CCS News

AUGUST 31, 2007


FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
Staffing for Labor Day – The computer room will be staffed the normal hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We will be closed on Labor Day (Monday). On Tuesday morning you will want to get the Open Hold Pick List online. We will print bills and notices for delivery on Sunday night for Tuesday morning delivery and will print again on Tuesday night for Wednesday delivery. All libraries are closed on Labor Day. All libraries EXCEPT RLK, MJK, WNK are also closed on Sunday 9/2. RLK (12-4), MJK(12-4) and WNK(1-5) will be OPEN on Sunday afternoon.

Circulation staff – Next week we will make slight change in the notice format you wanted so that patron barcodes are moved. We will do this in the middle of next week so you should see the change in the Wednesday or Thursday delivery.

Tweaking iBistro – Early this week we adjusted our packet shaper slightly after studying statistics and graphs on how the network is utilized. One adjustment will allow content (bookjackets and reviews) to be delivered to the iBistro workstations with a slightly higher priority than previously. Of course, this will only effect the movement in our own network. If content delivery is slow from Sirsi (as we experienced for a short time Monday) our tweak will have little effect. We hope the libraries and patrons see some response time improvement in content delivery.

DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know we’ve nearly completed plans for migrating CCS WorkFlows workstations to the Java client? I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone why we need to get this lengthy process started as soon as possible.

To begin with, we know we can’t continue to use the C client indefinitely. Sirsi has already stopped developing new features for the C client and at some point they’ll stop supporting it altogether. When support stops, Sirsi won’t fix C client-related bugs and will expect us all to be using Java.

Furthermore, to ensure a smooth transition to Java it’s in our best interest to be thoroughly acquainted with it well before Sirsi ends C client support. We do not want to be frantically trying to learn the fine points of using Java on short notice and we must be completely comfortable with Java’s strengths and weaknesses in advance of our cutover.

Therefore we must have:

(1) Time to gather input from folks currently using Java and use their experiences to guide us as we make our preparations.

(2) Time to identify where critical functions in the C client are located in Java and how they’re used in the new client.

(3) Time to develop, document, and distribute workarounds for operations that don’t work the same way (or at all) in Java as they do in C.

(4) Time to prepare detailed materials for all functional areas to help staff learn to use Java effectively.

(5) Time to become completely comfortable with all new functions in Java that weren’t available in C, so that we can take full advantage of productivity improvements available within the new client.

(6) Time to coordinate extensive on-site training programs between Sirsi and our libraries and get the sessions on CCS calendars in plenty of time to accommodate our needs. Sirsi training must be on the agenda far enough in advance to make sure that our own schedules will be compatible with the Sirsi training dates, and so sessions will be held close enough to libraries cutover dates to have new skills fresh in our minds when we migrate.

Basically the conversion plan calls for migrating to Java in two phases. Phase I is for libraries that already have appropriate hardware & network configurations in place to run Java successfully. Phase II will be for those that need new equipment but can’t buy it immediately. During Phase II, we must have a plan in place to upgrade workstations as soon as possible. (Stay tuned for more detailed information about the overall plan.) Ken Victorson


SOME FY 2006-7 STATISTICS:
In case you’ve been wondering how busy we were collectively last July-June, here are some numbers which will be part of the Narrative Annual Report:

1,016,367 MARC records (up 77,951
even after the de-dup project)

564,016 authority records (up 42,212)

4,774,912 item records (up 424,570)

644,022 user records (up 54,480)

12,511,671 checkouts & renewals
(up 843,252)

holds placed: Workflows 334,226
(up 25,571); iBistro 855,749
(up 86,418); total 1,189,975
(up 111,989)

ILL items sent by CCS libraries:
671,644 (up 7,004)

So yes, that’s the Production Server panting valiantly in the background.

CCS MEETINGS NEXT WEEK:

Wed., 9/5, 9:30, NSLS: Catalogers (workshop)

Wed., 9/5, 9:30, CCS: User Thresholds
Working Group

Thur., 9/6, 2:00, CCS: Federated Searching
Task Force