CCS News
NOVEMBER 2, 2007
FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
Reports – we have stopped printing all reports during the month of October. Beginning tonight we will instruct the operators to no longer print the monthly reports. All reports are available electronically now.
Test server – Patch Cluster 5D is being loaded to the test server as we speak. If you use Workflows on the test server and Java, you will be asked if you wish to load a new Java client. You should reply NO to this question if you do not want the new Java client. Contact us in the computer room if you have questions.
ANOTHER FAREWELL AT SIRSI:
We wish the best to Project Manager Muriel Lynne Bartholomae, who did much to bring CCS, Evanston and Glenview online on schedule. We always knew we had an advocate as well as a co-ordinator when Muriel Lynne was part of any project. She is leaving to join Alabama’s state library agency as of November 14 but will always have a place of honor in CCS history and our ancestral memory.
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that by the time you read this the Computer Room gang will have installed Unicorn Patch Cluster 5D on the test server? Given the number of issues that arose when we installed previous versions of this patch (5A, 5B, and 5C), and the number of enhancements and fixes included with this patch, we will need to test it thoroughly before we move it over to the production server. Therefore I’m asking for a few members of each CCS library to volunteer to test Patch Cluster 5D.
Whenever there’s a significant change to the WorkFlows application, it’s important that we have representatives from each library (preferably from each functional group within each library) participate in the testing effort for several reasons. In this particular case, (1) Sirsi strongly recommends that consortia thoroughly test this patch because it contains many frequently requested enhancements and fixes. (2) Since each consortia environment is unique, we must screen the patch for issues that may affect only our particular WorkFlows configuration. (3) It benefits all CCS libraries to have at least one person on staff that’s had hands-on experience with this patch before we install it on the production server. (4) Testing is most effective when the person doing it has solid day-to-day experience with the module/functions they’re examining. A circulation expert may not spot a subtle cataloging issue that a cataloger would easily recognize (and vice versa), so its best that we have both circulation experts and catalogers participate in testing - not to mention people from Acquisitions, Serials, and PAS.
Almost all changes included with this patch are for the Java client, so I would prefer testers that are currently working with the Java client on at least a part-time basis. As with previous major testing efforts, I will send out a packet of information to everyone involved that will contain relevant test scripts, instructions for accessing the WorkFlows test server, instructions for accessing the iBistro test server, and instructions for upgrading the Java client.
I strongly encourage all CCS libraries to ask for volunteer testers from their staff and have them contact me as soon as possible for instructions and tests scripts. They can call me on 847-666-3204 or email me at kenv@ccs.nsls.lib.il.us. Ken Victorson
CCS MEETINGS NEXT WEEK:
Wed., 11/7, 9:30, NSLS: Catalogers
(Workshop)
Wed., 11/7, 1:30 P.M., CCS: Federated
Searching Task Force
Fri.,11/9, 9:30, Niles: Circulation
