OCPL Techs UP

Gary Sanford Retires

2008-04-05T14:34:00.006-05:00

Yes, it's finally happened - Gary Sanford has retired after 33+ years at OCPL.

Sigh.

For those of you not knowing our setup here at the OCPL system, Gary has been the Head of Automation/Technical Services for over three years, and was a critical player in the upgrade of the OCPL infrastructure and the rollout of the Polaris ILS. Without his leadership, there would be no workstations on which staff and public would view the catalog, nor would there be the connectivity between those workstations and the server farm in the basement of Central (which also wouldn't have grown as it has without Gary).

We celebrated Gary's career with OCPL both with a casual party Thursday afternoon, and last night with a "Reboot" Party - although it was more of a Hollywood event, red carpet, Oscar® award and all. About 60 people attended. Gary was jovial throughout the roasting that occurred. When his turn came, he read us a short poem by Ted Kooser - wish I could remember the title - anyone?

As Gary and his wife Jen head across the county with their trailer/camper, we wish them the very best, and anxiously await the time when they return to Syracuse, in the hopes that we can lasso Gary into coming back to OCPL now and again.

Gary Sanford

Technology Hero

Thanks from all of us!

Problem with emailed overdue notifications

2008-01-11T11:40:00.000-05:00

We know of several cases where patrons received email notifications this morning about overdue items – but the items were due in October/November, were returned, and are not appearing on the patron records.

The printed notices appear to be normal, and not contain these ghosts from the past.

Polaris is investigating the scope of this and why it happened. Please apologize to any patrons who have received these.

Deb

New Training/Learning Opportunities

2008-01-11T09:13:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone who may still be checking this Blog know that we've just created some additional training sessions about holdings/item records. I sent out an email to all of the mailing lists we have, and listed these on the OCPL-Projects.pbwiki.com site (don't forget it has a password) as well. The procedure is the same - we're using EventBrite to allow you to "buy a ticket" to the training session. A real time saver for us!

We're also working to set a date for Reports training, to be given by a trainer from the Finger Lakes Library System, as they've had Polaris up and running for about a couple of years now. Information coming soon about that.

Cheers!
Deb

OCPL Polaris Implementation - Issues for Patrons

2007-10-28T11:56:00.000-05:00

There are a few things affecting patrons (for which we are very sorry):

1) Holds: it turns out that many patrons maintain their to-be-read reading lists as inactive holds. Polaris doesn't have a status of inactive for holds, so these were supposed to come over to Polaris as holds with an activation date of Feb. 14, 2008. Unfortunately, this didn't happen; they came over instead as active holds, so some patrons and libraries are receiving a large number of filled holds all at once. Please apologize for us. For any not yet filled, they or you can go into their account and suspend holds they do not yet want. For holds that have shown up, you can tell the system that the patron no long wants the item, then have the patron re-initiate their hold.

Also, it turns out that email holds notification has not yet happened; we have to make another connection - this with our mail server. We're working on that as quickly as we can, but please don't remove materials from your holds shelf just yet.

2) Holds, part two: there has been an overwhelming number of requests to reinstate the holds queue position - patrons don't care that it isn't accurate. I've asked the ILS PAC committee to survey their peers and give me a yea or nay by 5:00 p.m. on Monday; if enough say, "do it" we'll flip that on.

3) Telephony: voice is apparently more threatening than the printed word, as the calls pretty much mirror the postcards and our older Dynix notices. The server is not specifying the name associated with the call, which admittedly makes the calls a little less specific.

So, the calls for overdues go something like this:

"Hello, this is Onondaga County Public Library calling."
"Our records indicate that you have - " item count (singular) " - overdue item." (OR)
"Our records indicate that you have - " item count (plural) " - overdue items."
"Please return all overdue library materials and pay fines. Items not returned will be charged to your library account."
"Accounts exceeding fifty dollars will be turned over to a collection agency."
"Please return these items as soon as possible."

For holds:

"Our records indicate that you have items being held for you."
"Our records indicate that you have - " item count (singular) " - item being held for you." (OR)
"Our records indicate that you have - " item count (plural) " - items being held for you."
"These items can be picked up at the following branch - " branch listing,
"Please pick up these items as soon as possible. Holds must be picked up within the next 7 days"

We will look at this on Monday to see if we can make this less threatening, and will probably also ask that the intro be rerecorded to say something more like, "a person with this phone number in our records"...

3. Lists - more patrons than we realized had used the Store Bibliographic List feature of Dynix (it's very difficult to see these as a whole in Dynix). You should be able to go into Dynix to call these up for a patron, or they can go to the web version of Dynix to see and print them - once we have that version of the catalog up again - it's down right now. We plan to put a link on this page http://www.onlib.org/website/catalog.htm to the Dynix version of the catalog for this purpose.

Please let us know as quickly as possible of any other anomalies or issue - some are easily corrected or changed. And it will help if everyone knows what's going on.

Cheers!
Deb

With some bobbles, we're live!

2007-10-28T10:38:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to all staff and patrons for being patient with the new system. We think we're now at the point of tweaking it, but have experienced uninterrupted service now as far as I know for the past 2 1/2 days, and expect this to continue. We're going to make one more change to the system early Monday morning to do some load balancing on our terminal servers.

So, the saga so far:

Monday night, the 22nd: the system was live ; we finished up loading all offline transactions by midnight.

Tuesday, the 23rd: People were working on the system, although we had many calls asking about passwords and logging on. However, by the time we had the system loaded up with users around 11:00, we started having problems (this even after our network stress test on the 11th - but that was probably too short). Polaris staff came down to Central and diagnosed a probable bad network card in the production server, as it kept losing track of itself (the wonders of technology!). Staff struggled with the online system the rest of the day, although it got better when the load diminished around 5:00. Then after libraries closed at 9:00 on the 23rd, Polaris staff replaced our network card and reorg'd our data files. Everything looked peachy (but of course, there was no load on the system).

Wednesday, the 24th: came up, then came down again when we hit significant load. Polaris staff rebuilt/restaged the production server, hampered by long download times for the Microsoft updates that needed to be reapplied. We came back up in the late afternoon, and as some of TS staff were calling libraries asking them to get on the system, others were uploading the offline files.

[I have to say that this just struck me as one of the huge benefits of the new ILS - no more manual recording of barcode info to be typed in later - we had the files uploaded by the time staff were getting onto the live system.]

We had over 90 staff on at peak after we came back online, and had over 8,800 transactions (checkins and checkouts mostly) between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. with no system problems.

Thursday, the 25th: same time, different issue: we had problems with an overloaded terminal server. We had thought that we had enough horsepower and memory in the terminal servers to support all users on one so we we could dedicate the other to continued access to the training server, but it turned out that this was not the case. The terminal server being used was resorting to virtual memory on the hard disk to support the load, which for staff made it look like the system was freezing. After figuring this out, we added the production client on the 2nd terminal server, removed the icon for the training server and asked the staff of the larger libraries in the system to point directly to that terminal server. They did (thanks, all!), and this manual load balancing allowed everyone to work without freezing.

Polaris staff and OCPL staff agreed that although we'll be load balancing between the two terminal servers from this point out, we also need more memory in both terminal servers to allow us to fall back on a single one if the other dies for some reason. So hopefully, Monday morning (the 29th), at 7:30 a.m., Polaris staff working with our consultant from Visory group will both put automatic load balancing in place, and will double the memory in both of these servers.

Whew!

Because we know staff are still interested in playing around on the training server, we also on Friday added an icon leading to the training server. It's as obnoxious and as different from the Polaris icon as we could make it:

to be sure that staff know that this isn't Production Polaris - remember, what happens in the training server stays in the training server!

Polaris staff, including Bill Schickling, the President and CEO, were onsite much of the time from Tuesday morning through Thursday midday, freezing in our server room (now a server-friendly 66 deg. F) - which we really appreciated.

And all through this time, we kept receiving messages of support from staff in the libraries, hearing also that patrons were being patient as well. Thank you all for that support - it means a lot to us!

There are some issues on the patron side that I'll discuss in the next posting, and many of those we can and will fix quickly.

Cheers!

Deb

Our new postcard notices

2007-10-23T18:17:00.000-05:00

We have a 3-4 month supply of these (actually, hopefully more!), so we can see how effective they are, and change them if necessary.

The other side will be the address of the patron, the address of the pickup branch, and an indication of the type of notice.

We're going to start the holds notices process working tomorrow - setting everyone with an email address to email notices, telephony for those without, and these postcards for the remainder.

Note that only patrons with email notices will get advanced notice of upcoming due dates and only those with email or phone notification will receive notice of expired/cancelled holds.

Carrots to get more patrons to use email notices!

Transactions Uploaded!

2007-10-22T22:44:00.000-05:00

Just a brief note to let everyone know that after a few bobbles, we've uploaded all of the transaction files for the last 4 days. (Pictures of the upload crew tomorrow - but thanks to Heather, Maija, Michele, Brian, Gary S., and Ann L.) Polaris is now current, and we're ready to go live on Polaris Tuesday morning.

Thanks to everyone for logging on and off to keep the files small!

There were some errors in the files that we'll be looking at over the next few days, but no showstoppers.

Polaris is live - go for it!

The catalog is also now available at http://catalog.onlib.org (or http://catalog.onlib.org/polaris). We'll change our links on the OCPL website sometime before 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and OverDrive will be repointed by then to Polaris. AquaBrowser should also be up with the Polaris data during that timeframe. RPA (Remote Patron Access) to the databases may take a day or two longer, but we'll leave it pointed at Dynix so the majority of users will be able to use the databases remotely. Please let us know if you have a desperate need for a new patron to get to the catalog and we'll add them to Dynix.

Reports - we're working on getting you information on reports - the equivalents to what you get on a daily basis, but essentially, you'll be accessing the reports via our reports website, so can access via any staff workstation connected to a printer. Therefore, no need to print the holds lists on receipt printers. Whew!

The adventure continues...thanks, everyone.
Cheers!
Deb

News flash: TS has access to the Production Server!

2007-10-22T10:08:00.000-05:00

Yes, we (TS staff) have access! An hour or two before we expected!

We (well, Brian) can now finish recreating the training environment in production (with additional tweaks), and get the final set of workstations for production identified, and staff changes we've gotten since Thursday dealt with (Michele).

Starting after lunch, we'll start uploading the files that staff generated as they checked materials out and in from Friday on. Hopefully, we'll be just waiting for libraries to close this evening to upload the Monday files - as libraries close.

I haven't heard about other institutions, but patrons at Central have been cooperating about not returning materials during this time period - the sorting room is looking pretty bare! Since it is, I'm guessing others haven't had much to send back to us - good news! Instead of even a mouse moving through the python, I'm hoping it'll be a cricket.

Whoopee! We're in great shape!
Cheers - Deb

RHA on Receipt Printers!

2007-10-20T13:01:00.000-05:00

Brian is a genius. This is a custom report (scanned here slightly crookedly) containing your Report - Hold Alerts that you'll be able to print on your receipt printers. We hope you can instead print to a regular printer to save the cost of the receipt printer paper, but you now have this option back again.

Please give Brian a big round of applause!

Deb

Instructions for Accessing Offline Client, Accessing the Training Server, and Going Live with Polaris

2007-10-19T09:02:00.000-05:00

These instructions were distributed yesterday both as an email and as a numbered memo. You can also find them online on the OCPL Projects page under Memos and Information. Please note that the address for the training server has changed - and remember that's what done in the training server stays in the training server.

So far people who have called in for help have been very patient - thank you! Clearly everyone's remembering the Bear, which applies to each other, as well as patrons.

Thanks from all in TS!
Deb

Migration information for catalogers (and others)

2007-10-18T13:07:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder: there's significant information about the migration on the OCPL Projects page.

Mapping instructions for patron data
How to assign Fine and Loan types based on Dynix Itypes
How to assign Collection Codes and Shelf Locations based on Dynix Collection Codes
Permissions Levels

You'll find these particularly useful as you create item templates, or even just create item records from scratch under Polaris.

If you haven't been to the OCPL Projects page or don't know how to get there and log on, please ask someone.

Cheers!
Deb

Printing Holds Request to Fill Lists

2007-10-18T08:32:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we're working on creating a version of this report that will print on receipt printers instead of requiring the page/desktop printers - we'll let you know if/when we get it! So, don't assume it, but keep your fingers crossed!

Deb

New Circ training classes - and update on rest

2007-10-12T16:23:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

I wanted to let you know that we've just added 4 more Circulation training sessions to the schedule. You can register for them from the OCPL Projects web site.

I'm really thrilled at how everyone is stepping up on this - being sure to practice, to come to training sessions able to log on, and libraries taking on the training of their own staff - astounding! The 20 simultaneous user "seats" we have on the training server are being well exercised. The OCPL Projects web site has been very active - 1,844 view of the front page in just a few short months.

Meanwhile, here's a complete list of the yet-to-happen training classes, with the number of seats "sold" and available.

And don't forget the training materials available through the OCPL Projects site - always being updated. One of the more recent is a "Where Do I Start To" from Barbara G., manager at Betts. Also, Brian from DeWitt as well as Bob, Director at Minoa, have provided great instructions about item cataloging. In fact, here's what the list of materials looks like now (you can appreciate the quantity of materials show here, even if you can't read it):

Be sure you complete the Polaris Go Live Checklist, get it signed, and send it in to Katie - you'll get a wonderful, large, spiffy canvas bag as a reward!

Remember, it's your responsibility to get yourself and any people you're responsible for trained!

Cheers!
Deb

October 19th !!!

2007-09-27T19:21:00.000-05:00

If everything goes well and the creeks don't rise, we'll be restricting access to Dynix after the last library closes at 9:00 p.m. on the 18th, and Polaris staff will start copying our databases to load into our Polaris production server for our planned go live date of the 23rd.

This date is !!exciting!! for several reasons:

It's a short period, so the length of time our users won't have access to holds functionality and their accounts online is limited. By the way, all unfilled holds that would have expired then have already been extended.
It's a short period, so there will be fewer returns to build up (and you may have noticed that due dates have been set around Oct. 15 - 28; nothing will come due then, so hopefully patrons will hold onto their materials for the full time they've been allotted).
Libraries will be able to put out the high-profile books and DVDs being released on the 16th and 18th using their normal procedures. There's a memo coming out on cataloging and holdings procedures to let you circulate incoming materials while we're offline which would have accommodated these, but this is even better.
It's a short period, including Sunday when many of our libraries are open limited hours or not at all, so the number of transactions that will have to be uploaded on Monday, the 22nd will be far fewer than planned. Well, okay, you probably don't care, but we in TS sure do!

We'll no longer be doing transactions on Dynix, just recording them in Polaris. You will, however, still be able to check patron records in Dynix, although they'll become increasingly out of date over the 4 days. We'll maintain online access during this period for remote database access, EnvisionWare, and Cybrarian, too.

And of course, there's a memo coming out about all of this soon, too.

Cheers!

Deb

Many, Many Training Modules

2007-09-22T18:42:00.000-05:00

The Training Committee has come through for us all, and provided many training modules. You'll find these on the new page on our OCPL Projects Page: click on the Sidebar link for Learn Polaris, then on Polaris Training Self-paced Training Guides, Outlines, and Exercises (don't forget the password - or ask someone).

Please call these up and use them as you will. In addition, they'll form the core of training sessions that we'll be scheduling soon. Any libraries doing their own training should feel free to use any of these, or, send yours to Deb and I'll upload them as well as resources for others.

By the way, Bob Brown from Minoa is allowing us to us his Item Cataloging/Holdings Maintenance training materials - thanks, Bob!

Speaking of training sessions, we'll announce shortly:

5 Polaris Demo and Information Sessions
6 Item Cataloging/Holdings Maintenance Training Sessions
and many Circulation and PAC sessions

In addition, several libraries have established almost a mentoring program, matching trainees with those who were trained at Polaris. Sounds great! One of the best ways to cement what you've learned is to train others. It's so great seeing people being creative about training.

Speaking of which, there's a memo coming out with the OCPL Get Ready To Go Live with Polaris Check List - show that you can do the basic functions on that list, and get a free, new, OCPL canvas bag! Excellent! We're in the groove now!

A quote from one of my favorite movies seems apropos:

"So relax! Let's have some fun out here! This game's fun, OK?"
--Crash Davis

Bull Durham Memorable Quotes on IMDB.com: http://imdb.com/title/tt0094812/quotes

Cheers!
Deb

"The difference between fear and excitement is breathing."

2007-09-22T15:30:00.000-05:00

I sometimes read pop business books. One I'm reading now, Brazen Careerist, by Penelope Trunk, has a chapter with the title, "The Difference Between Fear and Excitement is Breathing." Supposedly an American Indian proverb, the point is that if you allow yourself to become wrapped up in fear, your brain will go blank. The recommended antidote is deep breathing.

I hear that there's a split among staff of our libraries - many of those who have had Polaris training, or training or mentoring by other staff are feeling pretty secure about Polaris. They may not know it all yet, but know they can figure it out as they need to, or ask someone for help.

However, I hear that there are also staff who are on edge about learning Polaris. I'm guessing that many of you are those with limited computer experience. We'll be providing many additional opportunities for you to learn Polaris (schedules coming shortly), and meanwhile, please breathe deeply and trust that you'll be fine. You'll have many resources to call on once we do go live, and you don't need to know it all on day one. We'll be distributing a Go Live checklist soon, and encouraging staff to focus on that functionality.

Another coping strategy would be to imagine what the worst case would be at any given moment. Then, remember that you can call another staff person over, call someone in another library, or call TS for support. We'll be providing signage for you to put up to inform patrons that they're getting a new system, and asking them to be patient with staff as they learn it, which should give you time to call on these other resources. Most people will give new trainees some slack.

Managers and supervisors - please be sure that you convey the sense of this message to your staff - we'll get through this, and it will be fine. We will support each other, and it's rare to have a bibliographic emergency. Please also be sure to give your staff and volunteers time to practice and encourage them to do so.

We have many days left before the new system goes live...let's live them in excitement!

Cheers!
Deb

Polaris Users Group

2007-09-18T13:22:00.000-05:00

Although we haven't yet gone live on Polaris, we are a member of the Polaris Users Group (PUG), and as such, have the ability to vote on enhancements to the Polaris Library System.

This year, since those of us in TS have the most experience with Polaris, Brian and I looked at the list of possible enhancements ( general information at http://www.polarisusersgroup.org/Enhancements.htm) and voted as follows, based on our (and your) experiences so far:

You'll need to log into the Polaris Customer Extranet to see what these enhancement recommendations actually are.

I'll be attending the annual PUG meeting in early October, and will pay close attention to the enhancements process. My plan next year is to fully involve everyone in the process, including those suggestions that have already been sent in. Based on this year's timeline, expect a request for enhancement suggestions around the beginning of March 2008.

Cheers!

Deb

A good news problem

2007-09-13T10:23:00.000-05:00

How can a problem be good news? Well, the problem is that we're maxing out our number simultaneous users on our training server during the times when staff are in training at Polaris Mondays through Thursdays from 9-4.

The reason this is good news is that it's clear staff in our libraries are now practicing and training others! Way to go!

We purchased a 20 simultaneous-user license to the training server, and 16 are used at Polaris during training sessions, as all sessions there are full.

From now through the end of September, if you can mostly avoid logging into the training server from 9-4, Monday through Thursday, you should be in great shape. We'll also publish OCPL- and library-led group training schedules as we know them so you'll know to avoid those times as well.

For OCPL Central and branch staff at least, please check with your supervisors about getting extra time for training - that may help you shift your practice and mentoring to more available times.

And one note: once you've been authorized to use the training server, you can log into our Polaris training server on any staff machine that's also been authorized in any of our libraries. This may help you find a machine to practice on.

It's clear that you know you're responsible for learning Polaris, that your supervisors and that managers know that they're responsible for their staff learning Polaris, so please, keep up the training and practicing!

Cheers!
Deb

Circulation and PAC training begins...

2007-09-04T08:16:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting in the Polaris training room with most of the rest of the OCPL Training Committee (and a couple of guests). Whoopee! Early in, we're hearing about using a mouse, menus, icons, but also keyboard shortcuts.

Polaris has pretty much dedicated their training facilities to us for the rest of September. I've sent out the confirmations for the September training sessions to the training contacts, but also feel free to check the registrations on the OCPL Projects page (http://ocpl-projects.pbwiki.com/). I also sent a followup message indicating that Polaris has offered their staff lunchroom for those who wish to bring their lunch.

We've created logons for all staff registered for training - check the projects page under "Learning Polaris" for info on how to log into the OCPL Polaris training server, plus a link to the Polaris Basics Guide. Check out the first 47 pages (ignoring references to ActivePAC).

Please, please try at least logging on before you go to the training session. If we set you up incorrectly, we need to fix your logon before you go. If you have a problem logging into the training server, contact Brian Dobreski, me (or Michele Rogers after Thursday morning).

The Training Committee is meeting tomorrow to construct the OCPL-led Circ. and PAC training sessions, based on what we learn today.

Later!
Deb

Request for staff names and permissions levels by Sept. 7th

2007-08-30T15:46:00.000-05:00

All staff attending a training session at Polaris during September join their colleagues who were trained in holdings maintenance in July in now being able to access the OCPL Polaris training server. We've set people up initially with access to all Circulation functions.

Now we've set up what we hope will be our real permission levels, mimicking as best we can our existing Dynix levels. I sent out memo #6226 on August 23rd (via Gail, of course) asking Central Unit Heads, Branch Managers, and Suburban Library Directors to send back all staff names with the permission levels at which they should be set. The due date is September 7th - thank you ahead of time for sending these back to me in a timely fashion! We'll be working to enter those we've received back already over the next week.

The memo, with other related memos, is available on the OCPL Projects web site (http://ocpl-projects.pbwiki.com - password required, of course), as are the details of the Polaris functionality permissions and which we've assigned to which level.

Cheers!
Deb

Verifying Polaris data migration

2007-08-22T15:34:00.001-05:00

Hi all,

Again, it's great to see and hear about staff trying out Polaris. I'll be sending out a memo about this soon, but meanwhile, one way you can practice your find tool skills is by looking for your patrons with particularly complex records (or just yourselves!), to make sure that their data migrated correctly into Polaris. Please don't change/fix it - let us know what the problem is, and give us the record info so we can pass it on to Polaris. With the memo, I'll be sending out the mappings we did for the patron data, and, I'll also add that document to the OCPL-projects page.

In addition, please look at how your materials migrated to the matching, or your new collection codes under Polaris. E.g., someone noticed earlier that Beauchamp's DVDs ended up in their Children's Fiction collection. Again, don't fix these problems - just let us know so we can have Polaris change their data conversion program. We're still looking at ways to reduce the number of collection codes and shelf locations, but it would be useful to catch errors like this sooner rather than later.

Info on using the find tool is in the Polaris Basics Guide starting on page 19. The guide is available from our staff-only OCPL-projects web site, or from the Polaris Customer Extranet.

Deb

Access to OCPL Polaris training server restored

2007-08-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

For those of you trying and failing to get into the training server yesterday, there was a small bobble with the licenses, now fixed, so have at it!

Just a reminder - when ending your session, do a "log off" from the Polaris toolbar (CTRL-L, or from the File menu), then close the toolbar. Otherwise your sessions hang around in Polaris.

I'm glad to see so many people poking around!

We're starting to add the staff who will be attending the Circulation and PAC training sessions at Polaris during September, and we'll send a note to the training contacts when that's done. I'm also preparing a memo explaining the permission levels we've set up to mimic the Dynix permission levels, and will be asking who should be assigned to which permission levels. Expect that soon.

By the way, when you're playing around, feel free to enter practice patrons, items, and bib records. For example, you'll see that Kiki Bendig is now in as a patron, linked to my patron record.

She's been taking out some books...

Cheers!
Deb

The New Internal OCPL Projects Page

2007-08-10T08:31:00.000-05:00

A picture of the new projects page, as it was when it went up.

I set up a counter on the projects page a few days ago, and there are already 86 views of it, so some people at least are looking at it. I encourage you to watch that site as well (and you can set up to be notified when changes are made).

Cheers!

Deb

OCPL Polaris ILS Project Status Report, July 30, 2007

2007-07-30T12:21:00.000-05:00

Training

We hit another major milestone last week - the Polaris training has started!

13 staff from OCPL TS and Liverpool attended 2 days of full cataloging and holdings maintenance training on July 23rd and 24th in the PASS Lab at the Central Library downtown (Polaris had a project slip that required their training lab so asked OCPL to host this training).

26 staff from Central, branches, and suburban libraries attended 1-day training sessions on manipulating holdings/item records on the 25th and 26th, again at Central.

We had a couple of small glitches in permissions - during the first session of the holdings maintenance training, we discovered that the generic "Item Cataloger" permission set provided by Polaris didn't include the capability to create and modify item templates. I did an easy workaround during the session, then I added that permission overnight. During the 2nd Holdings Maintenance session, they discovered that the Item Cataloger didn't include permissions to create or modify record sets. I didn't hear about until later, but was able to add those permissions as well to all of the attendees' logons. We just haven't gotten into the specifics within the generic permission groups yet, but will be doing so shortly.

I'd invite those staff to comment (you can do it anonymously) on those sessions, as I don't want to put words in anyone's mouth - but, from what I heard I believe the training sessions went well for those attending. David Needham from Polaris did all of the sessions, and did them well.

The staff who attended have access now to our training server, and have 3 months to practice before going live. I also set up logons on the training server for branch managers, suburban library directors, and I think Central Unit heads. We (the training committee) will start creating and publishing short, guided exercises soon, and then will give access to all staff so they can have an understanding of the look and feel of Polaris before going to training sessions. Guided exercises, to make this more comfortable to do, and to help staff see the most efficient way to do things. Prepare to be using keyboard equivalents, by the way!

Over 60 staff are participating in a 1-day session either today (at Betts Branch) or tomorrow (at Manlius Library) to learn how to train others. Colleen Zawadzki, a principal at OCM BOCES is leading the sessions. The participants will learn about various learning styles, understand their responsibilities of bringing training back to the library staff, and will learn training techniques and principles. These sessions are being paid for from our LSCA-funded No User Left Behind Grant that was obtained to support our ILS migration, and which also supported the creation of the Tech Liaisons program and their training, as well as the earlier round of Windows training.

5 OCPL staff are going to Polaris for System Admin training next week (Aug. 7-9). Please be patient when calling TS for anything, as I, Brian, and Michele, plus Peter and Katie W. will be attending this session. We're planning to swap in Cathy P. for the SQL portion of the training.

An OCPL Projects website!

A memo went out to all OCPL staff on Monday, the 23rd telling staff about a new website where we're publishing additional information about the OCPL Polaris project. The website is at http://ocpl-projects.pbwiki.com, but you need a password to see it, as the intention is for access to this website to be limited to OCPL staff. Check the memo or ask your co-worker. Although we're using wiki technology for this, editing is limited to ensure that only accurate information is available.

You might consider this website a pale illustration of what our OCPL intranet will be once we have that up and running. This website, focused on a single project at this point, so far contains:

The goals of the project, and a link to Joyce's presentation about it.
The graphical view of the rollout plan
A calendar with significant project dates
Exercises for brushing up on Windows® skills
The Training Registrations spreadsheet
Polaris learning exercises - coming soon
Project status reports and presentations (including the current problem log we're working on with Polaris staff)
The OCPL memos about this project
A link to this blog
The list of the committee members for each of the involved committees, and soon, the meeting minutes from those committee meetings.
A link to the Polaris Library Systems website
A link (with username and password) to the Polaris Library Systems Customer Extranet - which has the latest versions of all of the user guides
A link to the Polaris User Group website

If anyone has any suggestions as to additional material to make available through this website, please let me know. The goal is to give you, the OCPL staff, the information you need about this project to feel comfortable with it.

Workstations

The P.O. for the PCs has been cut and sent to Seneca Data. Gary will be working with them and with Visory Group to have them set up and installed. Libraries with no staff PCs will get priority for receiving at least one of these. The order for the barcode scanners and receipt printers will be going out to bid shortly.

Data Mappings

Brian continues to work with Polaris staff on corrections or updates to the data mappings. We think the patron records are in pretty good shape, so we're preparing to ask library staff to check the data mappings for people registered to their branch.

I've started looking at the 500 collection codes for areas where we can combine some (e.g., Audio Books vs. Audiobooks), and Brian's going to look at the ~850 shelf locations for areas where we can consolidate (e.g., shelf vs. shelving vs. shelves). While keeping to your signage terminology, consolidating some of these terms will make it easier for both staff and patrons to find materials. And we'll also look at the stat codes for areas of consolidation.

More later, of course...

Staff workstations

Thanks to all for providing the Full Computer Names for all of your staff workstations. At this point we've entered all that we've received. We've even found out from Dave Fulton at Liverpool that it's possible to at least do Remote Desktop to the OCPL Polaris terminal servers on a Mac running Parallels. Neat! It'll be interesting to see if the staff client will also work on a Mac (pretending to be a PC).

Upcoming meetings

I'm in the process of setting up more meetings with the ILS PAC Committee, and the ILS Communications/PR Committee.

Deb

Harry Potter Book - sevens all around

2007-07-17T15:44:00.001-05:00

On a lighter note, Brian Dobreski in TS just noted that we're processing the 77 Central Library and branch copies of Book 7 of the Harry Potter series on 7/17/2007.

Hope this spells good luck for Harry - we're not peeking.

Join us at White Branch on Friday at 11:00 p.m. for the Harry Potter Party!

Deb

July 10 Status Report to E&L Leg. Committee

2007-07-15T09:35:00.000-05:00

Here's the content of the handout given to the Education and Libraries Committee of the Onondaga County Legislature on July 10, 2007:

Staff Participation

Multiple committees advising on implementation. Committees include staff from Central, branches, and suburban libraries.

Public Access Catalog Committee – ILS working committee - advise on look and feel, and functionality for the public face to the catalog.
Communications and PR committee - ILS working committee - communications about the new ILS to staff and public.
Uniform Circulation Policies Committee - long term – agreement by county libraries to present coherent policies and procedures for patrons at county libraries.
Training Committee – how to optimize training for staff.
Shared Catalog committee - how to manage a shared catalog.

Communications

BLOG for stakeholders (http://OCPL-Techs-UP.blogspot.com). Joyce's idea. Very popular. Added counter May 24th - over 1,140 visits since then. Started in early Feb. with press release information about contract signing (including picture). Used for status reports, training schedules, issues for consideration, etc. Critical to staff buy-in on migration. Any web user can view and comment.
WIKI - in process – pseudo intranet, access will be limited to staff by password. Will be used to provide training exercises, project documentation, schedules. This function will be replaced by our intranet created and supported via MS SharePoint later in the fall.
Public communications – TBD by Communications/PR Committee – plan planned for this month.

Training

Training @ Polaris by Polaris staff

Cataloging and holdings maintenance - last week of July (will actually be at OCPL)
System Administration - August 7-9
Circulation and Public Interface training @ Polaris - throughout September

In parallel during September/early October - OCPL-led training sessions and peer-to peer training for rest of staff and volunteers.

Getting patrons onto a holds list faster...

2007-07-01T17:08:00.000-05:00

We at OCPL had a conversation a week or so ago with a patron irked because she didn't know about the new Catherine Coulter book, Double Take, and therefore is now relatively low on the holds list (there are now 161 holds for 73 copies of the Putnam print version).

There are two parts to notifying patrons of new titles by their favorite author.

The first involves getting a record in the OCPL shared catalog. Until we start using the Polaris Acquisitions module, it's a two-step process, but if someone tells us they've ordered a hot title not yet in the catalog, we in Technical Services can add the matching record. Or, any of our libraries can use our innovative 9x4 process (requests for records to TS by 9, records in the catalog by 4) to have records added to the catalog for materials they've just ordered.

(Once we start using the Polaris Acquisitions module, the ordering process will create an order record in the catalog as part of the workflow.)

The second part involves then telling the patron that the record is in the catalog (i.e., that the material has been ordered and is on the way). The new ILS by Polaris will support RSS feeds telling patrons about new records in the catalog...and so does our "Visual Search" tool (a.k.a. AquaBrowser), right now. Since they both use RSS feeds, it might be useful to learn this now.

To see notices of new materials added to our catalog now, go to our Visual Search tool and do the search that is most likely to find the record(s) of interest. For example, I myself watch for new books by, er, Nora Roberts. So, I do the search author:"nora roberts" which is described on the intro screen.

Once you have search results, click on the little orange and gray RSS logo in the upper right of the results list, and you'll be taken to a page that tells you how to set up the RSS feed to alert you to either all new items in the catalog, or new Nora Roberts items.

You can set up the feed to see it through IE or Firefox, or through a website like http://www.bloglines.com/. You may also find a way to receive it via email.

As I said before, this functionality will be used in Polaris, as well as being currently available through our AquaBrowser-based Visual Search view of the catalog. In fact, it might make a great topic for a public information session - how to get on holds lists early.

And for those of you who are interested, High Noon by Nora Roberts is due in stores (and if a library in OCPL buys it, presumably available at the library) on July 10.

Hmm...wonder if I should have used the hot upcoming title, The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, Fully Revised and Updated: Fully Revised And Updated as my example instead...oh well, be kind...

Deb

TechSoup - LIbraries being fiscally responsible...

2007-06-29T14:13:00.000-05:00

Librarians and libraries try to squeeze the last bit of value out of money, and we've found that TechSoup can help. From their website (http://www.techsoup.org/): "TechSoup provides a range of technology services for nonprofits, including news and articles, discussion forums, and discounted and donated technology products."

They have an impressive list of technology partners donating technology, including software.

If you think you qualify as a nonprofit (see their eligibility rules), check it out!

(And there may be other such sites and organizations around - this is one we know about. Be sure to look around for other opportunities to save your taxpayers money.)

Deb

OCPL Teaches and Trains!

2007-06-27T08:26:00.000-05:00

[Updated 6/28/07 with a more complete list - 399 attendees at 44 sessions - dlb]

Just a note to show training that has been done recently for the public and staff.

This was training done by Central staff or training committee members. As part of our plan of service for Central, these trainings helped fulfill specific goals of the Plan of Service as well as the Gates grant requirements.

CENTRAL- PLAN OF SERVICE

"Goal 3: To support professional staff development at 30 member, branch and satellite libraries."

A good indicator that we'll take care of training everyone on the new ILS!

(And by the way, for those who haven't heard, Maryse Breton, our part-time trainer, is due to have her baby soon - we'll miss her while she's out for the rest of the year, but are looking for someone to fill in while she's out.)

Happy Baby, Maryse!

Deb

OCPL EnvisionWare Project Status - June 23, 2007

2007-06-23T16:12:00.000-05:00

We have sent preliminary "rules" to our EnvisionWare Implementation Consultant last month, allowing us to secure her visit on July 10 and 11 to help us with the install.

However, there are still concerns about the different environments between the Central Library and the branches, yet the difficulty in maintaining different PC use policies, given the number of patrons who visit multiple locations within the city.

One question is whether to require a library card number (and pin) for access to computers except when the person requesting access is from out of state. Concerns are primarily around children not having their cards with them or knowing their library card number. Staff can of course look up their library card numbers for them.

And, with a card, do we allow patron computer use even when they've hit the maximum about for borrowing materials ($5.00, as of July 2), the amount when they're sent to the collections agency ($50.00), or to not limit at all based on the amounts owed?

A good feature of EnvisionWare is the ability for staff to override the rules on a case-by-case basis.

As referred to by Joyce in her comment to a previous comment about this functionality, public PCs are a scarce resource, at least at times, and we need some way at that time to prioritize use in a fair way, while providing a calm and hassle-free environment for patrons and staff.

I'll be doing a quick survey among staff to get a broader view of what staff think about this.

Back to the visit - we've pretty much decided to install this in the Central Library Pass Lab while the Installation Consultant is on site. We have some questions still about how this will work with the combination of VPNs and Domains that we employ here. Putting it in the lab will enable us to work out all of the wrinkles before putting it out in the public areas. We're currently planning to have the Installation Consultant do Central and branch staff training on July 11th - will confirm on Monday, the 25th and let everyone know. THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL TRAINING SESSIONS, so if you or your staff cannot come to the July 11th training sessions, those of you who are involved in negotiating use of the public PCs with patrons will still be trained.

The new, heavy-duty, networkable printers have started through the county order process. ETA still to be determined, though.

If all goes well, networking-wise, we'll be rolling this out fairly quickly - Judi Muniak will be creating the plan.

Cheers!
Deb

New Email Server project status: June 23, 2007

2007-06-23T15:42:00.000-05:00

Time to catch our breath to celebrate the relatively painless move to the Microsoft Exchange server for email.

Email was moved from SquirrelMail on May 18th to the Exchange Server.

The majority of the staff are now using Outlook Web Access to access their email. This allows those staff who spend considerable time on a public desk to access their mail from that desk without the confusion of multiple people using the Outlook client there, and, limited the number of workstations on which our staff had to install Outlook 2003.

To make this all work, all of the active email users and staff were added to our [brand new] Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, and Peter Pfieffer also recreated many of the existing SquirrelMail lists (It's wonderful to be able to see who's in each list!). Our consultants from the Visory Group did a great job in helping us migrate. Gary Sanford ran the project, and Judi Muniak migrated staff already using Outlook as their email front end to SquirrelMail, and helping out in general in ways I don't even want to know about.

Maryse Breton created and gave many Outlook Web Access training sessions to staff, to help with the transition - thanks, Maryse!

As more and more of us begin to use the online calendar feature, creating meeting requests will become easier. I'm looking forward to being able to see the free/busy times of staff, so not having to guess at when a reasonable meeting time might be. We'll find a way to present these additional features to staff over time.

Good job, everyone, in moving to this new email service!
Deb

Introducing Your ILS Committee Representatives

2007-06-19T18:09:00.000-05:00

I'll also make this available in a document, but wanted to get this information out, as we've started to meet.

We asked for participants for three new committees or working groups, with at least two of them expected to last only through the go live date. These two are the ILS PAC committee, and the ILS Communications/PR committee.

The role of the ILS PAC Committee is to advise us on the best ways to present the OCPL catalog to the public, within, of course, the constraints of the new ILS. The members of this committee are:

Kathy Wickham (Beauchamp Branch); Pat Gottschall (Hazard Branch); Renate Dunsmore (White Branch); Peg Elliott (Central); Rebecca (Becky) Gilbert (Central); Cathy Parrillo (Central); Elyse Meltz (alternate to Renate from White when necessary); Elizabeth Dailey (Liverpool); Maija McLaughlin (Fayetteville); Paul Morrell (Baldwinsville); Meg VanPatten (Baldwinsville). Brian Dobreski (OCPL) and I are also included in this committee. We also intend to solicit public feedback via some informal usability testing.

The role of the ILS Communications/PR Committee is to help us introduce and promote the changes to the public, and even to find ways to promote the new system among the staff. The members of this committee are:

Tim Riehlman (Central); Mitch Tiegel (Soule Branch); Katy Benson (OCPL); Rebecca Mannion (Fayetteville); Cara Burton (Solvay); Scott Kushner (LaFayette); Linda Meyer (Liverpool); Kathy Osmond (Public Relations and Programming Coordinator for NOPL - added 8/10/07). I am also of course involved, at least as note-taker.

The third committee may become a standing committee. This is the OCPL Shared Catalog Committee, formed to discuss issues that always arise when more than pretty much one person, let alone multiple organizations, build and rely on a shared catalog. Hot topics include what to do with packaging multi-part media - in a single package, or in separate pieces. These issues impact everyone from the catalogers through the holdings maintenance people to the circulation staff and the public. Current members of this committee are:

Gary Jones (OCPL); Brian Dobreski (OCPL); Cathy Parrillo (Central); Marilyn Smith (Petit Branch); Gloria Rusaw (Betts Branch); Sandy Dottolo (Liverpool); Joyce Zadroga (Baldwinsville); Connie Ebner (NOPL at Brewerton and Baldwinsville); Heather Matzel (Fayetteville). I may or may not stay on this committee after starting it up.

Your input is requested. These are your representatives to the process; if you have suggestions, ideas or comments, please let one of these people, or me, know. Or, post a comment here to this blog entry. The more ideas the better!

Training dates for ILS

2007-06-06T13:29:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be putting out a memo regarding training soon, but wanted to give people an opportunity to put these dates on their calendars.

There will be multiple types of and opportunities for learning:

Online, self-paced short exercises for staff to work through on their own (or with co-workers).
Training at Polaris by Polaris staff
Training by OCPL staff - will include OCPL procedures/policies - both session-based and informal mentoring/coaching - not yet scheduled
A Train the Trainer session to train those who will be training others.

The schedules so far:

2 Train the Trainer sessions: July 30 and July 31.

Training dates for training by Polaris staff at Polaris:

July 23-24
Cataloging Session 1 (max 15 attendees for 2 days) Standard Cataloging training, which will include all aspects of cataloging. (System and Liverpool staff)

July 25
Holdings Maintenance Session 1 (max 15 attendees for 1 day) Limited Cataloging training which will focus on Bibliographic record searching, Item record creation and editing, and PAC display.

July 26
Holdings Maintenance Session 2 (max 15 attendees for 1 day) Limited Cataloging training which will focus on Bibliographic record searching, Item record creation and editing, and PAC display.

September 4-5
Circulation and PAC Training Session 1 (max 15 attendees for 2 days) (Training Committee has priority for this session)

September 6-7
Circulation and PAC Training Session 2 (max 15 attendees for 2 days)

September 10-11
Circulation and PAC Training Session 3 (max 15 attendees for 2 days)

September 12-13
Circulation and PAC Training Session 4 (max 15 attendees for 2 days)

September 17-18
Circulation and PAC Training Session 5 (max 15 attendees for 2 days)

September 19-20
Circulation and PAC Training Session 6 (max 15 attendees for 2 days)

September 24-25
Circulation and PAC Training Session 7 (max 15 attendees for 2 days)

September 26-27
Circulation and PAC Training Session 8 (max 15 attendees for 2 days)

OCPL-led training has not yet been scheduled.

Memo with more details coming soon!
Deb

Major milestone - training server ready for testing!

2007-06-01T10:47:00.000-05:00

Just got word from our Polaris Implementation Manager that our training server has been loaded with:

the latest version of the Polaris software
our data mapped as we specified
our settings

It's now ready for us to start testing it! (Brian's already started a list of issues...)

We're planning to do this in phases - those of us in TS to start, then a few internal friends and various committee members, then the libraries to check things like their collection codes, then the rest of the staff to start working on training exercises.

By the way - this latest version of the Polaris software includes the new choice of lending library for the agency governing the circulation rules - replicating our preferred Dynix setting. They were already working on this when we brought it up, and it's gratifying to have them finish it before we go live. Way to go, Polaris staff!

These phases may go pretty quickly, so stay tuned!

Deb

An OCPL virtual "library" for e-materials

2007-05-31T15:47:00.001-05:00

Interesting situation - we purchase downloadable audiobooks, e-books, music, and possibly etc. from OverDrive. By agreement, these are system-level resources, not limited to a particular library. We've never had a good way to represent these as holdings in our catalog.

Sure, we have the bib records, and sure, we have the separate Digital Catalog, but for actual holdings in the OCPL catalog, either we say:

Copy/Holding information
No Item Information

or the e-material is assigned to a specific collection within a specific library.

For Polaris, we've decided to create a virtual library (had to be at the Polaris library level to act as a system resource) within OCPL the system, and put the electronic materials with no physical form under that. In that way, users will see clearly that the material is electronic, without a physical form, and that it is a system resource, not assigned to a specific library. They won't see "No Item Information" and assume we don't have it.

We plan to do some usability testing, so we can see how this flies with real users, but this feels much better to me than our current arrangement.

Deb

Receipt Printers

2007-05-31T15:39:00.000-05:00

Enough about my vacation...

Our Polaris Implementation Manager has been able to test two models of Epson receipt printers ( the T90P, and the TM88-IV) directly connected to Polaris (vs. via the terminal services environment). They've found that they both work - sort of. They will print, but sometimes the printing is odd, and they will auto-cut, but not always. They won't print bold or large print.

We'll continue to see how we can maximize use of the Epson receipt printers that exist, e.g., by putting them with the EnvisionWare registration terminals at Central and the branches, or using them where printing holds slips isn't done.

More later.

Deb

Welcome back from Memorial Day!

2007-05-24T13:21:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note acknowledging our recent holiday. Hope the weekend went well for you!

I traveled back to the land of concrete corn sculptures (http://www.dublinvisit.org/attractions/art_in_public.asp, photo credit Scott Beale / Laughing Squid" ):

Dancing hares:

And the big O (http://www.oclc.org/), although I actually didn't even drive by it.

Oh yes....and $3.49/gallon gas! It's usually been the other way around for me - the farther west, the cheaper the gas, and it was in fact cheaper outside of the cities - around the $3.19/gallon we've seen around here. I saw $2.99/gallon gas in Pennsylvania on my way back, too.

Interesting discussions with a couple of my friends from OCLC, including the growing amount of participation in different online communities that's happening. I came back and worked on my information in classmates.com (since I'm back where I grew up now), although for some reason it wouldn't let me add OCPL as an employer. The hottest one right now seems to be LinkedIn, at least for the corporate world.

We know that kids are linked to their peers both locally and across the world through the various communities they participate in, e.g., online games. We also know from various research studies that at least researchers and academics tend to ask people they know for answers to questions before asking a librarian. I wonder how this connectivity plus normal answer-seeking behavior together will affect us in libraries? What opportunities this affords us?

Back to work...

Deb

EnvisionWare project status - May 18, 2007

2007-05-18T15:39:00.000-05:00

A group of people from Central and the branches got together last week to come up with answers to the EnvisionWare profiles. I've collated those (they're not that far apart), and will be submitting them to EnvisionWare on Monday.

We lost a June install, but are hoping for the week of July 9th at this point. They have promised that if a cancellation happens before then, we'll get the slot.

We'll roll this out in quick phases - Central and possibly one branch first, then other branches - I'm creating the plan for this.

We'll make sure everyone who will need it will be trained before having to work with EnvisionWare.

And many thanks to the staff at Liverpool who have shown their EnvisionWare setup to various and sundry groups from OCPL over the last few months. It helps to see it operational and to hear about the issues they dealt with.

Thanks!
Deb

Retiring OCPL SquirrelMail...

2007-05-18T12:59:00.001-05:00

It's time. The old girl has been in service long enough.

We need to let her retire and have some fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXcaFC1vF0Q&mode=related&search=squirrel.

This evening is when the OCPL email service will be switched from SquirrelMail to a MicroSoft Exchange Server, and the OCPL staff will start using Outlook Web Access (at the normal mail.onlib.org URL), or the Outlook Client.

Note some things from the May 15th memo from Gary and Kate:

1. If your SquirrelMail username was “first name initial last name” your login will not change (eg. gsanford@onlib.org); if your username was formatted differently, you will have a new username, configured as above.

2. You have been assigned an initial, temporary password. If you don't remember it from the memo, contact Gary or Peter. You will be required to create a permanent password and re-enter it for confirmation.

3. The new password MUST BE AT LEAST SEVEN (7) CHARACTERS and MUST INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE NUMBER AND ONE UPPERCASE LETTER. If your old SquirrelMail password meets this requirement, feel free to use that.

4. The mail server name will not change, so any desktop shortcut you may have will continue to work.

5. Accessing mail through your browser (Internet Explorer or Firefox) will take you to “Outlook Web Access”, the replacement for SquirrelMail.

6. The mail server changes must propagate across the Internet to be fully functional for sending and receiving from all servers. This may take anywhere from two to five days. No incoming mail will be lost, as it is being stored by our spam filter and delivered when our address becomes available.

7. It would be prudent to plan for delays in the mail service and use e-mail only for non-critical messages for the first day or two.

8. If you are using the Outlook 2003 mail client on your office PC, please use the web client until library IT staff have re-directed your incoming mail address. This should be done by Tuesday, May 22.

9. As part of the migration process, you will be able to read your old mail at http://oldmail.onlib.org/. Please note that you will not be able to send mail from this location.

So the old Squirrelmail will actually be around for read-only purposes for a bit (maybe 6 months), but if we run out of squirrel food (i.e., the server dies), it may disappear earlier.

Microsoft Exchange, using Outlook, provides some really neat features - including my favorite, a meeting setup function...I'm anxious to get in there and set up my first meeting via Outlook!

Have a great weekend,

Deb

Plan for the 21st Century Library in Onondaga County - presentation by Dr. Joyce Latham, December 2006

2007-05-11T13:45:00.000-05:00

We're pleased to provide access to the presentation that the Executive Director of OCPL, Dr. Joyce Latham, used when requesting bond money from the Onondaga County Legislature to support upgrading the technology of the system.

In all cases, the upgrades support:

• Improved public interface
• Streamlined operations
• Timely reports
• Better public service

To see this presentation, go to http://www.onlib.org/deb/21st_cent_lib_plan_files/v3_document.htm

Deb

OCPL Polaris ILS Project Status Report, May 10

2007-05-10T11:46:00.000-05:00

OCPL Polaris ILS Project Status

Report Date: 5/10/07
Go-Live Date: 10/23/07
Software Release: Polaris 3.3
Project Manager: Deb Bendig, Systems Librarian, OCPL (dbendig@onlib.org, 435-1843)

Major Activities/ Meetings

· ** Polaris now has access to our training server, and is beginning to load the OCPL data on it. Great step forward, although it means that we can’t go in and play while they’re loading the data.

· ** Working on mapping data is the next step; Polaris will send us information on what they see in our data, and we’ll respond with how to map it. All of the work that everyone did on the collection codes and shelf locations already includes most of that for mapping to collection codes, so we should be in good shape.

· ** Deb met with OCSL at Manlius Library a week ago last Tuesday to discuss current status and gather and respond to questions.

· ** Deb, Brian, and Michele attended the free Polaris Webinar about their new module: Simply Reports. This is a new interface to their SQL-based reporting functionality, with many drop down menus. They are currently offering a 2-user version to existing customers (including OCPL), although without the capability of storing reports to the Polaris Toolbar. We’ll continue to evaluate it as we implement, to determine whether it will be worth the cost after the initial pricing. The “users” are fixed, defined users, not # of simultaneous users, so this isn't something we could open up to everyone to share under the 2-user (or even 5-user) license. Still, it was nifty functionality.

· ** We also visited Polaris with Olivia Opello from the Hazard branch to get more information about the Polaris ExpressCheck. Olivia is doing a study on the feasibility of implementing ExpressCheck within the OCPL city libraries. It’s possible we’ll do a pilot of this functionality at some point. We know Liverpool (library and public) likes their self checkout functionality; a pilot would give us additional information on how it might work within OCPL city libraries, and what the issues would be for us.

· ** Deb did a status report at the Tech Liaisons meeting this past Tuesday at the Beauchamp branch library. Again, many questions.

· ** We've sent out a request for volunteers to participate on 3 ILS working committees: ILS PAC design, Communications and PR, and, Shared Catalog practices. The first two will be temporary, but the 3rd may well become a standing committee. Responses are due back to Deb by the end of the day on Friday; we’ll balance the committees and start them up very soon.

· ** Syracuse University (thanks, Dave, Lisa, etc.!) has set up a web site for us to use as an intra-/extranet for this project, in advance of our SharePoint implementation. I’ll distribute the username and password to it via a memo once I start populating it. I’ll point to it from this Blog, but people will still have to log into the site. We’ll use this for things like frequently asked questions, possibly an issues list with statuses, and various plans. We’ll probably also use this for the training exercises we’ll be making available to staff.

· ** Our weekly implementation calls with our Polaris Implementation Manager have started – Monday afternoons. This will be a good way to coordinate and keep in touch, although she’s also very good at responding to individual questions at random times.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled

· ** We’re mostly waiting for the data mapping process to begin.

· ** The training committee meets again on the 16th, and we’ll continue to work on the training plan. We anticipate sending a memo out to everyone detailing the # of training seats available when and for what at Polaris, and asking for attendees, then also for the numbers of additional staff needing to be trained. This will help both the committee and the libraries plan staffing requirements for covering the training.

· ** Hey, it’s Thursday – more next week, but for the rest of this week I’m catching up with other projects!

Outstanding Issues

· ** Epson receipt printers –can we use the existing ones in at least some of the libraries? Polaris staff are attempting to test them in a non-Terminal Services environment as I write this.

· ** Replacement workstations, scanners, and receipt printers – no new news on these as yet.

· ** Telephony server – this is the tool that will call people with holds ready to be picked up, and with overdue notices. Part A of this issue is that the server stops when it hits something in the phone number field other than a telephone number (including an extension). Part B of this issue is that the Polaris software doesn't provide any controls as to what’s put into this field – it’s a free-text field. We have a slight difference of opinion on this – I think not having this field be bulletproof (or data-entry proof) is a problem that should be fixed, but I’m told by Polaris that it would be an enhancement. Regardless, I’ll push to make it easy for staff to put in just numbers in a usable format.

We currently have many things in our phone number fields other than numbers. We discussed this at the Clerical Communications Meetings, but I think caused some confusion about what to do about this. I’ll be putting out a memo about this, but in general, I think we’ll map the existing non-phone number information into a different field in the patron records so that information will still be available, leaving the phone number field free for a plain phone number to use for calling for notices, should the patron choose this option.

We still have several months to go, during which “Notify by email” type content may still be useful information, so you don’t need to rush to change those after all, but I've also committed to creating lists by library of patron records with data in phone number fields that will stop the telephony server (sorry Michele!).

Whew! Sorry for the length,

Deb

Quick Polaris Update: we have our training server!

2007-05-04T15:47:00.000-05:00

Polaris staff installed our training server and training server environment on Monday. Right now it's only accessible within Central, and I've only given "permission" to a few other people, mostly within Technical Services. It has only the Polaris demo databases, but we're beginning to wander around in it to get the feel of working in the software.

Polaris technical staff and our networking consultants will be working together to get Polaris staff remote access to the server; once that happens, they'll begin to load the OCPL data from April 16th.

I'll do the longer, more inclusive status report soon, but this was too exciting to sit on.

Deb

More EnvisionWare movement

2007-05-04T15:19:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful day...and it should be a great weekend!

We (Gary Sanford, Brian Dobreski, and I) had a short telephone conference meeting with our EnvisionWare Implementation Consultant about technical issues this morning. I also have a phone conference set for next week Tuesday at 2:00, when the Implementation Consultant will walk us (a group of 8 or so OCPL staff currently involved in public computer service) through all of the forms and options we have for the setup.

She tells me that if we can get her the finalized forms back to her "no later than the week of May 13th" we can still make June for our initial installation. I'm hoping that our existing rules and policies for public computer use will match the options we'll have, so we won't have to rethink too many of them.

This will be for the public computers that Central and the branches have at that point; we'll be able to add other computers and/or printers later. This also will support networked printers with a print release station, to facilitate printing from the public computers.

When things start to move, they move quickly!

Deb

OCPL EnvisionWare Project Status Report

2007-04-29T19:11:00.000-05:00

Not yet a formal status, but informally:

We have the software and a large technical manual in house now.
We're putting together an internal policies committee to look at what options we'd like to implement this at Central and the branches. The policies committee will work with me and the EnvisionWare staff on the implementation.
We've purchased 2 days of EnvisionWare staff installation/training - mix for us to determine. We anticipate two types of training - one for staff responsible for EnvisionWare at each site, and one for the staff working with the public. As we work out more details about the training, we'll communicate them to everyone involved.
My goal is still to have this up and running in June - even if that means by June 30th at 11:59 p.m.

Exciting times!

Deb

OCPL Polaris ILS Project Status Report - April 27

2007-04-29T17:42:00.000-05:00

Here's a slightly more formal status report for this project:

OCPL Polaris ILS Project Status Report
Status Report Date: 4/27/07
Go-Live Date: 10/23/07
Software Release: Polaris 3.3
Project Manager: Deb Bendig, Systems Librarian, OCPL (dbendig@onlib.org, 435-1843)

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed Previous Week

** Continued working on the profiling – We needed to figure out how to go from the Dynix Itypes to Polaris profile settings, especially those based on material types. We realized last week that there are really two issues: how to map our existing settings into the Polaris patron and item records, and, how to set defaults for ongoing work. Treating these as two separate sets of profiles enabled us to finish the profiling for most of the remaining sections. We had also disassembled the monster spreadsheet that our implementation manager had given us to fill out, and in returning it to her in pieces we missed a few tabs, and she missed a few tabs, so we’ve pulled those together and resent. My great thanks to Brian Dobreski and Michele Rogers for working hard on the profiling, and for having the background knowledge of our Dynix profiling to provide continuity.
** Visited Finger Lakes Library System, Wednesday, April 25 (Deb, Brian Dobreski, Peter Pfeiffer). Met with Rex Helwig (Head of the Computer Services Department), Robert McLaughlin (Head of Cataloging), Linda Beins (Head of Interlibrary Loan), and Jan Aguirre (Specialist and Training Coordinator). Wonderful visit. They provided us with wonderful information about their Dynix-to-Polaris migration, including many of their training plans and outlines. Thanks to Karen Creenan, the Executive Director of FLLS, for setting this up!
** Deb met with staff at Polaris regarding the AquaBrowser/Polaris integration. It seems as though this will be no big deal; Polaris version 3.3 offers more interface control than previous versions, allowing easily the creation of tabs/links to both our “Visual search tool” (a.k.a. AquaBrowser) and our Digital Catalog. AquaBrowser uses deep linking into the ILS to retrieve the full bib records and item record status, something Polaris handles. There’ll be a Polaris number replacing the Dynix numbers in records, and that will be the key for the deep linking. I’ve also asked Polaris staff to create a new field in our MARC Output record format for target audience, as interpreted from the fixed fields. This will match the children’s material limiter we’ll be using under Polaris (vs. using subject headings as we do under Dynix), and will allow it to be available through the Visual Search Tool. Both Polaris and TLC staff have agreed to support this. The Visual Search Tool/AquaBrowser will provide a nice bridge for users at the migration point.
** Deb met with the Branch Managers on Tuesday, did a quick status update at the Central Clerical Communications Meeting Thursday morning, and a much longer one at the branch Clerical Communications Meeting Thursday afternoon. Cathy and Michele handled the Members Clerical Communications Meeting, and recommended ongoing reading of this Blog for additional information. Staff at all of these meetings had useful questions and suggestions. Please, if anyone else has questions or suggestions, please send them to me at dbendig@onlib.org or call me at 435-1843.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

** Training server and its environment (terminal servers, domain name server, etc.) to be installed in the OCPL server room on Monday, the 30th. Access initially will be for staff in TS, then opening broader when populated with our data and settings – late May or early June.
** Data mapping specifications should begin this week.
** Deb and training committee continuing to work on the training plan.
** Deb to attend OCLS on Tuesday for an update.
** Polaris staff to test the Epson receipt printer with Polaris ILS in a non-terminal services environment.
** Deb will set up Polaris demonstrations for May – August 31st.

Outstanding Issues

** Epson receipt printers –can we use the existing ones in at least some of the libraries.
** Replacement workstations, scanners, and receipt printers – we have been informed that we need to follow County contracts for this task, which will likely separate the purchase of the hardware from the installation, rather than bundling them. There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach. One advantage – we should be able to procure and install enough initial workstation setups to ensure all libraries have at least one for staff, so they’ll be able to access the training environment sooner rather than later. Disadvantage – the process of acquiring and installing the bulk of the workstations will be pushed out a little later than we had hoped. More information coming as we know more.

OCPL Polaris ILS Go Live Date - Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007

2007-04-23T14:13:00.000-05:00

Boy, it's hard to believe we went from this:

to this:

in a week - but hey, this is my first NY winter in 22 years.

Anyway, to the point. We've changed our go live date to October 23rd from October 17th, to be sure everyone's back from the NYLA annual conference in Buffalo before the new ILS comes on line.

The plan for the actual go live dance is:

October 16th (or possibly the 17th - we'll know soon) will be the last day we use Dynix for anything other than searchng the catalog. After closing on that day, Polaris staff will start the final data migration from our Dynix databases (bibliographic, patron, etc.) to Polaris.

We'll turn off access to Dynix for everything except searching the catalog. Users will not be able to place holds during the week between the 16th and the 23rd. Staff will be using Polaris Offline to check out materials.

What about checking in materials, or registering patrons? Polaris Offline allows both, but neither will access our online item and patron files, so we won't be able to trap materials for holds or check patron statuses. What Polaris recommends is that we wait and do checkins and registrations after we go live.

So,

To try to avoid a returned materials storage problem, we'll set Dynix due dates beforehand so materials won't be due during that week, and we'll ask patrons not to return materials during that time.

Non-holdable materials can of course be checked in, as they don't get trapped for holds.

If you have no place to put any quantity of returned materials, go ahead and check them in; they'll either stay on your shelves until the holds pop up on your next hold alert report, or one or more of the items might circulation to someone before going to the next person on the holds list.

Some time on the 22nd, Polaris will pronounce the new ILS ready for us. What this means is that we in A/TS are going to have a pizza party for about 5 hours - uploading all of the transactions captured through Polaris Offline at all of the agencies, day by day. This will enable our new ILS to be current at the start of the day on Tuesday the 23rd.

On the 23rd, expect someone from Polaris to be at your site - their staff seldom get to participate in a Polaris Go Live day so are planning to be there to see and help at ours. We'll have more information on events and activities planned for that day later - and does anyone have suggestions? I think Gary and Peter would prefer we not break a champagne bottle on the new Polaris server that morning...but I'm up for almost anything else.

This all sounds pretty simple, and of course we have a lot of work to do before we get to this point. I'll be posting our training plans soon, for example.

Enough for now - go enjoy the warm weather!

Deb

Photo attribution: http://flickr.com/photos/mlholben/461420000/

Training server ordered

2007-04-09T23:18:00.000-05:00

Just a quick status report - we've agreed to add a couple more domain controllers to our server room so the Polaris system will have its own domain - primarily for security reasons. We'll put these in with the training server. And, to be able to provide remote access to the training server, much like staff will have for the real thing, we're setting up at least one terminal server with the training server. Once this environment is built, it will be able to support up to 20 simultaneous users - which means staff can be practicing on it even during full training sessions.

Before we get heavily into training season, and after we go live, we'll use the training server as a test bed - trying out changes in a non-public environment rather than in the live environment.

Deb

2007-04-09T23:12:00.000-05:00

By the way, Brian and I were at the Paine Branch today for a profiling session, and admired the new ramp. The picture below is from the ribbon-cutting ceremony. We had a much better view of it without the snow today, although flakes were in the air. Everyone who worked to add this should be proud.

Deb

Polaris profiling

2007-04-09T17:52:00.000-05:00

As a followup to the site visit on the 19th, we're currently visiting most of our OCPL agencies to discuss collection codes and shelf locations, plus additional profile settings. This is based on the profile we sent out on the 4th (in memo #6172).

By the way, the other part of "we" I'm referred to is Brian Dobreski. This is the beginning of his 4th week of work here, and he's deep into the profiling. He'll be visiting some of the agencies on his own, as we needed to split up to get to everyone. He's nice - please be kind to him.

The items we're asking agencies to look at are listed below.

Collections (both)
Shelf Locations (both)
Item Statistical Codes (both)
Item Availability Display Order (both)
Material Limits (suburban libraries)
Standard Loan Intervals (suburban libraries)
Fine Rates (suburban libraries)
Fine Rate Exceptions (suburban libraries)
Fine Receipt Options (suburban libraries)
Patron Codes (suburban libraries)
Patron Loan Limits (suburban libraries)
Shelving Status (both)

Because it wasn't clear from the memo/profile (sorry!), I've flagged the items both OCPL branches and the suburban libraries need to fill out. The rest are for only the suburban libraries, as the branches use the same values as Central. We need these back by close of your business on Thursday so we can spend Friday entering the data and asking you questions if we have some.

This is somewhat similar to Classic Dynix in effect, but different in execution. In Dynix, each library has their own set of collection codes defined, so Central would have Central Adult Fiction, Betts would have Betts Adult Fiction, Dewitt their Dewitt Adult Fiction. Under Polaris, everything is done in tables then linked together so that any given agency only sees the values they want to see. There are master lists of collection codes consisting of any collection codes used in the system, agencies, shelf locations used anywhere in the system, fines, etc.

We create those master tables based on the input from our agencies then link them together, again based on the input from the agencies. So, there are fewer items in each table (we currently have well over 2,400 collection codes in Dynix), but a typo in one table, e.g., "Adult Fictoin" will affect all agencies using that value. I can see we're going to be spending a lot of time proofreading!

Feel free to ask us questions about the profile, and email is the best way to reach us this week, at dbendig@onlib.org or bdobreski@onlib.org.

Deb

EnvisionWare status

2007-04-09T17:49:00.000-05:00

The EnvisionWare Purchase Order for Central and OCPL branch libraries was generated by County Purchasing on 3/30/07. Last time I spoke to our Dynix rep (we're required to buy it from our current ILS vendor) she hadn't received it, but I assume they have by now.

We'll be putting together a project plan for this soon.

Deb

Receipt Printers

2007-04-09T17:16:00.000-05:00

We have a potential challenge. Polaris provides a list of receipt printers that their other customers have certified as working with its software. Some of the Epson receipt printers are on the list. We know that OCPL libraries mostly have Epson receipt printers of various ages and types, several of which are on the list of compatible printers. However, not all of the Polaris customers are using the Microsoft server environment with terminal servers (which we plan to do in many if not all of our sites). And, the definition of "working" may be subject to interpretation.

Polaris works through the receipt printer drivers (in the MS Windows environment) to print the different types of slips used by libraries. There are Epson receipt printer drivers available; in fact, Liverpool Public is using those in their current environment. They had a consultant tweak the Printer Control Language between the AnzioWin terminal emulator and the receipt printer to allow them to print graphics and large print. However, and confirmed by Epson technical support, these drivers will not work in the terminal server environment, requiring the use of generic printer drivers. With these, Polaris can generate printed text, but not do large print or graphics, and more importantly, cannot trigger the autocut feature of these receipt printers.

One of our consultants from Visory Group suggested a program called Simplify Printing, from triCerat, which promise that it "overcomes common Terminal Server print problems so your end users can print from any application to any printer, using any print settings." However, I just got the news that Polaris technical staff has looked into this and it still doesn't help with Epson receipt printers. (And thanks to them for looking into this, by the way.)

We have money in our bond to buy some complete workstations for all of our agencies, and plan with that purchase to buy receipt printers that do work in this environment (Polaris recommends the Star receipt printers). But that will still leave us with the pool of existing receipt printers.

We'll look into options for maximizing the use of the new receipt printers, and for making the best use of the Epson printers before we decide all of the receipt printers need to be replaced before we go live. After all, they will print text as they currently do; they just won't autocut or take advantage of the Polaris designs incorporating large print for headers.

More when we find/figure out more.
Deb

Site vist - what a week!

2007-03-30T12:07:00.000-05:00

Just a quick posting to let you know that I'll talk about the site visit in more detail over the next week or two, but wow - details galore! Our implementation manager worked hard with us all week to make sure we understood the huge number of profiling options of the Polaris Library System and the implications of each. She also graciously met with staff in several areas as noted in my previous posting, and we took her to tour the Beauchamp and Betts city branches, and the East Syracuse Free Library and Dewitt Community Library. Our focus on those trips was looking at collections and how they translate to the individual library collection codes.

We also received a glossary of Polaris terminology which we'll be mapping to Dynix terms for everyone's convenience. One major difference is that Polaris doesn't use a generic term like "agency" for individual locations, but refers to them as branches - branches of the individual libraries. Think of this as a 3-layer model: System Level, Library level, and Branches level. Each library has at least one branch - themselves if nothing else. NOPL will be the entity at the library level, and it's 3 branches (Brewerton, Cicero and North Syracuse) will be it's branches. For a single location library such as Dewitt, Dewitt will exist at both the library level and the branch level. Settings can cascade downward from both the system level and the library level, as well as be set at the "branch" (a.k.a., agency) level, depending on what the parameter is - some can only be set at the system level, library level, or branch level.

So, when you hear us talking about branches when we're talking about Polaris, think "agencies."

More later...Deb

Polaris Site Visit to OCPL March 19-23

2007-03-17T15:26:00.000-05:00

The week of March 19th is when our Polaris Implementation Manager is coming to OCPL for a site visit. The main focus of the Site Visit is to complete the Implementation Profiles and prepare the library for moving to Polaris. The agenda our Polaris Implementation Manager provided includes:

Introductions: Role of Project Manager and Library System Administrator
Polaris Implementation & Support Overview
Contract Overview
Implementation Planning & Schedule

Review Project Milestones
Training Overview & Documentation
Review Activities & Responsibilities

Tour of Libraries
Work on Polaris Implementation Profile
System Architecture: Data Migration

Discuss Data, Tables, Indices, Enrichments

Implementation Issues – Dynix to Polaris

Current Cataloging Practices – GAP discussion
Interim Cataloging Workflow
Authority Control, Z39.50

Implementation – Training Program
GAP discussion: Offline Information
Review Current Procedures & Workflow

Library Policies, Overdues, Holds/Reserves, ILL

Polaris Staff Client System Administration Review
Responsibilities, Weekly Call and Communication
-------------------------------------------------

I have asked Barb G. to give us a tour of Betts, as I'm taking the Implementation Manager to the Training Committee Meeting there Wednesday afternoon to discuss training with the committee. In addition, I've set up meetings with Liz Loftus, Peg Elliott re: databases, Jane K. re: acquisitions, Shanti Shoemaker re: serials, Betsy Burton re: ILL, and Katie Whitney will be giving us a tour of Central, including the Service Center. I've invited Liverpool catalogers to participate in the discussions about cataloging. Gary Sanford and Peter Pfeiffer will participate during appropriate parts of the agenda, and Michele Rogers will be involved in most of it, as she's one of the experts on our current profile and Dynix system setup.

I'm also going to try to set up tours of a couple of the suburban libraries, plus probably another branch.

Good news is that our new Librarian I, Brian Dobreski, formerly from Fayetteville (sorry, Sue!), starts on Monday. He's taking on many of the responsibilities Paul Morrell had, although no one could replace Paul, of course.

Please bear with the Automation/Technical Services department this week as we'll be a little busy and distracted. 8^)

Thanks for your patience!
Deb

Polaris EnvisionWare free Webinar

2007-03-17T14:51:00.000-05:00

For those of you viewing the Polaris Customer Exranet (see upcoming memo on how to access), you'll see various Webinar training sessions and classes. Since we're going to implement EnvisionWare, I listened in on the one last week to discover whether it would be useful as a training tool.

I had already asked staff at Polaris about this EnvisionWare; they responded that they thought it wouldn't have enough content to be useful for training. My experience was that it might be useful for planning the implementation and for hearing about the settable parameters, but not so much for the people who will deal with it with patrons. Most participants were in the same state we are - planning or thinking of implementing, but not there yet.

For those of you interested in seeing how EnvisionWare works in general, EnvisionWare has some presentations available at http://www.envisionware.com/trol-tv which might be useful. And of course their site also has some information describing their products. We're getting the PC Management tool with the Print Management tool.

There is also an EnvisionWare listserv with traffic mostly but not exclusively about settings. See http://listarchives.envisionware.com/ew-list-options.php.

By the way, there will be EnvisionWare training for the OCPL staff - these are just a couple of options (or not) that you can consider in advance of the training we provide.

Deb

P.S. The St. Patrick's Day parade was fun. Of course, I viewed it from inside, although many were on the sidewalks in the snow and cold. After the 2nd bagpipe band went by I did wonder if one of the bands included a library trustee from Fairmount...one I know is a bagpipe player.

dlb

Catching up – status report on WebFeat and EnvisionWare

2007-03-17T10:43:00.000-05:00

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, so I’m in catch-up mode here as I listen to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade preparations on S. Salina St. in downtown Syracuse.

Here’s the current status of the WebFeat and EnvisionWare projects:

WebFeat (federated search engine for our system-wide databases, and to be hooked into our Visual Search tool for the catalog, a.k.a. AquaBrowser interface) – the requisition for the annual subscription to this hosted service is over at County Purchasing, and we’ve applied for a “No Hassle” Trial so we can get set up without waiting for the P.O. to be cut.

We’re planning to start by setting up the WebFeat page with the New York State NOVEL databases plus probably NewsBank, as these are the databases that are the most similar to each other in terms of searching structures. After that’s set up and working, we’ll get WebFeat and TLC to connect our WebFeat federated searching into our AquaBrowser interface, thus providing a single visual search capability for our users that will include our shared OCPL catalog, various local government and non-profit educational and cultural heritage web sites, plus the databases.

We know that the Polaris Library System also includes a federated search function, but not much more about it as yet. However, I’ve suggested that Polaris consider working with TLC on connecting the Polaris federated search function to AquaBrowser…it would be preferable to use only one federated search tool in the long term.

Schedule? We're working on Internet time and moving fast. I've committed to a demo to the CLRC Automation Committee on April 16th...

EnvisionWare (a public PC and print management tool) - the requisition for this hosted software is over at County Purchasing. The bond covers the cost of having it at the OCPL Central Library plus the city branches, and we’re allowed to add interested suburban libraries to our order at an add-on cost to them, rather the suburban libraries having to bear standalone institution costs, so we’ve asked for interested OCPL suburban libraries to contact us.

We hope to have EnvisionWare up and running at Central and in the branches before the summer reading programs hit. Once we know which suburban libraries are interested, we'll add them to the implementation schedule. (Note the word “hoping” though – this will depend on County Purchasing getting the P.O. out fairly soon. I can’t believe it’s already mid-March! Yikes!)

(A general disclaimer: my communications often contain exclamation points - I hope it's not too distracting, but I need a way to let my excitement show. And I'm a Libra, so require parenthetical statements to explain the things that are not quite black and white.)

Off to take look at the parade...Deb

Jan 25: OCPL signs with Polaris Library Systems

2007-02-26T17:11:00.000-05:00

Here's the press release about the contract signing:

February 2, 2007 — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From: Katy Benson, OCPL Community Relations, (315) 435-1834, kabenson@onlib.org

Kathryn Miller, PR, Polaris Library Systems, (315) 634-4547,
Kathryn.Miller@polarislibrary.com

County signs the dotted line for new integrated library system

SYRACUSE — Executives representing the Onondaga County Public Library board, the county, and Polaris Library Systems signed a $199,000 contract on January 25 for a new integrated library system. The ILS includes the online catalog for public access, as well as functionality that enables staff to catalog, circulate and purchase library materials.

Polaris Library Systems is based in Liverpool, N.Y. The system is scheduled to be operational by October 2007.

The new ILS is a patron-centered product, said Deborah Bendig, OCPL systems librarian. Features include catalog enrichment with book jacket images and tables of contents; automatic patron-defined searches, with results delivered to patrons by e-mail; and multilingual interfaces in several languages.

The ILS will also enable library staff to work more efficiently and track materials and usage more effectively. It will allow for a rich reporting capability, automated phone notifications of reserved items, and the ability to offer virtual branch options such as self-registration and online fines payment. For catalog maintenance, global search-and-replace capabilities will make catalog updating easier.

Polaris Library Systems provides automation solutions to libraries throughout the United States. However, most of its employees live and work in Onondaga County, said Bill Schickling, president and CEO of Polaris Library Systems. “This is a wonderful opportunity for us to provide services and solutions that directly benefit our local communities.”

---END---

PHOTO CAPTION:

Onondaga County Executive Nicholas J. Pirro and Polaris Library Systems President Bill Schickling sign the contract for a new integrated library system for Onondaga County Public Library. In the background, from left to right, are Kellie Conner, Polaris customer support manager; Deborah Bendig, OCPL systems librarian; and Polaris COO Anita Wagner.

ADDITIONAL MEDIA CONTACTS:

Deborah Bendig, OCPL Systems Librarian, (315) 435-1843, dbendig@onlib.org

Susan J. Tormey, Executive Communications Director, Onondaga County Executive’s

Office, (314) 435-3516, susantormey@ongov.net

Deb

The adventure begins! (or continues, really)

2007-02-26T16:41:00.000-05:00

Hi!

This is the beginning of the blog in which I'll be recording the progress of our implementation of various library systems over this year. These are scheduled to include:

WebFeat federated search engine, which will allow our users to search the library catalog, local not-for-profit educational and cultural heritage websites, plus the databases the library system subscribes to at one time, using our visual search tool - AquaBrowser software from TLC.
Microsoft Exchange Server (for email), replacing a dying SquirrelMail email service
Microsoft SharePoint, to allow us to create an intranet/extranet for staff and member library use.
Replacing the remaining "green screen" terminals with PC workstations in anticipation of migrating to our new integrated library system
Implementing a PC reservation system for public PCs
And of course, implementing the Polaris Library Systems' Polaris Integrated Library System, targeted October 2007.

Whew!

It may sound like a lot, but I know our staff are up to the challenge.

Deb

Deborah L. Bendig
Systems Librarian
Onondaga County Public Library System

The Galleries of Syracuse
447 South Salina Street
Syracuse, NY 13202-2494
Phone: 315-435-1843
Email: dbendig@onlib.org
Website: http://www.onlib.org