Duplication on Demand

The addition of the Service Queue and the transition to duplication service is a huge change to patron services. One thing that it will likely have a big impact on is how we serve Series.

In the new service model, Nightly Duplication functions are used to refill the Service Queue, similar to how Nightly Autoselect works now. Duplication Orders are constructed from this Queue (by pulling Titles in order from the top of the Queue) for use with the old PCC Cartridge Builder program, the Scribe unit, or Gutenberg Bespoke.

One of these functions is dedicated to serving Series. Like all nightly functions, the function is constrained by the nightly setup parameters. There are separate functions for the "old" nightly (termed Physical delivery method in the new setup), and the new Duplication delivery method, used for populating the Service Queue.

Read on or download the attached file for the details of how the Duplication - Series nightly function will work!

Duplication – Series Nightly Function

The Duplication - Series function checks the patron's Series Preferences and applies exclusions as specified in the function setup, and then starts adding the books to the Service Queue in series order until either:

• It reaches the end of that particular series list, or
• It reaches the Max Per Function specified in the function setup.

It is expected that the library-wide Max Per Function for the Duplication - Series function will be set high enough to allow most series to be added in full to the Queue, but low enough to keep lengthy series from completely dominating the queue. However, you can take whatever approach you think will best serve the majority of your patrons.

Determining the best Max Per Function for your library will likely take some trial and error; you can adjust it as needed until you find the right fit.

What about hard-to-serve patrons?

For patrons that strongly prefer to continue receiving their series one book at a time, or who want a whole series in a row no matter how long it is, a patron-specific Max Per Function can be specified. You will be able to set that patron’s Max Per Function to meet their specific needs without affecting service to your other patrons.

Note: As part of our adjustments to Nightly to allow Duplication service, you no longer have to specify every function for a patron if you only want to override one or two. You only need to create a patron-specific function for the ones to override. Other functions will still serve that patron using the library-wide settings.

What if a Series Preference has multiple Media types?

Prior to Version 7.7, KLAS has been able to serve a series in multiple Media. This was particularly helpful during the cassette to digital transition, when parts of a series may have been available on RC while later additions were in DB.

It was also possible to serve a series in both DB and BR based on which version is available when the prior book is returned—however, this approach is only possible when the different versions are equivalent. The increase in anthology cartridges from NLS (i.e. books 1-3 in a single DB) make this less and less viable.

Moreover, in the duplication service model it is expected that all titles in a series will always be available for duplication. Though there may be exceptions (titles that were never made available on BARD, but which may be acquired in other formats), they should be rare.

Our decision was to restrict series to either duplication or physical circulation—not both.

This will not require you to remove the other Media from existing Series Preferences or to add a new one!

When KLAS serves a series, it will now check to see if any of the Media listed have an associated Service Queue. This happens when the series is first created, when a previous title is checked in, or when a series is restarted.

Example: If a patron has a Series Preference for Patterson’s Alex Cross series in RC or DB media, KLAS will check to see if the patron has a Service Queue. When it finds a DB Service Queue, it will serve the series using the Duplication – Series function instead of physical circulation.

What will happen if I restart a series?

The Restart Series function will now clear the Has-Hads for all titles in the series but not take any other action. In other words, that series will be eligible to be added back into the Service Queue the next time it refills, but it will not be added to the Queue immediately.

This allows you several options:

• Letting the series go back into the Queue after the other titles already on the queue have been sent.
• Using the Fill button on the Service Queue tab to manually refill the Queue right away (according to the rules and maximums set up in Nightly Processing and on the patron’s Profile tab).
• Removing less wanted Titles from the Queue before refilling it, potentially allowing more of the series to be selected right away.
• Manually add a few Titles from the series to the Service Queue, bypassing the Patron’s reserves and requests if your Nightly usually checks for those before checking series.

Final note

As a reminder, while KLAS 7.7 is nearly complete, changes are still being made in response to field testing with the Scribe and internal testing with the Gutenberg.

As we gain experience with the duplication service model, everything is subject to further adjustment, refinement, and re-evaluation to serve you better.

Download this article

DOCX - Duplication Service - Series

PDF - Duplication Service - Series

From the desk of James Burts, CEO, Keystone Systems:

Oh, for the good old days of just writing software…..(aka logistics and parts availability for the KLAS Scribe)

*wistful sigh*

It’s times like these I look back longingly when Keystone only wrote software. Like many other companies, supply chain issues (especially motherboard availability) have plagued us recently making the production of Scribes and Scribe mini frustratingly slower than desired. 

Months ago, we had a lengthy period where we had problems getting our Scribe tower parts produced, because the design file was corrupted. We got that resolved, and thought we were into clear sailing. Unfortunately, it feels like the world conspired against us, and we are now fighting parts availability issues we don’t have any control over.

The manufacturer of the cases we use for the Scribe Mini shutdown their production facility to re-tool and introduce some new models—one of which we are quite interested in. We stopped being able to receive any of those cases in early December, and now expect to get a shipment in the next week or two.

The motherboards we have to use in the Scribe have become extremely difficult to get our hands on. We have been waiting for several weeks for our most current order, and expect it will take perhaps another month to finally receive them.

The company that made the system we use to control the LED light strips went out of business due to slumping sales in the pandemic. We are working to create a replacement for this component with a much more commonly available Raspberry Pi microcontroller, but we had to write the software to have the Raspberry Pi do the things we need.

The power supplies we use in the Scribe Mini have also been very difficult to purchase.

Things have been improving lately. We expect to receive a shipment of Scribe Mini cases in the next week or so. Our Raspberry Pi version of the light controller looks to be more reliable, and development should be wrapped up on it in the next week or so. We plan to installed it at a beta site or two shortly.

Our biggest issue remains motherboards. We have a number of orders outstanding, and our best hope for anything beyond just one motherboard is looking to be at least a month away.

From my current perspective, I’m really missing the good old days that didn’t include shipping and logistics headaches as we strive to provide a quality product for you. However, we’ll push through this and look forward to getting more Scribes built and put to work for your libraries and patrons as soon as possible.

The Duplication Service model opens up a ton of new possibilities for serving patrons, and with that comes a whole host of new edge-cases, problems, opportunities, and workflow questions. Today, let’s look into one of those new workflow questions: what do you do when a Title is Withdrawn?

First up, what exactly do I mean by “Withdrawn? For this post, I’m referring to Titles NLS has recalled due to Quality Control or other concerns as well as Titles with a status of “W / Withdrawn” in the KLAS Catalog. Most points will be the same or pretty close for NLS recalls, Locally Produced titles you have withdrawn for quality or timeliness (such as a corrupted file or a voting guide from a previous election), or for NLS titles you have decided to no longer offer (such as computer “how-to” guides from the early 90s).

What happens in KLAS?

For Gutenberg libraries, when NLS recalls a title the file is pulled from the Gutenberg hardware. Overnight the e-Doc sync in KLAS will spot the missing file and report the e-Doc as “stale” in the PCC Load Summary. (If you want to keep an eye on your e-Doc sync and do not yet get a daily PCC Load Summary email, let us know!) The title can still be added to patron Service Queues or included in a Duplication Order—however, it cannot be duplicated, because Gutenberg no longer has the file! So when NLS notifies you that a title is being recalled, it’s important to go into your KLAS Catalog and either make the title status Withdrawn or delete the e-Doc. That will prevent KLAS from letting the title onto any Dup Orders.

For titles you chose to withdraw on your own, you can proceed as below.

For Scribe libraries (or Gutenberg libraries doing a voluntary recall), you have more choice about how to proceed. The file is not automatically pulled so, as long as you leave the record in an active status, you can continue to duplicate the title as you decide how to proceed. When you are ready to stop all duplication, you should update the catalog record to make the title status W / Withdrawn. At that point the title may still be on some patron’s Service Queues, but it can no longer be added to any new ones or included in a Duplication Order. The Sanitize Queue function then removes the title from patron Service Queues during its next routine sweep.

So, what are your options?

You can always immediately shut down duplication of a title by changing the title status to W / Withdrawn. However, if you want a little wiggle room, you do have other options.

For a voluntary recall (or if using Scribe) you may leave a sub-par but functional title active, add the No Autoselect (NAS) subject heading to the record, and include a cautionary note in the title field. This is a good option for reissued titles you want to provide to patrons with a strong Narrator preference, but don’t otherwise want to send. This won’t fully withdraw the title, but will keep it from being sent by Subject preference, and guide Reader Advisors to which version of the title they should send.

You may also use the NAS option as a stop-gap for titles in the process of being re-recorded. For example, NLS recently pulled ADB 100980, Time for Mercyby John Grisham, in favor of replacing it with the unabridged version. If you want to offer your patrons the option of getting the Abridged version instead of waiting for the replacement (and if you have a Scribe, since the file was pulled from Gutenbergs automatically), you can add NAS to the Local Subjects, and add “Abridged version” to the title.

However, you probably also want to either pull it from patron’s Service Queues where it’s been auto-selected, and/or contact patrons to see if they want to wait for the Unabridged version.

Patrons with Queued Title Report

This is where a brand-new report comes in: Patrons with Queued Title. This report (which will be included in KLAS v7.7.47, our next update), will fetch a list of every patron with a particular title on their Service Queue and/or in a Duplication Order.

Use this report to remove the withdrawn title from queues where it was automatically selected, then reach out to patrons who requested it ask if they want the current version, or want to wait for a re-record.

Or, when browsing the report results, you might find few to no patrons actually requested the title, and decide to update the title status to fully Withdraw it right away.

Always feel free to ask!

Whew... this was a long one. I hope it helps you understand how Withdrawn titles affect Duplication Service, what happens automatically in KLAS, and your options for handling them. However, feel free to ask us any time a situation like this comes up, and you aren’t quite sure what will happen or how to proceed. After all, this is still a relatively new approach to patron service! We’re here to share the technical details and help you determine your best course of action.

And, of course, we hope the new report comes in handy!

Hello, KLASusers! As we start looking towards the Holidays, I thought this might be a good time to check in with the developers and let you all know where we stand with the big projects that we know you all have on your Christmas Wishlists.

KLAS 7.7 is coming!

I know we’ve been talking about this one for a while now. This is a huge update that impacts every part of KLAS, so getting all the last pieces and touch-ups and testing in place has been a big project for us. Additionally, as hosted customers are upgraded to version 7.7, they will be migrated to our new server.

It’s important to keep our hosting stable, speedy, and secure for you, so we put a lot of work into getting the new server ready for you. It’ll be faster, more secure than ever, and uses a new method for rapid recovery to a backup server in case of failure.

I will be hosting a webinar to take a closer look at 7.7 later this month, but some of the improvements will include:

• Structural, back-end changes. While these won’t be visible to you at all, we expect them to improve performance and free up some system resources.
• UTF-8 support. This essentially extends KLAS’ character set, allowing for better handling of diacritics and other “special characters.”
  New installer. This will usually remove the need for admin access to install or update, make installation and updates easier, and enhance security. It’s a win-win-win!
• A new method of connecting to the database server. We are implementing PASOE, which will eliminate the need for OpenVPN and reduce or eliminate lost connections due to network drops.
• APH Census improvements. More back-end changes, this time to how and where APH data is stored. These standardizations will improve our ability to support various options for keeping up with the annual APH Census and ensure accurate, reliable reporting.
• SCRIBE! High-capacity PCC duplication using Scribe will be fully-functional. This will include the brand-new Service Queue Tab, the ability to include firmware updates and newsletters on all duplicated cartridges, and other upgrades to ensure a flexible and sustainable workflow.

This update will go Live for a limited release in January.

We need this to be a limited release because of the new server and the sweeping back-end changes. In the (unlikely, but possible) event that something goes sideways, it’ll be better for everyone if we can fix a few databases and get the others right from the start, instead of needing to scramble to get a fix in fast for everyone.

We expect to open the doors for everyone in February.

What about Gutenberg?

Don’t worry—this hasn’t fallen by the wayside. As announced this summer, we’re building on our work for Scribe to integrate with NLS’ Gutenberg as well. In fact, we’re nearly finished!

Gutenberg support will be included in the next update after 7.7, and the rollout should follow close behind the main release.

While we’re making good use of North Carolina’s robust testing of our new systems and workflows, we’ll need some extended testing on Gutenberg specifically. We know a lot of you are eager to get on this as quickly as possible, but we also don’t want to set you up on something that doesn’t quite work. We’re balancing speed and prudence, and expect to put this out on limited release in February.

Future Updates?

With the big structural changes and server swap all taken care of, we expect our release schedule to pick back up following the 7.7 release. We have a lot of updates and improvements on our to-do lists, and are eager to get them out to you.

If you have requests for anything to add to our list, or want to make sure we prioritize something you’ve been waiting on, please add it to the KLAS Development Suggestions forum! Posting there will ensure that your suggestion or request is seen by the KLAS Development Advisory Committee (KDAC), who will help us evaluate how valuable it would be to other Users. It also ensures that we have a written record of what people are interested in, which can easily be referred back to or passed among the developers.

We can’t wait to start 2019 off right with some fantastic new features! Thank you all for your continued support, and Happy Holidays from all of us here at Keystone!