PIMMS Questions

In the Patron Module: Functions -- Profile -- PIMMS -- Sync thru Batch Mgr

What does "Sync thru Batch mgr" accomplish?

Is there a process (concerning PIMMS) that my library needs to intentionally run on a daily/weekly basis? Or does KLAS automatically update PIMMS info?

I cancelled a MOC subscription in KLAS "Subscriptions" tab on 7-12-2018. Today is 7-17-2018 and the PIMMS tab still showed that the subscription I cancelled was active. Then I ran "PIMMS -- Sync now", and the subscription finally went away in PIMMS (and I hope MOC/BARD will now get the message, too).

This leads me to ask - why did PIMMS not automatically update the KLAS subscription info I changed - even after 5 or 6 days? Do I have to manually update PIMMS somehow?

Also, any other PIMMS/KLAS info you have would be useful - where do I go to learn more?

Great questions!

KLAS automatically syncs all of your info to PIMMS. Every update you make in KLAS will automatically be sent to PIMMS via the batch manager.

However, there are occasionally errors that prevent these updates from going through. Normally, any such errors are caught, and the Patron or Machine is resubmitted each day until the error has been fixed. (The Patron sync includes the Patron data itself, addresses, phone numbers, emails, and machines out to the Patron.) In this case, that apparently did not happen.

Per Brian: "Without knowing the Patron involved it is difficult to speculate why that might have happened. It is important for KLAS Customer Care to be told as soon as you discover that such a sync did not happen so that we can find out what caused the problem and correct it. Unless the Batch Manager is very behind in processing, your changes should be reflected in the PIMMS tab within a few minutes of the change you make to the KLAS Patron data."

In addition, KLAS re-submits a percentage of your database every night. This is designed to sync every Patron (that should be synced with PIMMS--not xCMLS patrons) over the course of a 30 day period, regardless.of whether any activity occurred or not. However, for a serial subscription this can represent quite a while to wait for this patron to come around again. That's why we've also given you some options to manually re-submit an update.

"Sync thru Batch Mgr" triggers KLAS to add the patron to its list of updates to send through the batch manager. This allows you to submit the sync, and go about doing your work without waiting for it to complete. "Sync now" runs the sync right away, and your session waits for the operation to complete. Either option can be used if you feel something hasn’t synced; both use the same process to sync with PIMMS that all other syncs in KLAS use (e.g., when data has changed, or the nightly “percentage” sync).

In your case: KLAS tried to update the info right away, but some error (such as a momentarily dropped connection, a glitch on PIMMS' end, or a hang-up in your batch manager) prevented the update from going through. Eventually, the nightly process would have taken care of it, but since you spotted it first, you were able to re-submit the info right away and make sure it went through successfully before another issue of the MOC went out.

If you have any more questions about how PIMMS and KLAS work together--ask away!