Berkeley Technical Services Discussion Group Meeting
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
9:00am to 11:00am
303 Doe
Agenda
1. Announcements
-The Innopac upgrade to Silver in early November created problems in how certain defaulted values in the fixed fields were handled, which had the result that records did not output in a correct MARC format. Records could not load from Innopac to Gladis until this bug was resolved. There were a handful of problems as a result of the timing of the Innopac/OCLC loads being offset during the few days we ceased loading from Innopac completely. These have been referred to sermaint/monmaint. These fixed length fields that were causing the problem were blank, which is how they always were in the old Innopac. With the Silver version they needed something in them, so Jim fixed the templates to have a - in them. The old records are unaffected by this, but all newly created records with the beginning of the Silver version need a - in them. If you see these dashes in Innopac records do not delete them. They are there so that the Innopac/Gladis loads won't cause load errors.
-Just as a reminder, it would be a good idea for everyone to read the Final Report from the Bibliographic Services Task Force "Rethinking How We Provide Bibliographic Services for the University of California". Bernie sent out an email a while ago with the link to the document. Here is the link: http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/sopag/ This document is important because it talks about the future of the catalog we all use, for Berkeley and all UC campuses. I encourage everyone to at least read the Executive Summary.
2. Systems Gladis Update / C. Takaro
B-Tech update for Gladis/Systems Dec. 2005-Jan. 2006 Feb. 1, 2006
Gladis maintenance terminals:
Early January: Various reports that all Gladis maintenance terminals were in use on 169.229.32.8 and 169.229.32.9 – We determined that the large number of terminals in use was in part due to many that were tied up but not actively being used. We did something to reset them all so all the unused ones were released, and have been monitoring activity, and for now it is fine. As a part of this process we did some testing to determine how people should exit Gladis so that their terminal is freed up for someone else who needs to use Maintenance. The results were surprising.
See handout for new exit instructions. PLEASE exit all your Gladis windows before you leave for the day every day so that these windows are available for other people. If you notice that you can not get a Gladis Maintenance window, please let me know ASAP – don't assume someone has already reported the problem.
SEE ATTACHED HANDOUT IN THIS EMAIL.
Innopac problem:
The Innopac upgrade to Silver in early Nov. created problems in how certain defaulted values in the fixed fields were handled, which had the result that records did not output in a correct MARC format. Records could not load from Innopac to Gladis until this bug was resolved. There were a handful of problems as a result of the timing of the Innopac/OCLC loads being offset during the few days we ceased loading from Innopac completely. These have been referred to sermaint/monmaint.
OCLC CJK character set problem:
Invalid escape codes in OCLC CJK records mean the records are not loadable into GLADIS. They say it is a bug on their end that they are working on, but catalogers should be able to avoid the problem by validating before producing their records.
Digitization project for CDL:
Various reports needed for CDL digitization projects. Programming is in progress to create customized output for NRLF that will be used to pull the items from their shelves for digitization.
Names/Subject authorities subscription problem:
Starting Jan. 1 our weekly authorities files from the Library of Congress were not able to be ftped. It turns out there were two problems: our subscription for the year had not yet been paid, and they changed our password on the 1st (without notifying me).
XP upgrades and problems with Joe Mitola's macros:
Due to problems running Joe Mitola's macros on staff machines upgraded to XP, we asked LWNS to hold off on doing any more XP upgrades for Gladis users until these problems could be diagnosed and solved.
David Zuckerman has been working on two sets of problems running Joe Mitola's GLADIS macros on upgraded XP machines. One is in bindery prep, where the macro Joe created to take Gladis data and automatically input it into the LARS module was not functioning on XP. David got it running on an XP machine in our office, and we think the problem in Bindery Prep has to do with a general slowness problem with that specific machine/connection rather than a LARS/XP compatibility problem per se.
Of more general interest, we had a report that Joe's Gladis label macros were not working on XP. David also was able to get those to work on our XP machine here, and has given a short list of simple modifications needed to the machines themselves to LWNS to allow the macros to run on XP. We want to see them test using David's instructions and having a staff person who relies on the macros really test out his fix before we give the "all clear" for them to resume upgrading staff pcs to XP.
[NOTE: Update as of 2/27/06 - both XP problems have been resolved. LWNS has instructions for a simple workaround for the labels problem, and LARS is up and running.]
FTP to Cars in client mode problem:
We had a problem ftping to CARS in early January related to trying to make sure all the correct files had been processed over the break. We were able to get ftp up and running again by resetting it.
245 $h[computer file] project:
Titles (245, 246 and 740 fields) that contained a $h[computer file] had that text changed to $h[electronic resource] by a program in January.
245's----> 3404
246's----> 1033
740's----> 512
NRLF/Main storage card project:
New macros were created to make it easier for Gail Ford, selectors, Willyce Kim, and Systems to keep track of the sets of records of low circ items from the MAIN stacks selected and printed on cards to be pulled to send to NRLF. Many new file sets were printed to cards in January.
Ethnic Studies billing on CARS:
It was discovered that all invoices for Ethnic Studies (ETHN, AASL, CHIC, and NAS) sent to CARS since November 2005 have been bouncing due to an invalid chart of accounts string. Various steps of cleanup were required to make sure that all invoices and credits are being processed correctly.
Gladis accounts list:
We produced two lists of all Gladis accounts: one for autocirc and one for maintenance for Jody Bussell who is reviewing active accounts. Any other unit desiring this full list or a list for their unit should contact me. It is always appreciated when supervisors or unit heads go through these lists and let us know whose accounts can be deleted. We also really appreciate supervisors putting in delete account requests on the webforms when people leave.
Reminder: Please don't share accounts. We heard recently about students sharing a long-outdated account in a unit that should know better. Please remind supervisors in your unit that every person using Gladis maintenance or autocirc needs to have their own individual logon and password. Password changes are a good idea periodically, especially if there is any chance an account has been shared. Here are the webforms for creating, deleting, or requesting changes to accounts:
Maintenance:
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/UCBonly/LSO/maintenance.html
Autocirc:
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/UCBonly/LSO/autocirc.html
Report printing problem:
We ran a report for BIOS of all items in their Locked Case, for which they wanted a paper printout. At this time we discovered a problem with the process that prints these records which is creating a blank page every other page in their output. Troubleshooting is still in progress...
Disabling Ejournals project:
The science libraries have decided to stop using the "Electronic Journals in Science & Engineering" database in favor of the SFX A-Z list. We're in the process of dismantling the many facets of this ejournals project, and the link has already been removed from Pathfinder.
SCP serials load project:
Programming is underway to load a backfile of all SCP serials. I'll give another update once SCP has provided us that file and when we're closer to loading the records.
3. Vendor Subscription Renewals / D. Lee
The journal subscription renewal process can be a little tricky at the end of the year sometimes. Our major vendors (SWETS, EBSCO, HARR) are renewed electronically at the end of the year. Occasionally the vendors may be late in getting us the renewal list. This can translate to us uploading the payments in the Innopac records late. Payments are generally loaded by the end of December but if the vendor is late in getting us the information they could be loaded into Innopac as late as the end of January. There should only be a lag time of not more than a couple of weeks from the time the orders are paid and they are posted into Innopac. If you are ever concerned about a specific title you can always email "serpay" and they will look into it. For the major vendors SWETS and EBSCO the payment history can be looked up in their online database to confirm payment.
It is important that all units forward their Invoices and renewal notices to CCS SerPay, do not throw them away. Send them to "Collection Core Services: Serpay:Print". All of them will eventually be reviewed. Sometimes important information is on them such as free online access, change in renewal dates, huge price increases, changes in publishers, etc. Remember that if you ever notice any lapses in your subscription or no payment for the current year and you feel it should be in there, feel free to contact the "serpay" email account so CCS can look into it.
4. Call number label shields / S. Miller
Several units have been complaining about the DEMCO label shields (PRD#12882640) currently used on our books. They do not stick very well and fray. The library used to use the Vernon label shield (#6516) years ago and for some reason shifted to using the DEMCO label. Some libraries have resorted to purchasing their own Vernon label shields to label new books and relabel some books with the DEMCO label that won't stick. Jewel in Library Purchasing was contacted about the Vernon labels and said she would look into it.
Tonette said this was the first she heard of this problem and since she is in charge of labeling will look into the situation.
5. Technical Processing questions / Open Discussion
The question was raised as to when did it become standard practice to put piggyback barcodes on post-it notes inside of new books. Apparently this has been standard practice for some time now. Judith will investigate this and report back.
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