CUNY Libraries Circulation Committee
Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
ATTENDEES
BB
BM
BX
BC
CC
CL
GC
GJ
HO
HC
JJ
KB
LG
LE
ME
NY
QC
QB
SI
YC
CO
Christina Muniz
Joy Dunkley
Bridget Nowicki
Regina Houghteling
Curtis Matthew
Harry Johnson
Jeffrey Kroessler
Wendy Chu
Dianne Gordon Conyers
Angelina Brea
Thony Jean Gilles
Nancy Gonzalez
Simone Yearwood
Barbara DuVal
Travis Hilton
Marsha Clark, Larry McCue, Angela Sidman
1) OLS/System updates:
- CIS/IT split the Aleph migration into two parts. Part 1 was last weekend's Fri-Sun shutdown. The
Aleph database now resides on a faster server. After testing by CIS, OLS and campus staff, it appears the
OPAC and Aleph client are functioning normally. PLIF loads were not interrupted by migration; so circ
should not be concerned about missed student/faculty data.
CIS plans to do prep work, mostly offline, in hopes Part 2 of the migration (moving the application and
the centrally-hosted EZ proxy instances) can be completed in a regular Tuesday morning maintenance
period. When the date of the second migration is finalized, a message will be posted to CULIBS. Save
your testing checklists and searches to use again following Part 2.
- Angela (OLS) reported that she, Pat Young and Dean Bryan reviewed the web-based interface for
LogiXML's "Insight for Libraries" reporting tool and had an overall positive response. For example, Aleph
data was extracted successfully. Next steps will include making required customizations to the interface
to accommodate CUNY's shared set-up and working with CIS to secure access and data.
- The procurement process has begun for purchasing the Primo discovery system.
- OLS, CIS, CUNY legal and Ex Libris continue to meet and negotiate concerning the possibility of Ex Libris
hosting Aleph.
- OLS hopes to post an announcement soon about filling at least one of the two open staff positions.
2) At least three colleges reported that expiry dates were not updated. Angela will investigate.
[Update: problem had been corrected in previous evening's PLIF load.]
3) The calendar is sometimes locked when trying to update because libraries are not cleaning out old
data. The backlog of old data for even one library can block the calendar for everyone. Colleges with
multiple sublibraries should pay particular attention to the number of lines they carry forward each
term. Angela will re-send Pat's email about how to edit/manage the calendar.
4) The committee accepted City Tech's proposal to add a new material type. The Blu-ray designation
already appears in the catalog, but it will now appear as a material type on the item screen and will
allow for circ stats by material type to differentiate between DVDs and Blu-rays. Catalogers will be
consulted for final approval.
5) Jeff (JJ) expressed concern that the Aleph circulation log is not erased after an item has been
returned. OLS is aware of the problem; fixing it will be a top priority for the new Aleph staff person.
It can be useful for a history to be kept of cash transactions and of fines. Curtis (GC) recalled it was for
up to three years. For simple check-in/check-out of items, the committee agreed the log should be
swept clean.
6) Harry (HC) reported the case of a 2004 graduate being wrongly charged with borrowing books due to
a duplicate barcode. How come old barcode didn't expire? It is known that barcode suppliers
sometimes duplicate barcode numbers. In some cases, security staffs recycle barcodes. Please have circ
desk match name on ID with name in the Aleph patron record.
7) Outstanding / old holds report. There are too many items on the report.
Books in transit and books on hold should be excluded, if possible.
Angela will email details on how the report is currently run. OLS will run some test cases with changes
to the item availability filter and share them with committee for feedback.
8) Regina (CC): reminders to new people:
- Delete holds if you don’t find things.
- CC has five libraries. CWE (Center for Worker Education) is at Bowling Green Park, not uptown.
- Anything with a CVB barcode should be returned immediately to City College library.
9) Simone (QC): Next Requester ID in Hold Shelf Report is sometimes SSN instead of student ID. Staffs
should leave the Primary ID field blank so that the system can provide an ID key.
Can OLS run query to find wrong format/sizes to see if SSN was mistakenly entered? Angela to
investigate.
10) Lost-in-transit report.
Every school must cooperate in getting books off list. Catalog shows book is checked out to patron, but
not true.
Committee gave examples and discussed how books disappear, including problems with delivery service.
It is hoped the new contract for book delivery includes accountability by the deliverer (currently, LAND
does not accept responsibility for lost books).
At Brooklyn, after 6 months a book's status is changed to missing-in-transit so it won't show up on the
in-transit list. If not back after a year, given to catalogers to remove. Bridget (BC) will send best
practices bullet points list to OLS for posting.
Upon request, OLS can run Missing in Transit report (once a year).
In 2010 we agreed to go back to 2007 (deleted prior to 2007). May need to update.
Could the list show the last known location? Unfortunately data is not in system so can't be on report;
would have to be done manually.
Christina (BB): found books on shelves belonging to other schools.
Double discharge: at Hunter, books get checked in twice. It creates extra work but cuts down on errors.
Checking in a second time really works and is a lot faster than searching shelves.
11) Marsha (OLS): Workstation identifiers.
Circulation workstations formerly used static IP addresses and now use Workstation Identifiers. Pat
would like to clean up the table that stores static IPs.
Because the table is difficult to read, Pat will try to send out groups of IP addresses for people to review.
If you know the IP addresses you are no longer using (because you wrote them down somewhere),
please let OLS know.
12) There is a possibility that CUNYfirst will come up for all of CUNY in March.
CUNYfirst preview? It's a web application, can be logged in.
13) Simone wrote a manual on how to place and remove holds. She will send it to OLS for posting.
Tips for processing CUNYStart patrons which were shared over email will also be added to the OLS
Support Site. [http://support.cunylibraries.org/content/tips-processing-cuny-start-patron-records]
14) As always, if you notice any technical problems regarding Aleph please contact the CIS Service Desk
immediately by calling 212-541-0981 or send an email to the *new* service desk (help desk) email
address: service.desk@cuny.edu.
15) Next meeting: Wednesday April 25, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., Baruch Library conference room 415
(reservation confirmed).
###
LM