SirsiDynix Symphony Offline Circulation Procedures

Greetings everyone.

Tomorrow is the day we begin conducting all circulation transactions (check outs, check ins, registrations) in the Sirsidynix Symphony Offline Circulation.  Instructions for opening and setting up the Symphony Offline Circulation module are attached.  You will need to follow the procedures in the attachment for each computer on which you conduct offline circulation transactions from 07/03/13 through 07/10/13.  

The following are the due dates to set for “Default due date” in step 6 d:

• on 07/03/13, set the default due date to 07/24/13
• on 07/04/13, we’re closed for the holiday. Do not set a default due date.
• on 07/05/13, set the default due date to 07/26/13
• on 07/06/13, set the default due date to 07/27/13
• on 07/07/13, set the default due date to 07/28/13
• on 07/08/13, set the default due date to 07/29/13
• on 07/09/13, set the default due date to 07/30/13
• on 07/10/13, set the default due date to 07/31/13

For sites with Self Check and Materials Sorters, you need to also do the following:
Self Checks – leave the self check units turned on, but put Out Of Order signs on them and direct customers to Symphony Offline Circulation stations for service. Materials Sorters – turn them off at the close of business today (07/02/13).
Thank you for your assistance with this. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Circulation Administration Department. We will be delighted to help in any way that we are able.

Fred Schumacher

SirsiDynix Symphony (new circulation and catalog system) update #8

  As you know from Dr. Lawson's message, we are changing our circulation period to 3-weeks with one renewal for most items.  DVDs cannot be renewed.

In addition, you need to know that items are renewed from the renewal date, not from the due date.

   We have already had one customer complain about this change and we anticipate that you will be dealing with this concern from a number of other customers.  Please review this response so that you will have a ready explanation to offer:

We share your concerns and we have requested that the vendor develop the capability of renewing material based on the due date. This is a major programming change since most library circulation software renews materials from the renewal date (our current system is the exception). We anticipate it will be at least a year before this could become a reality. In the meantime, we hope that the 3-week check-out period with e-mail reminders when it is time to renew will mitigate the inconvenience for most of our customers.

I hope you have seen the FAQ's and timeline on the Staff Intranet page.  In addition, the link from the banner on the Library Homepage goes to the Library Blog where you can see what has been posted about the change for our customers to read and their questions with our answers.  You may wish to print the FAQ's out so you have quick responses to other questions customers may pose.

When you or a customer logs in to your library account, a new message will be appearing in the next few days.  This has also been posted to the Library Blog.

If you had previously opted in to the Reading History, that information will transfer to the new customer accounts system. However, some other information will not carry-over.  We recommend that you print out or email to yourself anything you have saved in "My Lists" as well as any "Preferred Searches." You can then re-create them in Enterprise, our new catalog.  Also, our new catalog does not feature Customer Reviews, Ratings, or Tags.  You may wish to save your reviews and add them to a social reading network such as Goodreads or LibraryThing.  The current catalog will be available through July 2. 

  We are planning a one-hour training session to be held at multiple locations during the first two weeks of July to review the features of the online catalog.  Look for an announcement from HPL Training. 

  This week starts our real transition to the new system.  You should now be following the new procedure for items on the fly and for checking in new periodicals.  Some new items are still coming to you in Delivery.  Please check them in as usual.  If you have questions or problems with either of these procedures, please contact me and I will have someone get back to you.

  Lastly, it has been pointed out to me that I have not addressed one of your most serious questions:  Why on earth are we doing this in the middle of the Summer Reading Club?

  We are all very aware that the timing of this change is not good.  Unfortunately, HALAN's contract with III expires at the end of June.  We have made arrangements to start paying them on a month-to-month basis but it is costing tens of thousands of dollars to do this.  We had to bite the bullet and make the change as quickly as possible.  We (Administration and HALAN staff) are deeply grateful for your willingness to do "one more thing" when you are already doing so much. 

If you have any questions, please contact me. 

Thanks,

Syma

Syma Zerkow

Chief of Library Materials Services

Houston Public Library

Item On The Fly procedure - effective immediately

Greetings all.

Effective immediately, any Item On The Fly record is to be added to the bibliographic record for Item On The Fly.  If you scan a barcode for an item that is not in the system, a screen will appear prompting a title search to add an item-on-the-fly. 

When this happens, you are to enter the title Item On The Fly in the search box

and click the search button to get the Item On The Fly bibliographic record – b25396456.

Enter the requested values for each field that the template prompts you to complete to add the item-on-the-fly record to the system and complete the check out.  For the remainder of our time working in Millennium Circulation, you should add on-the-fly items to this bib ONLY.  Any item added to a bibliographic record other than the Item On The Fly bibliographic record may not be migrated to the new Symphony system.  When the migration to Symphony is complete, you will begin using the procedure presented in the Symphony Circulation Training you attend(ed).

Please share this change with your colleagues to ensure that everyone in your location is aware of this necessary change.

Thanks for your attention to this.

Fred Schumacher

Circulation Administration Manager

Procedures for RFID Tagging

Greetings,

This is to inform you that during the migration from III to SirsiDynix Symphony the RFID tagging procedures that are currently in place will remain the same. The conversion software is totally independent from both the III and SirsiDynix systems. It is very important that you continue to RFID tag your items as usual. Please feel free to contact Inventory Control Christopher Patrick Christopher.patrick@houstontx.gov  (ext 31620) or Melinda Richard Melinda.richard@houstontx.gov (ext 31617) if you need RFID tags or if you have   questions.

Thanks much!

Felicia Brisco

Manager, Inventory Control