USER DOCUMENTATION What’s New in Version 16

U S E R D O C U M E N T A T I O N

What’s New in Version 16.02

Ex Libris Ltd., 2003 Release 16.02 Last Update: 11 April, 2004

© Ex Libris Ltd., 2003 of 25 What’s New in Version 16.02 Updated: 11 April, 2004

Table of Contents

1. CLIENTS – GENERAL ................................................................................... 6

1.1. New Clients............................................................................................ 6

1.2. New Task Manager ................................................................................ 6

1.3. Copy/Paste ............................................................................................. 6

1.4. New Display Formats ............................................................................. 7

1.5. Entering UNICODE Values.................................................................... 7

1.6. Identification of a Workstation ............................................................... 7

1.7. XSL Creator ........................................................................................... 7

1.8. Mail ....................................................................................................... 7

1.9. Online Help – Reorganization ................................................................ 8

1.10. Ini Files...................................................................................................... 8

2. OPAC – GENERAL ......................................................................................... 8

2.1. Headings ................................................................................................ 8

3. WEB OPAC ...................................................................................................... 8

3.1. General................................................................................................... 8

3.2. External Links in Brief Display .............................................................. 8

3.3. Supported Browsers ............................................................................... 9

3.4. Save/Mail Documents ............................................................................ 9 3.4.1. Format for “Reference Managers” (e.g., Endnote) ..................................................9 3.4.2. ALEPH Sequential Format......................................................................................9

3.5. User Information Pages .......................................................................... 9

3.6. Interaction with Syndetics ...................................................................... 9

3.7. Hold Requests ...................................................................................... 10 3.7.1 Counters in Items (Holdings) List .........................................................................10 3.7.2. New Table - tab_hold_request_form .....................................................................10

4. CATALOGING .............................................................................................. 10

4.1. Cataloging Record................................................................................ 10


4.2. Record Manager ................................................................................... 10

4.3. Overview Tree...................................................................................... 11 4.3.1. Moving Records ....................................................................................................11

4.4. URL Checker ....................................................................................... 11

4.5. Converting Cataloging Records ............................................................ 11

4.6. Locate .................................................................................................. 11

4.7. ISSN .................................................................................................... 12

4.8. Unicode................................................................................................ 12 4.8.1. UNICODE Storage ................................................................................................12 4.8.2. Tool Tip for UNICODE values .............................................................................12

4.9. View in OPAC ..................................................................................... 12

4.10 . New Fix Routines............................................................................... 12 4.10.1 UNIMARC Fix......................................................................................................12 4.10.2 Deleted Record Fix...............................................................................................12 4.10.3 LKR fix..................................................................................................................13

5. CIRCULATION ............................................................................................. 13

5.1. Patrons ................................................................................................. 13 5.1.1. Picture ID ..............................................................................................................13 5.1.2. Fast Patron Registration ........................................................................................14 5.1.3. Print letters to patron .............................................................................................14 5.1.4. Patron IDs..............................................................................................................14 5.1.5. Single Sign On.......................................................................................................14 5.1.6. Shared/Non-shared Patron data .............................................................................14

5.2. Advanced Booking............................................................................... 15 5.2.1. Requests.................................................................................................................15 5.2.2. Advanced Booking Table ......................................................................................15

5.3. Bookings .............................................................................................. 15

5.4. Fines and Payments .............................................................................. 15 5.4.1. New Fining Methods .............................................................................................15 5.4.2. Payments ...............................................................................................................16 5.4.3. Electronic Payments ..............................................................................................16

5.5. Self-check Protocol SIP2 Now Supported............................................. 16 5.5.1. Supported Messages ..............................................................................................16 5.5.2. Communication between SIP2 and ALEPH..........................................................16 5.5.3. New Parameter in return_message ........................................................................17

5.6. Barcode Input....................................................................................... 17

5.7. New Function in Item List: "Recall" ..................................................... 17

6. ACQUISITIONS............................................................................................. 17


6.1. Arrival - Message to the initiator of the order ....................................... 17

6.2. EDI ...................................................................................................... 17 6.2.1. Outgoing EDI ........................................................................................................18 6.2.2. Incoming EDI ........................................................................................................18 6.2.3. EDI loader log .......................................................................................................18

6.3. Invoices - Unit Price Exceeds Estimated Price...................................... 18

6.4. VAT Handling in General Invoices, Line Items and Budgets ................ 18 6.4.1. VAT on Line Items................................................................................................18 6.4.2. Setting a VAT Percent...........................................................................................19

6.5. Claims.................................................................................................. 19

6.6. Vendor List .......................................................................................... 19

6.7. Action Log Messages ........................................................................... 19

6.8. Budgets ................................................................................................ 20

7. ITEMS............................................................................................................. 20

7.1. Smart Barcode Export Routine ............................................................. 20

8. SERIALS......................................................................................................... 20

8.1. New Developments .............................................................................. 20

8.2. Routing List ......................................................................................... 20

8.3. Summary Holdings............................................................................... 21

9. ILL .................................................................................................................. 21

10. COURSE READING............................................................................... 21

10.1. E-Reserves ........................................................................................... 21

10.2. New Summary List............................................................................... 22

11. DATA WAREHOUSE............................................................................. 22

12. INDEX BUILDING ................................................................................. 23

13. Z39.50....................................................................................................... 23

13.1. Z39.50 Holdings................................................................................... 23

13.2. Z39.50 gate is enabled to accept SUTRS records .................................. 23


13.3. Z39.50 Extended Services .................................................................... 24

14. EXPAND PROGRAMS........................................................................... 24

14.1. expand_doc_adm_hol........................................................................... 24

14.2. expand_doc_bib_852_title.................................................................... 24

14.3. expand_doc_adm_bib........................................................................... 24

15. NEW ORACLE TABLES ....................................................................... 24

15.1. Z353 - Patron Index.............................................................................. 24

15.2. Z74 – Log of an EDI Load.................................................................... 25

16. PASSWORD AUTHORIZATION.......................................................... 25

Overview The purpose of this document is to summarize important features that have been added to the ALEPH 500™ system since the first release of Version 15.2

1. Clients – General

1.1. New Clients There are new clients for Cataloging and Acquisitions/Serials. Within the GUI clients:

• The Search module has been removed. Full Search functionality is available within each of the remaining modules. This enables the added functionality of searching a logical base within the Cataloging, Acquisitions and Circulation modules.

• Serials has been incorporated into Acquisitions for ease of use. • There is no longer an Items client – it is now part of the Cataloging client. • Job Manager (now Task Manager) is no longer a separate client – it is now

part of every module. • The Admin module has been deleted. Unique functionality has been moved as

follows:

o Profile definitions have become part of the Circulation client. o Permission management (privileges) is available via status bar key

icon in all modules. o Currency management is available in Acquisitions. o Budget and Vendor management are available in Acquisitions.

1.2. New Task Manager From all modules, the File menu now has a Job Manager option, which has been renamed Task Manager. In general, the Task Manager is a tabulated modal window. There is no longer a Jobmgr.ini; but rather all fields are now defined in alephcom.ini.

1.3. Copy/Paste It is now possible to copy/paste data from the text lists in all GUI modules. In the "selectable" lists:

o the second mouse click on the selected line copies the data of the current field to the clipboard.

In the "non-selectable" lists:


o a single mouse click on the line copies the line data to the clipboard.

1.4. New Display Formats The GUI clients now use HTML templates for display of data. Because of this, all old display tables (e.g., tab_loan_bor_display) are no longer used and have been deleted.

1.5. Entering UNICODE Values The “Enter Unicode value option” is available in all edit boxes. After clicking the F11 hotkey the edit box 'works' in Unicode mode until deactivating the option by clicking the F11 hotkey again. The information about 'Unicode' mode appears in the first pane of the application status bar.

1.6. Identification of a Workstation For various functions in ALEPH (circ, cash, etc.,) it is necessary to uniquely identify a workstation. There are now various alternatives for identification.

• Station ID - assignment of a manual identification key (20 chars). • External IP address - the address assigned on the tcp/ip level. • Internal IP address

1.7. XSL Creator A new feature in Print History: XSL Creator. This is an easy way to create new XSL templates on the clients which can then be saved on the server.

• Offers the option of creating new forms with relatively little knowledge of the language and without writing code.

• It is a flexible and comfortable tool. • You can follow up each stage of the editing by using the Preview option. • Transfers the new file into the server and backs up the original.

1.8. Mail If the connection to the e-mail server fails when mail is sent through the GUI clients, an error message will pop-up.


1.9. Online Help – Reorganization The online help file structure was reorganized to support the creation of a master table of contents and a master index that will be available from all modules.

1.10. Ini Files Lines in the .ini file of the module that were used for saving the last setting have been moved to a separate file, GuiSys.ini.

2. OPAC – General

2.1. Headings In general, there is tighter Authority Control. In previous versions, when the system did not find a match between a subject heading in the bibliographic library and a heading in the authority library, the subdivisions (subfields $v, $x, $y and $z) from the bibliographic heading were automatically stripped and the system continued searching for a match without them in order to find the more general term. From Version 16, this is not performed automatically by the system, but is dependent on the setup. This change was made in order to avoid the display of these "general" headings in all logical bases. According to the setup, the system enriches the bibliographic headings list with the general heading but also knows whether or not the heading should be included in the logical base.

3. Web OPAC

3.1. General

• It is now possible to use a css file with a base extension. • A sticky parameter remembers the last search in the Find and Browse pages. • It is possible to change the base from a drop-down list together with the Find

and Browse commands.

3.2. External Links in Brief Display A new column has been added to the Brief Display format of records in the


WEB OPAC: external link. It represents fields 856## of type u (URL). A variable has been added to the file www_server.conf, to determine the maximum number of lines to be displayed in this column.

3.3. Supported Browsers Control of browsers that fully support UTF-8 mechanism has changed. The list of browsers is now kept in an external table and can be easily modified.

3.4. Save/Mail Documents

3.4.1. Format for “Reference Managers” (e.g., Endnote) Implementation of format 777 for the Save/Mail option in OPAC. This format converts the bibliographic records into "ISI ResearchSoft Tagged Output Format"- the format used to import records into reference managers such as Endnote.

3.4.2. ALEPH Sequential Format There is a new option to save/mail documents in ALEPH sequential format (format # 998).

3.5. User Information Pages User information pages are not saved in the browser's history. Clicking the browser's "Back" button will not display these pages. The HTML pages (bor-*) were changed, and all the links were replaced by a call to a JavaScript function that removes the current page from the history.

3.6. Interaction with Syndetics Interaction with Syndetics was added to the "Web OPAC Full View". This service can relate to a given ISBN (retrieved from the bibliographic record), by displaying a small icon describing the book cover. On the Syndetics icon cover image, there is a link to the book's table of contents which will open in a new floating window.


3.7. Hold Requests

3.7.1 Counters in Items (Holdings) List Previously, the "No. of requests" column in the items list contained only the number of "original" hold requests placed on an item. Now it is possible to add information to this column indicating the total number of hold requests for the item (original + like-copies) together with the total number of items belonging to the item's hold groups.

3.7.2. New Table - tab_hold_request_form A new table gives the option of configuring the system to use different request forms depending on :

1. requested item sublibrary 2. requested item status 3. requested item process status 4. logged in borrower status 5. item availability.

4. Cataloging

4.1. Cataloging Record The cataloging editor can now handle documents with up to 5000 lines when each subfield is held on a different line (the limit used to be 2000 lines). Each field is limited to 2000 characters (bytes). There is still the server limitation of 45000 characters (bytes). The client checks that the record does not exceed 45000 characters, before sending it to the server. If the limit is exceeded, an error will be displayed, and the operation will be halted.

4.2. Record Manager The new Record Manager displays information regarding the record currently being edited in the Catalog Editor. The information is displayed in tree structure after opening a record from the server or after saving a new record. Purposes of the Record Manager: • To show the records in the system that are related to the record currently being edited.


• To provide access to the records associated with the record currently being edited. • To enable the creation of administrative and holdings records. • To provide access to the Items function (Items tab) of the Cataloging module.

4.3. Overview Tree The Overview Tree shows the records in the system that are related to the cataloging record being edited. When the Split Editor Mode is selected, it is possible to view and/or edit two cataloging records simultaneously. If you switch to the Overview Tree mode the trees for both records are shown in the corresponding section of the upper pane.

4.3.1. Moving Records While the two trees are displayed, you can move item and/or acquisitions orders and/or serials subscription records from one ADM record to the other. This is done by using the mouse for drag-and-drop operations. You can also move an ADM record from one BIB record to another ADM record of a different BIB record.

4.4. URL Checker There is a new service to check the URL ($$u) of a document., both as a batch service and as an online check of the cataloging record. The batch service requires an input file of the fields to be checked in ALEPH sequential format. The $$u of each field is checked. There are two output files: One will include all lines with correct URL. The other file will include all lines where the URL-check failed. At the end of the line (in a subfield defined in the service parameters (default is $$9)), a subfield is added with the error-code that was returned from the protocol. The file of incorrect URLs can be corrected and loaded using p_manage_18/Replace Fields. The online check can be activated on a single record; the check is performed on the MARC21 tags for which $$u as URL is valid.

4.5. Converting Cataloging Records For conversion in the CATALOG module a new option has been added: Instead of converting the records on the PC, the whole data file can be sent to the server where the conversion can be done by server routines.

4.6. Locate


The Brief window in the Locate of the catalog module was expanded to support the multi-select option as well as single-select. When multi-select is performed the documents will be opened in separate editors windows.

4.7. ISSN ISSN is now checked in the same way as is the ISBN.

4.8. Unicode

4.8.1. UNICODE Storage Unicode is now stored in UTF-8 (it was formerly stored in US7ASCII). The Oracle database, previously defined as US7ASCII, is now defined as UTF-8. The data has been defined as UTF-8 since version 14.X.

4.8.2. Tool Tip for UNICODE values It is now possible to view the Unicode value of a character in the Catalog Editor window by placing the mouse pointer over it; after about two seconds a tool tip appears above the character, containing a string composed of "U+" followed by a four-digit hexadecimal value, e.g., "U+0041" (for the character "A").

4.9. View in OPAC A new function allows for the display of a record in the lower pane 3rd tab (Browser) in ALEPH's WEB OPAC format. This will display the record as it is in the database, not in its current editing mode.

4.10 . New Fix Routines

4.10.1 UNIMARC Fix A new UNIMARC fix program has been implemented. This program can be used to create an authority record from the current bibliographic record. The program is cursor-sensitive and according to the position of the cursor, the new authority record will be created from the relevant 6XX, 5XX, or 7XX fields.

4.10.2 Deleted Record Fix


A new fix routine, fix_doc_ldr_sta_delete, has been implemented. This program changes the record status in position 05 of the LDR field to 'd' (deleted) if the STA $$aDELETED field is present in the record.

4.10.3 LKR Fix The fix_doc_lkr_up fix program has been enhanced. If the record is for a serial (FMT = SE), then subfield $n (up link note) and subfield $m (down link note) are built from the 222 field, if present. If this field is not present, then the subfields are built as in previous versions from field 245.

5. Circulation

5.1. Patrons

5.1.1. Picture ID A picture ID can be attached to a patron’s record (also in 15.2). It will be displayed in the Circulation client if a matching picture file is present in the relevant sub-directory on the server. The picture's file name is the Patron's ID. It is possible to update a patron's picture, by using the "Update Picture" button in the "Global Patron Information" tab. It is also used to load a picture for a new patron. Clicking the new button opens a dialog box, which enables the preview and loading of a picture file from the local PC. The new picture file is saved on the server as the patron ID + the extension of the file from the PC.


5.1.2. Fast Patron Registration It is possible now to register a new patron via a form that contains fields pertaining to local patron information and address information, in addition to fields existing in the current form, such as ID, barcode, name or date of birth. In contrast to the current form ("Global Patron Information"), the new form contains full information on one address (including e-mail, zip code and telephone numbers), and local patron information – patron sublibrary and status. The "Name" field in the form has been split into two fields: Surname (last name) and First Name. The new form does not contain fields relating to proxy and blocks (delinquencies). The new form is activated if the new flag "FastPatronRegistration" is set to "Y" (section [Patron] in .\Circ\Tab\Circ.ini). If the flag is set to "N", the current "Global Patron Information" form (with two tabs) is used. Various default values can be set for fast patron registration. These are dependent either on a server defined table or on parameters saved on the local client.

5.1.3. Print letters to patron The "Print Letter to Patron" option, activated by clicking the "Letter" button on the "Global Patron Information" pane, has been added to the Loan and Return tabs.

5.1.4. Patron IDs A new service, Scrub Patron IDs (cir-32), allows for the "scrubbing" of patron IDs so that circulation events and loan and hold history can't be traced back to the patron. It accepts as a parameter the date until which the "scrubbing" is required. The service replaces the utility (UTIL F/2/30) that was in some previous versions.

5.1.5. Single Sign On Generic implementation of Single Sign On (SSO) using version 16 tools.

5.1.6. Shared/Non-shared Patron data In a multi-ADM setup Patron data is stored in one common set of Oracle tables. A parameter in the ADM library determines whether or not its patrons are shared. If they are not shared, they can be viewed only by users connected to the ADM library.


5.2. Advanced Booking

5.2.1. Requests When a “hold request” is initiated from the Items List in the CIRCULATION GUI interface, the system is now sensitive to whether it is a Short Loan item. If it is, a Booking Schedule List is opened instead of the standard Hold Request window. The List will display slots from the current date. The number of days in advance that will be displayed is dependent on a variable defined in pc_server_defaults. Choosing a borrower, selecting a slot and clicking "OK" will create a short loan request.

5.2.2. Advanced Booking Table A new option was added to the Advanced Booking Table - tab43: It is possible to define days when the slots are different from the schedule as a whole. For this a new column was added to identify the next group of definitions: Col. 1 - Line Type. There are two available values in this column: P or E.

- P= the following slots defined are for a period of time, as this has been so far. E= the following slots refer to the day listed in column 4 (End of Period Date).

5.3. Bookings A new option allows a registered user to book an item for use at a future time. Any subsequent request, loan or renewal will take this booking into account. The booking will have precedence over other activities.

5.4. Fines and Payments

5.4.1. New Fining Methods A new table controls a different way of managing fines. The table defines late return periods and amounts for late return fines, when the fine method F is set in col. 14 in tab16 (UTIL G/5/16). Using this method, a set rate is charged for a time period. For example: A fine is set of five euro for the first ten days and fifty euro for the next five days. If an item is returned any time within the first ten days, the fine charged will be five euro. If the item is returned any time from day 11 through 15, the fine charged will be fifty euro.


In addition, tab16 now allows for:

• defining a minimum fine. Fines below this amount will be treated as zero amount fines.

• defining a fixed amount to be added to a fine

5.4.2. Payments It is now possible to fully or partially waive fines or charges. It is also possible to fully or partially refund charges.

5.4.3. Electronic Payments There are now options for electronic payments and e-Commerce in general.

5.5. Self-check Protocol SIP2 Now Supported The new SIP2 server replaces the SC server. This server now supports the 3M Standard Interchange Protocol Version 1.00 and 2.00.

5.5.1. Supported Messages The SIP2 server supports the following SIP2 command messages: 23 - patron status request 11 - checkout 09 - checkin 01 - block patron 99 - SC status 97 - request ACS resend 93 - login 63 - patron information 17 - item information Hold request Renew Renew All In addition, the SIP2 server has been enhanced by adding SIP 2.0 Extensions, which are used for sorting.

5.5.2. Communication between SIP2 and ALEPH The communication between the SIP2 interface and ALEPH is now based on XML.


5.5.3. New Parameter in return_message If this parameter is set to Y and one of the following conditions is fulfilled during return with a SIP2-server, a special message 36 (e.g., "Return performed - please put this item into the red box.") is called up:

1. The item has active hold requests. 2. The item has any circulation note in the item record (so ILL material is

detected.) 3. The sublibrary belonging to this IP-address is not the item’s sublibrary. 4. The item is a "short-loan" item.

In this way, the user is asked to put "problematic" items in a special place. All the necessary follow-up will then be done by the staff in the CIRC client.

5.6. Barcode Input A number of edit boxes can now receive automatic barcode input. Definitions are in .\Alephcom\Tab\Alephcom.ini

• Patron List - New patron • The "Patron ID" edit box in the "Reading Room Items" window. • The "Patron ID" edit box in the "Create Hold Request" window • The "Patron ID" edit box in the "Create Photocopy Request" window

5.7. New Function in Item List: "Recall" This new function first calculates the recall due date (in the same way as does the batch process p-cir-13). The calculated due date appears, giving the staff user the opportunity to modify the date and set the recall to “Rush Recall”. Pressing “Continue” will modify the loan record and generate a recall notice.

6. Acquisitions

6.1. Arrival - Message to the initiator of the order Upon the FIRST arrival of an order, a message can now be sent (by e-mail or printed letter) to the initiator of the order, by setting the value of the "Action" field in the "Order Form" window (tab 1 -"Order Information") to "Send Mail".

6.2. EDI There is a new mechanism based on an intermediate XML format.


This includes Serial and Monograph messages

6.2.1. Outgoing EDI Monograph Order Dispatch Order Cancellation Order Claim - Serials Order Claim – Monographs

6.2.2. Incoming EDI Serials Invoice Monograph Invoice Monograph Claim Response Serials Claim Response

6.2.3. EDI loader log The log of the load is stored in a new oracle table. Each execution is assigned a number which is clearly seen when the batch job is executed. The log messages can be viewed from the Administration window within Acquisitions.

6.3. Invoices - Unit Price Exceeds Estimated Price When a new invoice is created or an existing one modified and the actual unit price exceeds the estimated unit price by more than a defined percentage, an alert message will be displayed. The maximum percentage difference is determined by setting the value of the environment variable "max_unit_price_diff_percent" in the file ./alephe/pc_server_defaults.

6.4. VAT Handling in General Invoices, Line Items and Budgets

6.4.1. VAT on Line Items In the general invoice, a new flag allows for defining Y/N for VAT per line item. When this flag is set to "N", the VAT amount of the general invoice is fixed, and saved in the database. In this case, VAT values of all attached line items are calculated from the total amount according to the VAT percentage of the general invoice. When the flag is set to "Y", the VAT is always zero in the database. It is calculated on the fly from the VAT amounts of all attached line items, only for display/print


purposes (e.g., Invoice Report - p_acq_10). This means that the amount can be set individually for each line item.

6.4.2. Setting a VAT Percent A new table has been added - ./usm50/tab/tab_vat_percent.eng . The table consists of codes for VAT percentages for Acquisitions invoices. When “UseVATCode” is set to “Y”, the VAT code can be assigned to a general invoice by an edit field with a drop-down list (appearing instead of the “VAT percent” edit field), in the General Invoice pane. In the Line Item pane, the VAT Code can be assigned to a line item in the same way as it is assigned in the general invoice.

6.5. Claims Enhancement of the Claim window. When a claim is sent to a vendor (via e-mail/EDI/print), the print format and date are recorded in the order log. Each time a claim is modified (for example: for the addition of a vendor reply), the information is recorded in the order log.

6.6. Vendor List The starting point and the "Sort by..." parameter (Name or Code) in "Vendor List" can be saved in .\Alephcom\Tab\Alephcom.ini, under a new section - "[VendorList]". Whenever these parameters are changed, they are saved in the relevant section of the alephcom.ini file.

6.7. Action Log Messages Action Log Messages is a new window that can be accessed from the Administration pane. The Action Log Messages window displays all log transactions that match the following condition:

• Transactions whose Action Date is later than their Open Date. • The Action Date does not exceed the Current Date.

The Order button allows you to jump from each log message to its related order. The Dismiss button allows you to dismiss the transaction log entry for the list. Note: This window also can be used to display all responses from a vendor received via EDI.


6.8. Budgets There is now an option that is more user-friendly for two-way money transfer between budgets. The two transfer arrow buttons are enabled only when both budgets are valid and their information is displayed, and the sum to transfer is greater than zero.

7. Items

7.1. Smart Barcode Export Routine The routine p_export_03 uses an input file of barcodes/item keys and prepares a file in a configurable format for transfer to an external vendor - used in generating "smart" barcodes.

8. Serials

8.1. New Developments The opening of expected items and prediction cycles no longer involves the opening of Z17 (issue records), and therefore the Z17 table has been removed from the system. Serial prediction opening of item records is based directly on 853/853X, 854/854X and 855/855X fields in the HOL or ADM record, or the ALEPH Z08/Z09 schedule record. The creation of expected items for any serial title is based on the following:

1) a current subscription (which, if the 85x/85xX is in the HOL record, must be linked to that record).

2) an 85x/85xX prediction pattern in the HOL record (or in the ADM record), or an ALEPH schedule record.

The 85x field in the HOLdings record is also used for building summary holdings statements.

8.2. Routing List It is now possible to change the sort order of the routing groups in the "Routing List of Record No. ..." window, by using up and down arrow buttons (similar to the same functionality in the "Routing Group Member List" window). The sort order is saved in the database.


8.3. Summary Holdings A new expand program will create a summary holdings statement (863/864/865 field) from arrived items, with non-arrived items generating gap/non-gap breaks ($$wg or $$wn in the new 863). By default, the expand will create 863/4/5 tags. However, it is also possible to define different field tags. An additional expand program creates an 866, 867, 868 field for each occurrence of paired 85X/86X fields. The 866/7/8 field serves for display of summary holdings in the WEB OPAC.

9. ILL Version 16.02 supports a new ISO compliant ILL module. This new module functions under a web interface. Functionality includes Incoming and Outgoing requests. ISO-ILL messages are received through the ILL port, registered in a “handling library” called ILLSV, and directed by the ILL server to their correct destinations – as new incoming requests or as message updates to incoming and outgoing requests. The user interface is workflow oriented, and groups the requests in “action” categories. Configuration tables and services can be used to automatically handle incoming requests to the point of “located records” and outgoing requests to the point of sending the request to the optimal supplier.

10. Course Reading

10.1. E-Reserves Description: DRA - Data Rights Access for E-Reserve usage. The DRA mechanism was developed for interaction with the "Course Reading" module, but can be used in any other environment in the system. In general, the DRA system deals with three different cases:

a. An object that can be seen without any restrictions. b. An object that can be seen with the approval of a copyright statement. c. An object that can be seen only if the borrower is registered in the specific

course to which the object is attached. The course-borrower relation is stored in an Oracle record, which can be created by loading a sequential file.


10.2. New Summary List A new summary list holds data on two main topics: All the courses linked to an instructor and the bibliographic information attached to them. This can give a clear view of the instructor’s academic work and can be useful for statistics.

11. Data Warehouse The ALEPH Data Warehouse is a special reporting environment that supports information access. The primary purpose of data warehousing is to enable easy and logical access to the data. This is achieved by delivering data in reporting perspective structure and by differentiating operational data and analysis / reporting data. The Data Warehouse brings together data from the various data sources of the system; in other words, it collects and organizes the data in a logical structure that enables cross-referencing data from multiple environments of the ALEPH system. The architecture of the ALEPH Data Warehouse allows the integration of bibliographic, holdings and administrative data. For example, the user can analyze administrative data (such as acquisitions) based on the bibliographic information (such as subject, year of publication, country of publication). The ALEPH Data Warehouse is a copy of the production data used by the ALEPH software. This copy, built automatically using Oracle triggers, collects all the required data in one place (under a single Oracle user), and enables the delivery of the data in a structure that is optimal for queries, reports and statistics. All the customization required to activate the ALEPH Data Warehouse (like Oracle triggers) is done within the ALEPH Data Warehouse. This means that the existence of the Data Warehouse and its implications are transparent to the production environment. The ALEPH Data Warehouse contains the following data:

• Bibliographic information – a normalized copy of the bibliographic and holdings information, with its links to the relevant administrative data.

• Administrative information – a normalized copy of all the relevant administrative tables.

The field names of the tables in the ALEPH Data Warehouse are normalized and do not include the table name. This enables easy cross-referencing between the various tables in the system


12. Index Building

• Optimization and structural changes in index building – for logical bases, words and headings.

• Building in parallel to a running system (PID – Parallel Indexing). Parallel indexing is used to rebuild an OPAC index, parallel to the online ALEPH system, with no downtime while the index is being created. This process also enables changing indexing parameters and checking the results, without losing current indexes.

• Monitoring and recovery: o Suspension of the job if anything goes wrong at build time in a way

that will allow recovery. Job suspension will be followed by an alert e-mail message.

o Recovery utility: Automate the practices used today manually • The Build Counters for Logical Bases (manage-32) service has been improved

and now works faster. • UE_11 is the process that sends and receives messages (Z105) among

databases. It now runs once only for all libraries, in the environment defined in aleph_start.

Parallel processing can be used with the Alphabetize Headings (manage-16) service.

13. Z39.50

13.1 . Z39.50 Holdings There is a new option to return records according to the Z39.50 Holdings Scheme (v.4). The records are returned according to the element set B1 defined by the Bath Profile (v. 2.0). The records are returned in XML format according to the scheme defined by the Bath Profile (v. 2.0).

13.2 . Z39.50 gate is enabled to accept SUTRS records SUTRS records are converted to ALEPH internal format and shown to users as regular ALEPH records. SUTRS (Simple Unstructured Text Record Syntax) is free format. Because of this, for each target returning SUTRS records, a special conversion program needs to be written. The program parses the SUTRS record as it arrives from the target while handling all special cases for this target.


13.3 . Z39.50 Extended Services The Z39.50 Extended Services Update allows a z39.50 client to request that the target update the database. All the actions are performed immediately. The ALEPH z39_server supports 3 update actions:

- record insert, - record replace - record delete.

In addition, generic Z39.50 Extended Services Updates for the gateway are also supported.

14 Expand Programs

14.1 . expand_doc_adm_hol The new program can be used in tab_expand of an ADM library in order to add HOL data to the ADM record.

14.2 . expand_doc_bib_852_title The program takes each call number (852 $$h $$i $$j $$k $$l ) and adds the 245 $$a $$b $$c to create a CLN field. If there are multiple 852 fields then EACH one is taken and the same 245 is added to each.

14.3 . expand_doc_adm_bib An option has been added to the expand program expand_doc_adm_bib to include/exclude specific BIB fields in the expanded ADM record, by using column 3 of tab_expand of the ADM library.

15 New Oracle Tables

15.1 . Z353 - Patron Index This table will be used to improve the patron list response time.


15.2 . Z74 – Log of an EDI Load Each EDI loader is assigned a number. The batch job p_edi_10 creates at least two Z74 records (start date and end date). Additional log records may be created in various cases, such as missing order number, duplicate general invoice, etc.

16 Password Authorization Although there is a common set of Oracle tables for staff user authorizations, the control for viewing and building passwords and authorizations is now at the level of the ADM library.

USER DOCUMENTATION What’s New in Version 16

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