Memphis Public Library's New ILS

Two months later...

2007-08-14T11:41:00.001-05:00

... and though we're not completely out of the woods, I think it's safe to say that we survived.

While there is still work to be done to complete the SirsiDynix ILS implementation project -- for example, we still have important auxiliary products, such as Director's Station and the Hyperion Digital Media Archive, left to deploy -- -- the major tasks of our migration from DRA Classic to Unicorn have been successfully completed.

For that reason, this blog has pretty well reached the end of its useful life. While it will be maintained as an archive of the project, new information about Unicorn, EPS, and the other aspects of the ILS will be shared through other means, including e-mail, meetings, the Go Live Training wiki, and the MPLIC Tech Train blog.

My thanks to all the members of the Sirsi ILS Implementation teams for all their hard work -- especially our Automated Library System Coordinator, Paul Gahn, without whom we would never have made it to this point. (Hope you're enjoying that well-earned vacation, Paul!) Thanks as well to everyone on the MPLIC staff, for your positive and supportive attitude these past twenty months. We couldn't have done it without you.

Image by The Reader's Shop.

New wizards: Remove item hold & Modify item hold

2007-07-23T13:09:00.000-05:00

E-mail from Paul Gahn to all circulation and reference staff, July 19:

Two new wizards have been added to the reference toolbar to aid in correcting hold errors.

Hold – Modify item

&

Hold – Remove item

Use modify item hold to:

1.) Add or correct a customer name in Comments (if customer called and you are using an agency hold account with item in hand)

2.) Do not use modify to change pickup location.

a. If you used the correct agency hold account the pickup library would be correct (instead remove hold and place hold with correct account)

Use remove item hold to:

1.) Remove the hold if you didn’t place the hold on the account of the pickup library (Customer called and you are using an agency hold account with item in hand)

Modify item hold has also been added to the Circulation toolbar (Circ toolbar already had Remove item hold).

Requested Change in Procedures for Hold Slips

2007-06-28T13:10:00.000-05:00

E-mail from Kevin Dixon to all reference and circulation staff and all managers, Wednesday, June 27:

Reference staff were informed in training to write the customer's name and the current date on hold slips whenever a receipt did not print (as a receipt includes the customer's name and the current date).

However, now that circulation staff have processed several clean hold shelf reports, they are requesting that reference staff write the projected date seven days from the current date (when the pick-up date will expire).

This changes our procedures a bit.

Before, if a receipt printed, staff did not need to write anything. However, now staff will need to write, on the receipt, the date seven days from now.

Also, if a receipt does not print, staff will need to include the customer's last name, first initial (just as before), and the date seven days from now.

This will make things a lot easier for circulation staff as they clean the hold shelves. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you,
Kevin

Hold clarificaitons for June 23, 2007

2007-06-25T13:16:00.000-05:00

E-mail message from Paul Gahn to all circulation and reference staff, Saturday, June 23:

1.) When customers arrive to checkout items placed on hold with the agency hold account please be sure to Override Checkout Item & Cancel Hold not just Override & Checkout.

a. Not cancelling the hold will cause the item to revisit your hold shelf when the customer returns it, creating work for you and your coworkers down the road. The item will sit on the shelf, no one will be notified and it will prevent other holds from being filled until it has been on the hold shelf for 7 days.

b. I am in the process of removing holds on agency accounts that have already been checked out.

c. Also use the Override Checkout Item & Cancel Hold option if a family member presents themselves to checkout available holds on a different account from the one used to place the hold.

d. Do not use Override Checkout Item & Cancel Hold if an item is presented for checkout (item wasn’t on hold shelf). In those cases you should simply Override & Checkout.

2.) Items that show up on the pick list do so because a hold has been placed on the item. There is no need to place another hold using an agency hold account. In fact, the customer will not be notified to pickup if you place a hold with the agency hold account. Pick list items need only be pulled from the shelf and scanned with Holds – Trap.

a. If going to another agency fill out a pink transit slip.

b. If being held at your agency an available hold slip will print if you have a receipt printer attached, otherwise write the customer name on a slip and the current date.

Paul Gahn

Cleaning the hold shelf reports etc.

2007-06-25T13:09:00.000-05:00

E-mail from Paul Gahn to all circulation and reference staff, Friday, June 22:

Bartlett, Cordova, Crenshaw, East Shelby, Highland and South should have received their 1st clean hold shelf report this morning [6/22]. This report will be emailed Mon-Sat. directly to agency circ and ref accounts only if there are items to be removed from the hold shelf tied to customer accounts. This report is sorted by Customer name. Though the report indicates the next destination, items should always be pulled from the hold shelf and then run scanned through the Check Item status wizard to determine their fate. Items could be:

1. Going back on the shelf for another hold (available hold slip will print)

2. Going to another branch for a hold (fill out new pink slip)

3. Going back to the owning library for reshelving.

Unfortunately, this report does not include holds placed with the agency hold account (CENHOLD, CORHOLD etc.) In order to pull these, staff should daily use the Modify hold wizard to check their agency hold account (do not actually modify anything under this wizard) and sort 1st by Comment (name) column and then by Pickup by date column. Pull available hold items from the hold shelf that have a pickup by date equal to yesterday or earlier. These must be scanned through the Remove item hold wizard and remove the hold placed with the agency hold account. Then obey the Workflows instruction as to the item’s fate:

1. Going back on the shelf for another hold (available hold will print)

2. Going to another branch for a hold (fill out new pink slip)

3. Going back to the owning library for reshelving.

...

Paul Gahn

Sending Items to Tech Services

2007-06-25T13:02:00.000-05:00

E-mail from Kevin Dixon to all reference and circulation staff and all managers, Thursday, June 21:

I understand that many agencies have questions about sending items to Tech Services. The instructions for this can be found [on the Go Live training wiki] here.

You basically check items out to internal user ids. If you are wondering what user id to use, I have created a page that lists agency-specific user ids that you use to mark items missing, discard, send to tech services, etc. This page can be found by following this link (and it is linked to many times on the above link). This page lists all agencies. Click on your agency to see your personalized list of user ids.

If you have any questions about this, please let me know and I will be glad to walk you through it.

Thanks,
Kevin

Branch Abbreviations Page

2007-06-25T12:58:00.000-05:00

E-mail from Kevin Dixon to all reference staff, Tuesday, June 19:

As mentioned in training, we use the "Missing, Hold" check out tool to do many things to our items. We can use it to mark items missing, to send it to tech services, to discard it, etc. All we do is type our agency's 3 letter abbreviation and the code for the destination of the item (discard = DISCARD; Material Services = MATSVS, etc.) in the User ID box. Then type or scan the item id. The item is now "checked out" to that specialized user account.

I have created personalized user ids for each location. Just go to this page and click on your agency to see the personalized list.

To see further information regarding the "Missing, Hold" check out tool, visit this link.

Related to this, the instructions for marking items missing have been expanded.

If I need to add anything, just let me know.

Thanks,
Kevin

How to change 7 day popular library to 21 day

2007-06-25T12:48:00.000-05:00

E-mail message from Paul Gahn to all circulation staff, Tuesday, June 19:

Branch Circulation Staff,

Since many of you are now receiving new popular library items, you need to make room and change older materials from 7 day to 21 day circulation. In consultation with Item Control, it has been decided that you can do this change yourself in the branch. This should save you some time from having to email Item Control and wait for them to make the change.

At the very bottom of Circulation toolbar under Special Circulation Functions, use the “Edit circ notes, # of pieces, price”

Search by item ID, then change:

1.) Type from BOOK-APOP to BOOK

2.) Home location from POPULAR to NONFICTION or FICTION as appropriate.

3.) Be sure to click SAVE.

Remember to follow minimum shelf life limits specified in PPM 316 and work with your branch manager or appropriate reference personnel on making decisions on what to pull etc. PPM will be updated soon to reflect these changes.

PPM 316:

After materials have been on the Popular Library shelves for four months, you may pull copies that are not circulating well and either have them discarded or changed to 21-day circulating materials. However, at least one copy must remain as popular library for a six-month period. All Popular Library copies should be pulled six months from the date received.

For copies to be added to the 21-day circulating collection, the following steps should be followed:

· See above

· Fiction titles must be checked by agency staff in Unicorn, Item cat1 or call #, to see if a genre has been assigned for the title. If a genre has been assigned, the appropriate genre sticker should be placed at the bottom of the book spine. If “general fiction” appears as the location in Unicorn, a sticker can not be added to the book.

Copies being withdrawn should be checked-out to the agency discard user in Unicorn (CORDISCARD, PKYDISCARD etc.). Do not stamp “discard” or “withdrawn” on the book. Send the Popular Library books to Material Services in boxes labeled Material Services / Popular Library Discards.

If you pull items from Popular Library shelves but don’t have time to make changes immediately (add genre stickers, make item record changes), check out to your agency ITMCTRL account (CORITMCTRL, PKYITMCTRL) until changes have been made, so items don’t show as available to customers and staff.

Thanks,

Paul

EPS displaying "in transit" copies as available

2007-06-18T12:53:00.000-05:00

E-mail from Alan Stewart to all reference staff, Monday, June 18:

As several of you have noticed this morning, materials that are in transit between agencies are showing as available copies in the EPS (public web catalog) hitlists.

We believe we've successfully tweaked the OPAC configuration so that in-transit copies will no longer show as available; however, this change won't be effective until after the next scheduled reboot of the EPS server. The change should be evident Tuesday morning.

Please continue to notify Paul Gahn or me about any problems or issues related to the new online catalog.

Thanks,

Alan

Placing Holds For Your Book Clubs

2007-06-18T12:45:00.000-05:00

E-mail from Kevin Dixon to all reference and circulation staff, Monday, June 18:

Many of you have your own branch book club. In the past, you may have called all the locations with available copies so that they could send them to you. This was time consuming. Now, you can just place holds on these materials.

Briefly, you can:

Use your agency hold account to place the hold.
Use a Title level hold (because you do not have the item in your hand).
Once you place the hold, you can place another hold for this user.
Enter the same Item ID and place another title level hold.
You will need to override because the computer will say that you already have a hold.
Repeat as many times as necessary.

Click on this link for a more detailed explanation (with pictures) for this process. You can also find a link to this under the Holds section of the wiki.

Also, I have created a table of contents for all of the Go Live contents on the wiki. You may find that this is easier for you to review and find what you need.

Thanks,
Kevin

RE: Copy Level Holds and Agency Hold Accounts

2007-06-18T12:15:00.000-05:00

E-mail from Paul Gahn to all circulation and reference staff, Sunday, June 17:

A couple other reminders and clarifications:

1. Once you place copy level holds with item in hand be sure to Trap the item.
This does two things:

Prevents that item from showing on your next pick list
Changes the current location to INTRANSIT -- Or if the customer is coming to your location, changes the current location to HOLDS

2. Be sure the User ID and pickup location match regardless of what location is sending the item.

Examples:

USER ID		PICKUP LOCATION
CENHOLD		CENTRAL
CREHOLD		CRENSHAW
ESBHOLD		EASTSHELBY
PKYHOLD		PKYVILLAGE
PWSHOLD		POPWHITE

The correct pickup library should automatically fill in IF you type the correct User ID and press ENTER.

Using the hold account of the pickup location allows pickup library staff to monitor:

i. What is on the hold shelf (available)

ii. What has yet to arrive (unavailable)

iii. What needs to be removed (pickup by=today’s date).

Although a daily report will begin on Friday (6/22/07) for items to be removed from the hold shelf, it will not include the comment field. So the agency hold account should be monitored daily beginning Thursday (6/21/07) to remove items that have a pickup by date=today’s date.
These items will need to have their hold removed manually with Remove Item hold -- Then obey what the system says. Items may be going back on the hold shelf for another customer, to another library for a hold or back to its owning library

3. All pink slips received via D&D for the hold shelf must be scanned through Receive Items in Transit to make holds available and eligible to notify the customer via SVA or Email to come in to pickup.

Paul Gahn, Automated Services

Copy Level Holds and Agency Hold Accounts

2007-06-18T12:08:00.000-05:00

E-mail from Kevin Dixon to all reference and circulation staff, Friday, June 15:

We have received our first Pick List report! I have noticed that several copy level holds were placed with agency hold accounts on items showing available at other agencies. Copy-level, agency-hold-account holds should only be used when a staff member has the item in their hand.

If you are helping a customer who wants a book placed on hold that is available at another location, you have a couple of options:

First, you can suggest what we have always suggested: that the customer (or you) call the location with an available copy. That location would then place a COPY level hold on the item (because they have it in their hand) with the pick-up location's hold account (pkyhold, cenhold, etc.). This guarantees immediately that the customer will have a copy. Because we are placing a hold with an agency hold account, the customer will NOT be notified when this item reaches the pickup location. We give the same advice we always have ("I will send this book, it should be there tomorrow, but I would suggest calling to make sure it got there"). This process is described here.

Second, if the customer would rather not call or if the location with an available copy is currently closed, you can place a TITLE level hold on the item. It is necessary to place the hold to the customer's library card number (not an agency hold account) since it is not possible for a staff member to get their hands on the book. This hold will appear on the owning agency's next pick list report. If that agency ends up marking that item missing, the hold will appear on the pick list of the next agency that has a copy (because we placed a Title level hold). The customer will then be automatically notified as soon as the item reaches the pickup location. These are the same procedures you follow when the item is checked out, detailed here.

So, in short, Copy level holds should only be used when you have the item in your hand. Also, holds placed on agency hold accounts should only be used if you have the item in your hand. Otherwise, use a Title level hold and the customer's library card # to place the hold.

I hope this helps and thank you for your patience while we iron out the details!

Kevin Dixon, Technical Trainer

Go Live! Day One -- a report from Staff Development on the road

2007-06-18T12:00:00.000-05:00

E-mail from Damone Virgilio to all staff, Friday, June 15:

I have to say that I'm proud to be a part of such a wonderful staff! In our travels yesterday, Kevin and I saw extremely calm, patient and persistent staff members working closely together as teams to work through the first day of Sirsi Unicorn. Everyone I encountered really seemed to be enjoying the day, were communicating very effectively with customers about the changes, and were providing excellent feedback about problems/concerns encountered.

We have been taking careful notes of our observations and any questions you have. It is our goal to make all of this information available to you so that we can begin to share best practices, tips, and troubleshooting techniques. So, in the meantime, please feel free to contact either Kevin or me and pass along any questions or information you have.

Thank you for your commitment and hard work. Know that it is truly appreciated!

Damone Virgilio
Staff Development Manager

What to expect on Thursday morning

2007-06-13T07:02:00.000-05:00

To all MPLIC staff:

Tonight, many of us will hit control-z, choose "Exit Circulation," type QUIT, and say goodbye to DRA Classic for the last time. (Not all of us, as Acquisitions will continue to use the DRA system alongside Unicorn until all orders placed for the current fiscal year have been received and paid for.) What should staff expect when they arrive at work on June 14?

New logins specific to their agencies have been communicated to the managers, circulation, and reference staff in each public service agency. Staff will verify that they are logged into Workflows on the production (i.e., the "real," as opposed to training) system when they see the familiar MPLIC logo in the upper right hand corner of the screen, where they've been seeing a red TEST SYSTEM badge.

DRA Classic Bridge circulation information collected for the last week will have been loaded into the Unicorn system overnight. Each agency should log in as staff arrives, and can immediately begin updating TEMP accounts with customer information for accounts signed up during Classic Bridge. However, staff should not begin begin discharging, checking out or receiving items In Transit until Paul Gahn sends the "all clear" e-mail message, expected between 8:00 and 9:00 AM on Thursday. (At that point, staff can begin processing materials that were held in Route status during the week of Classic Bridge. New materials will not be sent prior to Monday, June 18, to allow staff time to work through this backlog.)

All circulation PCs and some reference desk, manager, and workroom PCs have received memory upgrades; those who haven't received upgrades yet may experience slower than optimal performance, and should bear in mind the advice shared earlier about maximizing performance by closing other programs before starting Workflows, and so on. (Memory upgrades for the remaining staff PCs will resume next week.)

The public web site will still be at http://www.memphislibrary.org, though the familiar "stack o' books" will have been replaced by a new design. Virtually all of the current library web pages will continue to exist and reside at the same URLs, just with a different look. Catalog links will take customers to the new OPAC at http://eps.memphislibrary.org; in addition, a search box at the top of every web page will give access to the catalog as well. Every web page will also feature a login dialog box to give customers quick access to their library accounts, with familiar services like online renewals -- and new services like Holds. The new Holds service will be available from the time we go live, but it's expected that it will take most customers a few days to discover it and start using it (though no one can know for sure, of course). The first hold pick list report will be generated and emailed at approximately 2pm on the day of Go Live.

On public machines, the PCs that have been designated as Catalog or Catalog/Express PCs will open on the Rooms/EPS home page. Printing of catalog pages (which may also include Rooms web pages or listings of database or web citations) will remain free. However, until we become more familiar with the new OPAC configurations, these PCs will not be technically blocked from accessing other sites on the Internet. Managers at each location will have the discretion to decide whether or not to enforce the "catalog use only" policy for these PCs until the technical solution can be put in place.

PCs designated for other special uses besides the catalog will continue to be designated for that use, and should come up to the appropriate "start" page. On general-use public PCs, Internet Explorer will open to the new home page at the same old URL. On staff PCs, the browser will continue to open to the Intranet home page, which is not changing at all. Links to catalog records in blog postings and BookLetters are being changed today or tonight; some remaining web catalog links, such as those for the Teen Book Lists, will not be available for a few days.

Throughout Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, lead circulation trainer Becky Graham will be available at OPX 2747 to assist circulation staff who aren't sure how to perform a function in Workflows. Also on Thursday and Friday, Damone Virgilio and Kevin Dixon will be on the road visiting locations around the system to offer in-person Workflows assistance to reference staff, and will also be available by phone via their cell numbers (e-mailed previously). Paul Gahn, joined onsite by our SirsiDynix SureStart Consultant Pam Tejes, will be available at OPX 2805 to troubleshoot problems when staff are confident they are performing a task just how they were trained, but it’s still not working (password doesn’t work, receipts aren’t printing, etc.).
For questions about the public catalog or web site, please contact yours truly at OPX 2801.

At this time, all our staff have received the essential training they need to do their jobs. We have the knowledge and the skills we need. Mistakes will almost certainly be made -- but they won't be fatal ones. We will all learn from each others' mistakes and improve our understanding, and our service to customers, as we proceed on this journey together. On behalf of the entire Sirsi Implementation Management Team, I would like to thank all of you for your positive attitude and team spirit throughout this 18-month implementation process.

Have a great Go Live!

-- Alan

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #58

2007-06-12T15:11:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Status Report Date: 6/12/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Zuanarda Causey

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call.
• This status reports covers May 21- June 11
• Damon applied the Solaris daylight savings time patch to the production server.
• Through Paul’s efforts with Damon, the configuration is now complete on the IBM Infoprint system printer.
• The EPS/Rooms auto backup script has been tested and is working correctly.
• Memphis decided to have SirsiDynix upgrade their EPS/Rooms to 2.2 prior to their go live. Both the test and production instances were upgraded on 5/24. Several issues were discovered by Memphis and SirsiDynix worked with them to resolve those issues among which were problems with the Reading Lists Content Module, Kids’ Library picture-based search, Find it Fast! picture-based Search, Content Module manager, Most Popular List Content Module, and integration of Central Search and Article Linker into EPS/Rooms.
• Alan and Alex Feng are actively working on remaining EPS/Rooms issues.
• Alan reported that the upgrade to 2.2 resolved the chronic problem with the dynamic menu arrows.
• Jeannie Peters was out of the office May 25-June 1. Jane Ervin worked with Memphis in her absence.
• Jennifer Hendrickson began the final data load on schedule on May 14. Items loaded with no errors. Bibs loaded with no errors. Authority records loaded with 2278 errors. This is being investigated. Vendors and Serials were loaded. There are serials control issues that are being investigated.
• 6/7 was to have been when patrons/circ data were extracted. Due to internal issues at SirsiDynix, the extract did not take place as scheduled the evening of 6/6. Instead, patrons were extracted during the morning of 6/7 and charges and fines (bills) data was extracted the evening of 6/7. The patron load was completed early 6/8 and circ data was begun. Circ load was completed on schedule 6/11. Bills were loaded 6/11. Memphis began using Classic Bridge for circulation June 7 and will this will continue through June 13 when the Classic Bridge transactions will be extracted from the Classic system and then loaded into Unicorn. Throughout the final dataload Jennifer has provided Memphis with frequent status reports and final load reports. She has also
• SureStart Consultant Pam Tejes will arrive onsite at Memphis on Tuesday, June 12 and will remain onsite through Saturday June 16 to assist Memphis with their go live.
• The Classic Bridge extract will take place sometime after the close of business (9:00 p.m.) on Wednesday June 13. Classic Bridge data will be loaded June 13-14 and Memphis will go live on June 14.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time. The conference number will be used for all future calls.

Outstanding Issues

None.

Project Status:

No change.

Approaching Go Live - please verify that Workflows is ready to go

2007-06-11T16:14:00.000-05:00

E-mail message from Paul Gahn to all circulation and reference staff, June 11, 2007:

Reference and Circulation Staff,

Workflows should now be installed on all Information/Reference desk, Circulation desk and Bookdrop discharge PCs throughout the system.

Additional receipt printers have also been added for bookdrop discharge PCs and Central departments (except LINC).

Workflows will be added to other staff PCs as time permits.

Please verify that each PC with the Worfkflows3.1J icon can logon to the Test Server.

Please logon to Workflows with your agency CIRC or REF logins (Example: BARCIRC, BARREF etc.)

Also, there has been one report of Workflows wizards prompting for an Override, when you are simply trying to click on a wizard, even before you’ve identified a customer or started an item search. Please logon to Workflows with your agency CIRC or REF accounts on respective PCs and verify that this is NOT occurring.

If experience either of the above issues, please email the helpdesk. Please test all circulation desk, reference desk and bookdrop discharge PCs and only send one email for your whole agency detailing which PCs have issues.

Finally, for those with new receipt printers verify you have receipt paper installed.

Your immediate testing of the above issues will give us a chance to correct as many issues as possible before Thursday’s Go Live.

Thanks,

Paul

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #57

2007-05-29T09:31:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Status Report Date: 5/18/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Zuanarda Causey

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call.
• SirsiDynix expects to have EPS/Rooms 2.2 available for Memphis to upgrade to next week, should Memphis decide to do the upgrade prior to their go live.
• Damon will apply the Solaris daylight savings time patch to the production server on Friday.
• Jennifer began loading item records on Friday and this will run through the weekend.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time. The conference number will be used for all future calls.
• Continuing internal training and preparation for go live.
• Jennifer will begin to load the bib and authority records on Monday May 21.
• May 25 – final extract of vendors

Outstanding Issues

• Alex Feng and Alan continue to discuss EPS/Rooms issues.
• Testing continues on the EPS/Rooms auto backup script with Wayne Coop.
• Paul is continuing work with Damon on getting the IBM Infoprint configured as the system printer.
• Steve Foster is continuing working with Pam LaPier on determining maintenance for years 2 – 5 for hardware maintenance, software maintenance, and subscription fees associated with the contract between SirsiDynix and the City of Memphis. Pam sent what she has completed up to now to Steve. Steve will review the document and will get back to Pam with questions.

Project Status:

No change.

Serials check-in procedures during transition to Unicorn

2007-05-21T09:32:00.000-05:00

E-mail message from Wang-Ying Glasgow, Serials/Government Publications Manager, to all branch managers, Circulation Services User Group, Serials/Government Publications staff, Serials Liasion Committee, Regional Managers, etc.:

This Friday, May 25th will be the last day for serials check-in on the Classic system.

After Friday, please keep a manual record of issues received. This will continue for sometime after Go Live. Please use index cards for Serials Check-in. These are the green index cards we used to do manual check-in before Serials Online Check-in. Serials will distribute these cards to you in the interoffice mail today. At the top of each index card, please record the serial title, frequency, and whether it is Reference or Circulating. There are two types of these check-in cards – daily and monthly. Please check in daily and weekly on the daily cards, and monthly and quarterly on the monthly cards. File these cards in an alphabetical order.

Then for each issue received: find the correct index card, record the volume/ issue number, date of publication and date received. Please write legibly. You can use the attached for a list of current received titles, simply use the drop down arrow in cell A1 to limit to your agency.

Before Go Live you can continue to shelve and make available to customers any reference copies and newspapers. Please continue to hold circulating magazines until Go Live (June 14), when you can begin creating brief title records for circulation.

Serials data will be migrated to Unicorn, however each library’s serial control record for each title will have to be manually edited to set-up Unicorn parameters and create predictions. Central Serials staff will be using Central to refine procedures before getting branches setup and trained for serials check-in.

Your patience during this transition is appreciated. If you have questions, please contact me.

Thanks!

Wang-Ying Glasgow
Serials/Government Publications Manager
(901)-415-2709

Upcoming cutoffs (May 12th) in preparation for Unicorn Go Live! Update-2

2007-05-15T09:23:00.000-05:00

E-mail message from Paul Gahn to all reference and circulation staff and branch managers, May 14, 2007:

Using the RI command to change the Item ID (item barcode) on items where the barcode has or is falling off needs to be discontinued. This change won’t migrate to Unicorn.

If discovered during discharge, bill the customer per usual, then route out the item to your agency’s 6 digit code and hold in-house until Go Live. At Go Live you can change the item ID.

If the item is presented for checkout, please mark the item Withdrawn and do an on the fly record for the new barcode.

Security records for Classic logins will be edited to prevent this activity. Beginning tomorrow or earlier, if you try to RI in Bib Services you will see:

>>RI

Not authorized to perform this function ( to continue)

Paul Gahn

Large print rotating procedures continue per normal

2007-05-15T09:16:00.000-05:00

E-mail message from Paul Gahn to all circulation and reference staff and branch managers, May 14, 2007:

You can continue to return and get large print rotating books from the collection at Cherokee. This includes using the LL (Library loan function in Circulation Services). Although the temporary hold location from Classic doesn’t migrate to Unicorn, as part of Go Live activities, agencies will checkout large print rotating items on display in their agency to their agency large print account (BARLPR, CORLPR etc.) to reflect current location. This will explained further at the June 6th CSUG meeting and another email closer to Go Live.

Only the following libraries are currently authorized to have large print rotating collections in Sirsi Unicorn.

BARTLETT
CORDOVA
EASTSHELBY
FRAYSER
HIGHALND
PKYVILLAGE
POPWHITE
RALEIGH
RANDOLPH
WHITEHAVEN

If an agency believes they should be authorized to receive and display large print rotating, please have the agency manager make a request to the regional manager who will consult with Collection Development.

Thanks,

Paul

Upcoming cutoffs (May 12th) in preparation for Unicorn Go Live! Update-1

2007-05-14T14:08:00.000-05:00

E-mail message from Paul Gahn to all reference staff, circulation staff, branch managers, and Item Control staff, May 14, 2007:

One additional instruction:

Please do not send requests to Item Control to have items changed from 7-day popular to 21-day checkout. This requires changing the material code and would have to be redone later in Unicorn. So please keep 7-day popular as such until Go Live and then make your request at that time.

If you are withdrawing the item you can continue to mark the item Withdrawn in Circle and follow normal procedures.

Continue to contact Item Control to have them make things available for checkout as needed.

Thanks,

Paul

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #56

2007-05-14T10:30:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Status Report Date: 5/11/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Zuanarda Causey

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call. Jennifer Hendrickson discussed the final data load on this call.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time. The conference number will be used for all future calls.

• Continuing internal training and preparation for go live.

• Final extract of bib, item and authority data Sunday, May 13.

• Work on the final data load begins on Monday, May 14

Outstanding Issues

• Alex Feng and Alan continue to discuss EPS/Rooms issues.

• Testing continues on the EPS/Rooms auto backup script.

• Damon will apply the Solaris daylight savings time patch to the production server.

• Paul is continuing work with Damon on getting the IBM Infoprint configured as the system printer.

• Steve Foster is continuing working with Pam LaPier on determining maintenance for years 2 – 5 for hardware maintenance, software maintenance, and subscription fees associated with the contract between SirsiDynix and the City of Memphis. She has all fees completed except for the Sun Equipment and is waiting on the final work on the V890 Gold support. Jeannie requested that Pam send what she has completed to Steve now and send the completed document when she has the final details.

Project Status:

Note: As this section has not changed for several months, it will not be included in future blog postings of these reports unless it is updated. -- Alan Stewart

Sirsi Workflows performance issues

2007-05-11T13:04:00.000-05:00

To all current and future Sirsi Workflows users:

Several staff members who have attended system training on Workflows have noticed a marked difference in how the software performs on the PCs in their agencies compared to those in the Computer Training Room. Specifically, the software can take a long time to fully load when first opened (as long as 10 minutes), and then performs slowly afterwards.

Why is Workflows so slow? The simple truth is that Workflows demands more memory than most of our staff PCs have available. SirsiDynix has been actively developing Unicorn and Workflows over the course of our 18-month ILS migration project, and the requirements for desktop PCs to run the software have become more stringent. Currently, SirsiDynix recommends a minimum of 512 megabytes of RAM (random access memory) for PCs running Workflows. The majority of our staff PCs have 128 MB (256 MB in some cases). This includes the "newer" PCs that some agencies have received in the last few months in conjunction with the Gates public PC replacement project and the Workflows rollout. (The new Gates PCs do have 512 MB of RAM, but by the terms of the Gates Foundation grant, those PCs are designated for public use.)

Upgrading the memory on staff PCs will be a priority for the Library in the coming fiscal year. In the meantime, here are steps you can take to make Workflows perform as well as possible in your agencies:

Allow adequate time for Workflows to load before you need to use it. (For public service agencies, this may require some adjustment of your opening procedures prior to Go Live.)
Do not have other programs (Internet Explorer, Outlook, Word, etc.) running while you are opening and logging in to Workflows.
To the extent possible, try not to have other programs running during the day on PCs running Workflows. Every program has its own memory requirements, and memory being used by Word or Outlook means less memory available for Workflows, causing the program to run slower. (Information staff who need to use both Workflows and Internet Explorer to answer customers' questions may want to designate one PC on their public service desk for Workflows and another for IE, though this will not be possible in all agencies.)

Note: If you do need to run another program while Workflows is open, you may find that when you attempt to return to Workflows you will see the top window bar and a blank screen. The regular screen should return eventually.

I appreciate your understanding and patience as we work through these and other issues on our way to a better, more modern ILS, and enhanced services for our customers.

Thank you,

Alan Stewart
Electronic Services Manager

-----------------------------------

Update, May 15, 2007:

If you're interested in learning more about RAM and why it's important, Kevin Dixon has posted a great explanation over on his MPLIC Tech Train blog.

Go Live Training - Update for Reference Staff

2007-05-10T10:06:00.000-05:00

E-mail message from Damone Virgilio to all reference staff, May 9, 2007:

The Sirsi Go Live training is well underway, and thus far the reactions have been very positive. Reference staff are discovering that we are being provided tools that are more powerful, and in most cases, easier to use than DRA. When oriented to the Rooms/EPS public website, staff are seeing that there are many enhancements and functions being made available to our customers. And, the breadth of content included in Rooms is astounding. All in all, this is an exciting time for us!

To make your training experience more fruitful, I would encourage you take a little time and review the Go Live training wiki Kevin developed before your scheduled training session. This will help orient you to some of the language and features available in Unicorn Workflows. Then, when you come to training, you will have some familiarity with the environment, allowing you to be able to focus more on the content of the training.

The training wiki can be found here:

http://tempo.memphislibrary.org/mediawiki/index.php/Go_Live_Training

We look forward to seeing all of you in Go Live training.

Damone Virgilio
Staff Development Manager

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #55

2007-05-10T09:48:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Status Report Date: 5/4/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Zuanarda Causey

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• Zuanarda Causey has replaced Gina Wilhite as the new Sales Representative for Memphis.

• Memphis has been doing internal training in preparation for go live.

• The auto backup script for EPS/Rooms was to have been tested this week. Alan is working with Norm Curl to reschedule.

• Memphis will proceed as though they will be going live on EPS/Rooms 2.1.3. If 2.2 is released between now and the go live date, Memphis will look at how much time there is between the release date and the go live date and determine at that time what version they will actually go live on. They would prefer to go live on 2.2.

• Alex Feng and Alan continue to discuss various EPS/Rooms issues.

• Paul stated that SVA has been tested and it performed as it should have.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time. The conference number will be used for all future calls. This will be our final data call prior to the final load and Jennifer Hendrickson will be on the call.

• Continuing internal training and preparation for go live.

Outstanding Issues

• Per Norm Curl, a rewrite of the auto backup script was to have been put into place the week of 4/23 and tested the week of 4/30. Testing will be postponed to the week of May 14.

• Waiting on a response from Damon regarding why the Solaris daylight savings time patch had been applied to the test server but not production.

• Paul is continuing work with Damon on getting the IBM Infoprint configured as the system printer. IBM has put the ball backing our court on this issue saying that they do not have Solaris support on their side and they are saying that the problem Paul is experiencing is a Solaris issue.

Note: As this section has not changed for several months, it will not be included in future blog postings of these reports unless it is updated. -- Alan Stewart

Upcoming cutoffs (May 12th) in preparation for Unicorn Go Live!

2007-05-09T10:21:00.000-05:00

E-mail message from Paul Gahn to all staff, May 9, 2007:

With Unicorn Go Live quickly approaching please read carefully…

Saturday, May 12^th,2007 is the last day to perform the following functions in DRA Classic:

1.) Adding on-the-fly/unlinked item records for circulating magazines.
a. Circulating magazine issues received after Saturday, May 12th should be held and not made available to customers until Unicorn Go Live on June 14^th.
2.) Editing, creating or deleting item notes:
a. Any changes to item notes made after May 12^th will not be migrated to SIRSI Unicorn.

After May 12^th you can continue to:

1.) Create on-the-fly items that customers bring for checkout.
a. Even though these won’t migrate, don’t deny a customer to check out a MPLIC circulating item they found on the shelf.
b. For those items still checked-out as of 9pm on June 13^th,they will be created and charged to the customer in Unicorn on Go Live (ILL items will be the first priority)

2.) Mark items Missing, Withdrawn, Claims returned and Claims Lost.
a. These statuses migrate because circulation extracts occur closer and immediately before Go Live

3.) Route items in and out per normal activities.
a. Even though Route status doesn’t migrate/translate to Unicorn, we need to continue to use that function in Classic to reflect the location as items are requested and put on the hold shelf or sent to another location.

4.) Contact Item Control to make items available for Checkout.
a. For items that are in Route status because it belongs to another location but was discharged at your location and a customer spots it and wants to check it out.

Note: Cataloging and Item Control will not be adding new items (including gifts, donations) after Saturday, May 12th. You will not receive any new items for your agency until Go Live or after.

Other approaching cutoffs:

May 25^th Last day for Serials check-in in Classic
June 6^th Last day to add or edit customer accounts in Classic

Details about each of these cutoffs will be explained in separate emails closer to the dates.

If you have questions, let me know.

Thanks,
Paul

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #54

2007-05-04T11:24:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Status Report Date: 4/27/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• The auto backup script for EPS/Rooms will be tested this week.

• Jennifer will discuss the question about Juvenile authority on the final data all next week. She has questions about what Memphis is asking for.

• Memphis is waiting on what the library’s decision makers decide regarding what version of EPS/Rooms to go live on…2.1 or 2.2.

• Memphis has begun installing the Workflows client.

• Damon was in Provo this week in training and has not worked on the IBM printer issue. Jeannie contacted him and asked him to look into it next week.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time. The conference number will be used for all future calls.

• Continuing data review on the production server

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms

Outstanding Issues

• Per Norm Curl, a rewrite of the auto backup script was to have been put into place the week of 4/23 and tested the week of 4/30.

• Waiting on a response from Damon regarding why the Solaris daylight savings time patch had been applied to the test server but not production.

• Steve Foster is continuing working with Pam LaPier on determining maintenance for years 2 – 5 for hardware maintenance, software maintenance, and subscription fees associated with the contract between SirsiDynix and the City of Memphis. Pam is waiting to hear from someone else in the company before responding to Steve.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

"Go Live" Training Kicks Off Today

2007-05-01T09:11:00.000-05:00

With just over six weeks left until "Go Live," we've reached another milestone in our ILS migration project. Training for all MPLIC public service staff on the new SirsiDynix Unicorn ILS begins today, May 1, with the first three-hour reference staff session held this morning. The first circulation staff training session follows this Thursday, May 3.

I encourage you to engage with the new system and the new staff and public interfaces as you attend training and then return to your agencies to practice. Your trainers (Kevin Dixon, Becky Graham, and others) will be happy to answer your questions about the concepts and processes introduced in training. If you have questions that go beyond the training, however -- questions about why things were set up one way rather than another, or why a feature doesn't work quite the way you expected -- your Sirsi Implementation Team leaders would like to hear about those, too.

Questions about Workflows are best directed to Paul Gahn, while yours truly will be happy to take your questions about EPS/Rooms and Central Search. Feel free to post a question here as a blog comment, or e-mail us directly.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #53

2007-04-26T16:30:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Status Report Date: 4/20/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• Per Norm Curl, a rewrite of the auto backup script will be put into place the week of 4/23. This script will be tested the week of 4/30.

• Pam LaPier has been contacted regarding her work with Steve Foster on the year 2 – 5 for hardware maintenance, software maintenance, and subscription fees associated with the contract between SirsiDynix and the City of Memphis. Pam is waiting to hear from someone else in the company before responding to Steve.

• Paul talked to IBM this week and they do not have Solaris support on their side and they are saying that the problem Paul is experiencing is a Solaris issue. Both Paul and Jeannie have contacted Damon about this.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time. The conference number will be used for all future calls.

• Continuing data review on the production server

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms

Outstanding Issues

• Memphis continues to work with Norm Curl on correcting the error with the custom automated backup script for their EPS/Rooms server.

• Waiting on a response from Damon regarding why the Solaris daylight savings time patch had been applied to the test server but not production.

• Paul is continuing work with Damon on getting the IBM Infoprint configured as the system printer.

• Memphis needs to know no later than 4/24 when the release date for EPS/Rooms 2.2 will be. When the release date is will determine what version Memphis will decide to go live on. They need time to make changes to their EPS/Rooms after the upgrade and to train their staff on the differences in the software version.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #52

2007-04-17T14:43:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Status Report Date: 4/13/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• Three data issues were submitted to Jenny Hendrickson and she responded to them.

• Alex Feng is continuing discussions with Alan regarding EPS/Rooms questions and issues.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time. The conference number will be used for all future calls.

• Continuing data review on the production server

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms

Outstanding Issues

• Memphis continues to work with Norm Curl on correcting the error with the custom automated backup script for their EPS/Rooms server.

• Waiting on a response from Damon regarding why the Solaris daylight savings time patch had been applied to the test server but not production.

• Paul is continuing work with Damon on getting the IBM Infoprint configured as the system printer.

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

"Go Live" Reference Training Dates Announced

2007-04-10T16:56:00.001-05:00

From: Cynthia White, Staff Development
To: All Managers

Below are the ILS training dates for ALL part-time and full-time Reference staff. Please contact Cynthia White (email: whitec or phone: ext2722) to schedule your staff.

This training will cover:

Workflows (Replaces Circle; covers Item Searching and Holds)
EPS/Rooms (Online Library Catalog and other online content)
Central Search (Federated searching tool that can search all library databases).

Please note that two evening sessions will be conducted for part-time staff who cannot attend daytime sessions.

Because of the number of staff to be trained, attendance is limited to one session. We can review Refresher training needs after Go Live/June 14, 2007.

Also, because of the number of staff to be trained, some staff will be trained well before Go Live. It is crucial for these staff to spend time at their agency refreshing their skills leading up to Go Live/June 14, 2007.

Go Live SIRSI Reference Training Dates/Times Available
1. Tues	May 1	9:30a-12:30p
2. Wed	May 2	9:30a-12:30p
3. Fri	May 4	9:30a-12:30p
4. Tues	May 8	1-4p
5. Wed	May 9	9:30a-12:30p
6. Fri	May 11	9:30a-12:30p
7. Mon	May 14	1-4p
8. Wed	May 16	9:30a-12:30p
9. Mon	May 21	1-4p
10. Tues	May 22	9:30a-12:30p
11. Wed	May 23	5-8p
12. Fri	May 25	9:30a-12:30p
13. Tues	May 29	1-4p
14. Wed	May 30	5-8p
15. Fri	June 1	9:30a-12:30p

All sessions will be held in the Computer Training Lab-L50.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #51

2007-04-10T16:50:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Status Report Date: 4/6/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• Steve Foster contacted Pam LaPier for assistance in determining years 2 – 5 for hardware maintenance, software maintenance, and subscription fees associated with the contract between SirsiDynix and the City of Memphis

• Alex Feng has been working with Alan this week on some EPS/Rooms questions

• Paul resumed work with Damon on getting the IBM Infoprint configured as the system printer

• Paul also questioned Damon as to why the Solaris daylight savings time patch had been applied to the test server but not production.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time. The conference number will be used for all future calls.

• Continuing data review on the production server

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms

Outstanding Issues

• Memphis continues to work with Norm Curl on correcting the error with the custom automated backup script for their EPS/Rooms server.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

"Go Live" Circulation Training Dates Announced

2007-04-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

From: Cynthia White, Staff Development
To: All Managers

The "go live" date for implementation of Sirsi Unicorn is quickly approaching. To that end, we have developed a thorough Circulation training piece that will aid everyone in becoming comfortable with using the new system. Below you will find a list of 14 training sessions, scheduled at a variety of days and times for flexibility. This training program is for ALL full-time and part-time Circulation staff. Reference staff actively performing circulation duties will also need attend. This training will NOT cover circulation policy. Therefore, Information staff scheduled to attend must be familiar with circulation policies. Staff will need to attend only one Circulation training session. Please contact Cynthia White (email: whitec/phone: ext2722) to schedule your staff.

Among the 14 training sessions available listed there are:

2 time slots are available for each Thursday date: 1)8:30a-12:30p & 2)1-5pm
1 Saturday morning session
1 Tuesday evening session

Go Live SIRSI Circulation Training Dates/Times Available
1. Thurs	May 3	8:30a-12:30p
2. Thurs	May 3	1-5p
3. Thurs	May 10	8:30a-12:30p
4. Thurs	May 10	1-5p
5. Thurs	May 17	8:30a-12:30p
6. Thurs	May 17	1-5p
7. Sat	May 19	9:00a-1:00p
8. Tues	May 22	5:00-9:00p
9. Thurs	May 24	8:30a-12:30p
10. Thurs	May 24	1-5p
11. Thurs	May 31	8:30a-12:30p
12. Thurs	May 31	1-5p
13. Thurs	June 7	8:30a-12:30p
14. Thurs	June 7	1-5p

All sessions will be held in the Computer Training Lab-L50.

*Dates for Go Live Reference Training dates will be announced Tuesday April 10th.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #50

2007-04-05T12:35:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Status Report Date: 3/30/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• A username and password was sent to Alan so that he can access Hyperion on the example site that was sent to him.

• Bill Ellett responded to a follow-up Classic Bridge question.

• Gina Wilhite is leaving SirsiDynix and will no longer be the Sales Rep. for Memphis.

• A list of contract items yet to be delivered was sent to Steve Foster.

• Steve Foster’s questions regarding maintenance were sent to Pam LaPier. He will be getting in touch with her for assistance in getting the information he needs.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time. The conference number will be used for all future calls.

• Continuing data review on the production server

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms

Outstanding Issues

• Memphis is waiting on Damon’s return to complete IBM printer installation.

• Memphis continues to work with Norm on correcting the error with the custom automated backup script for their EPS/Rooms server.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

System rollout of Workflows underway

2007-03-26T16:51:00.000-05:00

The latest update to Unicorn GL3.1 (Patch Cluster 5) has been installed and tested, and the systemwide rollout of the Workflows client software has begun.

Electronic Services' IT Support team has already installed the upgraded program on PCs in the Training Room, Serials/GovDocs, and Central Circulation, and will begin installation at branches this week.

As we move towards having access to Unicorn available throughout the system, staff training dates are being finalized. Expect an announcement soon!

"Combo-logo" by Kevin Dixon

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #49

2007-03-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Status Report Date: 3/23/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• Vince Jennings and Steve Foster attended this week’s call and one or both will be in attendance on most if not all of the remaining calls until go live. Vince and Steve are liaisons from the City of Memphis Office of Information Services.

• Progress continues on the IBM printer installation.

• Entitlement paperwork for the IBM printer 3 year warranty has been received from the vendor.

• Paul installed Patch Cluster 5 on the test server and has begun installing the client on workstations.

• Paul Gahn submitted another Classic Bridge discharge question that has been sent to Bill Ellett.

• SureStart calls with Pam Tejes have begun.

• Information on who Memphis will need to contact for their Sun server support and IBM printer support has been sent to them.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time. The conference number will be used for all future calls.

• Data review on the production server.

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms.

Outstanding Issues

• Creation and application of the automated backup script for Memphis’ EPS/Rooms server by Wayne Coop.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #48

2007-03-26T16:32:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Status Report Date: 3/9/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• Progress is being made on the IBM printer installation.

• The order for the 3 year warranty is being processed by the vendor. When this is complete Memphis will be sent their entitlement paperwork.

• Damon Hunter installed Patch Cluster 5 for Memphis and ran the necessary reports.

• Wayne Coop created and applied the automated backup script for Memphis’ test and production severs. EPS/Room script will be completed soon.

• Carol Stennett provided an example of a Unicorn site that has EPS/Rooms and Hyperion.

• Craig Lawrence applied EPS/Rooms advanced limits specs to the test server and tested it.

• Paul Gahn submitted a Classic Bridge discharge question that has been sent to Bill Ellett.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time.

• Data review on the production server.

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms.

Outstanding Issues

• None at this time.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

SirsiDynix introduces "Rome"

2007-03-14T16:57:00.000-05:00

On the heels of its acquisition in January by Vista Equity Partners, and the departure last month of CEO Patrick Sommers, SirsiDynix announced on Tuesday that it is developing a new ILS, code-named "Rome," to be released later this year. According to the press release, the new technology platform will "built on the proven, scalable and extensible architecture of the industry-standard SirsiDynix Unicorn® Library Management System and will include an impressive set of new solutions created as part of SirsiDynix Horizon 8.0/Corinthian development. " A letter sent to current customers confirms that Unicorn GL3.1 will be the last release of the "Sirsi" ILS under the Unicorn name; the next major upgrade for Unicorn sites will be Rome. SirsiDynix will no longer develop the "Dynix" ILS, Horizon.

While this new development should have no immediate impact on MPLIC's implementation of Unicorn GL3.1, the company's decision to use Unicorn as the basis for continued ILS development should serve us well in the future when it's time to upgrade our system.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #47

2007-03-09T15:27:00.001-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: Since the weekly reports have developed to a point where the majority of items are new, italics are no longer being used to identify new information.

Status Report Date: 3/2/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• Information on installing the IBM and Lexmark printers has been sent to Memphis.

• Cherise Thornton will accompany Pam Tejes to Memphis the week of their go live.

• The quote for the 3 year warranty was received and the warranty has been ordered.

• Paul Gahn submitted a data issue regarding the previous ID from Classic data not being loaded in the test load. Jennifer loaded those previous IDs this week.

• Paul Gahn has been working with Jeff Staten on the printer installation.

• Norm Curl and Paul continued their dialog about the automated backup script that Memphis wants us to create for them. Norm expects to begin this custom work early the week of March 5.

• Brett Hall was given Paul Gahn’s contact information in anticipation of working with him on Secured Resources.

• Margaret Pelfrey sent a Collection Exchange report to Memphis along with comments about training, testing, and scheduling future calls.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time.

• Data review on the production server.

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms.

Outstanding Issues

• A request has been made to Carol Stennett for the name of a Hyperion site that Memphis can look at.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #46

2007-03-09T15:25:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: Since the weekly reports have developed to a point where the majority of items are new, italics are no longer being used to identify new information.

Status Report Date: 2/23/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• A request has been made to Carol Stennett for the name of a Hyperion site that Memphis can look at.

• In regards to the Oracle issue, John Dickson contacted Oracle and they have a solution for the Sun Solaris swap space/memory issue. They have not fully tested it but they gave it to SirsiDynix this week so that we can build and test with it. It will likely take most of the week to build, package, and test this patch. This is intended to be delivered with our Patch Cluster 5 and would not require the customer to get a patch from Oracle.

• Jeannie contacted Tim Hyde for advice on Memphis’ printer installations and is waiting on his response.

• Norm Curl and Paul continued their dialog about the automated backup script that Memphis wants us to create for them.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time.

• Data review on the production server.

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms.

Outstanding Issues

• Jeannie is still waiting on the quote for the warranty on Memphis’ IBM printer. Once the quote is received the warranty can be ordered.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #45

2007-02-20T15:44:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: Since the weekly reports have developed to a point where the majority of items are new, italics are no longer being used to identify new information.

Status Report Date: 2/16/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• A quote request has been submitted for the warranty on Memphis’ IBM printer.

• Damon has said that installing the Serial port notice printer over the network will work.

• Jeannie reviewed with Memphis a list for Memphis of all unfulfilled items in their contract.

• Craig completed his work on the advanced limits EPS/Rooms specifications.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time.

• Data review on the production server.

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms.

Outstanding Issues

• Jeannie contacted John Dickson to ask if he has any new information regarding the permanent fix to the Oracle memory leak problem and is waiting to hear back from him.

• Jeannie continues work with Damon on instructions for installing the IBM notice printer.

• Jeannie continues investigating how EPS/Rooms incidents are referencing their Unicorn server – through the IP or domain name.

• Norm Curl has told Jeannie that he hopes to write the automated backup scripts next week.

• Damon is continuing his investigation as to why the setdelinq report is erroring out on the test server. He has been told that this tends to happen after periods of inactivity; Monday mornings for example.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #44

2007-02-15T16:15:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: Since the weekly reports have developed to a point where the majority of items are new, italics are no longer being used to identify new information.

Status Report Date: 2/9/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• Memphis reported to Jeannie on their visit from Kristiana Burk, Tom Gates and Gena Wilhite on Monday of this week.

• Pam Lapier has been contacted about the warranty on Memphis’ IBM printer.

• Kristiana Burk has been contacted and asked whether Memphis will be trained on making policy changes in EPS/Rooms for after go live.

• Memphis has 23 SureStart calls remaining to use between now and the year after go live.

• Kristiana Burk has been asked if the EPS/Rooms documentation is going to be added to in any way. Memphis feels that there is lots of room for improvement and that there is a lot missing from the documentation.

• Jeannie is working with Damon on instructions for installing the IBM receipt printer. She also asked him about installing with Serial port versus over the network. They would prefer the versatility of installing over the network.

• Jeannie is working on a list for Memphis of all unfulfilled items in their contract.

• SVA configuration call with Belinda Hamm 2/7/07.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time.

• Data review on the production server.

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms.

Outstanding Issues

• Waiting on permanent fix to Oracle memory leak.

• Craig Lawrence will complete his work on the advanced limits EPS/Rooms specifications work that was begun this week.

• Jeannie is investigating how EPS/Rooms incidents are referencing their Unicorn server – through the IP or domain name. Craig will look into this when he completes the advanced limits specs.

• Jeannie is investigating when custom work on server will be done.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #43

2007-02-06T10:22:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: Since the weekly reports have developed to a point where the majority of items are new, italics are no longer being used to identify new information.

Status Report Date: 2/2/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• Revised schedule was reviewed with Memphis; changes were made and were sent to Memphis.

• Jeannie confirmed that EPS/Rooms 2.2 will be released at the end of March, 2007.

• Jeannie is investigating what the SureStart time allotment will be for Memphis after they go live.

• Belinda Hamm installed the SIP2 interface this week.

• Alex Feng and Alan Stewart are continuing to work through EPS/Rooms questions and issues.

• Patch Cluster 5 will be released when a permanent fix for the Oracle memory leak is found. This is expected to be soon.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time.

• Data review on the production server.

• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms.

• Craig Lawrence will do the advanced limits EPS/Rooms specifications work.

• Kristiana Burk, Gena Wilhite, and Tom Gates will visit Memphis on 2/5/07.

• SVA configuration call with Belinda Hamm 2/7/07 at 9:00 am Central.

Outstanding Issues

• Waiting on permanent fix to Oracle memory leak.

• Jeannie is working with Damon on instructions for installing the two IBM receipt printers.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

Go Live now set for June 14

2007-02-02T17:38:00.000-06:00

Our "Go Live" date for SirsiDynix Unicorn and EPS/Rooms is now set for June 14, 2007. The implementation timeline has been updated.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #42

2007-02-02T17:30:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: Since the weekly reports have developed to a point where the majority of items are new, italics are no longer being used to identify new information.

Status Report Date: 1/26/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 6/14/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase/Bill Kessler/Gena Wilhite

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• Revised schedule was sent to Memphis with new go live date of 6/14/07.

• Jeannie is investigating possible dates that billable systems configuration work can be done.

• Jennifer submitted her responses to the most recent data issues log from Memphis.

• Jeannie is pursuing why the advanced limits EPS/Rooms specifications work has not been done.

• Steve McCafferty returned Memphis’ contract to Alan with responses.

• Jeannie clarified that Memphis has purchased NCIP which is described in the contracted as an Enhanced LINCPlus Interface.

• Memphis asked if EPS/Rooms 2.2 release is still scheduled for 3/1.

• Memphis asked Jeannie to find out how EPS/Rooms incidents are referencing their Unicorn server – through the IP or domain name.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call on Tuesday at 2:00 Central time.
• Data review on the production server
• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms

Outstanding Issues

• Waiting on permanent fix to Oracle memory leak.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed to 6/14/07.

More on the ILS from our Technical Trainer

2007-01-29T17:12:00.000-06:00

In addition to the Go Live Reference Training Wiki discussed below, Kevin Dixon has started the Go Live Series, a special series regarding the new ILS, on the MPLIC Tech Train blog. This series will include frequent posts (sometimes daily) regarding one aspect of the new ILS. The first few posts in the series focus on the new Hold procedures.

(Remember, since blogs are in reverse-chronological order, the newest material will always be on top. Therefore, if you want to start from the beginning, just scroll down to the bottom and go up.)

Reference Training Wiki for new ILS now available

2007-01-25T12:40:00.000-06:00

Although both our Go Live date and the scheduled training leading up to it have been postponed, staff can get a preview of the training to come by visiting the Go Live! Sirsi ILS Reference Training Wiki, developed by Kevin Dixon in Staff Development. Read this post (and this one as well) from Kevin's MPLIC Tech Train blog for more details.

Sirsi Unicorn "Go Live" date has been postponed

2007-01-24T11:14:00.000-06:00

Text of e-mail sent to all staff, 01/24/07:

In conjunction with the Sirsi Project Manager and several key team members here, we have mutually agreed to postpone the "Go Live" date until later in the spring. This decision is a result of several factors, and will result in a smoother transition and improved product performance for staff and customers. Some of the key reasons for this decision are:

1. Sirsi is nearing completion of an upgrade that will provide greater functionality and system performance. We have an opportunity to participate in this upgrade. Rather than rush the process through, we feel that it is crucial to have time to test the enhancements and ensure that we have a robust, user-riendly product.

2. The postponement allows us a better opportunity to develop thorough training materials and a streamlined process so that everyone is trained in a timely manner.

3. We recognize that February is an extremely busy time for public service staff. This postponement will allow you the opportunity to schedule adequately to meet customer demands during this period.

A revised implementation timeline and specific new date for "Go Live" will be forthcoming. In the meantime, the training schedule previously announced for Circulation and Information staff is cancelled. As we move closer to completion, Cynthia will announce Circulation and Reference training dates and open the enrollment.

Should you have any questions or concerns about this change, feel free to contact met at 2723 or virgiliod or Alan Stewart at 2856 or stewarta. Also, you may track any updates to the project by visiting the ILS blog found here: http://memphislibrary.blogspot.com/

Thanks for your continued support for this essential service enhancement.

Damone Virgilio
Staff Development Manager
Memphis Public Library and Information Center
3030 Poplar Ave.
Memphis, TN 38111
901-415-2723

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #41

2007-01-24T09:41:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: Since the weekly reports have developed to a point where the majority of items are new, italics are no longer being used to identify new information.

Status Report Date: 1/19/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: TBD - postponed
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase/Bill Kessler[/Gena Wilhite]

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed

• Weekly Call

• Memphis has decided to postpone their go live. They want to push out the date to sometime between March 15 and June 14 which is the end of their fiscal year. ..

• An Oracle related Memory Leak was discovered at Memphis. Damon put a 10.1.0.5 instant client in place which is a temporary fix and which should resolve the memory/swap issues for the short term.

• Gena Wilhite sent Memphis a quote for billable systems configuration. It was accepted by Memphis and returned to SirsiDynix. Jeannie is investigating possible dates that this work can be done.

• A request has been sent to Jennifer Hendrickson for her to respond to Memphis’ question regarding migrating call numbers with mixed case. She is working on her responses to the most recent data log.

• Alan feels that there is a rooms training piece missing regarding EPS/Rooms configuration and populating the user database and configuring searches. These are things that have to work before they go live and which they have had little or no training for. Additionally, they want to do something similar to Bloomington and keep their own home page with a login and search box from EPS/Rooms on the regular web page. Alan sent emails in reference to these issues to Jeannie Peters and copied the Rooms team on it.

• Memphis is extremely disappointed that we had to ask them for the EPS/Rooms customization spreadsheet again. This was given to us last year on schedule and it appears that nothing has been done with the information. They do not currently have a functioning OPAC. When they do a keyword search they get no results and an error message. [Correction: The basic keyword search does work - use of Item Group limiters does not work in Basic Search. -- AS, 01/24/07] Advanced limits specifications cannot be set. They want to know what happened on our end and why this work was never done. Jeannie Peters will pursue this.

• Memphis requested that Steve McCafferty be approached regarding their contract to see if he is waiting on responses or information from Memphis.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week

• Weekly Call.
• Data review on the production server
• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms

Outstanding Issues

• Alex Feng is responding to Memphis on existing Client Care issues regarding Rooms.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule		Postponed by customer. New schedule is being created.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #40

2007-01-19T09:44:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 1/12/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase/Bill Kessler

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
• Weekly Call
• Jeannie sent Alan and Paul information regarding the 260 as an alternate search in response to a searching issue experienced earlier in the project.
• Memphis has decided to delay installation of their LINCPlus until 3-6 months after their go live.
• Bill Kessler sent Memphis a quote for some billable custom server configuration.
• Pam Tejes was onsite January 9-11 for a consulting visit.
• Jeannie is researching LINCPlus questions from Memphis.
• The IBM system printer has arrived onsite and it will be installed this week.
• A request has been sent to Jennifer Hendrickson for her to respond to Memphis’ question regarding migrating call numbers with mixed case.
• Belinda Hamm has been requested to coordinate any needed HIR with Memphis if needed for the SIP2 installation.
• A request has been sent to Belinda Hamm to confirm whether or not she can do her SVA call with Memphis on February 5. Their SVA is to be installed in February and this needs to be put on her schedule with specific dates.
• Jeannie is working on updating the timeline/schedule and will return this to Memphis the week of January 15.
• Memphis has notified Margaret Pelfrey that they will delay Collection Exchange training and implementation until sometime after they go live. They will use the Recirculate functionality for their Large Print Rotating Collection.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
• Weekly Call on Thursday [1/18] at 10 MT, 11 CT.
• Data review on the production server
• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms

Outstanding Issues
• Kristiana Burk was on the weekly call with Memphis. For now, all EPS/Rooms [questions] will go to her and Alex Feng rather than Client Care in order to have them responded to more quickly. Kristiana also stated that we hope that 2.2 will be released on March 1 and that we will work with Memphis on the installation of it. We will do a WebEx session with them to go over the differences between 2.2 and 2.1. She stressed that Memphis’ EPS/Rooms issues are a priority for us and she offered to go there for a half day onsite visit to talk over their concerns and get their feedback.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #39

2007-01-09T16:58:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 1/5/07
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Alan Stewart
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1
Go-Live: Yes
SureStart: 9 months

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase/Bill Kessler

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
• Weekly Call
• Steve Foster, who was Memphis’ main contact for this project, retired in December. Alan Stewart will step in as main contact.
• Jeannie is continuing to pursue information regarding the 260 as an alternate search.
• The SVA server was shipped to Memphis the last week in December and has arrived on site. Jeannie is getting instructions for installing the server.
• The extra Lexmark printer and cable which were delivered to Memphis have been picked up and returned to the manufacturer.
• Memphis will definitely have us load the Marc holdings as they are rather than request custom work on them.
• The SIP2 questionnaire has been returned and SIP2 has been put on Belinda Hamm’s schedule for configuration the week of January 30.
• Bill Kessler is working on a quote for some billable custom configuration on the server that Memphis requested.
• Jeannie will meet with Kristiana Burke the Friday, January 5 to discuss the status of Memphis EPS/Rooms issues.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
• Weekly Call.
• Data review on the production server
• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms
• Pam Tejes will be onsite January 9-11 for a consulting visit.

Outstanding Issues
• EPS/Rooms incident 215132
• Shawn Ewing contacted Alan in regards to incident 215132. He will send Alan information to correct the issue in the first part of the incident. The second part of the incident refers to a bug in the software and Shawn has escalated the incident to the Rooms team.
• There are continuing serious concerns about the nonresponsiveness of Client Care to the Rooms incidents that Memphis has been opening. This problem is being discussed with the Rooms team management.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix acquired by Vista Equity Partners

2007-01-03T16:35:00.000-06:00

SirsiDynix announced on December 27 that it will be acquired by Vista Equity Partners, a $1 billion private equity firm that focuses on investing in software and technology businesses. According to Lebron Miles, spokesman for SirsiDynix, there are no current plans to change the SirsiDynix name, and customers are not expected to see any difference in services.

For more details, and some expert analysis:

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #38

2007-01-02T21:22:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 12/22/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
• Weekly Call
• Jeannie is continuing to pursue information regarding the 260 as an alternate search.
• The SVA dialogic boards arrived and were installed on the server. The SVA server configuration is complete and the server will be shipped to Memphis the last week in December.
• Jeannie is working on getting the extra Lexmark printer and cable picked up from Memphis and returned to the manufacturer.
• Paul is working with Damon on the installation of Patch Cluster 4.
• Memphis will probably have us load the Marc holdings as they are rather than request custom work on them.
• Memphis is testing the recirculate function for Collection Exchange and will let Margaret Pelfrey know how the testing goes.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
• Weekly Call – postponed until January 3 due to the holidays.
• Data review on the production server
• Continuing work on EPS/Rooms
• SVA server to be shipped to Memphis

Outstanding Issues
• EPS/Rooms incident 215132
• Shawn Ewing contacted Alan in regards to incident 215132. He will send Alan information to correct the issue in the first part of the incident. The second part of the incident refers to a bug in the software and Shawn has escalated the incident to the Rooms team.
• There are continuing serious concerns about the nonresponsiveness of Client Care to the Rooms incidents that Memphis has been opening. This problem is being discussed with the Rooms team management.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #37

2006-12-18T11:59:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 12/15/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call.
Jeannie is continuing to pursue information regarding the 260 as an alternate search.
Jenny Hendrickson continues her work on data issues.
Bill Ellett and Jenny Hendrickson were on the weekly call. Bill responded to Classic Bridge questions and Jenny commented on the data issues log.
Jeannie reported that Collection Exchange training is two days onsite.
Testing is complete on the SVA dialogic boards and they have been ordered. There will be a 3 week vendor delay in their delivery. They should arrive in early January.
Memphis sent samples of their mailers and those have been given to Pam Tejes. On her site visit in January Pam will help Memphis determine if these mailers will work with Unicorn.
Paul has been communicating with Pam Tejes on what they want her assistance with on her upcoming January visit.
SirsiDynix has agreed that for Memphis’ go live week, Pam Tejes will be with them Tuesday through Saturday.
Memphis asked how testing is done on Sip2 to confirm work on vendor configuration and equipment. Jeannie is pursuing answers to this question.
The Serials Solutions AMS Client Care Center walk through call took place this week. This process is going well for them.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call.
Data review on the production server.
Continuing work on EPS/Rooms.
Call with Pam Tejes to discuss her January visit to Memphis.

Outstanding Issues
EPS/Rooms incident 215132. This incident was escalated by Craig on 12/5 and assigned to Shawn Ewing. Ken Poore has asked Shawn to respond to Memphis on this issue or to escalate it further if there is a reproducible problem or product question.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #36

2006-12-13T13:18:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 12/8/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call.
IBM overdue printer and Ethernet adapter card and Lexmark printer were ordered 12/8/06.
Patch cluster 4 is reportedly to be released this week.
Jeannie is continuing to pursue information regarding the 260 as an alternate search.
Jeannie reviewed the updated schedule with Memphis.
Data issues were given to Jenny Hendrickson for her review and research.
Collection Exchange was discussed as well as the need for patch clusters 4 and 5 to resolve some issues with Collection Exchange.
Jeannie is gathering information on Collection Exchange training.
The City of Memphis is requiring Memphis Public Library to renegotiate their contract with us.
Jeannie sent the Classic Bridge guide to Memphis and is trying to schedule a call with Jenny Hendrickson to discuss the process.
Jeannie responded to two questions on the revised schedule which related to Article Linker.
Information on the Brodart crash mailers supported by SirsiDynix for Unicorn has been sent to Memphis.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call.
Data review on the production server.
Continuing work on EPS/Rooms.

Outstanding Issues
EPS/Rooms incident 215129 and was updated by Craig Lawrence this week.
Memphis has revisited with the project manager their dissatisfaction with having to go through Client Care with Rooms issues. Their incidents are not responded to in a timely manner, which is very frustrating. Working directly with Craig Lawrence gets quicker results. Jeannie is following through on this with the appropriate SirsiDynix staff.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

Knox County Public Library opens Rooms

2006-12-05T12:59:00.000-06:00

Our sister Tennessee metro library system, Knox County Public Library, has made their new EPS/Rooms OPAC and web site available to the public. At present, KCPL links to the new site from their "old" site.

While a number of other public libraries have gone live on EPS/Rooms this year, Knox County is the first multi-branch urban library system to do so.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #35

2006-12-04T15:09:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 12/1/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Pam Tejes (SC)
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call.
The upgrade to EPS/Rooms 2.1.3 was completed 11/27.
The creation of a test instance of EPS/Rooms on the EPS/Rooms production server was completed 11/28.
Serials Solutions has contacted Alan directly with an introductory Article Linker letter and is working with him to set up their first phone call.
Jeannie is continuing to pursue information regarding the release of patch cluster 4. It is needed for Collection Exchange.
Jeannie is working on updating the schedule for Memphis.
Memphis is going to send Jeannie a sample of their notice mailers. She will try to confirm whether or not they will be compatible with Unicorn.
A dialogic board for the SVA server has been found but has to be tested before it can be ordered for Memphis. This testing is expected to be completed in mid to late January. At that time the boards can be ordered for Memphis and work on their SVA server will be completed and the server will be shipped to them.
Ordering of the IBM printer and Ethernet adapter card was discussed. Memphis is ready for this to be ordered and has asked whether or not installation instructions can be given to them rather than having someone come onsite to install. Jeannie is investigating.
Pam Tejes will now become the SureStart consultant for Memphis.
For the final data load, Memphis has requested load reports at the end of each load rather than after all data has been loaded. Jenny said that if time permits and the loads are going well, she can do this for them.
SVA documents and information were sent to Memphis this week.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

Another SirsiDynix personnel change

2006-11-30T11:46:00.000-06:00

Our "SureStart" Consultant, Diane Cunningham, who has participated in several onsite summits with members of our implementation teams, has announced that she is leaving SirsiDynix.

Diane's role in our ILS implementation will be assumed by Pamela Tejes, who was here in August for our Rooms Planning Workshop. Pam will be back onsite for several days in January as well as for our "Go Live" in March.

LJ article on Central Search and "clustering"

2006-11-30T00:45:00.000-06:00

Library Journal recently featured an article about Serials Solutions' introduction of Vivisimo Results Clustering to its Central Search federated search product. You can find this article, which offers a good overview of what clustering is all about, in the November 1, 2006 issue, or read it online here. Then head over to the MPLIC Central Search test page to try it out for yourself.

Sirsi Implementation Teams: The Collection Exchange Team

2006-11-17T14:27:00.000-06:00

On Nov. 14, a number of staff members involved in the Sirsi ILS implementation, including several members of the Collection Exchange Team, attended a live WebEx presentation by SirsiDynix consultant Margaret Pelfrey. Margaret introduced the basic features of the Unicorn Collection Exchange module, which is intended to help manage the rotation of collections among a group of libraries.

MPLIC is evaluating Collection Exchange as a means of managing our library system's Large Print Rotating Collection once we make the transition to Unicorn.

Role of the Collection Exchange Team:

To coordinate the implementation of the Collection Exchange function
To identify the requirements for data conversion and transfer
To identify the requirements for reports and management information
To identify the requirements for and to coordinate the delivery of staff training
To identify and make recommendations on potential workflow changes

Reporting:

Reports to the Sirsi Implementation Management Team.

Membership:

Chair - Janet Majilton (Collection Development)
Ann Andrews (Collection Development)
Gina Cordell (History)
Paul Gahn (Automated Services)
Stephanie Masin (Collection Development)
Gina Milburn (Collection Development)
Philip Williams (Collection Development)

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #34

2006-11-17T14:20:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 11/17/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Diane Cunningham (SC)
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call.
Judith Tigner was on this week’s call to discuss the change in personnel assigned to the Memphis project and to discuss current issues. Judith is following up on EPS/Rooms and Searching/Indexing issues that were discussed.
The upgrade to EPS/Rooms 2.1.3 is scheduled for 11/27.
The creation of a test instance of EPS/Rooms on the EPS/Rooms production server is scheduled for 11/28.
Alan closed several EPS/Rooms incidents and opened two more.
Damon ran a suite of rebuilds reports and will report the results of this when he has finished testing.
Serials Solutions has sent an introductory Article Linker letter to Memphis and will be contacting them to set up the first phone call.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call.
Data review on the production server.
Because of the holidays and short work week, there will not be a status report next week.

Outstanding Issues
Incident 212421 which relates to issues with rebuilds not running correctly – Damon is continuing his research on this issue.
Incident 210418 relating to EPS/Rooms is still open. Alan closed several incidents this week and opened two new incidents: 215129 and 215132.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #33

2006-11-10T16:47:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 11/10/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter (CS), Jenny Hendrickson (DC), Patty Suessen (TR), Diane Cunningham (SC)
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call.
Memphis voiced concerns to project manager about project. Their concerns have been conveyed to management.
Alan was on a call with Alex Feng and Jeannie Peters to discuss EPS/Rooms issues.
Jeannie Peters is investigating the setting up of a test environment for EPS/Rooms.
Jenny is working on requested data changes.
Diane Cunningham has been onsite this week for a Serials Summit.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call.
Data review on the production server.
Judith Tigner, Implementation Manager will be on weekly call.

Outstanding Issues
Incident 212421 which relates to issues with rebuilds not running correctly – Damon is installing another patch cluster and restarting rebuilds. They should be finished running by Saturday or Monday at the latest.
Incidents 211360, 211273, 210941, 210774, 210418 all relate to EPS/Rooms. Alex Feng addressed each issue on the phone with Alan. It is believed that most of these will be resolved with a move to version 2.1.3. If Memphis approves this move, it will be scheduled to take place as soon as possible.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #32

2006-11-03T12:33:00.000-06:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 11/3/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Jeannie Peters
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call.
Jeannie was introduced as the new project manager.
Alan continues to work with Central Search.
Jenny is working on requested data changes.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call.
Data review on the production server.
Diane onsite next week for Serials/Gov Doc Summit.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

Central Search -- test installation is live!

2006-11-03T09:49:00.000-06:00

Our new federated search system, Central Search, has been successfully installed by Serials Solutions. The site can be accessed here. (Please note that the URL can only be accessed by PCs within the library.) This site represents the "advanced search" interface for federated searching, which allows for narrowing searches to particular subjects or databases, and presents search results in "clusters." Basic federated search will ultimately be available through the EPS OPAC search box.

This is a work-in-progress, as Serials Solutions is still building connections to a number of our licensed databases.

The Federated Search / Link Resolver Subteam of the EPS Implementation Team will be reviewing the site over the next couple of weeks, but all interested staff are welcome to give it a test drive and submit feedback to Alan Stewart. (Please do not share the URL with library customers at this time.)

SirsiDynix Personnel Changes

2006-11-03T09:42:00.000-06:00

This week we say farewell to our SirsiDynix Project Manager, Amanda Little. Amanda, who has been our Unicorn Project Manager since October, 2005 (and who has also overseen the EPS/Rooms part of the project since August of this year), is leaving the company for another professional opportunity. We look forward to working with her replacement, Jeannie Peters, for the duration of our ILS implementation project.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #31

2006-10-20T10:42:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 10/20/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Jennifer was onsite for training.
Continue data review on the production system.
Weekly call: Thursday.
Amanda is following up on questions from weekly call.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
No weekly call .
Data review on the production server.
Site to work on installing phone lines for SVA.
Amanda to order SVA server.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #30

2006-10-13T10:15:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 10/13/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Diane was onsite for the Acquisitions summit.
Continue data review on the production system.
Amanda gathered information about EPS administration class.
Pocket Circ devices arrived.
Amanda sent updated project schedule.
Paul turned in an updated data investigation log.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly Call: Tuesday
Data review on the production server.
3rd week of on site training.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		3rd training will start Oct. 17
Go Live	On Schedule

Product news from SirsiDynix

2006-10-06T09:40:00.000-05:00

Several new Unicorn and Unicorn-related product developments have been announced by SirsiDynix in the October, 2006 issue of the electronic newsletter SirsiDynix OneSource. Among the more interesting items:

Rooms/EPS Version 2.2 is in the final stages of internal development. Version 2.2 includes many “catalog parity” features with respect to the iBistro interface, including support for “Try These Too” categories, and support for “Find it Fast/Kids Library.”
Central Search now offers additional search categorization using the Vivisimo Clustering Engine. This search results clustering feature will be included at no extra charge to Central Search subscribers.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #29

2006-10-06T09:26:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 10/06/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Amanda continues to look into questions about training for materials booking and Hyperion.
Damon and Paul continue to work together.
Continue data review on the production system.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly Call: Tuesday
Data review on the production server.
Pocket Circ devices will be received no later than October 12th.
Acquisitions onsite summit with Diane.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		3rd training will start Oct. 17
Go Live	On Schedule

Project milestones in September

2006-09-29T10:35:00.000-05:00

Members of the Sirsi ILS implementation teams reached the following milestones in September:

The second week of onsite Sirsi training concluded on Sept. 1.
The Central Search Connection List, providing information about MPLIC databases to be included in our federated search interface, was provided to Serials Solutions and SirsiDynix on Sept. 8.
The Library's version of the Unicorn ILS was upgraded from GL 3.0 to the newest version, GL 3.1, on Sept. 11.
The Library's production server was copied over to the test server on Sept. 13.
This means that staff are now working with the library's own records when using Workflows and the Rooms/EPS site, rather than a generic training database. Although not all OPAC customizations are in place yet, you can begin to get an idea of the enhanced experience in store for MPLIC customers and staff.
9xx and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) training was conducted for Acquistions and Cataloging staff on Sept. 25 and 27.

Coming up in October:

The new Pocket Circ handheld devices are scheduled to arrive by the beginning of the month.
SirsiDynix will provide onsite training on Unicorn Reports and Pocket Circ.
The Acquisitions Team will have a three-day summit with our SirsiDynix SureStart Consultant, Diane Cunningham.
Phone lines for the SVA (SirsiDynix Voice Automation) customer telephone notification system will be installed.

Image courtesy of SirsiDynix.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #28

2006-09-29T09:33:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 09/29/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly Call: Tuesday
Amanda is looking into questions about training for materials booking and Hyperion.
Damon and Paul continue to work on upgrade and copy over issues.
Staff attended 9xx and EDI training.
Continue data review on the production system.
Paul sent in the first data issues log.
Amanda emailed Jenny asking how many items were assigned to a each title control key.
Amanda talked to Rick Cook about the Bluesocket installation and he will follow up with Jessica to define the scope of work.
Steve sent in contract addendum 3, and Vicki will begin work on the addendum for Hyperion training.
Paul and Jennifer worked out details for 3rd training session.
Alan has started calling Client Care for Rooms/EPS problem solving.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly Call: Tuesday
Data review on the production server.
Serial Solutions will be working on uploading connection information for Central Search.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		3rd training will start Oct. 17
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #27

2006-09-26T12:21:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 09/21/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.1

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly Call: Tuesday
Amanda is looking into questions about training for materials booking and Hyperion.
Damon is continuing to help Paul with questions about the copy over and issues from the copy over.
Conference call with Diane to discuss indexing on Friday.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly Call: Tuesday
Data review on the production server.
Staff will attend 9XX and EDI training.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #26

2006-09-18T13:33:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 09/14/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly Call: Tuesday
Steve is having issues with getting a backup completed of the production server; issue has been sent to Damon.
Production server was upgraded to GL 3.1 on Monday
Damon copied the production server to the test server on Wednesday, and is working to resolve any issues.
Amanda sent contract addendum for training.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly Call: Tuesday
Data review on the production server
Conference call to discuss indexing

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #25

2006-09-18T13:25:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 09/08/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly Call: Tuesday
Alan working on Central Search Forms.
Amanda provided additional information about Hyperion project.
Library to continue data review and staff training.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly Call: Tuesday
Upgrade to GL3.1 on Monday.
Copy of production to test server on Wednesday.
Amanda to gather more information about Director’s Station project.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #24

2006-08-25T17:18:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 08/25/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Introduction to Central Search Call on Friday at 1pm Central.
Amanda provided a Central Search demo site to the library.
Amanda has requested from the scheduling department time in November to work with Margaret on Collection Exchange.
Amanda has been providing answers for Rooms/EPS questions.
Library can begin using the production sever for data review.
Amanda is checking on the status of the contract mod for training.
Alan asked for details about the Rooms/EPS content.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Begin looking at the test data load on the production server.
Second week of on-site training.
Work on connection and customization spreadsheet for Central Search.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load to be completed 8/10/06. Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-Sept. 1.
Go Live	On Schedule

New links in sidebar for EPS and other Sirsi OPAC sites

2006-08-22T17:25:00.000-05:00

Several new implementations of Rooms/EPS have gone live in the last couple of months, and more should be up and running soon. For this reason, the links in the blog's sidebar are being revised. The Rooms/EPS demo site link will be replaced by a list of links to Rooms/EPS sites (live and demonstration/training). The Sirsi OPAC examples link will be replaced by a list of links to iBistro sites. Although our library will not be implementing iBistro, these sites are still worth reviewing as some of their OPAC functionality has not yet made it into the EPS catalog, though "catalog parity" (to use SirsiDynix's phrasing) is expected with the next release of the software in December.

Rooms/EPS sites

2006-08-22T16:09:00.001-05:00

Last updated 2/19/08.

Live implementations:

Boston Public Library School Rooms
Boston Public Library does not currently use EPS for its OPAC, but it has implemented School Rooms to support K-12 educational activities in the community.

Cerritos College Library

Chandler Public Library

Cherry Hill Public Library

Hattiesburg Public Library

Knox County Public Library
At present, KCPL links to EPS/Rooms from their "old" site.

Oxnard Public Library
This library also links to Rooms from a pre-existing web site.

Vigo County Public Library

Warren-Newport Public Library
This library currently links to a "sneak peek" of their new Rooms site from their old site.

Demonstration & training sites:

Rooms
SirsiDynix's public library-focused demonstration site.

SchoolRooms
A demonstration site for K-12 school libraries.

Other Sirsi OPAC examples

2006-08-22T16:01:00.000-05:00

There are numerous implementations of Sirsi's earlier web catalog interface for the Unicorn ILS, iBistro, which include many of the enhanced OPAC features we expect to have with EPS. Here are a few examples:

Anne Arundel County Public Library
The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
Fairfax County Public Library
Kansas City Public Library
Knox County Public Library

If you have any difficulty accessing any of these sites, please let me know.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #23

2006-08-18T09:21:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 08/18/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call: Tuesday.
Amanda and a trainer have completed quality control checks on the production server.
Amanda has requested from the scheduling department time in November to work with Margaret on Collection Exchange.
Amanda updated the schedule.
Upgrade to GL3.1 has been schedule for September 11th.
Pam was onsite for the Rooms workshop August 16-17.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
No weekly call.

Outstanding Issues
Get library logo put into Rooms.

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load to be completed 8/10/06. Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-31.
Go Live	On Schedule

Project milestones in July and August

2006-08-04T09:31:00.000-05:00

Although there have not been many blog posts in the last few weeks (except for the regular weekly status reports from SirsiDynix), the summer has been a busy one for members of our Implementation Teams as well as SirsiDynix personnel. Important recent events and accomplishments include:

Three productive summits were held with Diane Cunningham, our SirsiDynix Sure Start Consultant, who will be working closely with us through our Go Live date and beyond. As a result of these meetings, we are making adjustments to the onsite training schedule. These changes are still in development but will have an immediate impact on our second week of Sirsi training, coming up at the end of August, with our two days of Serials training moving to that week.
Members of the EPS Team, along with other MPLIC web content providers, attended a day-long training session on the Rooms Builder, Sirsi's web site content management system and catalog customization tool.
Data was extracted from our current DRA Classic ILS, and Jennifer Hendrickson, Senior Data Conversion Programmer, began working on a test load of this data onto our production server for the Unicorn ILS. This load is expected to be completed by August 10.

Upcoming milestones in August in addition to those already mentioned will include:

A 2-day Rooms Planning Workshop, intended to provide our EPS Team with an understanding of the methodology, default layout and design, and recommended processes for EPS/Rooms, will be presented by a SirsiDynix consultant on August 16-17.
SirsiDynix will copy the test data load from the production server to a test server by August 28, at which point Paul Gahn and the Data Migration Team will start on the critical taskof reviewing the test data, a process that will continue over the next five months.

Screenshot image used courtesy of SirsiDynix.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #22

2006-08-04T09:24:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 08/04/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call: Tuesday.
Jenny is finishing the test load on the production server.
Paul is working with Diane on when to schedule a consulting call on how to review a test data load.
Alan returned the Rooms workshop questionnaire, and Amanda has passed this along to the consultant.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call Tuesday at 2pm. Topic to discuss, intention for use of Collection Exchange.
Continue practicing using the test server.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load to be completed 8/10/06. Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-31.
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Status Report #21

2006-08-01T09:36:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 07/27/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call: Tuesday.
Thomas Leimkuehler joined the weekly call to discuss Rooms Builder training.
Thursday -- Rooms Builder training.
Jenny is working on loading and indexing data on the production server.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call Tuesday at 2pm.
Jenny will finish up the test load on the production server.
Continue practicing using the test server.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load to be completed 8/10/06. Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-31.
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Unicorn Project Status Report #20

2006-07-25T12:35:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 07/21/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
No weekly call.
Diane was on site for summits this week.
Jenny is working on loading and indexing data on the production server.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call Tuesday at 2pm.
Jenny will begin loading and indexing data.
Continue practicing using the test server.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load to be completed 8/10/06. Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-31.
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Unicorn Project Status Report #19

2006-07-25T12:34:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 07/14/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
No weekly call.
Diane on site for the cataloging summit.
Jenny is working on loading data on the production sever.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
No weekly call.
Jenny will begin loading and indexing data.
Continue practicing using the test server.
Diane will be on site for the circulation and demand management summits.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load to be completed 8/10/06. Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-31.
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Unicorn Project Status Report #18

2006-07-12T13:50:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 07/07/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
No weekly call.
Training coupon issued and Paul has signed up for training.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
No weekly call.
Jenny will begin loading and indexing data.
Continue practicing using the test server.
Diane will be on site for the cataloging summit.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load to be completed 8/10/06. Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-31.
Go Live	On Schedule

Sirsi Implementation Teams: The Cataloging Team

2006-07-06T11:51:00.000-05:00

On July 10 - 11, members of the Cataloging Implementation Team, along with several other Support Services staff members, will meet with SirsiDynix SureStart Consultant, Diane Cunningham, for a Cataloging Summit. This is the first of three summits scheduled for the month of July in which Diane will work with implementation team members to explore options and plan specifics for MPLIC's implementation of the different components and features of the Unicorn ILS.

Role of the Cataloging Team:

To coordinate the implementation of the Cataloging function
To identify the requirements for data conversion and transfer
To identify the requirements for reports and management information
To identify the requirements for and to coordinate the delivery of staff training
To identify and make recommendations on potential workflow changes

Reporting:

Reports to the Sirsi Implementation Management Team.

Membership:

Chair – Deborah Powell (Cataloging)
Paul Gahn (Automated Services)
Betty Jones (Item Control)
Debby McElroy-Clark (Support Services)

As needed and depending on the nature of the matter at hand, select Cataloging staff may be invited to attend meetings depending on their areas of expertise.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Unicorn Project Status Report #17

2006-07-03T09:10:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 06/30/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call: Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Essential Unicorn admin took place on Thursday via phone.
Training coupon was issued for Unicorn admin training.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
No weekly call next week.
Continue practicing using the test server.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load to be completed 8/10/06. Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-31.
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Unicorn Project Status Report #16

2006-06-29T14:47:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 06/23/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call: Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Diane joined the weekly call to discuss the cataloging and circulation summits that will take place in July.
Quality control checks completed on the production server.
Jenny has completed the data preparation.
Laurie is working with Steve on how best for the library to receive Unicorn admin training.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call: Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Continue practicing using the test server.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load to be completed 8/10/06. Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-31.
Go Live	On Schedule

News from ALA in NOLA

2006-06-25T19:55:00.000-05:00

SirsiDynix announced the 5 winners of its first annual "Building Better Communities" awards at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in New Orleans on Saturday, June 24. The winners include: Calgary Public Library, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Delaware County Community College, Media, PA; Hamilton Public Library, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Hancock County Library System, Bay St. Louis, MS; and INFOhio, Columbus, OH.

Another public library implementation of the Rooms/EPS public catalog and web site interface was also announced by SirsiDynix on Saturday. The Cherry Hill Public Library in Cherry Hill, NJ, will officially go live on their new system later this summer, but a preview is already available on the web.

Rooms-related content in new "SirsiDynix OneSource"

2006-06-19T10:52:00.000-05:00

Two articles in the June, 2006 issue of SirsiDynix's electronic newsletter, SirsiDynix OneSource, are likely to be of interest to members of the EPS Team as well as other MPLIC staff concerned with our library's Internet presence:

"How Can MySpace Inform Library Portal Development?" by Stephen Abram, SirsiDynix vice president of Innovation.
"The 'Eyes' Have It: Eye-Tracking and Usability Study of SchoolRooms," by Drs. Greg Byerly, Jason Holmes, David Robins, Yin Zang, and Athena Salaba, Kent State University School of Library and Information Science.

A new Rooms/EPS implementation at Bloomington Public Library

2006-06-16T12:05:00.000-05:00

What appears to be the first public implementation of SirsiDynix's Enterprise Portal Solution online catalog interface is now live at the Bloomington (IL) Public Library's web site.

The library's main web site is presented in the format of a blog. The catalog and other Rooms content can be accessed by following links from the home page.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Unicorn Project Status Report #15

2006-06-16T09:24:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 06/15/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call: Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Quiet week in the schedule.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call: Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Quality control checks will be done on the production server.
Jenny will being working with the data.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load – 6/23/06 Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-31.
Go Live	On Schedule

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Unicorn Project Status Report #14

2006-06-09T13:37:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Status Report Date: 06/09/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call: Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Jenny joined the weekly call to answer data questions.
Test data extraction will take place this weekend

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call: Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load – 6/23/06 Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-31.
Go Live	On Schedule

Rooms/EPS Project Manager's Weekly Project Status Report #11

2006-06-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

Project Status Report
Rooms/EPS and SingleSearch

Note: New and/or revised information is italicized.

Site Name: Memphis Public Library
Report Date: June 6, 2006
Project Team:
• Unicorn Project Manager – Amanda Little
• Rooms/EPS Project Manager – Carol Stennett
• Client/Server Delivery Specialist – Craig Lawrence
• Product Specialist, SingleSearch – Adrianne Peters

Important Deadlines:
• March 15th, 2007 – Go Live on All Products

Tasks Completed
• Rooms/EPS Consulting Workshop scheduled for August 16th and 17th
o Assigned Consultant – Consulting Services
• Rooms Builder Training Scheduled for July 27th
o Assigned Trainer – Andrea Downing, Education Support

Upcoming/Outstanding Tasks for Week of May 22nd
• Review Rooms/EPS installation

MPLIC a finalist for SirsiDynix award

2006-06-06T15:44:00.000-05:00

SirsiDynix has announced the 15 finalists for its Building Better Communities Awards, and the Memphis Public Library and Information Center is included in this select group.

The awards are being given to recognize SirsiDynix library customers that have made innovative uses of new technology to improve their user communities. MPLIC's selection is described on SirsiDynix's web site as follows: "The LINC (Library Information Center) service of the Memphis library is a comprehensive community information and referral service for the greater Memphis area. Due in part to the new technologies installed and implemented, LINC now serves as the area’s 2-1-1 provider, which recently served as a vital resource for Katrina evacuees."

MPLIC was selected as a finalist from among 130 nominated libraries by an independent committee of library leaders from throughout Canada and the United States. Five winners will be announced at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans on Saturday, June 24, and will each receive a $10,000 cash award.

Congratulations to Ron Reid and to the entire LINC Department staff for this honor!

Sirsi Implementation Teams: The Director's Station Team

2006-06-03T18:06:00.000-05:00

Director's Station is a new statistical analysis tool that should allow the Library to "slice and dice" our ILS data as never before. Planning for our use of Director's Station is scheduled to begin later this year, although the product can not actually be implemented until after we go live on the new Unicorn ILS and begin to collect data.

Role of the Director’s Station Implementation Team:

To coordinate the implementation of the Director’s Station System
To identify the requirements for data conversion and transfer
To identify the requirements for reports and management information
To identify the requirements for and to coordinate the delivery of staff training
To identify and make recommendations on potential workflow changes

Reporting:

Reports to the Sirsi Implementation Management Team

Membership:

Chair – Fred Bannerman-Williams (North Region)
Co-Chair -Paul Gahn (Automated Services)
Chris Marszalek (South Region)
Dean Moore (Frayser)
Debbie Stevens (East Shelby)

Note: This team may expand to include others.

SirsiDynix Project Manager's Weekly Unicorn Project Status Report #13

2006-06-02T08:46:00.000-05:00

Unicorn Project Status Report

Note: New and/or revised information is now italicized.

Status Report Date: 06/02/2006
Site Name: Memphis Public Library (24 libraries)
Client Contact: Steve Foster
Go-Live Date: 03/15/07
Software Release: GL 3.0

Project Manager: Amanda Little
Implementation Team: Damon Hunter, Jenny Hendrickson, Patty Suessen, Diane Cunningham
Sales Representative: Laurie Chase

Major Activities/ Meetings Completed
Weekly call: Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Serials and Acquisitions data mapping charts will be provided on Friday.
Policies were entered.
Oracle was installed on the production server.
Software on the production server was installed.
Laurie is working on Serials Solutions and Admin training pricing that might be need for contract modifications.

Activities/ Meetings Scheduled for Next Week
Weekly call: Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Outstanding Issues

Project Status:

Event	Status	Completion Date	Notes:
Schedule	Completed	01/24/06
Hardware Install	Completed	04/18/06
Software	Completed	06/02/06
Policies/Profiling	Completed	05/25/06
Data	On Schedule		Test load – 6/23/06 Production load 3/14/07
SirsiDynix Training	On Schedule		Second week of training is August 28-31.
Go Live	On Schedule

No Internal Updates

Circulation Trainers get acquainted with Workflows

2006-06-01T15:54:00.000-05:00

"Ever had a customer you wanted to clone? In Circulation Workflows you may get your chance."

That's the word from Central Library Circulation Supervisor Becky Graham, a member of both the Circulation and Training & Staff Development Implementation Teams for the Sirsi ILS project. Thanks to Becky, the MPLIC Circulation Services Manual is already being "transposed" from DRA Classic to the Unicorn ILS.

While a final version will have to wait until all policy file decisions have been finalized and the Workflows interface modfied, MPLIC's Circulation Training Team got a preview of the new manual as well as the Workflows interface in a four-hour training session Becky conducted in the Computer Lab on Thursday, June 1. "This is an exciting and interesting adventure for the training team as we train ourselves so that we can train other circulation staff," Becky says.

Sirsi Implementation Teams: The Circulation Team

2006-06-01T15:53:00.000-05:00

Role of the Circulation Team:

To coordinate the implementation of the Circulation function
To identify the requirements for data conversion and transfer
To identify the requirements for reports and management information
To identify the requirements for and to coordinate the delivery of staff training
To identify and make recommendations on potential workflow change

Reporting:

Reports to the Sirsi Implementation Management Team

Membership:

Chair – Ann Delphin (Central Circulation)
Louise Allen (East Shelby)
Margaret Boyd (Central Circulation)
Paul Gahn (Automated Services)
Sharley Gillespie (Cordova)
Leann Gordy (Bartlett)
Rebecca Graham (Central Circulation)

Sirsi Implementation Teams: The Training and Staff Development Team

2006-06-01T15:50:00.000-05:00

Role of the Training & Staff Development Team:

To implement a Sirsi ILS training plan for the organization
To identify the requirements for reports and management information
To identify and make recommendations on potential workflow changes

Reporting:

Reports to the Sirsi Implementation Management Team

Membership:

Chair – Damone Virgilio (Staff Development)
Kevin Dixon (Staff Development)
Leann Gordy (Bartlett)
Becky Graham (Central Circulation)
John Lloyd (Business/Sciences)
Chris Marszalek (South Region)
Theresa Schenk-Webster (LINC)