LINK 2.0 Koha

News Summary for 4/30/2012 through 5/11/2012

News

For the most current news, see the ILS Support Main page.

• 5/11/12 Read about the 4.12 upgrade on LINK2.0Koha.
• 5/11/12 The May ILS Committee minutes are now available online.
• 5/9/12 We now have a toll-free number for the ILS Help Desk (855) 545-7435. We do ask that if you are local, please continue to use our local phone number to dial the ILS Help Desk (608) 242-4720.
• 5/9/12 We are looking for Koha testers using the Koha sandbox. (See "The sandboxes" under the Testing column.) Testing should by completed by May 18. Follow the directions on the Koha Testing page.
• 5/4/12 The new home for Koha Development information is the Koha Migration page. This page will eventually be renamed Koha Development. On this page, you will find the 2012 Development plans and other documents pertaining to development.
• 5/3/12 Since the sandboxes have been unavailable this week, we have extended the trial of Syndetics enhanced features to Sunday, May 13. We will begin the trial of Library Thing features on Monday, May 14.

News Summary for 4/23/2012 through 4/27/2012

News

For the most current news, see the ILS Support Main page.

• 4/27/12 The monthly batch delete of withdrawn items was done today. 13,353 items were deleted, along with 1228 bib records (when the last item on the bib was deleted).
• 4/26/12 The Linking I: Searching and Matching Webinar is now available online.
• 4/25/12 The auto-calculation for the Expiration date when adding new patron records has been fixed. Please read the blog post for more details.
• 4/24/12 We are conducting a trial of additional Syndetic Solutions features from April 24 through May 6. To find out how to participate, go the the PAC Support page and scroll down to the Enhanced Content Trials section.
• 4/24/12 The minutes from the April Circulation Services Subcommittee have been posted online.
• 4/24/12 Reminder to check all items for damage and missing parts: a Circulation Best Practices blog post.

4.10 Problem Log

04/25/2012 Fixed: 02-15-2012 Update: this is also true if you are creating a new patron record using the "Copy Patron" option and manually change the expiry date. You have to save the new record first, then go back into it and manually change it again. 02-07-2012 New Problem: Expiration Date for new patron records-auto-calc is broken. The auto-calculation for the Expiration date does not work when you add new patrons. You can manually enter an expiration date and it will be saved/retained when you save the patron record. The date must be entered in the format xx/xx/xxxx. (SCLS Support ticket 41777) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)

News Summary for 4/2/2012 through 4/20/2012

News

For the most current news, see the ILS Support Main page.

• 4/16/12 A change to the Refund Charges screen now provides separate Refund buttons for each refund amount a patron may have on their record. Please read the blog for more detailed information.
• 4/13/12 The ILS Committee Minutes from the April 4th meeting are available online.
• 4/13/12 New release notes for fixes applied to Koha since the 4.10 upgrade have been posted. Most of the fixes listed in this document were announced separately, but now they are all compiled into one document.
• 4/10/12 The registration for the Linking 1 Webinar scheduled for April 26th at 9 am is now open. You can register online here.
• 4/6/12 A new workflow for printing the Holds Queue report (aka pick list) in Firefox is posted on the Circulation workflow page.
• 4/3/12 The Baker & Taylor Content Cafe trial is ready for testing. Please see the PAC page of this web site under "Enhanced Content Trials" for instructions on participating in the evaluation.
• 4/2/12 We now have Baker & Taylor Content Cafe features in the sandbox PAC. This is the beginning of a two week trial. We have test documents ready to go, but we are waiting for one bit of information from B&T first. In the mean time, you can see the features by searching a title in the sandbox PAC and clicking on the " Enhanced Content:Content Cafe" link from the full title screen. The images are also from Content Cafe.
• 4/2/12 The minutes from the March PACC Subcommittee Meeting are now available online.
• 4/2/12 13,680 withdrawn items were deleted on Friday, March 30. The next monthly delete of withdrawn items will be Friday, April 27.

4.10 Problem Log

• 04/17/2012 New: Problem changing several items to Trace status on Holds Queue report: Libraries have reported that if they are marking more than two items to Trace on their Holds Queue report, some of the status changes will not succeed and they have to go back and re-set the items to Trace. This has been reported to LibLime. Here are optional ways to set items to Trace on the HQ report:
  • Change only two items at a time. Confirm the number of items on the report has been reduced by two.
  • If you change more than two, confirm the number of items on the report has been reduced by the number you attempted to change. If all items were not removed from the report, refresh your screen, re-set the (remaining) items to Trace and submit the report again. Confirm the numbers again.
  We don't know if the size of the report or other activity on the report (at the same time) has anything to do with the problem. We are unable to duplicate this in the Sandbox. (04/18/2012) (SCLS Support Ticket 42102) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 04/11/2012 Fixed: Not for loan status: As of today, April 11, when you check in an item with a "Not for loan" status of On Order ACQ, On Order Non-ACQ, Received ACQ, In Processing, or Current Issue/NO CKO the status will clear upon checkin.  04/04/2012 New problem: The "Not for Loan" status does not clear upon checkin. This means that when you check in items with an In Processing or On Order status, the status does not revert back to "Available," instead it stays on In Processing or On Order. To process new items, you will have to first clear the status, and then check the item in to trap holds. You can clear the status using the Batch Edit Items tool. This problem has been reported to LibLime (4/4/12) (SCLS Support Ticket 42035) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 04/04/2012 Update: Some patrons receive Internal Server Error when placing holds: LibLime delivered a patch last night that should fix this problem. New problem: Some patrons are receiving an Internel Server Error when they try to place holds from home. This has happened in the past and was fixed by LibLime but it is now a problem again. The same patrons who had problems before are having problems now. It has been reported to LibLime. (4/3/2012) (SCLS Support Ticket 42029) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 04/03/2012 Update: Sort arrows in list of checked out items: Some patrons do not have sort arrows in their list of checked out items in their patron account in the PAC. Also, the most recently checked out items appear by default at the top of the list rather than the bottom of the list. We have found that if the patron has at least one active hold, then the list is sortable. But if all holds are suspended, then the list is not sortable. Also, patrons who do not have any hold do not have sort arrows in their list of checked out items. (7/6/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40448) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)

News Summary for 3/19/2012 through 3/30/2012

News

For the most current news, see the ILS Support Main page.

• 3/28/12 The minutes from the March ILS Committee Meeting are now available online.
• 3/26/12 The minutes from the March CMC Subcommittee Meeting are now posted online.
• 3/26/12 The minutes from the March CSC Subcommittee Meeting are now posted online.
• 3/19/12 Reports from the Spring 2012 ILS Users Group have been posted on the ILS Users Group Training page.
• 3/12/12 Three Koha searching webinars are now posted. See the LINK 2.0 Koha blog post for details.

4.10 PROBLEM LOG

• 03/23/2012: New Problem: Adding Manual Invoices: If you are adding a Manual Invoice to explain a payment for a Lost Item, do not use Type = Lost Item and do not enter the item barcode. Adding a Lost Item/Manual Invoice(with item barcode) to a patron record subsequent to payment for that Lost item will prevent a Refund being generated for that Lost and Paid item if it is returned. Only create a Lost Item/Manual Invoice when the patron is not otherwise charged for a lost item. (3/23/2012) (SCLS Support ticket 41937) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 03-22-2012: New Problem: Sorting Reading History by Title: If a patron has more than 50 titles in the Reading History, then the patron cannot view the entire list sorted by title. They can only view the entire list sorted by date. (3/22/2012) (SCLS Support Ticket 41952) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 03-19-2012: New Problem: Refunded Overdues: If patrons pay overdue fines and then the overdue items are checked in using a back-dated check in, the system will "refund" the overdue payments. Initially it was thought that this was the remainder of items checked out under the CircControl bug that was fixed in the 4.10 upgrade but recents tests show that it is a result of back-dating. Admin and Liblime staff run weekly reports to clear these refunds. This problem has been reported to LibLime and appended to SCLS Support ticket 40697 (3/19/2012) (SCLS Support ticket 40697) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)

News Summary: 4.10 Problem Logs and Fixes

4.10 PROBLEM LOG

• 03-19-2012: New Problem: Refunded Overdues: If patrons pay overdue fines and then the overdue items are checked in using a back-dated check in, the system will "refund" the overdue payments. Initially it thought this was the remainder of items checked out under the CircControl bug that was fixed in the 4.10 upgrade but recents tests show that it is a result of back-dating. Admin and Liblime staff run weekly reports to clear these refunds. This problem has been reported to LibLime and appended to SCLS Support ticket 40697 (3/19/2012) (SCLS Support ticket 40697)(Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 03-09-2012: New Problem: Problems with Author search: The Author search in the drop-down box on the main page of the PAC is searching title fields as well as author fields. this is more of a problem when searching for a "corporate author," such as a band name. The Author search in the Advanced search in the PAC is fine, but the Author search in the Advanced search of the staff client is also searching additional title fields. This problem has been reported to LibLime. (SCLS Support Ticket 41891) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 03-07-2012 Update: Patrons incorrectly blocked from placing holds while in library: Patrons are also incorrectly blocked if one item on the bib was checked out at the library and another item on the bib is in transit to the library; 02-10-2012 New Problem: If there are at least two items from a library and one is Checked out and one is Waiting on the hold shelf, the patrons are being blocked from placing holds on the bib if they are in that library. They get a message that they cannot place holds on available items while inside the library, even though one item is checked out and one is on the hold shelf. This has been reported to LibLime. (SCLS Support Ticket 41788) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 02-22-2012 Fixed: 02-15-2012 New Problem: Some patrons receive error when placing holds: Some patrons are receiving a "500 Internal Server Error" when they attempt to place holds from outside of the library. These patrons can place holds from inside the library. Please continue to report this problem on the Problems and Questions form. Please include the patron barcode, PIN, exact text of error message, and time and date the error message was received. This problem has been reported to LibLime. (SCLS Suport Ticket 41792) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 02-15-2012 Update: this is also true if you are creating a new patron record using the "Copy Patron" option and manually change the expiry date. You have to save the new record first, then go back into it and manually change it again. 02-07-2012 New Problem: Expiration Date for new patron records-auto-calc is broken. The auto-calculation for the Expiration date does not work when you add new patrons. You can manually enter an expiration date and it will be saved/retained when you save the patron record. The date must be entered in the format xx/xx/xxxx. (SCLS Support ticket 41777) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 02-14-2012 New Problem: Patrons able to check out over 100 max limit: there is a bug in the system that allows patrons to check out over the max. cko limit for their patron category if they check out at different locations. Staff do not get the pop-up message informing them that the patron has reached the max. limit. (SCLS Support ticket 41372) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 02-13-2012 New Problem: Edit holds screen display for holds placed on multiple bibs: If you are placing holds on multiple bib records for a patron, you will get a "no holds found" screen display after you confirm the holds. The system is using the Edit holds screen to try and display the results of the holds placed but, since the holds were placed on multiple bib records, the display fails. That results screen looks like it was designed to display the holds for a single bib record. The holds on multiple bibs do succeed, but this situation should have the return go to the patron's holds list instead of the bib record's holds list. (SCLS Support ticket 41791) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 02-13-2012 New Problem: Patron searches on Circulation Checkout screen: failed patron searches (zero results) on the Circulation Checkouts screen no longer produces the message "No results found". If you get a partial results list searching from this page, you will get a New (patron) button. Clicking this button after selecting a patron category will redirect you to a "Patrons/Add xxx patron" screen. We have requested that a failed patron search (zero results) from the Circualtion Checkout screen produces the "No results found" message. In the meantime search for patrons from the Patron screen for the most effective response and results. (SCLS Support ticket 41789) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 02-10-2012 Fixed. 02-07-2012 New Problem: Pass function does not work on holds queue report: the ability to pass a single item, or pass all items does not work on the holds queue report. This has been reported to LibLime (2/7/2012) (SCLS Support Ticket 41779) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 02-10-2012 Fixed. 02-07-2012 New Problem: Problem with Transfer function: Staff reported a problem with using the Transfer function in Circulation to change the Current Library for pool materials to be transferred to a new library location. Please use the applicable portion of the BOCC guidelines for transferring shared materials from one library to another. (SCLS Support Ticket 41775) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 02-07-2012 New Problem: Wrong call number on holds queue report: when an item is passed by a library and it shows up on the holds queue report for the next library, it is printing the call number of the previous item on the report instead of the new library's item. (Look for two libraries in the Passed to column as a clue.) We have reported this to LibLime (SCLS Support Ticket 41778) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)
• 02-07-2012 New Problem: Problem with Edit Holds button: staff report problems accessing the list of holds on a bib record using the Edit holds button on the Item Detail screen.  If you are experiencing this problem, please clear the cache on your staff workstation(s).  In the Firefox toolbar, click Tools then select Clear Recent History.  Un-check all boxes except the Cache, then click Clear now.  Try replicating the problem with the same titles/barcodes.
  If you continue to have this problem after clearing your cache, please close all applications on your PC and do a complete shutdown.  Wait 20-30 seconds and then start up your PC.  After logging back into Koha, try to replicate the problem with the same title/barcodes.  If you continue to have this problem please report it on the Koha Problems and Comments and include the title and/or barcode(s). (SCLS Support ticket 41774) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet/4.10)

FIXED IN 4.10 UPGRADE

• Provide an option to prevent patrons from receiving hold notices in any format. Currently, patrons can't opt out of notices. (6/22/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40356) (Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
• Not receiving hold confirmation when placing holds in PAC: If patrons begin placing a hold before logging in, they are prompted to log in. However, after logging in they are brought to their list of checked out items instead of receiving a confirmation for the hold, and the hold is not actually placed. To avoid the problem, patrons can log in before starting the place hold process. This problem has been reported to LibLime. (2/8/2012) (SCLS Support Ticket 41782) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet) (Fixed 2/9/12)
• Cannot save changes to LEADER (7/8/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40467) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet) (Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
• Same bib displays multiple times in PAC search results list, while other bibs do not display at all. This is happening on some (but not all) sets of bib records for TV series where each disc is on a separate bib record. (8/10/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40684) (Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
• Error message when placing holds in PAC: Improve the error message that patrons get when placing a hold that is already on their hold list. Right now it says "Sorry, none of these items can be placed on hold" which is confusing. (5/26/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40104) (Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
• Placing holds on on order items in PAC: Patrons unable to place holds on on order items while in the library. (8/18/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40813) (Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
• Placing holds in staff client: You cannot place holds on titles with a large number of holds (e.g. Smokin' seventeen, The King's speech (DVD)) in the staff client. You can place holds on these titles in the PAC. Also, you cannot view the holds lists or change pickup locations for these titles. (4/25/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 39880) (Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
• At Checkout, if you see the pop-up message "Please Confirm Checkout - Item (title) checked out to Patron X. Check in and Check Out? Check out anyway?, click "No, Don't Check Out". Leave the Check Out screen, go to Check in and check the item in before proceeding with the check out to the current patron. There is a bug that is causing display problems in patron records when Lost and Claims Returned items are "checked in" at Check Out; the current patron information will display in the previous patron's Account screen. SCLS staff will run daily reports and submit them for data cleanup until the next upgrade. (1/19/2012) (SCLS Support ticket 41371) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet) (Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
• Clear Date button for the Override Check In Date Check in option is not clearing the date: If you select an Override check in date and check in some items, the system properly assigns the backdated date as the return date.  You can click the Clear Date button and the date is 'cleared' from the field but, unless you perform a check in transaction or click the "Submit" button with the date field cleared, the first backdate you 'selected' will return any/every time you go back to the Check In screen, regardless of which hyperlink you use. Libraries have also reported that sometimes they do not get the Clear Date button unless they click the "Submit" button or until after the first item is checked in. (12/12/2011) SCLS Support Ticket 41619) (Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
• CircControl bug: these previously reported problems are all part of a bug that is not using the checkout library's circulation rules:
  • Another Renewals and Fines problem: We've had one report of new fines-related problems when overdue items are renewed at a location other than the checkout location. The system credited the paid overdue fines on those items because the Circulation Rules were different at the renewal (check in) location. (9/7/2011) (SCLS Support ticket 40697)(Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
  • System is ignoring the Max. Accruable Fine per Issue setting: sporadic report of the system assessing a higher Max. Accruable Fine per Issue than what is in a library's Circulation Issuing Rules. (9/7/2011) (SCLS Support Ticket 40917)(Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
  • Grace period may be ignored when system assesses fines: older report from one library and a new report from another library prove that the system sometimes ignores the grace period in a circulation rule, other times it works correctly. (9/2/2011) (SCLS Support Ticket 40899)(Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
  • If a patron checks out an item at Library A and asks Library B to renew the item for them, if the item goes to overdue after the renewal, the system will charge overdue fines based on the renewal library(check in library) or owning library, not the checkout library. Overdues are applied based on the check in library's rules, not the check out library's rules. (8/11/2011) (SCLS Support Ticket 40697).(Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
• Provide the agency code on the holds checkin note when a transit hold is checked in. [Note, prior to the 4.8 upgrade, checking in the hold twice, did present the agency code]. (6/22/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40354)(Development delivered 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)
• There is a problem with check-in notes showing up for the following items that are checked in. We have reported this to LibLime. The temporary work-around is to select Keep Note. Click the Main circulation link and select Checkin again. Please do not discard the note. (4/20/11) (Problem/Medium) (SCLS Support Ticket 40272) (Fixed 2/7/12; 4.10 upgrade)

News Summary for1/23/2012 through 3/16/2012

News

Due to the length of this post, news and the problem logs are being split into two different posts.

For the most current news, see the ILS Support Main page.

• 3/12/12 Three Koha searching webinars are now posted. See the LINK 2.0 Koha blog post for details.
• 3/9/12 GetIt libraries will need to create a shortcut to PortableFirefox after the Firefox upgrades next week. Please read both the instructions on creating a PortableFirefox shortcut and the Technology News blog post on the Firefox upgrades.
• 3/9/12 GetIt will be upgraded starting at 6 am on Tuesday, March 13. Please see the Release Notes for details on the upgrade.
• 2/24/12 The minutes from the Circulation Services Subcommittee Meeting on February 14th are now online.
• 2/24/12 Libraries will begin printing their own notices on Monday, February 27th. Please view the blog post Printing Notices on the LINK 2.0 Koha blog. The workflow is available on the Circulation Workflows page.
• 2/23/12 The Koha Searching: Formats and Your Questions webinar is now posted online.
• 2/21/12 The monthly batch delete of withdrawn items will take place this Friday, Feb. 24. All items with a status of Withdrawn will be deleted.
• 2/21/12 The Troubleshooting patron holds in LINKcat document has been updated.
• 2/14/12 The Koha Searching: Problems and Koha Searching: Tips and Tricks webinar are now posted online.
• 2/14/12 New post on Changes in the procedure for placing multiple copy holds and new staff use of other libraries' materials policy.
• 2/10/12 New post on the LINK 2.0 Koha blog: Patrons can now opt out of hold notices. This bug fix was applied as part of the 4.10 upgrade this week.
• 2/10/12 The relevancy ranking enhancements were added to the system last night. The changes apply to the title keyword index only. See the Release notes for more details.
• 2/9/12 The problem with holds not being placed if patrons started placing a hold before logging in has been fixed.
• 2/6/12 The Koha staff module will be upgraded to 4.10 between 10pm and 1am tonight.  The PAC will be unavailable for no more than 15 minutes between 10:30pm and 12:30am tonight.  The ILS Help Desk will be available to take phone calls beginning at 7:30am tomorrow morning (608-242-4720). If you have not already done so, please look through the 4.10 Release notes:
  http://psw.scls.lib.wi.us/ils/manuals/Library%20release%20notes%204.10.pdf
• 2/6/12 27917 Withdrawn items were deleted this morning. 1375 bibs were also deleted when the last item on the bib was deleted. The next batch delete of Withdrawn items will take place on Feb. 24 (last Friday of the month).
• 2/1/12 Withdrawn items will be deleted on Feb. 6. See the LINK 2.0 Koha blog post for more details.
• 1/31/12 New blog post available about Printing Notices on the LINK 2.0 Koha blog. Libraries will begin printing their own notices on Monday, February 27th, 2012. The workflow is available on the Circulation Workflows page.
• 1/31/12 Ben Miller's (Sauk City director) online presentation of The Philosophy of Open Source presentation that he did at the ILS Users Group last fall is now available.
• 1/31/12 The Koha 4.10 Upgrade will take place on the evening of February 6, 2012 after libraries have closed. LINKcat may be down between 10:30pm and 12:30am (2/7) for a maximum time of 15 minutes only. We will update all of the public information areas. Staff will be unavailable between 10pm and 1am during the upgrade. ILS Staff will be available at 8am on February 7 to offer support for unexpected problems following the upgrade.
• 1/30/12 The Koha 4.10 Upgrade has been postponed until the evening of February 6, 2012. An email was sent to link-announce explaining the reasons.

News Summary for1/23/2012 through 1/27/2012

News

For the most current news, see the ILS Support Main page.

• 1/26/12 PACC Minutes from the January meeting are posted online.
• 1/26/12 CMC Minutes from the January meeting are posted online.
• 1/26/12 CSC Minutes from the January meeting are posted online.
• 1/26/12 The 4.10 Koha Release notes have been posted. The upgrade is still planned for the evening of January 30, for library use on January 31.
• 1/25/12 The 2011 State Annual Reports memo has been posted to the Reports page.
• 1/24/12 We have started a FAQ with frequently asked questions about the annual reports (and other reports).  It can be found on the Reports page of the ILS Web site.  We will continue to update it as new questions come in. http://www.scls.info/ils/reports/faq.html
• 1/24/12 We have discovered that the printed "Annual Report of New Bibs" for Dynix is incorrect. We will re-run the reports with the correct information and send them out to you.

New Problems Identified

We have received reports of patrons with multiple holds on the same bib. We have not been able to replicate this problem, but we have reported it to LibLime. Please report instances of this on the Problems and Questions form. (1/24/2012) (SCLS Support Ticket 41643) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet)

 

 

 

News Summary for12/19/2011 through 1/20/2012

News

For the most current news, see the ILS Support Main page.

• 1/20/12 We are currently offering two sessions of the ILS Annual Report Webinar on February 2nd, 9 - 11:30 am or February 7th, 1 - 3:30 pm. The ILS annual report webinars will provide guidance on using your LINKcat year end reports to answer questions on your library's annual report. The webinars will cover Cataloging, Serials, and Circulation data. The Cataloging/Serials portion will be first and will take approximately an hour. Then we will take a 15 minute break. After the break, the Circulation part will begin and should also last approximately an hour. You may register online at:
  http://host.evanced.info/scls/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
• 1/20/12 The tentative upgrade date for Koha 4.10 is January 31. We will keep you posted.
• 1/19/12 A summary and analysis from the LINKcat patron survey have been posted on the PAC page. A separate message will be sent to those patrons who asked to be notified of results.
• 1/13/12 The Dynix print annual reports have been distributed via Delivery. Please watch for annual report workshop information in your email and on this page.
• 1/11/12 The December ILS Committee Minutes have been posted.
• 1/11/12 LINKcat survey: The unedited responses to the two free text questions from the survey have been posted on the PAC page. There are 2800+ responses to these two questions. We are still working on categorizing the responses. Survey results for the rest of the survey will be posted in the next couple of weeks.
• 1/11/12 The labels on the LINKcat login/password box have been changed to Login/Barcode and PIN/Password. This was done because patrons can use either their barcode (truncated barcodes will work) or their custom login (if they have requested one) to log in. They may only have one password, but it could be a password that they created in Koha, or the PIN that migrated from Dynix.
• 1/10/12 Annual report update:
  • The Koha annual reports are being generated.
  • We will distribute the Dynix pring annual reports within a day or two (due to illness this has been delayed)
  • We are working on the state annual report memo and will schedule workshops to assist you with using Dynix and Koha to complete the report.
• 1/10/12 We are working to transition libraries over to printing their own notices beginning February 27, 2012.  We are looking for a few libraries to help pilot test printing notices.  Please let Vicki Teal Lovely know if you would like your library to participate in the pilot. 
• 1/4/12 The "Total Checkouts" and "Total Renewals" fields on each item were reset for 2012. These fields reflect 2012 activity, or "current use." 2011 use counts (both checkouts and renewals) were added to the use counts that migrated from Dynix. Total past use is in each item record in the "Z - Dynix Past and Current Use" field. This field will be renamed to "Z - Dynix and Koha Past Use" by the end of this week.
• 1/3/12 The minutes from the Resource Sharing Work Group November 17, 2011 meeting are available online.
• 12/30/11 In preparation for the upcoming 4.10 Koha upgrade, we encourage everyone to become familiar with the new Holds Management Software. You will find documentation to walk you through the new feature on the Training page under Testing/Holds management in Koha. You can try it out now in the sandbox.
• 12/23/11 Items with a status of Withdrawn were deleted yesterday. Items that were also checked out were not deleted.
• 12/22/11 The ILS Help Desk will not be available on Monday, December 26. Notices from 12/24 through 12/26 will be printed on 12/26 and put into deliver on 12/27.
• 12/22/11 Announcement regarding 4.10 upgrade.
• 12/21/11 General testing in the 4.9 sandbox is complete.
• 12/21/11 We have turned on patron images in the sandbox. Take a look at patron "Danny Dynix." We are just trying it out at this point--you can too. Before we implement this in Production, we would need to set guidelines and make sure that loading images does not affect response time, etc.
• 12/20/11 This is a reminder that there is another scheduled Amazon down-time for maintenance this evening between 10pm and 4am. We are working with LibLime to minimize problems as a result of this downtime. We updated LINKcat, Facebook and Twitter to inform as many patrons as possible.
• 12/19/11 Please check the Recently Added section of the Known Problems page for updates on several problems that have occured since the Amazon server maintenance on 12/12/11.

Recently Fixed

• Odd display problems: Sometimes Koha displays with the wrong font or with icons out of place. This has occurred since the system maintenance overnight on 12/12 and has been reported to LibLime. The problem occurs in both the staff client and the PAC. Refreshing the screen or clicking on a link to get to another page usually clears the display problems. (12/16/2011) (SCLS Support 41637) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet) (Fixed 12/20/11)

New Problems Identified

• We have received reports of patrons with multiple holds on the same bib. We have not been able to replicate this problem, but we have reported it to LibLime. Please report instances of this on the Problems and Questions form. (1/24/2012) (SCLS Support Ticket 41643) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet)
• At Checkout, if you see the pop-up message "Please Confirm Checkout - Item (title) checked out to Patron X. Check in and Check Out? Check out anyway?, click "No, Don't Check Out". Leave the Check Out screen, go to Check in and check the item in before proceeding with the check out to the current patron. There is a bug that is causing display problems in patron records when Lost and Claims Returned items are "checked in" at Check Out; the current patron information will display in the previous patron's Account screen. SCLS staff will run daily reports and submit them for data cleanup until the next upgrade. (1/19/2012) (SCLS Support ticket 41371) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet) (Fixed in 4.9)

News summary: weeks of 11/28/2011, 12/5/2011 and 12/12/2011

News

• 12/19/11 Please check the Recently Added section of the Known Problems page for updates on several problems that have occured since the Amazon server maintenance on 12/12/11.
• 12/16/11 Items with a status of Withdrawn will be deleted on 12/22/11. See the blog post for details.
• 12/13/11 The Purchase Alert reports have been reworked and changes have been made based on the feedback from the earlier reports.  (Thanks Greg!)  The new reports are split out by agency with the holds in one column and the number of copies in the next.  The reports are current as of 12/07.  Please take a look and let us know what you think of the new reports. These will go into production soon. http://www.scls.info/ils/reports/Purchase/12-07-2011/
• 12/8/2011 Read the Annual Reports blog post for all the details on how this will work on Koha.
• 11/29/2011 LibLime is applying a fix to Koha tonight. It should resolve the problems with drop-box checkin and may address some issues with Lost and Damaged items and the Holds Queue Report. We will provide more details tomorrow.
• 11/29/2011 We have created a check-list for staff to test and try out the new holds management feature in the Koha sandbox. Before proceeding, it may be helpful to read the document called Holds Management in Koha which can be found on the Training page under Testing.

Recently Fixed

• New items/bibs not searchable: New items and bib records that have been added since 12/13 (after the server work overnight on 12/12) are still not searchable as of today. (12/15/2011) (SCLS Support Ticket 41630) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet) (Fixed 12/16/2011)
• Dropbox checkin and the Override check in date options are fixed: Items checked in using the Dropbox option credited one day of overdue fines and recorded the return date as yesterday.  Items checked in using the Override option credited overdues and recorded the return date based on the date set.  The system retained both options throughout the process.  IMPORTANT: You must uncheck the Dropbox option to get out of it and you must use the Clear screen button to remove the setting for the Override option.  Just leaving that screen will not 'turn off' those check in options.  If you are still having problems or notice that fines are not being credited correctly, please submit a Koha Problems and Questions form. (Fixed 12/1/2011)
• Subject searching: "Corporate names" are not included in the subject or subject as phrase searches in both the staff client and PAC. (A corporate name is a name that represents a group, not an individual. It can be a band name, such as "Red Hot Chili Peppers" or a corporate name, such as "General Electric Company.") You can still do a keyword search for corporate names. (10/31/2011) (SCLS Support ticket 41342) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet) (Fixed 11/30/2011)
• Damaged items appear on Holds Queue reports. (8/23/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 40836) (Fixed 11/30/2011)
• If an item appears on a Holds Queue report, and its status is later changed to a status in the Lost status category (Mending, AV Repair, etc.), the item does not automatically drop off the Holds Queue report. If there are other Available items to fill the hold, try Passing the item to remove it from the Holds Queue report. This includes items that are marked Trace from the item record. Items should be marked Trace from the Holds Queue report, not from the item record. (10/7/11) (SCLS Support Ticket 41024) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet) (Fixed 11/30/2011)

New Problems Identified

• "Not found" message when using Search to Hold: Sometimes when using the Search to Hold button from a patron's Check Out screen, after clicking the Search to Hold button, you get a mostly blank pop-up screen with the header Search to Hold" and the words "not found" in the body of the screen. This as a sporadic occurrence that can be "resolved by exiting the "Search to Holds" pop-up screen, refreshing the Check Out screen and retrying the Search to Hold button. It has been reported to LibLime (12/16/2011) (SCLS Support Ticket 41636) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet)
• Odd display problems: Sometimes Koha displays with the wrong font or with icons out of place. This has occurred since the system maintenance overnight on 12/12 and has been reported to LibLime. The problem occurs in both the staff client and the PAC. Refreshing the screen or clicking on a link to get to another page usually clears the display problems. (12/16/2011) (SCLS Support 41637) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet)
• Problems checking in items on the Holds Queue report: Since the Amazon maintenance occurred 12/12, various libraries have reported problems checking in items on the Holds Queue report. Staff pull up the report, click the Check in hyperlink for the item to fill a hold and they get a mostly white screen superimposed on the report with the header Check In Item and "not found" as the info on the screen. If you have a large report, you may have to scroll down to find this screen. This does not happen for very item.
  If this happens to you, close the Check in Item screen, and check in a different item and then go back to the 'problem' item. The second check-in of the 'problem' items usually succeeds. You can also try checking in from the checkin screen rather than the Holds Queue report.  (12/14/2011) (SCLS Support 41627) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet).
• Clear Date button for the Override Check In Date Check in option is not clearing the date: If you select an Override check in date and check in some items, the system properly assigns the backdated date as the return date.  You can click the Clear Date button and the date is 'cleared' from the field but, unless you perform a check in transaction or click the "Submit" button with the date field cleared, the first backdate you 'selected' will return any/every time you go back to the Check In screen, regardless of which hyperlink you use. Libraries have also reported that sometimes they do not get the Clear Date button unless they click the "Submit" button or until after the first item is checked in. (12/12/2011) SCLS Support Ticket 41619) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet)
• Problem with mis-matched hold pickup locations: On Friday, December 2 a post was made to the status wiki that staff should not shuffle holds on titles with a large number of holds. Several titles were reported as having an incorrect pickup location after a hold had been shuffled. It is OK to continue to shuffle holds (aka change the priority). However, it is important that you not interrupt the process as this may be what causes the corruption. When there are a large number of titles, it does take more time to process changes to the holds queue. Be sure that it is finished before clicking on something else on the screen, or trying it again. ILS Staff have checked over 100 titles that have more than 50 holds with pickup locations that do not match home agency and have only identified the 3 titles mentioned above. LibLime has cleaned up the pickup locations on these titles: Social Network (DVD), Thor (DVD) and The Adjustment Bureaud (DVD). There may have been some holds sent to the wrong library, so you may want to check to see if any of these are at your library and send them to the correct location. Please let us know if you find any other titles with large numbers of holds with mis-matched pickup locations via the Problems and Questions form. This problem should be completely resolved by the new holds management feature which will be available with the next upgrade. (12/8/2011) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet)

News summary, weeks of 11/7/2011, 11/14/2011 & 11/21/2011

This News blog post is both late and early. Normally we do this once a week, but this version includes the two past weeks (late) and this week's posts (early).

News

• 11/23/2011 You now have two notice options for your second overdue notice (aka "Bill). Read the details in the link2koha blog post.
• 11/23/2011 SCLS is closed on Friday, November 25. Notices for November 24 and November 25 will be printed and distributed on Saturday, November 26.
• 11/21/2011 We have started testing Koha release 4.9 in the sandbox. We have sent calls for testing in the various modules to the appropriate email groups.  Anyone using Koha may test as long as they are familiar with the functionality.  Please see the new Testing page for links to the testing checklists. If you do wish to join in the testing, we ask that you do checklists assigned to where your last name falls in the alphabet.  This will help assure that all areas get tested.  But, you can always do more!
• 11/15/2011 As a reminder, the patron PAC survey will end on Friday, November 18. We will then compile the results and share them with the PAC Committee and the libraries.
• 11/15/2011 Beginning on 11/21 we will be asking for library staff to participate in testing functionality in the Koha sandbox. We are preparing checklists to make this an easier process. This is in preparation for our upgrade to LibLime Koha 4.10.
• 11/8/2011 We received word today that our Last Patron development is in the sandbox, along with some bug fixes. We will get busy testing this right away. We will be recruiting people to test in the sandbox so that we can upgrade to release 4.10 as soon as possible.

New Problems Identified

• Not for loan status in serials subscription records: Like the "Suppress" field, it appears that the Not for loan field is defaulting to the top of the list for the Not for loan selections. You will have to alter this field every time you edit a subscription record, just like having to alter the Suppressed field from Suppress to Do Not Suppress with each entry. (11/16/2011) (SCLS Support Ticket 39941) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet)
• Display of authors: Authors that have a descriptive word in their authority record entry do not have a comma in between the author name and the word in the PAC (example Wilcox, David, vocalist). In the staff client, the author name and descriptive word does not have a space (Wilcox, Davidvocalist). (11/16/2011) (SCLS Support Ticket 41465) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet)
• Holds Queue report: Item level holds that are In transit are appearing on Holds Queue reports. This only happens when the item level hold is placed on the item after it has already gone into transit. (11/8/2011) (SCLS Support Ticket 41365) (Not on Koha Problems and Fixes spreadsheet)