Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Improving LC Call Number Displays Behaviors
Issue #5 No entries found when doing Bib Call Number searches Speaking of bib call numbers, I wish they weren't included in the keyword index. These can add clutter to search results -- LC subdivisions like SF and TX get in with Science Fiction and Texas searches, and strings of numbers from both Dewey and LC can also match on numbers and dates that are part of the search. I think this is especially confusing because the bib level call numbers are not displayed in the full record (at least not in systems I am familiar with) so the user has no way of understand why a certain record was found when it doesn't appear to have one of the search terms. (Unless of course they are motivated enough to go searching through the MARC, which they aren't.) -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Call Number/Checkout report
The tricky part of this one is the last element, finding items that were not checked out in the past 10 years, because you need to work with data which may or may not have been migrated from your old system. Once you know where that is and what format it's in, you need to look for items that have 0 checkouts on Evergreen and whose last checkin date from your old system was less than 2014-12-04 (which may not be the actual date format) making sure that the items which were never checked in (because they were never checked out) are included. You also need to include the create or active date from your old system, because you can't blame an item for not circulating before it was added to the collection. In other words, you don't want to include things that were added in 2013 that haven't circulated yet. The actual query depends on knowing what data you migrated, what format it's in and where it is. These weeding reports that depend on working with data from two different systems can be tricky, but as long as you have that data from your old system, you ought to be able to get the information you need. On 12/4/2014 9:47 AM, Donald Butterworth wrote: We do have SQL access. Stacks is a Copy location. On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 9:39 AM, Rogan Hamby rogan.ha...@yclibrary.net mailto:rogan.ha...@yclibrary.net wrote: Do you have SQL access? Is Books in the Stacks a copy location? On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 9:09 AM, Donald Butterworth don.butterwo...@asburyseminary.edu mailto:don.butterwo...@asburyseminary.edu wrote: Colleagues, We need to send a bunch of titles to offsite storage. Can anyone share a report that lets us limit by Books in the Stacks, Call Number range (BS001 to BS100), Checked out zero times, over the last 10 years. Thanks! Don -- Don Butterworth Faculty Associate / Librarian III B.L. Fisher Library Asbury Theological Seminary don.butterwo...@asburyseminary.edu mailto:don.butterwo...@asburyseminary.edu (859) 858-2227 tel:%28859%29%20858-2227 -- Rogan Hamby, MLS, CCNP, MIA Managers Headquarters Library and Reference Services, York County Library System “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ― C.S. Lewis http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1069006.C_S_Lewis -- Don Butterworth Faculty Associate / Librarian III B.L. Fisher Library Asbury Theological Seminary don.butterwo...@asburyseminary.edu mailto:don.butterwo...@asburyseminary.edu (859) 858-2227 -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Academic PAC flavor
On 12/2/2014 6:25 AM, Donald Butterworth wrote: What would you think of taking the _... Read more_ approach that Amazon uses for reviews and long text, for long notes and text? This eliminates the problem of clicking on a bar and finding it empty of content. It also would make it possible to keep the copy/item record data always visible on the screen without the need to scroll. We definitely want the ability to truncate long fields with a More link. We want this for long summary and contents notes, as well as historical material with really long titles. We want to be able select which fields to truncate, the length for each, and the text to use for the more link (which should have a separate class for styling.) We'd also like to specify whether to show the truncated or full version of the field in each context: the basic search results, the detailed search results, and the bib/copy page. This isn't really an academic issue for us, it's just a display issue, and we run into really long fields for all types of material. I also think it's only tangentially related to the issue of whether or not to put content behind bars, at least for us. We want this mostly for fields we consider important enough to display above the copy display, not for the things below that are typically tucked behind bars. (We don't use the bars except for the MARC display.) What would you think of eliminating the Shelf browser bar and simply make the call number in the item/copy list a hot link to the Browse Call Number index? We don't display the Shelf Browser at all right now, but would not want the call number to be a hot link to the call number index. We had a lot of complaints about this on our previous system -- users would click through the search results to the bib/copy screen, see the call number as a link and click it, not realizing they had already reached their final destination. I am not sure what people expected -- full text or more detailed information about the location of the book, but it was definitely an issue. If anything, I'd want a link next to the call number that said something like Browse call numbers. But I am assuming that the academic flavor would be something we could all customize like we do the current files. Is it necessary to include available copies information in a separate area on the screen? Isn't the status column in the copy/items list sufficient? This might depend on how long the list of copies is likely to be. For a consortium, the list may be much longer than what is displayed by default, and for titles with many copies per library (more common for public library bestsellers) it's handy to be able to see at a glance whether or not there are any available copies of some titles. -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Tag 880 indexing for CJK characters
We index the 880s -- you can see an example of a record displaying 880s here: http://evergreen.noblenet.org/eg/opac/record/2720030 Here's a link to search results for titles with Beijing (北京) http://evergreen.noblenet.org/eg/opac/results?query=%E5%8C%97%E4%BA%ACqtype=titlefg%3Aadvanced=locg=1 Screenshot here: http://screencast.com/t/XnPDck1e66PZ Release notes for this feature: http://evergreen-ils.org/documentation/release/RELEASE_NOTES_2_4.html#_opac Hope this helps! On 9/12/2014 10:11 AM, catalog library wrote: I am a consultant librarian for a new college in Hong Kong which plans to commence in Sept 2015. I came to study the implementation of the system in a local server, and encounter the configuration in indexing the Chinese characters in tag 880s. May I seek a pointer from you that whether the Evergreen system support the indexing of CJK characters (non-romanized alphabets) in the tag 880 such as corresponding to the title 245 and author 1xx / 7xx in MARC21 format, or RDA? Appreciate you sharing advice, Cheers, Agatha SIT -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Proposed changes to browse indexes
Hi, Don, Although this is a separate issue from the current proposed changes, it's an interesting question and one I know you have raised before. It's a question we've just begun to discuss here, and I feel like we need more experience with browse to decide exactly how it should work. The fact that headings in records work so differently than the headings in the browse display is why we chose to use a different separator in browse. We had some trouble when we first moved to Evergreen understanding how subject headings in records worked until we changed the separator to the greater than sign, which helped people see these as breadcrumbs. The headings in the browse display are treated as one long string, and we thought the dash conveyed that better. When a user is looking at a record like this one: http://evergreen.noblenet.org/eg/opac/record/1458151?locg=1 They will see some very specific headings like this: Children United States History 18th century Activity programs The user can currently decide to click on only part of the heading to do a less specific search -- for example, if they click on 18th century they will find a lot of books on children in that era that aren't activity programs, which can be useful. I can think of a few ways the heading links from records could work: 1. The same way they do now 2. Take you to the browse index page in the neighborhood of that heading: http://bit.ly/browseoption1 3. Take you to the directly to the records using the heading (the equivalent of clicking on the heading in the browse list in #2.) In this case, there is only one record with this heading so you'd be jumping back to the record. Perhaps with this option, the headings in the record would need to show the number of records, like the browse page does. 4. A hybrid model that lets the user choose just a partial heading (for example, Children United States History) and it's treated one of the options in #3. We've only had browse up for a couple of weeks and have not really given this issue enough thought to know how we'd like the headings in records to work, and that may be true of others as well. But this is definitely an issue that I think the community will want to discuss, and to make sure that we get as much input as possible from public service librarians. Elizabeth On 8/29/2014 10:45 AM, Kathy Lussier wrote: Hi Donald, This proposal wouldn't make any changes to the subject links on the bib record. It would only affect the display of subjects in the browse list. Thanks for the feedback! Kathy Kathy Lussier Project Coordinator Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative (508) 343-0128 kluss...@masslnc.org Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier #evergreen IRC: kmlussier On 8/29/2014 10:42 AM, Donald Butterworth wrote: Both these proposals sound like a great improvement to me. One question, will the hot links for the dashed subject entries on the bibliographic screen point to the subject browse result screen or the subject keyword result screen? Personally I would like to see all hot links on the bib screen point to browse result screens. e.g. author/editor/contributor, series, subject, title, and call number. How does that sound everyone? Don On Thu, Aug 28, 2014 at 4:32 PM, Kathy Lussier kluss...@masslnc.org mailto:kluss...@masslnc.org wrote: Hi all, Recently, NOBLE made some local customizations to config.metabib_field to improve browse search on their local system. They would like to contribute a branch to make these changes in Evergreen for 2.next, but I wanted to share their changes with the community first to see if can generate some community consensus around the changes. 1. We would like to submit a branch that enables browse search for the complete (All Subjects) field, and disables it for the all of the other fields that are included in the subject class. This branch would also add a -- joiner so that the fields properly display separators. Currently, Evergreen is indexing the individual subdivisions. By enabling browse for the complete field, we see the full heading in the subject browse. By disabling browse for all of the other subject indexes, we remove subdivisions like handbooks, manuals, etc. as something that is currently being displayed as a standalone heading (not very useful to the user.) This branch would address the bugs reported in https://bugs.launchpad.net/evergreen/+bug/1331506 and in https://bugs.launchpad.net/evergreen/+bug/1331524. Based on previous discussions on this topic, I'm fairly sure most end users will prefer these defaults. However, I just want to make sure this is desired before we submit any changes. The changes would be supplied in the seed data for new Evergreen installs, but, because we don't want to break any customizations that may have been made to existing index definitions, most likely
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] 2.5.2 Subject Browse Index
I think that Don is talking about something different -- a way to keyword search subject headings. Right now we have two subject search options: On the Basic and Advanced search screen, choosing subject and entering search terms gets you all the records that have that term in subject headings. Show me all the bib records that have the word Puffins somewhere in the subject headings. On the Browse search, you choose subject and enter search terms, and you are shown the alphabetical section of the index that starts with whatever you entered. You get to a list of subject headings and their subdivisions (at least if you've done your indexes as described earlier in this thread, and they have the subdivisions like Bibliomations. Keyword searching of subject headings would be saying Show me all the subject headings that include these search terms. If you entered Washington, for example, you'd get something like this: George Washington Bridge (New York, N.Y.) (3) Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915 (30) Washington, George 1732-1783 (100) That would be a great feature, something like Find Headings, but I wouldn't want to see it replace either the way subject searching on basic advanced or subject browse works now. On 6/20/2014 9:45 AM, Kathy Lussier wrote: On 6/20/2014 9:20 AM, Donald Butterworth wrote: I agree with Janet, that the whole subject phrase needs to be kept together so that only the limited set displays when clicking on the phrase. There are lots of DLC authority records that include a main subject and subdivisions. I'm confused now. Are we still talking about the subject browse index or are we talking about the bib record? If we're talking about the subject browse index, I would agree, primarily because the user is presumably seeing a hierarchy of subjects where the broader term may be directly above the term they are looking at and the narrower term is directly below. The current behavior is that the link keeps the subject phrase together when you click on it, so no changes would be required here. If we're talking about the bib record, I have to say I put a lot of faith into what I'm sure is highly-funded usability testing done by Amazon. As Dan mentioned, the current link behavior for subject headings is similar to what Amazon is using. If the Evergreen community were to do a coordinated batch of usability testing (probably not a bad idea) and found that end users were indeed confused by the behavior, I might think differently, but I personally like the ability to click higher in the subject heading to broaden my search. Kathy -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Problems with facets
We're having a problem with facets in our catalog. If I do a subject search on dogs and look at the geographic subjects, I see Alaska (2). When I click on that, I expect to get two records but I get 54, and the now-selected Alaska says 54 in parentheses. When I deselect it, it reverts to displaying (2). The author facet for Eric Hill displays (8) but finds and displays (43) when selected. I see the same problem for all the searches I have tried. The facet numbers are all much lower when unselected than the (apparently accurate) numbers when selected. The inaccurate low numbers also affect the order of the entries in the facet list. Here are the first five geographic facets for my dog search. The first number is what it reported when unselected, and the second it shows when the facet is selected. Connecticut 3/14 Alaska 2/51 Texas 2/21 Australia 1/13 England 1/51 I tested this on a few other Evergreen catalogs, and found the same problem on all but Laurentian's. Any ideas? Thanks! -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Update on Overdrive API integration
If you've never seen the OverDrive API in action, you can see examples in the Marmot catalog (VuFind) http://opac.marmot.org If you do a search on minor adjustment beauty salon, you'll see availability information for both their physical and digital versions of this title, including OverDrive and OneClickDigital. Here's a screenshot of the OverDrive ebook and audiobook versions of Lean In: http://www.noblenet.org/wp-content/uploads/leanin.png The available one has a Checkout button and the other has a Place Hold button. I like the fact that Marmot has an eContent Source facet. On 5/2/2014 8:47 AM, Rogan Hamby wrote: Not to derail the conversation from Overdrive support (which would be a great thing to have) I wonder if anyone else would be interested in OneClickDigital integration. They don't have a published set of APIs at the moment but based on casual conversations I know they would be interested in having similar functionality in Evergreen. This isn't high priority for us but I'm curious is there is widespread interest. On Fri, May 2, 2014 at 8:43 AM, Kathy Lussier kluss...@masslnc.org mailto:kluss...@masslnc.org wrote: Hi Ruth, There is information on the Overdrive API at https://developer.overdrive.com/apis. The basic idea is that you would see availability information for Overdrive material directly in the catalog rather than sending the user to Overdrive to see this information. You could also allow users to do Overdrive checkouts and place holds directly from the catalog. Kathy Kathy Lussier Project Coordinator Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative (508) 343-0128 tel:%28508%29%20343-0128 kluss...@masslnc.org mailto:kluss...@masslnc.org Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier On 5/2/2014 8:30 AM, Ruth Frasur wrote: I'd need a little more information about what exactly it would do. On Thu, May 1, 2014 at 4:13 PM, Kathy Lussier kluss...@masslnc.org mailto:kluss...@masslnc.org wrote: Hi Sharon, Funny, I was just thinking this morning of sending a similar message to the listserv. We aren't working on anything with Overdrive API integration, but, as I was beginning to plan for FY15 development projects to consider (FY15 begins in July for us), I added the Overdrive project to the list. I also would like to hear if anyone else is working on it, but, if not, I also would be interested in hearing if their are other community members interested in jointly funding a project. Kathy Kathy Lussier Project Coordinator Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative (508) 343-0128 tel:%28508%29%20343-0128 kluss...@masslnc.org mailto:kluss...@masslnc.org Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier On 5/1/2014 3:52 PM, Sharon Herbert wrote: In July 2013, I shared out some analysis from Sitka developer Steven Chan regarding the Overdrive API integration that was available at that time: http://markmail.org/message/dbkraxlsj562wxzh In October 2013, Overdrive released additional Circulation APIs and in January 2014, Sitka began development on integrating those additional pieces. To date, we have not been aware of any other EG jurisdictions working on this development, but as it is taking longer than we anticipated to complete, I wanted to check in with the community again to see if anyone one else is working on integrating the Overdrive APIs with EG, specifically for v2.6. Thanks, Sharon -- Ruth Frasur Director of the Historic(ally Awesome) Hagerstown - Jefferson Township Library 10 W. College Street in Hagerstown, Indiana (47346) p (765) 489-5632 tel:%28765%29%20489-5632; f (765) 489-5808 tel:%28765%29%20489-5808 Our Kickin' Websitehttp://hagerstownlibrary.org Our Rockin' Facebook Page http://facebook.com/hjtplibrary and Stuff I'm Readinghttp://pinterest.com/hjtplibrary/ruth-reads/ -- Rogan Hamby, MLS, CCNP, MIA Managers Headquarters Library and Reference Services, York County Library System “You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” ― Ray Bradbury https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1630.Ray_Bradbury “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ― C.S. Lewis http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1069006.C_S_Lewis -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Update on Overdrive API integration
There are several different APIs and you can see a list of them with more information on OverDrive's developer portal: https://developer.overdrive.com/ There are separate APIs for search, metadata and availability. There's a real world example here: https://developer.overdrive.com/docs/real-world This describes creating an app to search a library's OverDrive collection rather than working with an opac, but it gives a general idea of how this works. I think in theory you could send a search to both your Evergreen system and to OverDrive and then display both sets of results, but I don't know if this would be a good idea in practice. (Sounds like federated search to me, which scares me!) Timing is always an issue when you're checking multiple systems. If you try Marmot's catalog, you can see a slight delay before the availability information arrive. I notice that in the Boston Public Library's catalog (BiblioCommons) the availability information doesn't automatically display in the search results, but there's a check availability link that retrieves it. My priorities for OverDrive integration would be getting the availability information, checkouts and holds functionality integrated into Evergreen. Also, if the holds and checkout transactions happen on OverDrive but through Evergreen, where does the patron see and manage these -- in their record on Evergreen, in their record on OverDrive, or both? Could we use the Patron Information API to get information about the patron's OverDrive holds and checkouts to display in their account information in the Evergreen catalog? On 5/2/2014 3:28 PM, Holly Brennan wrote: I’m thinking that way too…. Otherwise, how would it know what we have from Overdrive? This API does a lot for helping the patron find info faster (without having to leave the catalog)… now I just need an API that tells our catalog what new records have been added to ListenAlaska (our statewide, Overdrive-run digital holdings)… without me doing a thing. J -Holly *From:*open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org [mailto:open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org] *On Behalf Of *Rogan Hamby *Sent:* Friday, May 02, 2014 11:17 AM *To:* Evergreen Discussion Group *Subject:* Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Update on Overdrive API integration I haven't read the APIs but I imagine you would. If I'm wrong that would be really nice. :) Somehow I'm imaging this builds off behavior in 856 fields. On Fri, May 2, 2014 at 3:01 PM, Holly Brennan haderh...@ci.homer.ak.us mailto:haderh...@ci.homer.ak.us wrote: One question about the Overdrive API: If implemented, would I still have to import the MARC records supplied by OCLC, as if I was cataloging and importing real items? I'm thinking yes, but I can dream big. Thanks! -Holly -Original Message- From: open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org mailto:open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org [mailto:open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org mailto:open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Elizabeth B. Thomsen Sent: Friday, May 02, 2014 5:09 AM To: open-ils-general@list.georgialibraries.org mailto:open-ils-general@list.georgialibraries.org Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Update on Overdrive API integration If you've never seen the OverDrive API in action, you can see examples in the Marmot catalog (VuFind) http://opac.marmot.org If you do a search on minor adjustment beauty salon, you'll see availability information for both their physical and digital versions of this title, including OverDrive and OneClickDigital. Here's a screenshot of the OverDrive ebook and audiobook versions of Lean In: http://www.noblenet.org/wp-content/uploads/leanin.png The available one has a Checkout button and the other has a Place Hold button. I like the fact that Marmot has an eContent Source facet. On 5/2/2014 8:47 AM, Rogan Hamby wrote: Not to derail the conversation from Overdrive support (which would be a great thing to have) I wonder if anyone else would be interested in OneClickDigital integration. They don't have a published set of APIs at the moment but based on casual conversations I know they would be interested in having similar functionality in Evergreen. This isn't high priority for us but I'm curious is there is widespread interest. On Fri, May 2, 2014 at 8:43 AM, Kathy Lussier kluss...@masslnc.org mailto:kluss...@masslnc.org mailto:kluss...@masslnc.org mailto:kluss...@masslnc.org wrote: Hi Ruth, There is information on the Overdrive API at https://developer.overdrive.com/apis. The basic idea is that you would see availability information for Overdrive material directly in the catalog rather than sending the user to Overdrive to see this information. You could also allow users to do Overdrive checkouts and place holds directly from the catalog. Kathy Kathy Lussier Project
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Wishlist for future development by someone smarter than me
On 9/24/2013 10:14 AM, Jason Etheridge wrote: I think we should support this in stock Evergreen (though maybe use the turtle for both images by default); make it easier for folks to customize. I agree that making this easier to customize is a good thing -- thanks for adding this to Launchpad. However, I don't think we should use the turtle for both images by default -- we found this a real source of confusion in training because the turtle so clearly implies slow delivery and doesn't make sense for items that are being put on the hold shelf. We also found that the turtle image itself to be a problem, since it so clearly implies that delivery is always slow and that's not the message we want to have circ staff see many times a day. We had discussions about what images to use here, the most popular suggestion being a speedy-looking delivery truck, but decided that just having the big bold words was simple and clear. -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Search Filter Groups
Thanks, Bill! We probably should have been able to guess that syntax. We use copy location groups extensively here for scopes, and have to edit them frequently when libraries rearrange their collections and add new copy locations, so not having to remember to add these in two places would definitely be helpful. One more question on the speed of search issue -- is there a difference here between using a copy location in a search filter group and using one as a scope in the location selector? We currently have some location group scopes that include very long lists of copy locations, and don't have speed problems with them. For example, we have a copy location group that's called All Children's Locations in the location selector and it works fine. Would there be any reason that it would be slower if used in as in a search filter group for audience as an alternative to working with the MARC audience fixed field? We're trying to test these, but we're working on our training system which is different hardware and obviously different load. We're enthusiastic about the power of search filter groups but a little wary about possible performance issues. On 7/11/2013 9:04 AM, Bill Erickson wrote: Hi Elizabeth, You can use Copy Location Groups within Search Filter Groups. The syntax is location_groups(1,2,3,...). They would certainly be easier to maintain, particularly if your location groups are already configured, but they would have no effect either way on the speed of the search as compared to bare copy locations. -b On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 3:16 PM, Elizabeth B. Thomsen e...@noblenet.org mailto:e...@noblenet.org wrote: We're working on improving our TPAC with new formats and advanced filters using search filter groups, and would be interested to see what others have done with these. Is anyone willing to share? We especially like the ability to mix and match MARC data and copy locations, but we're concerned about possible performance issues if we create filter items using long lists of copy locations. Has anyone had any experience with this? Is there any way to use copy location groups rather than individual copy locations? This would be easier for us to maintain, but would there also be performance advantages if this were possible? -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org mailto:e...@noblenet.org -- Bill Erickson | Senior Software Developer | phone: 877-OPEN-ILS (673-6457) | email: ber...@esilibrary.com mailto:ber...@esilibrary.com | web: http://esilibrary.com | Equinox Software, Inc. / Your Library's Guide to Open Source -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] RSS feeds and links to the catalog
We really like the bookbags (My Lists) feature in the catalog, especially with the features added in 2.3 that make it much easier for logged-in users to add things directly to a particular list right from the search results screen. We're promoting these to our staff and patrons as an easy way to make and share lists of items. The HTML View works great for viewing the list but we have a problem with the feed link. The feed looks fine, but when you click on a title you go to the htmlholdings-full unapi view, and have to click on the Dynamic Details link to go to the record in the catalog. We really want to eliminate this unapi view and go directly to the record in the usual TPac view. This seems more consistent with the HTML view of the list, where titles link to the full record. It's what our staff and users expect when they click on a title, and we don't understand the purpose or the benefit of having this extra page between the user and the full record displayed in the usual manner, with the holds link, added content, etc. This is an important issue to us because we want to use and promote the RSS feeds as a convenient way to add booklists to LibGuides and blog sidebars, among other uses. Are we missing something? Is there a benefit to that screen that we're not seeing, or some technical reason why we can't have the titles link to the TPAC? Here's an example of a shared list: HTML View: https://evergreen.noblenet.org/eg/opac/results?bookbag=2481 Feed: https://evergreen.noblenet.org/opac/extras/feed/bookbag/rss2-full/2481 I know the developers prefer to keep the conversation on Launchpad, so here's a link to the wishlist bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/evergreen/+bug/1183972 -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] What software do you use for Evergreen training?
NOBLE has been using Jing for a few years to make screenshots and screencasts. We found that the five minute limit and fact that you couldn't edit the screencasts was a plus for us -- it made us break things up into short, manageable pieces, and work quickly without trying to make to make things perfect. We post screencasts as documentation, and use them to show new features, etc. We also often send people custom screencasts when we're answering their support questions -- it's sometimes easier for us to just show them how to do something rather than write out the step-by-step directions. Sometimes this helps us discover that what we're seeing is not what they're seeing for some reason, which is helpful. Some library staff use Jing to send us screenshots with their support questions and development ideas -- they like adding big red arrows pointing to whatever they don't like! Some people have started making their own quick screencasts to report a problem because, like us, they find it easier to show something than to explain it in writing. Being able to instantly upload to screencast.com (part of the service) and send a URL makes this a simple process. We recently upgraded to Camtasia to be able to do some other kinds of screencasts, but as a simple utility, it's hard to beat Jing. Jing, Camtasia and Screencast.com are all products of Techsmith: http://www.techsmith.com We also have used GoToMeeting for a few years. We don't really use it for meetings the way we thought we would, we usually use it one-on-one with someone in a library who needs individual training/consulting on a process. We also use it for support issues when we can't quite figure out what's going on and want to watch them perform a process on their own computer. More recently we added GoToTraining which adds more structure for training sessions, including registration, polls, quizzes, etc. Here's a comparison chart of GoToMeeting and GoToTraining: http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/web_conferencing_comparison -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] acquisitions module
There certainly are a lot of issues with acquisitions, but fortunately this is an area of active development. Be sure to check out Equinox's blog post about acquisitions development that should be in Release 2.3: http://blog.esilibrary.com/2012/07/11/high-speed-2-3-acq-development/ On 7/13/2012 5:06 AM, Sheila Miller wrote: Acquisitions General speed of acquisitions is very, very slow. System does not like Purchase Orders or Invoices above 100 lines. After this it freezes and won't save or allow you to make changes to lines. We have now changed workflows to fit in with this as there was no other way round it. If receiving part of an order line, it gets confused and thinks you are receiving all the items. We have had to invoice first, then receive, to get round this. If you create a PO by accident, or enter the wrong Provider, there is no way back. you can't change Provider details or delete the PO. Once PO is activated it is not possible to un-activate it if you realise you need to make changes. THIS IS A MAJOR PAIN. The PO allows you to activate even if there are no copies on a line, it does not give you a warning. If you move an item from a Selection List to a PO, sometimes the system creates the PO but does not move the item. Sometimes you get to the end of an invoice and the system won't save it - ends up you lose the lot and have to start again. MAJOR WASTE OF STAFF RESOURCES Sometimes the system won't Save and Close an invoice, regardless of size, for no apparent reason. Within MARC Record Download there is an option to create a PO from here. IT DOES NOT WORK. When in a PO and you want to create copies, the next screen does not carry any information about the book. If interrupted or distracted at this stage, (phone rings etc) it is easy to forget where you were and you need to go back to PO and redo. When searching for PO or Invoice in the list, there are no page numbers so it is hard to navigate. If you go into an item on any page after Page 1, and return to the list, the system takes you back to Page 1 every time. THIS IS ALSO EXTREMELY ANNOYING. Functionality that allows selected items in a PO to be taken across to an invoice at the same time would be good. At present you can take all at once or only one at a time. These are the problems that we can remember at the moment. There are others. Best wishes Sheila Sheila Miller Support Services Librarian Libraries Archives Service Stirling Council Tel. 01786 432386 mill...@stirling.gov.uk *** This email and any attachments are intended solely for the individual or organisation to which they are addressed and may be confidential and/or legally privileged. If you have received this email in error please forward it to serviced...@stirling.gov.uk and then delete it. Please check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses as Stirling Council accepts no liability for any harm caused to the addressees' systems or data. Stirling Council may monitor its email system. Stirling Council accepts no liability for personal emails. -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Evergreen 2.3 alpha around the corner
* Display of public copy notes - it might seem to be minor, but public notes aren't really public if the public can't see them. Public copy notes are important if you use these for donor information and it's the equivalent of the bookplate. Always good to show appreciation to donors! The lack of scoped call number browsing is also a real issue here. (See https://bugs.launchpad.net/evergreen/+bug/973618) The other things we really want are the group formats and editions for both searching and holds, more advanced limiters including local copy locations. I also greatly prefer the way facets display in the JSPac, which has a more structured approach to grouping, for example, the Subject facets together. I also like the way the JSPac lists the top five items for each facet, with a More button to display the full listing. TPac lists the first ten, with no option to see the full list. (If there's a way to change this in TPac, please let me know!) -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] ***SPAM*** Question about putting books on display
On 1/17/2012 5:22 PM, Thomas Berezansky wrote: 2 - Add a temporary copy location in some fashion. I would go for a secondary table saying after this date, at checkin, switch this copy to this location. The copy's location then gets the new location. If you use now as the date it will switch back as soon as it is checked in later, whether it be from a return or otherwise. Using a date in the future, such as when the display is to be taken down, allows the system to automatically return the copy to the original location when done. If I understand this correctly, it sounds like exactly what our libraries are looking for! I think this would be especially useful for displays where the items come from many different parts of the collection. It's easy enough to scan all the items and change the shelving location to Display but to revert them is more complicated when some are fiction, some nonfiction, some DVDs, etc., all with different locations. And having this work for a date in the future or now would work perfectly for the two types of displays we deal with -- ones where the items are supposed to return to the display after checkout, and ones where they aren't. -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 Blog: http://www.noblenet.org/ethomsen/ E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Public Bookbags
We really like the ability for users to maintain public bookbags with RSS feeds. However, in our testing it seems that new books get added to the bottom of the list, and the bottom of the feed. Is there a way to change this behavior so that new items are added to the top of the list, so they'll be picked up by the feed and displayed in feed readers, widgets, etc.? We've also been looking at the different formats for public bookbags. The default view, html-full, is awfully spartan and requires two clicks to get from the list into the full catalog record. We prefer the opac format, but it doesn't display the name of the list. Has anyone edited this so the list name displays, or done anything else to improve the format of public lists? For anyone else just getting started with this, I found this page to be really helpful: http://open-ils.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=evergreen-user:bookbags Thanks! -- Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange 26 Cherry Hill Drive Danvers MA 01923 Blog: http://www.noblenet.org/ethomsen/ E-mail: e...@noblenet.org
Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Homebound?
Privacy concerns are important, but many people really want the system to be able to maintain their borrowing history. We'd like to see all patrons be able to opt into borrowing history, with flexible controls for sharing that information. Some homebound people can access the catalog, place their own holds, etc., and really just need delivery service from the library, while others want and need a more comprehensive service that includes selecting titles for them. For that level of service, I think they need to opt into having their borrowing history tracked and being used appropriately by staff. (Especially if the alternative is having staff track borrowing in some less-efficient manner, which is what many people are doing now.) On 5/31/2011 12:42 PM, Georgette Rogers wrote: I understand about privacy, but isn't homebound different. Since they cant get to the computers or request the books, we have to have some way to keep track, and we select the books for them. Georgette Rogers Circulation Supervisor Liberty Lake Municipal Library 23123 E Mission Ave Liberty Lake, WA 99019 509-435-0778 1-866-729-8507 From: open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org [open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Hardy, Elaine [eha...@georgialibraries.org] Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 9:16 AM To: 'Evergreen Discussion Group' Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Homebound? PINES libraries purposefully did not want a history of the items a specific patron has checked out retained as a means to protect the privacy of their library records. Elaine J. Elaine Hardy PINES Bibliographic Projects and Metadata Manager Georgia Public Library Service, A Unit of the University System of Georgia 1800 Century Place, Suite 150 Atlanta, Ga. 30345-4304 404.235-7128 404.235-7201, fax eha...@georgialibraries.org www.georgialibraries.org http://www.georgialibraries.org/pines/ -Original Message- From: open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org [mailto:open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Garry Collum Sent: Saturday, May 28, 2011 9:16 AM To: Evergreen Discussion Group Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Homebound? but also containing a history of the items a patron has read
