CCS News
MARCH 28, 2014
We have no specific news items this week. We know you’re working on your Enterprise configuration (so are we); the budget is being voted upon actively or passively by our member libraries (it’s 5-0 in favor so far; early voting must be contagious); our office renovations continue; we are on the verge of ordering our new Production Server for July installation; we hope some of you are looking at SP4 on the Test Server; and it’s still winter.
PERSONNEL PRACTICES EXPERTISE SOUGHT:
In July we hope to begin a classification and compensation study. If your library has had a favorable experience doing this with a consultant other than MAI, we’d love to know who it was. Options are good. Thanks!
CCS MEETINGS NEXT WEEK:
Tues., 4/1, 1:00: CollectionHQ Webinar (for customer libraries only)
Thur., 4/3, 10:00, CCS: Continuing Education Steering Committee
Fri., 4/4, 10:00 and 2:00: LibraryAware Training Webinar (you must register)
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
CCS News March 21, 2014
CCS News
MARCH 21, 2014
FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
Symphony Service Pack 3.4.1 SP4, which includes Service Pack 3, was successfully installed on the Test Server as of 03/17/2014. As in the past, you should pick a terminal in the back to upgrade first, so you won’t have to change your client version every time you switch between the Test and Production Servers which are running different software releases. The new features of Service Packs 3 and 4 are not available unless you upgrade the client.
The full 3.4.1 SP4 client may be accessed per this DropBox link.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k7dfxi371afoeyd/fupd_jwf.exe
If there is anything specific you wish to test, please let us know by opening a WonderDesk ticket. The IP address of the Test Server is 64.107.155.235.
AUTHORITIES NEWS:
Two files from Marcive were loaded into our system last week. One contained 2580 updated authority records and the other contained 324 new authority records that were needed in our database, but were not available before this time.
Virginia Seward
CCS Authorities Librarian
CCS MEETINGS NEXT WEEK:
Tues., 3/25, 10 AM and 2 PM, Niles: Enterprise Config Workshop
Wed., 3/26, 10 AM, Wilmette: Governing Board
MARCH 21, 2014
FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
Symphony Service Pack 3.4.1 SP4, which includes Service Pack 3, was successfully installed on the Test Server as of 03/17/2014. As in the past, you should pick a terminal in the back to upgrade first, so you won’t have to change your client version every time you switch between the Test and Production Servers which are running different software releases. The new features of Service Packs 3 and 4 are not available unless you upgrade the client.
The full 3.4.1 SP4 client may be accessed per this DropBox link.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k7dfxi371afoeyd/fupd_jwf.exe
If there is anything specific you wish to test, please let us know by opening a WonderDesk ticket. The IP address of the Test Server is 64.107.155.235.
AUTHORITIES NEWS:
Two files from Marcive were loaded into our system last week. One contained 2580 updated authority records and the other contained 324 new authority records that were needed in our database, but were not available before this time.
Virginia Seward
CCS Authorities Librarian
CCS MEETINGS NEXT WEEK:
Tues., 3/25, 10 AM and 2 PM, Niles: Enterprise Config Workshop
Wed., 3/26, 10 AM, Wilmette: Governing Board
Thursday, March 6, 2014
CCS News March 7, 2014
CCS News
MARCH 7, 2014
FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
This week, we switched our email spam filtering from Postini to McAfee, which also includes virus and hyperlink checking. There were a few options that needed to be refined (mostly due to false positives), but it seems to have settled down now and is working as it should. If you find that you are having trouble posting to the lists, or if you need assistance in dealing with any notifications you might get, please contact the Computer Room staff and we will do our best to address your issue.
NO CCS NEWS NEXT WEEK:
Due to PLA, there will be no dispatch of this exalted bulletin next week.
CCS MEETINGS THE NEXT TWO WEEKS:
Mon., 3/10, 1:00, CCS: Executive Committee
Tues., 3/18, 9:30, Fox River Valley/Dundee: Maintenance Coordinators
Wed., 3/19, 9:30, Glenview: Catalogers (Workshop)
Wed., 3/19, 9:30, CCS: SCRAP
Thur., 3/20, 9:30, Des Plaines: PAS
Fri., 3/21, 9:30, Cary: Circ
MARCH 7, 2014
FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
This week, we switched our email spam filtering from Postini to McAfee, which also includes virus and hyperlink checking. There were a few options that needed to be refined (mostly due to false positives), but it seems to have settled down now and is working as it should. If you find that you are having trouble posting to the lists, or if you need assistance in dealing with any notifications you might get, please contact the Computer Room staff and we will do our best to address your issue.
NO CCS NEWS NEXT WEEK:
Due to PLA, there will be no dispatch of this exalted bulletin next week.
CCS MEETINGS THE NEXT TWO WEEKS:
Mon., 3/10, 1:00, CCS: Executive Committee
Tues., 3/18, 9:30, Fox River Valley/Dundee: Maintenance Coordinators
Wed., 3/19, 9:30, Glenview: Catalogers (Workshop)
Wed., 3/19, 9:30, CCS: SCRAP
Thur., 3/20, 9:30, Des Plaines: PAS
Fri., 3/21, 9:30, Cary: Circ
Thursday, February 27, 2014
CCS News February 28, 2014
CCS News
FEBRUARY 28, 2014
FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
E-mail Anti-Spam Filtering Change:
Effective Tue., Mar. 4, CCS will be moving our email spam filtering service from Postini to McAfee. This change should be transparent to the libraries, but please be aware that you may receive emails from McAfee if any listserv mailings are flagged as spam. We will be watching things closely in the next few weeks to make sure that any “false positives” are dealt with in a timely fashion.
NEXT SYMPHONY SOFTWARE UPGRADE:
We plan to install Symphony Service Pack 3.4.1 SP4 on the Test Server on Monday, March 17 (faith and begorrah) for a few weeks of testing. We have sent out release highlights and will run through them with the Technical Groups over the next few weeks. The full Release Notes (along with thsoe for SP3 which is bundled into SP4) are posted on the members Only page of the CCS web site in the SirsiDynix section under “other Sirsi documentation.”
ENTERPRISE AND ECOMMERCE:
Thanks to the CCS libraries who have been working with Sirsi and ProPay to clarify some aspects of the eCommerce we’ll use with Enterprise, including PCI compliance and ePay fees (for comparison).
CCS MEETINGS NEXT WEEK:
Wed., 3/5, 10:00, CCS: Executive Committee
Fri., 3/7, 10:00, CCS: Equitable Access Task Force
FEBRUARY 28, 2014
FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
E-mail Anti-Spam Filtering Change:
Effective Tue., Mar. 4, CCS will be moving our email spam filtering service from Postini to McAfee. This change should be transparent to the libraries, but please be aware that you may receive emails from McAfee if any listserv mailings are flagged as spam. We will be watching things closely in the next few weeks to make sure that any “false positives” are dealt with in a timely fashion.
NEXT SYMPHONY SOFTWARE UPGRADE:
We plan to install Symphony Service Pack 3.4.1 SP4 on the Test Server on Monday, March 17 (faith and begorrah) for a few weeks of testing. We have sent out release highlights and will run through them with the Technical Groups over the next few weeks. The full Release Notes (along with thsoe for SP3 which is bundled into SP4) are posted on the members Only page of the CCS web site in the SirsiDynix section under “other Sirsi documentation.”
ENTERPRISE AND ECOMMERCE:
Thanks to the CCS libraries who have been working with Sirsi and ProPay to clarify some aspects of the eCommerce we’ll use with Enterprise, including PCI compliance and ePay fees (for comparison).
CCS MEETINGS NEXT WEEK:
Wed., 3/5, 10:00, CCS: Executive Committee
Fri., 3/7, 10:00, CCS: Equitable Access Task Force
Thursday, February 20, 2014
CCS News February 21, 2014
CCS News
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
Texting:
Currently there are 3 libraries who have started using text message (SMS) notifications with their staff and some patrons. Crystal Lake PL was the most recent and brought up a few issues related to the other reports the library currently uses to contact their patrons about available holds. Since then, some of the problems have been cleared up and we are moving forward with great caution. There are 6 other libraries currently interested in sending out text message notifications for their patrons’ holds. We have not forgotten about you, but the things we have found out and had to de-bug moved the time line a little further out than expected. Sirsi’s development team will be looking at some issues we have brought up. Hopefully in a few weeks we can start bringing the other libraries on board.
Purchase Alert and Unfillable Holds Reports:
Beginning next week the frequency with which these two reports compile will change. Currently they both compile once each week on Monday mornings at 4:00 AM. Beginning next week they will be compiled three times each week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4:00 AM. Both reports will continue to appear in the ‘Special Weekly Reports’ section on the reports web page.
SYMPHONY UPGRADE:
Within the next few weeks, subject to progress on our office renovations, we will load Symphony Service Pack 3.4.1 SP4 onto the Test Server. There aren’t a lot of new features, but there are some nice ones. Next week we will send out Release Notes excerpts for the Technical Groups, and we’ll run through that documentation during the next round of Technical Group meetings. Happily, it’s pretty quick reading.
ENTERPRISE STATUS:
We are continuing to move toward the Enterprise transition. Sirsi has almost completed setting up Search Profiles (aka gateways) for each CCS library, to be used as a starting point. We will announce the URLs when all are ready. Meanwhile, we’re continuing to investigate the nuts and bolts of eCommerce, working on a Project Plan, working on the configuration workshop March 25 at Niles, reading documentation, and scheduling training for our own staff. Expect sundry documentation soon via email and stay tuned!
LIBRARY CLOSING: Wilmette will be closed all day on Friday, February 21 for an In Service Day.
CCS MEETING NEXT WEEK:
Mon., 2/24, 1:00, CCS: Budget & Finance Committee
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
Texting:
Currently there are 3 libraries who have started using text message (SMS) notifications with their staff and some patrons. Crystal Lake PL was the most recent and brought up a few issues related to the other reports the library currently uses to contact their patrons about available holds. Since then, some of the problems have been cleared up and we are moving forward with great caution. There are 6 other libraries currently interested in sending out text message notifications for their patrons’ holds. We have not forgotten about you, but the things we have found out and had to de-bug moved the time line a little further out than expected. Sirsi’s development team will be looking at some issues we have brought up. Hopefully in a few weeks we can start bringing the other libraries on board.
Purchase Alert and Unfillable Holds Reports:
Beginning next week the frequency with which these two reports compile will change. Currently they both compile once each week on Monday mornings at 4:00 AM. Beginning next week they will be compiled three times each week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4:00 AM. Both reports will continue to appear in the ‘Special Weekly Reports’ section on the reports web page.
SYMPHONY UPGRADE:
Within the next few weeks, subject to progress on our office renovations, we will load Symphony Service Pack 3.4.1 SP4 onto the Test Server. There aren’t a lot of new features, but there are some nice ones. Next week we will send out Release Notes excerpts for the Technical Groups, and we’ll run through that documentation during the next round of Technical Group meetings. Happily, it’s pretty quick reading.
ENTERPRISE STATUS:
We are continuing to move toward the Enterprise transition. Sirsi has almost completed setting up Search Profiles (aka gateways) for each CCS library, to be used as a starting point. We will announce the URLs when all are ready. Meanwhile, we’re continuing to investigate the nuts and bolts of eCommerce, working on a Project Plan, working on the configuration workshop March 25 at Niles, reading documentation, and scheduling training for our own staff. Expect sundry documentation soon via email and stay tuned!
LIBRARY CLOSING: Wilmette will be closed all day on Friday, February 21 for an In Service Day.
CCS MEETING NEXT WEEK:
Mon., 2/24, 1:00, CCS: Budget & Finance Committee
Thursday, February 13, 2014
CCS News February 14, 2014
CCS News
FEBRUARY 14, 2014
BOOKMARK TEMPLATE ONLINE:
We have posted the CCS bookmark as a .pdf on the (not passworded) Home Page of www.ccslib.org under the About Us tab, in case anyone wants to print their own. We are also printing more; please contact Bonnie Owens to request some.
LIBRARY CLOSING:
The Wilmette Public Library will be closed all day on Friday, February 21st for a Staff Institute Day. Regular hours will resume on Saturday, February 22nd.
WELCOME TO JOEL HAHN:
Joel will start on Monday, February 17. We’re proud to have him as part of the CCS staff, and again thank Niles for their graciousness in not forbidding him to leave their premises. Roger Anderson will do some training; we all look forward to a smooth transition and continued benefits from Joel’s expertise.
CCS MEETING NEXT WEEK:
Wed., 2/19, 9:30, CCS: SCRAP
FEBRUARY 14, 2014
BOOKMARK TEMPLATE ONLINE:
We have posted the CCS bookmark as a .pdf on the (not passworded) Home Page of www.ccslib.org under the About Us tab, in case anyone wants to print their own. We are also printing more; please contact Bonnie Owens to request some.
LIBRARY CLOSING:
The Wilmette Public Library will be closed all day on Friday, February 21st for a Staff Institute Day. Regular hours will resume on Saturday, February 22nd.
WELCOME TO JOEL HAHN:
Joel will start on Monday, February 17. We’re proud to have him as part of the CCS staff, and again thank Niles for their graciousness in not forbidding him to leave their premises. Roger Anderson will do some training; we all look forward to a smooth transition and continued benefits from Joel’s expertise.
CCS MEETING NEXT WEEK:
Wed., 2/19, 9:30, CCS: SCRAP
Thursday, February 6, 2014
CCS News February 7, 2014
CCS News
FEBRUARY 7, 2014
FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
ICN T1 Cutover Complete:
The cutover of our ICN T1 lines at 10 AM on Tuesday, February 4, about which we have communicated previously, went without a hitch or even a noticeable hiccup. ICN has confirmed that the work
was done. This is not our switch to fiber; that is months away but in progress.
Next CCS Web Site Password Change:
Before the end of the month we will have information on our next change of the CCS Members Only section of our web site. We will announce an ongoing schedule for these changes, so you will know in advance when this will happen, and no, January 1 won’t be one of the days...
NOVELIST LIBRARYAWARE TRAINING:
EBSCO is setting up each library’s account for LibraryAware, now part of our NoveList subscription. When that is in place we will re-schedule the training which we postponed from February 18 (sorry). They’re shooting for early March, so we’ll re-schedule for either before or after PLA depending on their rate of progress.
ENTERPRISE ROLLOUT:
Sirsi is setting up a basic starting point for each library and about half our libraries now have something in place to serve as a point of departure. When that’s done we’ll send out the URLs. In the coming week or so we’ll also send out information about Enterprise eCommerce (eventually followed by a webinar), configuration documents, the Task Force rosters and registration as we have it for the March 25 configuration workshops.
CCS MEETINGS NEXT WEEK:
Wed., 2/12, 10:00, CCS: Executive Committee
Thur., 12/13, 9:30, Round Lake: ILL
(Note to Catalogers: The February meeting is canceled!)
FEBRUARY 7, 2014
FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM:
ICN T1 Cutover Complete:
The cutover of our ICN T1 lines at 10 AM on Tuesday, February 4, about which we have communicated previously, went without a hitch or even a noticeable hiccup. ICN has confirmed that the work
was done. This is not our switch to fiber; that is months away but in progress.
Next CCS Web Site Password Change:
Before the end of the month we will have information on our next change of the CCS Members Only section of our web site. We will announce an ongoing schedule for these changes, so you will know in advance when this will happen, and no, January 1 won’t be one of the days...
NOVELIST LIBRARYAWARE TRAINING:
EBSCO is setting up each library’s account for LibraryAware, now part of our NoveList subscription. When that is in place we will re-schedule the training which we postponed from February 18 (sorry). They’re shooting for early March, so we’ll re-schedule for either before or after PLA depending on their rate of progress.
ENTERPRISE ROLLOUT:
Sirsi is setting up a basic starting point for each library and about half our libraries now have something in place to serve as a point of departure. When that’s done we’ll send out the URLs. In the coming week or so we’ll also send out information about Enterprise eCommerce (eventually followed by a webinar), configuration documents, the Task Force rosters and registration as we have it for the March 25 configuration workshops.
CCS MEETINGS NEXT WEEK:
Wed., 2/12, 10:00, CCS: Executive Committee
Thur., 12/13, 9:30, Round Lake: ILL
(Note to Catalogers: The February meeting is canceled!)
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