Using the Catalog between July 3-10

Message from Syma about the catalog:

From July 3 – July 10, the III catalog will still be available to search so you will know if we own a title and what the call number is.  However, the information on whether a particular item is checked out or on the shelf will not be accurate since all of the circulation activity will happen offline in Sirsi.  As a reminder, during this time, customers cannot place holds and we cannot pull and fill holds.

Sirsi Training Manuals

Training manuals for Symphony and Enterprise are on the HPL Training Portal:

SirsiDynix Symphony Circulation Training Manual

SirsiDynix Enterprise Searching Training Guide

Credit Card Machine

Please read this message from Theodora:

Make sure that the receipts total you have on hand for the credit cards and the checks agree with the closing receipt that comes out from the credit card machine daily. This receipt that you see at the credit card machine in the morning when you come to work is from the bank. If you don’t see the words “settlement successful” located at the end of the receipt please call 1800-451-5817. Have the merchant number ready and give it to them. (if you don’t know where this is located or cannot find it, please call me as I have this information and can give it to you) They will ask you a series of questions which should help to resolve the situation.

If your location has a glitch with the credit card machine, please call the IT Helpdesk and ask for the rewiring of the credit card machine to have it transferred from Wi-Fi to wired or through the phone line. After your machine has been rewired, please call the bank at 1800-451-5817 and inform them that the credit card machine has been switched from Wi-Fi to wired line so they can switch the files.

More on SirsiDynix Symphony

See this message from Syma:

Our GoLive date for SirsiDynix Symphony is Thursday, July 11.

In order to reduce the number of circulation-related issues that will arise during our migration period (June 21-July 1), we have modified how the III system calculates due dates. Our goal is to minimize the number of items returned over that time period but not affect our ability to check out or return items. As a result, you (and our customers) will see a lot of unexpectedly long check-out periods. Please accept whatever due date the system shows and, if a customer questions it, explain that we are moving from our existing catalog and circulation software to a new system and to make the transition as smooth as possible, we have temporarily changed the checkout period.

Collections throughout the system will be more finely defined in the new catalog. Every library will have locations such as Media, Beginning Readers, Graphic Novels, and more. Sirsi informs us that due to the complex mapping of items to new locations, we need to keep item location changes to the absolute minimum during the migration period. Therefore, we plan to stop floating materials beginning the week of June 17. When we go-live on Symphony, floating will immediately go back into effect.

During this period (June 21-July 10), no new titles or items will be added to the collection and we will be unable to delete items. Staff will also need to follow new procedures to check-in periodicals and new procedures to create “items on the fly” (short records to allow circulation of items whose barcode is not in the system).

From July 5-10, we will be using Symphony Offline Circ. During this period, no fines can be collected and no holds can be filled. We will be able to register new customers.

Due Dates

Please read this important message from Fred:

As you know, we are preparing to migrate from III Millennium to a new Integrated Library System, SirsiDynix Symphony, in the near future. As one means of ensuring that the change-over from the current system to the new one goes as smoothly as possible, we have arranged for the III system automatically assign due dates that will fall after the migration to the new system is complete. Thus, you will notice that the system is assigning due dates in mid July for items checked out for six weeks now. Please leave the system assigned due dates as they are; do not manually reassign due dates for these items. Use the Renew function in Millennium to assign six week due dates; do not manually assign them.

As we get closer to the actual migration date, you will notice more and more items being assigned extended due dates by the system. As that happens, please continue to refrain from manually reassigning due dates, and allow the system to calculate the due dates for us.

If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact the Circulation Administration Department at 832-393-2222 (choose option 3). We’ll be happy to assist you in any way that we can.

Summer Reader

Customers can sign up for the Summer Reading Program via this link. They will need to create a new registration this year.  Old registrations have been deleted!

The staff side is available at this link. The username is staff and the password is the usual one.

Missing Parts Follow-up

Whenever an item is left on a patron's account because the item is missing a part like a disc, please renew the item for the customer (if possible) and contact the customer by phone or email to inform them the item is still on their account and why. Leave a note on the patron's account.