News

We have received the access URLs for year 4 of the SWAN EBSCO group subscription. If you made changes to your subscriptions, please update the URLs on your library website by July 1st. All libraries can view current EBSCO links on the SWAN patron site, or you can download the EBSCO links spreadsheet (XLSX) and select the tab for your library. The following libraries updated subscriptions this year...

Act, 50 ILCS 70/1 et seq. 50 ILCS 70/1 et seq. requires public library districts and other units of local government to form a committee to study local efficiencies The new law requires library districts to issue a report within the guidelines set by the Act. It is recommended that as part of the report that district libraries list intergovernmental agreements and outline efficiencies and cost...

This is a reminder that we will be going live on the MessageBee notification platform for e-mail on June 27th. SMS notifications went live in late April. Preparations Many of you have already made changes to your e-mail and SMS templates. Others have retained the default configurations. No action is required, but if you do wish to change your outgoing templates, we encourage you to do so by the...

KitKeeper is a library staff interface for managing book club kits and reserving them. SWAN introduced the service in 2020 as a way to schedule and track book club kits with the goal of sharing them between libraries. KitKeeper appeared to be an ideal solution for libraries with significant book discussion groups and with circulating kit collections. The intent, based on the feedback of the SWAN...

The Aspen 23.06 release is now live. This release includes the following enhancements for covers. Covers for individual records in search results Search results in Aspen will now show covers for individual records in search results, when you select Show Editions. This enhancement should be helpful when patrons are looking for a title with a specific cover or illustrator. Custom covers for...

For the month of June, Kanopy has the following promotions to offer for public libraries. Here are the details: Take 25% off two or more PLUS Packs* Select from all six PLUS Packs as well as the new Kanopy Kids subscription. Receive a free Easy Watching PLUS Pack with any new Pay-Per-Use service** Title list is attached below. All titles would require no play credits for patrons for one year...

The election for two seats on 7 member SWAN governing board has concluded with 63 participating voters. Jennifer Cottrill, Library Director, Midlothian Public Library, 41 votes (reelected) Samantha Johnson, Executive Director, Roselle Public Library, 33 votes (elected) Ridgeway Burns, Library Director Itasca Community Library, 25 votes Zach Musil, Library Director, Tinley Park Public Library, 24...

The Friday, August 18th event will be held at Moraine Valley Community College at the Business & Conference Center. This year's event will include sessions on Aspen Discovery & metadata, cataloging practices in SWAN, MessageBee in the library, and more! You can see the session descriptions on the registration page. Cost is $35 per person, and libraries will be invoiced after the event. Register...

RAILS has made the 2024 license key for Public Web Browser (PWB) available on their website. If your library uses PWB, please visit the RAILS Deals & Discounts page to access the new license key. (L2 Login Required) The current PWB license expires after June 7, 2023. You do not need to wait for the current license to expire before updating the license key. The 2024 license is valid through June 7...

We have scheduled four MessageBee Office Hours sessions for all member staff. These sessions are an opportunity to ask questions about the MessageBee platform. All topics are welcome including configuration/customization, reports and statistics, banners, and notification logistics in general.

The Aspen 23.05 release is now live. In addition, SWAN has implemented changes to the display of record descriptions and library use only items. If you have questions about this release, you can attend our Aspen office hours this afternoon. Descriptions Descriptions for titles in the catalog previously used the Syndetics Solutions provided descriptions. With a new setting, the catalog will prefer...

As some of you have noticed, this week patrons sent to Unique Management for their “Gentle Nudge” process no longer appear with a user status of COLLECTION. Instead, they carry a status of REFERRED, as they have been referred to a third-party vendor for additional contact in an attempt to recover overdue materials or collect outstanding fees. This is a small change in word choice to preserve...

Today, the electronic ballot has been sent to 100 library director contacts directly. Each login is unique to the individual at the library, with only one designee as voter. Information about the 2023 SWAN Board election can be found on the Support page " Board Election."

The individuals below have submitted their names and statements of interest for the upcoming SWAN Board election. The election will be completed electronically starting on May 8, 2023 with ballot information sent directly to SWAN library directors. Ridgeway Burns, Library Director Itasca Community Library Jennifer Cottrill, Library Director, Midlothian Public Library Samantha Johnson, Executive...

Note: This news post previously indicated that a single phone number would be used to send all SMS messages from the MessageBee system. We have learned that this is not that case and have provided access to a spreadsheet listing each library's unique SMS send-from number. On Wednesday, April 26th, SWAN will switch SMS notifications to our MessageBee notification platform for the full SWAN...

Please use this form to select the four optional databases for your library. The selection form is available until May 12, 2023. Refer to the SWAN EBSCO database page on the SWAN support site to find pricing and additional information. If you have any questions or need assistance, please email the SWAN ticketing system.

The Aspen 23.04 release is now live. This release includes the following enhancements. User-selected themes Aspen will now provide the ability to choose between dark mode, high contrast, and dyslexia-friendly themes. These will require initial setup from SWAN staff, but we plan to make the new themes available in early May. Patrons who are logged in can select a default theme to use every time...

The April, 2023 (January- March, 2023) 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...

Niche Academy is a training platform used by 23 of our SWAN libraries. This webinar presented by a rep at Niche Academy will provide an opportunity to see the platform and give SWAN libraries a chance to share their experience with Niche Academy. from Niche Academy: There are currently over 1,400 organizations using Niche Academy. Work is ongoing on additional course content, new training series...

We will be updating the circulation rules that block Chicago patrons from checking out items the Chicago Public Library does not circulate. Effective Tuesday, April 25, patrons with a Chicago library card will be blocked from checking out items with the following item types: 8_16MMFILM; ARCHIV_NPT; ART; AV-EQUIP; BAG; BOARD_GAME; BOOK_BAG; CAKEPAN; CHARGER; COMP_SOF_N; COMP_SOFTW; CONSOL_SP1...