SCLS Technology News

Thunderbird E-mail Software Upgrade coming your way

In the next couple of weeks, SCLS is preparing to upgrade the Thunderbird e-mail client from the current version (2.x) to the most recent Extended Release Support Version (10.0.4 ESR).

Here are some quick facts regarding the upgrade:

What is happening right now in terms of the process?

SCLS Staff have done considerable testing behind the scenes in preparation for this upgrade, first using the installations here at SCLS HQ.  A second round of pilot testing will occur at 3 libraries tonight (May 23).  Over the course of a week, we'll be checking in with the pilot libraries to see what issues, concerns and helpful hints they may offer before the upgrade is released to all participating SCLS-supported staff PCs.

What happens next?

If all goes well with the pilot, we plan on performing upgrades system-wide the week of June 4.  More details will be forthcoming when we get closer to that date.  Information will be sent via e-mail.

What has changed in this new version of Thunderbird?

If you'd like to get a sense of what's new and different with the newer version of Thunderbird, you can take a peek here (http://www.scls.info/technology/email/tb_whatsnew.html).

How often will SCLS upgrade Thunderbird?

Unlike our plans for upgrading Firefox, we will be using the Extended Release Support versions provided by Mozilla.  The changes to Thunderbird--even from version 2 to version 10--have been minimal.  Using the ERS version, along with any needed security updates along the way, will give us a good balance of regularly scheduled upgrades with the time needed for testing more business-critical software.

That said, the next slated ESR release will be version 17, released in late November, 2012.  Testing will commence some time soon after that.

I don't use Thunderbird for e-mail anymore. Do I need to be concerned about this?

If you are using e-mail provided by another support organization (your municipality, personal account, G-mail localized to your library, etc.), you do not need to be concerned with this software upgrade.  It only affects the daily users of Thunderbird.

 

If you have any other questions, comments or concerns, post them below, or send them on to Jon Mark directly.

 

SCLS Partnership Program

What is the Partnership Program?

Through the Partnership Program, library staff that have been designated by the library director will be able to make changes to SCLS-supported staff PCs (we hope to expand this to patron PCs in the future).   A complete description of the service can be found here:
http://www.scls.info/committees/tc/documents/PartnershipProgram.pdf

The program was introduced in December 2011, and 2 libraries have since participated in pilot testing.

What do I need to know?

SCLS has a webpage that details the steps to participate in the Partnership Program: http://www.scls.info/technology/partner/index.html.  

After the Library Director and interested participants review the information, the main steps are:

1. The Library Director will sign the Partnership Program Memorandum of Understanding and return it to SCLS.
2. The Library Director will indicate which staff members and which library PCs will participate in the Partnership Program.
3. A training session will be scheduled between new participants and SCLS staff.
4. Partnership Program user accounts will be distributed to participants.

If you think your library might be interested in the Partnership Program, please review all of the available documentation on the Partnership Program webpage.

How do I sign up to participate?

1. Review the documentation on the SCLS Partnership Program page and make sure it is a good fit for your library.
2. Print and sign the Memorandum of Understanding and send it to SCA: Attn Jon Mark.
3. Express your interest in the program by calling the Help Desk.
4. SCLS staff will contact you to schedule training when the appropriate systems are in place here at HQ.

What’s the timeline?

SCLS staff will work through the list of interested libraries as time permits over upcoming months.  Things will probably start slow and then pick up speed as we learn from our experiences and streamline the rollout process.

 

More Firefox fun: 10 to 12

Firefox 12 was released Tuesday, April 24. In upcoming weeks, we'll be testing and then upgrading Firefox on both staff and patron PCs to move from version 10 to version 12.

When will the upgrades occur?
When the dates for the rollouts are finalized, they'll be publicized on the LINK-announce and LINK-directors email lists, and the dates will be logged on the "SCLS Network PC Updates" page of the SCLS Status wiki.

Will we be upgrading Firefox on both staff and patron PCs?
Yes.

What should I do to prepare for the upgrades?

1. Always, always, always leave your SCLS-supported PCs on the SCLS network turned on at night! (Monitors and printers can be turned off, but the PCs themselves should be on.)
2. Watch for more info next week on the LINK-announce and LINK-directors email lists.  The subject line for emails related to these upgrades will include the words, "ALL STAFF".

PC Replacement Plans: Now more than Ever

As you may know, the SCLS Technology Team has made software updates on staff and patron PCs a priority and indeed, this year we've rolled out several major updates including Internet Explorer and Firefox. 

Recently, our monitoring software identified a handful of PCs that did not receive either of the browser updates pushed out from our central servers.  Upon investigation, we realized that the computers in question were quite out of date, in some cases over 10 years old.  The hardware couldn't handle the updates and naturally failed.  This is where a PC replacement plan could help a library with just such an issue.

What is a PC replacement plan?

A PC replacement plan is simply a budgetary tool that spreads the cost of buying new PCs for your library over a three - five year period.  SCLS recommends that you count the total number of PCs in your library and plan on replacing 20% of your PCs every year.  For example, if your library has 5 PCs, you should replace one every year.  If you have 20, then plan on replacing 4 on an annual basis, and so on.  Some libraries purchase new staff PCs on a three year replacement cycle while replacing their patron PCs every five years, in some cases with the replacement Staff PCs.

Is a PC Replacement Plan just an SCLS thing?

Far from it.  Take a look at the Edge Initiative: (http://www.libraryedge.org/)
13 major organizations--from ALA to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are working together to develop national benchmarks for technology services in Public Libraries.  In their Benchwork Framework Document (http://www.libraryedge.org/filebin/pdf/ULC_EDGE_Framework_032212.pdf), they specifically mention hardware (PC) replacement plans as a noted benchmark, necessary to the mission of providing patrons access to technology.

The End of Life for Windows XP makes this all the more important

In spring of 2014, Microsoft will officially stop supporting the Windows XP operating system.  That means no more security patches, bug fixes or updates will be issued.  As you know, SCLS has been working on a migration to Windows 7 this year and last, and will be rolling out staff and patron updates to the new 7 Operating System way before this deadline.  However, a PC that is more than 5 years old will not be able to run Windows 7.  The memory capacity and processing power needed to run the OS is not part of the older hardware.  Moreover, PCs purchased prior to 2007 most likely do not have a licence to run Windows 7.  When you purchase a PC through SCLS, the PCs come loaded with the latest Operating System installed.  We then reimage the PCs to our current standard.  If the PC was purchased after November of 2009, it will already have a Windows 7 license.  However, if it's older and even if it could run Windows 7, we can't legally load the OS on that PC without purchasing an additional copy of the OS.

How can I find out how old my PCs are?

SCLS has always maintained a Workstation Status Report Page (http://automation.scls.lib.wi.us/reports/pcstatus/) for member libraries.  There, you can find pre-formatted listings of your PCs, along with information such as OS, year purchased, RAM, etc.  These pages are manually generated on a regular basis and posted to the Web.

A new service SCLS is developing is real-time access to our PC database:

http://network.scls.local/

Here, you can log in and see more detailed information about your PCs. This is an experimental site, so it may change over time.  Contact Jon Mark for login information if you're interested in trying it out.

Broadband Blurb: Libraries, BadgerNet, SCLS and WiscNet

This article aims to clarify the state of broadband as it relates to member libraries and SCLS’ plans going forward.

Background: How a library gets Internet access from the SCLS network:
Currently, member libraries and SCLS are exclusively dependent upon BadgerNet and WiscNet for broadband services on the SCLS network.  Conceptually, if a library PC on the LINK (SCLS ) network needs Internet access, it communicates through the BadgerNet cloud and ends up at SCLS HQ.  From there, the communication gets shuttled to the Internet via WiscNet. 

A (very brief) Library Broadband History:
History gives a context of where we’ve been, what decisions were made and why and how the present is different than the past.

There was a time when BadgerNet and WiscNet were financially and organizationally secure entities that offered affordable, rock-solid services.  Both networks were stable, bandwidth was generally sufficient and response times and support services were consistently good. 

Fiber grant: Two years ago, WI applied for federal funds that would afford the state the ability to install fiber (high speed broadband) to every library.  The federal government granted WI these funds in early 2011.  The state reportedly declined the $23 million grant because of federal regulatory hurdles.

BadgerNet:  The BadgerNet contract (between the telcos and the state) was slated to be renewed in the summer of 2010 but it wasn’t signed until 18 months later.  Consequently, no subsidized bandwidth upgrades were available during this time even though there was clearly a business need for some member libraries.
 
SCLS was excited to learn in November of 2011 that the BadgerNet contract was renewed for 5 years and soon disappointed to learn that the new contract appears to be underfunded.  To date, TEACH has approved 53% of SCLS’ bandwidth increase requests.  (Note: Bandwidth requests were ranked based upon bandwidth utilization.  The good news is that libraries that had the greatest need based upon utilization have been approved for bandwidth upgrades by TEACH.)

WiscNet:  WiscNet serves as the ISP for the SCLS network.  The future of WiscNet is uncertain pending state legislative choices. 

SCLS: SCLS has taken a multifaceted approach to broadband-related issues.  We’ve consistently  made and revised network design plans based upon proposed state and federal broadband projects.  We’ve also been working on advocacy through communications with state agencies and legislators, testifying at hearings and board memberships.

Library Broadband Future:
This section emphasizes technology options only and the language is not very technical. 

SCLS and member libraries cannot necessarily expect that the state will continue to fund BadgerNet and WiscNet as well as it has in the past.  Consequently, SCLS is actively exploring decentralized alternatives to BadgerNet.  SCLS will also explore WiscNet alternatives should the need arise.  Alternatives could possibly give libraries and SCLS a degree of control and autonomy that we are losing or have lost.

However, control and autonomy have a price.  Other service providers may cost more or may be less service-responsive; network stability and response times offered by these third-party ISPs may be less than optimal, especially for self check and sorter libraries.  SCLS may need to manage scores of networks converging from multiple service providers at HQ instead of just one.  In the future, third-party ISPs may serve as either BadgerNet network replacements or supplements in some libraries, but service through these alternative providers may also be imperfect and come with some of the above-mentioned issues.

In the future, hard decisions may need to be made possibly on a per library basis.  Some questions to consider: Does a library want or need more bandwidth than BadgerNet can provide?  Can a library afford to purchase more bandwidth outside of BadgerNet?   Is a library willing to risk less network stability or poor provider service or a periodically slower network in the hopes of greater speed from a third party-ISP? 

SCLS is in the process of reconceptualizing the HQ network in order to accommodate the possibility of different connectivity options.  We have evaluated and purchased new network hardware for SCLS HQ.  Once it arrives, it will need to be configured and extensively tested before the ‘future is now’ and a nonBadgerNet option is an option.  Again, this should give all parties more choices…even if they are difficult ones.

For the time being, member libraries don’t need to ‘do’ anything with regard to rethinking your relationship to BadgerNet.  SCLS is preparing for alternatives while remaining cautiously optimistic that BadgerNet will expand its offering of bandwidth upgrades to more libraries.

Firefox: from 3 to 10

As you know, the Technology Team has finished the major Firefox update on all SCLS Network PCs, moving from version 3 to version 10.  Though the upgrade process was not without some challenges, all of the problems we faced helped us to understand how to make our next update (planning for Firefox 12) even better.

Here are a couple of things we learned:

Things go better when PCs are left on and logged off

We can't stress this enough:  when PCs are left on and logged off during any software update, the process goes much smoother for both SCLS and our member libraries.  As we attempt to rapidly increase the number of software programs installed on your staff and patron PCs, this becomes less of a recommendation and more of a requirement.  For every PC shut off or "locked," SCLS Staff has to reconfigure our software update scheduler.  The more PCs we can do in a given night means more time to upgrade other software products.

 

We think going from 10 to 12 will be even better

Many of the challenges faced were in the fundamental way Firefox handled printer configurations in version 3 when compared to version 10.  Since printer configurations and profiles are key to a successful Koha staff experience, getting this right was imperative.  Our initial testing is revealing that the changes experienced last time most likely do not apply going to 12.  We're hoping for a better transition next time around.

Add-ons will continue to break

Library staff love Firefox add-ons!  That much we did learn.  However, the sad fact is that third party add-ons just can't keep up with this rapid update schedule.  Every time we upgrade Firefox you should assume that one or more add-ons you have installed will not work until the developers fix their code to match the new Firefox.  It's unfortunate (and us here at SCLS HQ are suffering right along with you!) but hopefully new tools like HTML 5 will give developers other ways of enhancing the Firefox experience.

How did you feel about our last upgrade?  Leave your comments below or contact Jon Mark directly.

 

Crystal Reports Information

Recently, there's been a lot of talk about Crystal Reports, and possible plans for its use in generating "better" statistical reports from our Koha ILS. I wanted to take some time and try to clarify several issues surrounding Crystal Reports so that as we move forward, everyone has a better understanding as to the scope of this pilot project, and our plans for assessing its viability as a new service, if necessary.

 

• The Technology Committee helped shape the focus of this year's (2012) LSTA Technology Grant, devoting a partial amount of the grant toward the investigation of Crystal Reports software, a possible mechanism for generating statistical reports based on data stored in the Koha ILS.
• Crystal Reports (CR) shows promise as a tool to provide member library staff access to some statistical data stored in the Koha ILS, along with simple tools that can generate user-driven custom reports.  However, no one associated with the project is an expert so this remains an untested assumption.
• LSTA Grant funds will be used to purchase the Crystal Reports software, purchase any additional server hardware or software needed to host the CR instance, and hire a Crystal Reports consultant who will help install and setup an initial instance of CR.
• SCLS will provide the consultant with a list of desired reports for CR to generate.  However, the number of reports--and their relative complexity--will be determined based on available LSTA funds.
• If possible, the scope of the project will also include a set of statistical "building blocks" to be used by member library staff to generate custom reports at will.  SCLS will solicit input from member libraries to help determine which reports librarie wish to run themselves.
• LSTA Grant funds will also be used to create training opportunities for select SCLS staff members.
• After an initial trial period, there will be an assessment of Crystal Reports as a service, with input provided by both SCLS staff and member libraries.
• If the assessment by all parties results in a desire to continue using Crystal Reports, ongoing costs will be assessed and added to appropriate budget lines.
• Since LSTA were only recently approved and available, this project is still in its earliest phases.
• SCLS will use the Technology News Blog and reports from the Technology Committee cluster reps to keep stakeholders informed of any changes or progress.

If you have any additional comments, questions or concerns, contact Jon Mark directly or leave them here in the blog post comment section.

Update on Badgernet and Bandwidth

Here's a quick update on what's happening with BadgerNet and potential bandwidth increases at SCLS-supported libraries:

More Libraries approved for bandwidth increases

Earlier last month, TEACH contacted SCLS and informed them that an additional 14 sites have been approved for bandwidth increases.  This is great news, and we're really hoping that this may mean even more of our 54 requests will be approved later this year.

When will I get my bandwidth?

TEACH's approval is only the first in a multi-step process which involves a number of stakeholders, including the numerous private telcos which may be providing the bandwidth to the library.  Moreover, SCLS is continuing to work on a major hardware replacement and significant bandwidth increases here at SCLS HQ, both of which need to be in place before all approved libraries will experience an increase.  Here, roughly, is a list of how the process is working at this time:

1. TEACH approves the requested bandwidth increase or Badgernet line installation for a library.  So far around 25 sites (out of 54 requests) have been approved by TEACH.
2. TEACH contacts either a representative at the library or a member of the SCLS staff, informing them of the approved increase.  At this time, TEACH may or may not provide an anticipated date associated with the increase.
3. A representative from the associated telco may have to visit the library and perform a site survey.
4. The rep will then inform TEACH of any additional work that needs to be done, prior to the increase.
5. TEACH will contact SCLS with more information, if step 4 proves to be needed.  At this time, we have not had any libraries who need additional work so this step is more an assumption, rather than absolute fact.

In the meantime, SCLS has purchased a new, advanced head-end router, one that will not only be able to handle this traffic increase but can also manage multiple VPN traffic--technology necessary for us to use in cases where bandwidth increases are needed, but current Badgernet bandwidth is insufficient.  The equipment is on its way and we will be installing it as soon as it arrives.
The other component needed at SCLS HQ is the "lighting up" of our MUFN fiber connection.  In order not to incur significant cost increases, even temporarily, we will be using MUFN as our network carrier.  We've informed MUFN of our immediate need and they've been very accommodating.  However, we're only one of many stakeholders when it comes to MUFN and are also restricted by many other factors, including weather and ground conditions.

Some Libraries may experience a one-time cost for installation

For about 10 out of the 25 sites now approved for bandwidth increases, there might be a one time cost associated with the bandwidth increase due to a switch from copper lines to fiber optics.  As stated above, our expectation is that libraries and SCLS will be contacted prior to any work so that libraries can make an informed decision whether to incur the costs--and thereby receiving bandwidth increases--or not.

Your help with 3rd Party ISP info was much appreciated!

Thanks again to those libraries that sent SCLS information on their third-party ISPs.  I know Bob Bocher will be using that information to help advocate on your behalf.  Sadly, the statistics, when it comes to sufficient bandwidth at Wisconsin libraries, are pathetic:

53% of public libraries nationwide have more than a 3Mbps connection.

15% of WI public libraries on BadgerNet have more than a 3Mbps connection, even after the 2012 bandwidth increases are factored into the percentage.

Here's hoping we can increase that percentage for every library in Wisconsin!

Firefox upgrades for SCLS-supported staff PCs

Good news! We will be upgrading Firefox from version 3.6.x to version 10.0.2 on SCLS-supported staff PCs and laptops on the SCLS network (formerly referred to as  “LINK PCs").

Upgrade schedule
The upgrades will be done in 2 batches – 

• Libraries A-M 
  • Upgrade will occur the night of Monday, March 12
  • “Cleanup script” will run Tuesday, March 13
• Libraries N-Z 
  • Upgrade will occur the night of Tuesday, March 13
  • “Cleanup script” will run Wednesday, March 14

Important things to know about the upgrade:

• Always leave staff PCs on at night.  Plug laptops in to network and power, and leave them on overnight.
• A “cleanup script” will run the first time you log into Windows after the upgrade.  This script will reset printing configurations for PCs with label and/or receipt printers.
• More info about Firefox upgrades for staff PCs can be found here, including videos and reminders that can be left on PCs. 

If you have problems or questions about the upgrade, please call the Help Desk (608) 242-4710.

Help SCLS with software updates by keeping your PCs on all the time

As South Central progresses with its plan to offer software updates on a much more ambitious schedule, it's imperative that both Staff and Patron PCs are ready to accept the updates.

We've put together a web page that explains the best practices and expectations when it comes to software updates (http://www.scls.info/technology/updates/index.html), but briefly here is what we need libraries to do from now on:

• Please leave all SCLS-supported staff and patron PCs on at night.
• Please log off SCLS-supported staff PCs during off-hours.
• Please do not "lock" the PCs; the locked state prevents any updates from occurring
• Close and save all your documents between use; an open document can prevent updates and will block any rebooting needed by the update process.
• A weekly reboot can help clean out the "gunk" accumulated during the week and may improve PC speed.  We recommend that on Friday, you restart your PC, leaving it in a logged off (but still on) state for the weekend.
• Monitors can be shut off on any PC to save power without affecting software updates.  Just make sure both morning and evening staff members understand the procedure.

 We realize that this may be change in the way your library's done business over the years. However, without your help with this very important step the strong push for more rapid updates cannot happen.