News

The 24.09 release of Aspen is live. This release includes bug fixes and the following enhancements: Custom sort order for formats in grouped works Currently, the formats within a grouped work start with "Book", then list additional formats alphabetically. We now have the ability to sort formats within a grouped work in any order. At the next Discovery and User Experience Advisory meeting, the...

Access to OCLC services may be affected through Saturday morning, 9/14/2024 System maintenance is scheduled to start at Sep-13-2024 23:00 Central Time through Sep-14-2024 11:00 Central Time affecting the following services: CONTENTdm, EZproxy (hosted), FirstSearch, ILLiad, Tipasa, WorldShare Acquisitions, WorldShare Circulation, WorldShare Collection Manager, WorldShare Interlibrary Loan...

Update 9/11/24 10:20AM: We have been informed the server migration was unsuccessful. We are still awaiting a fix for our ILS export processing issues, so you will continue to see incorrect item statuses in Aspen. Update 9/11/24 9:05AM: Following the server migration, Aspen is not processing item status and record changes from Symphony. We are in touch with ByWater solutions to address this issue...

We are excited to announce a new item category for item records in WorkFlows! Item Category 6 can now be used to designate languages other than English. Several foreign language options have been populated in this category, and you can begin assigning them immediately. Like all item categories, Item Category 6 does not impact circulation or hold rules in any way. It also does not display in the...

Are you using the best links for your electronic resources? SWAN will help you make sure your patrons are using OpenAthens to authenticate. OpenAthens is a complete, secure solution protecting patron privacy by not releasing any personally identifiable information (PII). Over the course of the next year, libraries will be broken into 12 groups. At the end of each month, new tabs will be added to...

--Updated 9/3/24-- Scheduled maintenance on the Symphony ILS has completed and regularly scheduled reports have caught up and concluded successfully. You may now resume normal functions and WorkFlows usage. If you encounter any issues or have additional questions please open a help ticket by sending an email to the SWAN ticketing system. --Updated 9/1/24-- We will be rebuilding our indexes over...

We have added a new menu link in Aspen and LiDA - Online Resources. The Online Resources link is intended to direct patrons to your library database page. Many online resources are not discoverable in Aspen/LiDA, and this is meant to be a quick way to get patrons to your list of electronic content. Each library has had a link added, if you wish to remove or edit, you may do so. Instructions for...

The 24.08 release of Aspen is live. This release fixes several bugs with Aspen Discovery and Aspen LiDA and lays some initial groundwork for push notifications in Aspen LiDA. Aspen Discovery Bug fixes include: If a record is identified as both Manga and Graphic Novel, Aspen will prefer the format label of "Manga" Fix for automatic login for cloudLibrary Bugs with search results for call number...

The BLUEcloud Analytics Dashboards used to complete IPLAR and the ILLINET InterLibrary Loan Survey are ready. Worksheets and instructions can be found on the Illinois State Library site. The IPLAR due date for most libraries is September, 2024. The ILL Survey is not due until March, 2025 and those forms are not yet updated. Please note: there are two dashboards. One is specifically for libraries...

--- Update on 2024/07/30--- Many libraries have reported missing databases, slight differences in database names, and wrong database codes. The workbook below has been updated, please download this version moving forward. For libraries that are unable to access any link, please open a ticket with the SWAN ticketing system. It seems some databases may have been missed, this is something we can fix...

The schedule for the SWAN Expo on Friday, August 23rd is now finalized! You can view the day's sessions at specific times throughout the day. Our 2024 annual event is shaping up to be a great one. We have 19 sessions covering a range of topics and presenters with expertise in subjects that we hope all of you will enjoy. Mental health During the planning of this year's Expo, we picked up from some...

The July, 2024 (April- June, 2024) Quarterly Billing is complete, and the invoices and checks will be mailed shortly. Documentation is available to help guide member library staff through the Billing Summary workbook as well as the detail statement reports folder accessible in BlueCloud Analytics Shared Reports. Library Directors have been provided with BCA login credentials. If you are a Director...

The 24.07 release of Aspen is live. This release includes the following updates to Aspen Discovery and the Aspen LiDA app. Accessibility updates The Accessible Browse Category mode now displays hide and search buttons for sub-categories. Bug fixes Fixed bugs for searches with special characters, especially for subject searches. Fixed a bug with updating tabbed spotlights. Fixed bugs with Cloud...

---Update on 2024/07/18--- Our Symphony Production server has been successfully upgraded to version 4.1. Overnight maintenance reports have completed and library VPN connections have been re-enabled. Symphony/WorkFlows is now accessible. WorkFlows 4.1 installers are available under Software Downloads & Setup. WorkFlows 3.7.1 will continue to function after the server upgrade has been completed...

The Authority Reindexing and regularly scheduled overnight processing have successfully completed. You may resume normal work functions. We will be rebuilding our authority indexes over Independence Day. Please refrain from accessing Workflows after 9 PM Wednesday, July 3 through Thursday, July 4th. We anticipate that this will have little to no impact on service since it is occurring over the...

RAILS Flagship Package If your library opted to continue offering databases from EBSCO through the RAILS EBSCO Flagship Package, please download the spreadsheet, EBSCO RAILS Flagship Links 2024 (XSLX), to find your updated links. Please note the following products are not going to be found in the spreadsheet and instead are coming directly from EBSCO: Learn with Novelist LitBase FinancialFit...

Our annual event detailed sessions are now available. This year we have expanded the size and scope of the event with sessions taking place in first and second floor rooms at the Business & Conference Center at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Heights. The keynote speaker for the event will be Troy Siewert from the National Alliance on Mental Illiness (NAMI). Troy has been training and...

The 24.06 release of Aspen is live. This release includes the following updates. Aspen Discovery You can now choose an alternate carousel display option for browse categories, which is also easier to use for users navigating your browse categories using a keyboard or assistive technology. The default display complies with accessibility standards, but the new display improves user experience. To...

The 2023 PWB license key expired earlier this month. RAILS has made the 2024 license key available for download on the RAILS website. (L2 login required) This license key is valid until June 8, 2025. Please open a support ticket if you require assistance.

UPDATE 06/18/2024 7:02 PM Thank you all for your patience. SirsiDynix has finished the BLUEcloud Analytics harvest and is running all reports that were scheduled to run today a second time. If you received your reports via email earlier today they may not include transactions that took place yesterday. You should use the reports being delivered now for accurate information. SirsiDynix has not yet...