony.
• Loan periods will be 3 weeks with 1 renewal from the date which it is asked for.
• DVD's will not be able to be renewed.
• Check in all new materials until July 3rd and begin to circulate them. After July 3rd no new materials will be delivered.
• Cannot accept fines while offline July 3-10.
• SMM can be used for book sale, bags and other misc. items.
• Cannot create new computer cards. We will receive pre-made computer cards to give to patrons. The pre-made computer cards can be used to be filled out while offline on symphony.
• Delivery will keep coming around mostly to pick up.
• Patrons must have their library cards to check out while offline. We will not be able to look up their records. If they insist then you may create them a new account using the same process we currently use for patrons to receive a library card.
• Periodicals need to be done on the Google doc with the barcodes that where given to us. If you have any questions you may contact Gale Ibarra at ext. 31610.
• July 11th we will stop using offline and we will also start using Enterprise (the new catalog system).

From Syma Zerkow, 6/28:

I would like to start this week’s message with an apology. There have been some contradictory messages about how you should handle new materials plus we have made a few mistakes in LMS. We have been able to send out many more items than I anticipated originally. For most of these items, it is no problem to check them in and put into circulation. However, most new AV and many new bestsellers are ordered for a generic floating location (JFLT). Since we have stopped floating until we go live in Symphony, the III system is putting those items “in-transit” rather than changing them to your location. 

• Please store any items that are “in-transit to JFLT” and check them in again once we are live in Symphony after July 11. When they are checked in after July 11, the location will change to your library. If you checked some items in without noticing the “in-transit” message and placed them on your shelves, we will eventually clear that up once we are live in Sirsi. I appreciate the calls and emails we’ve received alerting us to this issue.

The Print Shop will be emailing a sign you can display on your service desk alerting customers that they MUST have their library card in order to check out items between July 3 – July 10.

From July 3 – July 10, the III catalog will still be available to search so you will know if we own a title and what the call number is. However, the information on whether a particular item is checked out or on the shelf will not be accurate since all of the circulation activity will happen offline in Sirsi. As a reminder, during this time, customers cannot place holds and we cannot pull and fill holds.

ILL will continue to send out items that come in from other libraries for our customers. As of tomorrow (June 29), customers will be unable to place any ILL requests. That function will resume once we are live on Sirsi.

A handout with screen shots illustrating procedures for offline circulation will be available shortly. 

Other offline circulation information:

• By Monday afternoon, each location should receive a supply of Computer Use Only cards to use only while we are offline. Do not create computer use only cards in the Offline system.
• Alert new users who register while we are offline that their PIN will not be issued until we are live in Symphony. Please ask them to return to the Library after July 11 to get this important information. Note: we will have a “forget your PIN?” link from the Enterprise online catalog but we do not know if it will be available by the time we go live.

Pedro

Sirsi Updates

From Syma Zerkow, 6/14 on June 15th

This coming week we will have some major changes.  On June 21, we will begin exporting our catalog records from the current III system so that they can be imported into the new Sirsi system.  Any changes we make to catalog records after that date will not be carried over to the new catalog.  Therefore,

June 20

• Last day to delete items from III.
• Last day to check-in periodicals in III.
• Last day to check-in NEW books and materials received in Delivery.  New materials will not start to reappear until mid-July.

June 21

• Any item on the fly must be linked to the new bibliographic record "Item on the Fly" rather than the actual title.
• Any periodical checked-in must be done using the Google Docs spreadsheet and barcode method.
• Floating is stopped. Items should go back in-transit to the location indicated by the system when they are checked in.

This past week, the catalog records for periodicals, microfilm, e-books and e-audiobooks were updated so that they will function properly in Enterprise.  The information on how to search for them is posted on the main catalog page but we know that many customers use the search box from the main website so please be prepared to assist our customers when they are looking for these materials.

• To find magazines, go to Journals & Periodicals. 
• To find microfilm, add “microform” to your keyword search terms. 
• To find E-books and E-audiobooks, limit to the location HPL Electronic Resources.

Circulation training is now in full swing.  And the good news is that the Symphony Circulation Manual is now available on the Staff Training Portal: https://sites.google.com/site/hplstafftraining/.

NOTE: Here's the link to the FAQs page on the Intranet: https://hplnet.hpl.lib.tx.us/images/ils-faq.pdf. 

Pedro

SirsiDynix Updates

From Syma Zerkow, 6:07PM on June 21st

As you know from Dr. Lawson’s message, we are changing our circulation period to 3-weeks with one renewal for most items.  DVDs cannot be renewed. 

In addition, you need to know that items are renewed from the renewal date, not from the due date.

We have already had one customer complain about this change and we anticipate that you will be dealing with this concern from a number of other customers.  Please review this response so that you will have a ready explanation to offer:

We share your concerns and we have requested that the vendor develop the capability of renewing material based on the due date. This is a major programming change since most library circulation software renews materials from the renewal date (our current system is the exception). We anticipate it will be at least a year before this could become a reality. In the meantime, we hope that the 3-week check-out period with e-mail reminders when it is time to renew will mitigate the inconvenience for most of our customers.

I hope you have seen the FAQ’s and timeline on the Staff Intranet page.  In addition, the link from the banner on the Library Homepage goes to the Library Blog where you can see what has been posted about the change for our customers to read and their questions with our answers.  You may wish to print the FAQ’s out so you have quick responses to other questions customers may pose.

When you or a customer logs in to your library account, a new message will be appearing in the next few days.  This has also been posted to the Library Blog.

If you had previously opted in to the Reading History, that information will transfer to the new customer accounts system. However, some other information will not carry-over.  We recommend that you print out or email to yourself anything you have saved in “My Lists” as well as any “Preferred Searches.” You can then re-create them in Enterprise, our new catalog.  Also, our new catalog does not feature Customer Reviews, Ratings, or Tags.  You may wish to save your reviews and add them to a social reading network such asGoodreads or LibraryThing.  The current catalog will be available through July 2. 

We are planning a one-hour training session to be held at multiple locations during the first two weeks of July to review the features of the online catalog.  Look for an announcement from HPL Training. 

This week starts our real transition to the new system.  You should now be following the new procedure for items on the fly and for checking in new periodicals.  Some new items are still coming to you in Delivery.  Please check them in as usual.  If you have questions or problems with either of these procedures, please contact me and I will have someone get back to you.

Lastly, it has been pointed out to me that I have not addressed one of your most serious questions:  Why on earth are we doing this in the middle of the Summer Reading Club?

We are all very aware that the timing of this change is not good.  Unfortunately, HALAN’s contract with III expires at the end of June.  We have made arrangements to start paying them on a month-to-month basis but it is costing tens of thousands of dollars to do this.  We had to bite the bullet and make the change as quickly as possible.  We (Administration and HALAN staff) are deeply grateful for your willingness to do “one more thing” when you are already doing so much.  

Pedro

Changes to the catalog system FAQ

From Laurie Covington, 6/27:
HPL Blog has an FAQ about the upcoming changes to the catalog/circulation system.  Check back to it regularly because customers are asking questions and getting answers.  It would be good to bookmark the site and visit it periodically: http://blogs.houstonlibrary.org/?p=2659

Pedro