Category: Sierra / OBIS

OhioLINK Webinar on Library System Migration, 6/29/22

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Hi Everyone,

Earlier today, OhioLINK hosted the first of two webinars where they are providing information about the request for proposals (RFP) to replace Sierra as the consortium’s Integrated Library System (ILS). OhioLINK received funding in the most recent state budget to request proposals from vendors for a new system and to assist libraries in the state with system migration. The migration effort will involve or affect all OCL staff in some way, so I recommend that those interested watch the second webinar scheduled for tomorrow, June 29, 2022, at 2:30pm. The presentation had lots of useful information and there were many good questions in the first session.

NOTE: I am sending the WebEx link for the webinar to staff via the ocl-staff Google Group because is has a password.

The timeline for the RFP process is just short of one year. Please watch for opportunities, including surveys and meetings, to contribute to OCL and OhioLINK’s information gathering efforts in the coming weeks. This will be a way to provide your thoughts about what is needed in a new library system. The implementation timeline of the new system will depend on what vendor OhioLINK’s planning team chooses, and more information about that process will come after selection in the spring of 2023.

Mobile ObieID Cards and the Libraries

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Hi Everyone,

CIT has launched their Mobile ObieID Card service today. ObieID card holders can choose between a physical ID card, or a virtual ID card on their mobile device. New students, faculty and staff will only be issued one form of the ID card. Existing ObieID card holders may sign up for the mobile version, but if they do CIT will deactivate their physical card in the campus-wide Transact system. Read more about the new service at CIT’s Mobile ID webpage.

Naturally, this change has implications for the Libraries’ circulation processes. Circulation desk staff may start to see users attempting to tap their mobile devices to check out materials. Unfortunately, until a person signs in to the mobile app and activates a mobile ID card, there is no number assigned, so I cannot load those numbers into Sierra ahead of time.

Circulation staff will have to look up the patron record of the user, edit the record by adding a new barcode field, then have the user tap their device to add their mobile ID card number to the record. If the user has an existing physical ID card, tapping that card on circulation desk readers should still work to locate a patron record (and complete a checkout transaction). However, if they have opted for the new mobile ID card, it would be best to take the opportunity to update the record the first time because fewer people will be carrying the physical cards in the future.

I will be meeting with CIT staff next week to discuss what this change means for the fall and the process of getting the large number of incoming student ID card numbers in Sierra. It’s my intention to push CIT to automate patron load data as much as possible so we do not have to add these new numbers manually at the start of the year. Stay tuned for more information about that.

Missing-status item removal planning – call for stakeholders

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After reviewing the project plan to purge items with status missing (last seen no later than 2019) with Paul, Tracy, LLT, et al, I am calling for any additional stakeholders to identify themselves. The project document, “Missing Item Cleanup Plan” contains comments with names for several meetings/consults that need to be held before proceeding with any deletions. If you think this will affect your work, users, or collection but don’t see yourself listed or sufficiently represented by a supervisor/colleague, OR if you notice I missed anyone, please add a comment to the document before the end of Monday June 13. (Conversely, please comment if you see your name but don’t think you need to be there.)

This is the same document–updated–that is linked from the Library Leadership Notes: 5/4/22,  so if you are an avid Lowdown reader, this should not be a surprise.

Thank you! -Rebecca

Institution memory call – Carrolton Press/”CarP” cataloging

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We have around 77,000+ bib record in OBIS added to the catalog not later than 1994 that have the an original code “CarP” (MARC 040$c, code or the name of the organization that transcribed the record into machine-readable form). That is the MARC code for Carrolton Press, unrelated to imprints of these titles. (View list of titles and OBIS links.) I suspect this was just a record import project, and they do have OCLC numbers, but if there is anything particularly special about these, could you please let me know? This pertains to a cleanup project, to be posted separately soon.

Thanks! Rebecca

Sierra Upgrade Update

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Hi Everyone,

Our Sierra update will begin at 3am next Thursday, April 7, 2022. The maintenance window is expected to be about 2 hours, so we should be up and running when we start the day.

Sierra and OBIS will be unavailable during the maintenance window.

Regarding the ongoing slowness with the system, please continue to send me any incidents you encounter. Describe what you were trying to do, what happened, and grab the Origin ID. I plan to hold off until our upgrade to place another ticket because that upgrade will include a complete server reboot. If we continue to have issues after next Thursday, I will submit another support ticket with a request for escalation.

SIERRA USERS: Upgrade Coming During Spring Break Week

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Hi Sierra Users,

I have requested a software upgrade for Sierra to occur during Spring Break Week. The upgrade will take us from version 5.2 to version 5.4.

All Sierra and OBIS functions will be unavailable during the maintenance period.

I have requested Wednesday, 4/6/22, between 3am–9am, as the preferred choice for the upgrade. The second choice is Thursday, 4/7/22, between 3am–9am. I do not expect the update to take the entire 6-hour window. I will let everyone know when the vendor has confirmed the exact day/time.

You will find release notes, known issues, and resolved issues information in a Box folder I shared named, “Sierra Upgrade Documents.” Please take a look at the release notes, as well as the known issues and resolved issues, for versions 5.3 and 5.4 so you are aware of any changes coming.

For example, in version 5.3, the Circulation function “View Outstanding Holds” is changed to “Manage Holds” and includes some enhancements. If you have questions or concerns about anything in the documentation, let me know and I’ll request more information from the vendor, if needed.

Thanks,

-Michael M.