Support and Training Services Report: March 2008Version 18 Upgrade
- Version 18 Upgrade rescheduled to June 1, 2008.
- Recorded sessions of each of the Version 18 Upgrade Sessions are available from the PALS homepage at http://www.mnpals.org/sections/recordedsessions.html. There are links to the documents associated with each recorded sessions here and on the documentation page of the PALS homepage as well http://www.mnpals.org/sections/Aleph_Docs.html.
- Sessions for Integrated ILL training have been re-scheduled and announced, April 17- May 2. For registration information http://www.abcsignup.com/view/view_month.asp?as=16&wp=112&aid=PALS
- Version 18 Q & A sessions will occur during the MnPALS User Group meetings in April and again following the upgrade. Possibly during late June early July and again in the Fall.
- For the most recent edition of the Version 18 and Integrated ILL project plan check out the following link http://www.mnpals.org/sections/18projectplan.html.
Version 17 - Web OPAC
- Change in How Boolean Searches are Interpreted by Aleph
In web OPAC search statements with only AND and OR, it was believed that the Boolean operations were evaluated from left to right, and operations in parentheses were evaluated first. According to Ex Libris' Web OPAC Staff Guide, searches should have been processed as follows:
Search Statement
----------------
A and B or C
A or B and C
A and (B or C) |
Executed as
----------------
(A and B) or C
(A or B) and C
A and (B or C) |
After testing done by the PALS office and Ex Libris, it was determined that search statements with only AND and OR, operations in parentheses are evaluated first (as before) but then within any group of operations, AND operations are done first, executed from left to right, followed by OR operations executed from left to right.
Search Statement
----------------
A and B or C
A or B and C
A and (B or C) |
Executed as
-----------
(A and B) or C
A or (B and C)
A and (B or C) |
The change comes in the second example, where if there are not parenthesis, the "B and C" portion of the statement is processed first, followed by "A or".
Ex Libris will be changing their documentation in the Web OPAC Staff Guide to match what we have learned.
Training
- Conference Phone Calls – After a phone test last week that involved MSU IT staff, several PALS staff members and one of the engineers from the phone company MSU will upgrade the servers that the VOIP system uses this week. There is a patch available that the phone engineer thinks will solve the problem we’ve been experiencing with sound degradation with multiple lines. The system will be tested again after the server upgrade.
- Captivate is being looked at as a software of choice for the creation of online tutorials and training.
- Upcoming scheduled training
- Support and Training Staff Training Plan for 2008. Please see below for a list of sessions that we have identified and the approximate time frame and format they will be offered in:
| Target Date |
Range Session |
Format |
| Spring User Group & Post upgrade |
Q & A Ver. 18 Upgrade Sessions |
In-person & Web |
| Summer ‘08 |
Booking |
Web |
| May |
Budget Rollover |
Web |
| May |
Systems |
In person |
| May |
Inventory |
Web |
| June-August |
Acquisitions Functional Training |
2 days in person |
| June-August |
Serials Functional Training |
2 days in person |
| September |
Services/Reports in Acq/Serials |
In person? |
| September |
Version 18 Cataloging Holdings/Items Functional Training |
In person/Hands on |
| November - December |
Renewing Serial and Standing Orders |
Web |
| November - December |
Prediction Patterns |
Web? |
Task Forces & Working Groups
For the latest on each please check out the link to their board on the MnPALS Forum.
- MnPALS Access Task Force: http://forums.mnpals.org/index.php?board=4.0
- MnPALS Indexing Task Force: The MnPALS Indexing Task Force met on February 25, 2008. Items they discussed were: 1) Clickable links to URI in the WebOPAC for 5xx on BIB and HOL records was completed and has been implemented on the development server. The group is testing, on the Lute development server, new indexes for URL in Notes (5xx), Notes in URL (856), adding 662## to the WRD and WSU indexes, and adding 752## to the WRD and WHP (hierarchical place) indexes. Once these have been tested and approved, they will be moved to the production (Harp) server. A new Indexing Document will be created at that time. 2) Aleph ver. 18 implements 2005 MARBI formats. Some of these new tags and codes must be added to our validation and indexing tables. A complete list is entered to the Agenda for this meeting. 3) A report on the OCLC Local Holdings Service webinar was given by Mary Ann. For complete information about their activites, go to their forum: http://forums.mnpals.org/index.php?board=6.0
- Reports Work Group: http://forums.mnpals.org/index.php?board=31.0
- MnPALS Authorities Task Force: The MnPALS Authorities Task Force met on March 4, 2008. They worked on updating their Charge. This will be taken to the Cataloging User Group for approval on April 17, 2008. NACO (Name Authority Cooperative Program of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging) training will be held from March 17-21 at the Wilson Library, U of M. The instructor will be Edward Swanson. 2 members of the task force, Adam Marsnik and Jessica Schomberg; MnPALS librarian, Bobby Bothmann; and PALS liaison, Mary Ann Greenwald will attend the training. The group continues to investigate the possibility of MnPALS being a NACO and SACO funnel (Subject Authority Cooperative Program of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging). The next meeting of this group will be held on April 1, 2008. You can read about their activities on the forum: http://forums.mnpals.org/index.php?board=5.0
EZproxy
Dan Honetschlager and Rod Bruce have been working away at getting EZproxy up and running. The “New” EZproxy server has been setup and configured for South Central College, North Mankato/Faribault. The EZproxy training documentation has been created and tested.
We have three other “New” sites in line to join in with EZproxy. We also have 6 sites on track to convert from LibProxy to EZproxy. Moorhead State and Concordia College are next in line. They are the institutions that we will “Practice” converting from LibProxy to EZproxy.
One aspect of testing will involve authentication via LDAP. The LDAP process allows us to authenticate a user against the campus active directory server (i.e. authenticate your email). We will continue to authenticate against the ALEPH patron database.
Once we work through the process of converting a current institution from LibProxy to EZproxy, we will be ready to move forward with any other sites that are interested.
MnPALS Libraries User Groups April 17th and 18th at St. Cloud State University
- • Registration deadline for the Consortium of MnPALS Libraries Spring 2008 User Group Meetings is Wednesday, April 9. Check out the PALS homepage for full agendas and User Group details as they become available http://www.mnpals.org/sections/ug2008spring_main.html.
Reference User Group Page on MnPALS WIKI
http://wiki.mnpals.org/index.php/Reference_User_Group
The Reference Steering Committee members have been working to make the MnPALS wiki a useful tool for all Reference Group members. So far, we have posted:
- Steering Committee Meeting Notes
- Links to MnPALS Library Blogs, Wikis, and Other Library 2.0 Projects
- Keith Ewing's document on Discovery Tools (Keith's original document has been updated by both Keith and other MnPALS staff members)
If you have other ideas or things you would like to see on the Wiki, let the Steering Committee members know.
Reference Work Day
http://wiki.mnpals.org/index.php/Reference_Work_Day
- Date: Friday, March 28, 2008
- Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
- Location: Metropolitan State University, St. Paul Campus, Library & Information Access Center Room 302
The Reference User Group Workday will be held on Friday, March 28, 2008, at Metropolitan State University. The purpose of the Workday is to share and learn about reference service, instruction, and new tools, as well as to enjoy the chance to connect and network with colleagues. This event has been planned by your Reference User Group Steering Committee: Ruth Anderson and Pete McDonnell (conveners), Amy Soma, Kristen Larson, and Jennifer DeJonghe. Special thanks goes to Metropolitan State for hosting the event, and to Perry Madden, Michele Throldahl, and the PALS office for logistical support.
This event is free of charge. Please note that there will be snacks during registration; however, lunch will be on your own. You will have the option of bringing a bag lunch and joining your colleagues for discussion, or leaving campus for nearby restaurants (Google map: http://tinyurl.com/yumjo7)
The deadline for registration is Thursday, March 20. Please note that the event is limited to 55 total people. Register at http://www.abcsignup.com/reg/event_page.asp?ek=0016-0006-DDAE430042BB4594A8DDD560EE4EE9B0
Any handouts for the session will be provided online prior to the Work Day and we ask that you print and bring them with you.
Directions and Parking Info: http://www.metrostate.edu/bldgservices/location.html
Parking: $2.50 for the day http://www.metrostate.edu/bldgservices/security/park_violations.html
See you at the Workday!
PALS Support Center
- Updated & New Answers added to the PALS Support Center Knowledge Base:
- 3190 Retrieve call numbers in format used by oracle (mnpals-37)
- 3081 Not able to log on
- 2984 Changing port number address through library.ini
- 3226 Holdings template
- 2304 ACQ Permissions- Remote Service Error (c0503 get 120)
- 3221 Adding a Material Type
- 3228 Loading Course Reserve Article with URI
- 3227 Cataloging Module bases in the Drop Down Menu
- 3229 Hold Request and Letter Status
MnLINK Gateway Update – Susan Dueis
In the past year, the vendor of the MnLINK Gateway software, OCLC PICA, was merged into OCLC. The MnLINK Gateway servers that are hosted in Kansas City will be moved to Dublin, Ohio in mid-March, 2008. The current version of the MnLINK Gateway is VDX/ZPORTAL 3.2.2, which was implemented in mid-January, 2008.
Because of the merger of OCLC PICA into OCLC, there will be changes in the future of the VDX and ZPORTAL products. The VDX product, which is the software used to manage ILL for most of the Gateway server sites, will be upgraded with anticipated future releases. The ZPORTAL product, which is the searching software of the MnLINK Gateway, will likely be replaced by a new product that will probably be based on the WorldCat.org platform.
The server site payments are continuing in FY 2008, with the MnPALS server site seeing a slight decrease in the payment received.
In May 2007, we got functionality in the MnLINK Gateway to be able to put up a “Message of the Day” (MOTD) and remove the “Get It” button for individual MnPALS libraries when they want to temporarily suspend ILL activity in Aleph for a period of time. A couple MnPALS libraries took advantage of this functionality during the summer.
Working on information shared at the MnLINK Gateway Operations Committee meetings, the MnPALS Indexing Task Force is exploring indexing changes to better accommodate the Item Format filter and the UPC code for audiovisual material in ZPORTAL searching.
The PALS office continues to represent the Consortium of MnPALS Libraries on the MnLINK Gateway Operations Committee, which meets quarterly.
Questions?
Please send any questions regarding the Support & Training Report to http://pals.custhelp.com.
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