Recently in Projects for Library and Media Services Category

Installation of Ariel Application onto New Computer

I worked with Brian Witt, a Tech Student here at UCS, to move Ariel, a document delivery application used within the Interlibrary Loan section. At first, we followed some installation instructions I had obtained from Infotrieve, the vendor for Ariel. We had to work through a couple of glitches along the way, but finally got Ariel installed to the new machine. We had problems when trying to move the address book and other database contents to the new installation, so I sent an email help request to the Ariel mailing list to which I subscribe. By the next day, I had four email replies, all with good suggestions for how to migrate the database. Working again with Brian, we decided to follow a simpler solution from one of the replies, and all seemed to work well. At this point, we considered this project “finished”. This was our first attempt to move Ariel.

The next day, Brian and I received an email from the ILL Coordinator reporting an error when trying to scan a document. We decided to reghost the computer and completely reinstall Ariel from scratch. In our previous attempt, in attempting to move the database, we had files in two different locations on the new machine, and we thought this could could have been a cause of the error. After reinstalling Ariel and getting the same error, Brian checked several of the settings and decided to simply copy the database to the new machine using Windows Explorer. After a couple tries, Ariel seemed to run fine. At this point, we turned our attention to moving the Archived documents, as they were not moved as part of the database. After several tries and sending another message to the list for assistance, we decided not to worry about the Archives, as it is highly unlikely that they will ever be needed. Ariel has been running fine on the new machine since then.

Coordination of Support for Library and Media Services

With the move of Ariel to the new machine and the replacement of the remaining staff computers, our goal is that UCS will assume the primary responsibility for support of all computing resources within Library and Media Services. I will only become involved when problems arise with the very specialized applications.

This term, as Joe and his student Brian have worked on the deployment of new staff computers for Library and Media Services, I have worked with Brian to resolve several issues, including

● Reserves Room computer
● Installation of the Millennium application, which requires a static IP address for each machine
● Troubleshooting the PastPerfect application, used within the Archives area
● Microforms Scanning Station and the configuration of the Minolta scanner
● In Progress -- Configuration and Setup of the Ariel workstation for the Interlibrary Loan area

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be working with Joe on the installation of software for the image for the new machines to be deployed in Library and Media Services. We'll work together to install software that is unique to LMS. With the completion of this project, Joe will coordinate all software support within LMS, including packages unique to the department.

This morning I completed a major update for the Clio application, used by Interlibrary Loan. The major clearinghouse used to process ILL requests, OCLC, recently made some software and networking changes that caused problems for Clio in how that software communicates with OCLC. Clio Software had to release this latest update to resolve these issues.

Last Friday I completed the installation of the ABLE application, used by the Library Collection Management unit as a tool for the coordination of shipments of materials to the bindery. I installed this software on seven machines within that work unit.

In the documentation, it is recommended that Library staff work closely with their IT personnel to have this application installed. Here's why: the installation process is not automated and bundled into a single SETUP.EXE file that would take only a minute or so to complete.

Instead, the detailed instructions have you (the IT person) manually create two desktop shortcuts, manually create a specific folder for download, download the file to that exact folder (any other folder name will not work -- trust me -- I found this out the hard way), verify that the .BAT file downloaded has a specific name (with instructions to rename it if not) and manually edit the .BAT file. I was able to streamline some of these steps to make things go faster, however, considering that I installed this software on seven machines.

Wow! This was like a "Blast from the Past" -- the early '90s. OK, maybe I should just be thankful and consider this "job security". (Note to self: be sure to give the appropriate staff members here at UCS a copy of those instructions.)

Seriously, though, I enjoy working with people (our customers) and I'm not intimidated by these types of installation procedures, so for me this really wasn't a big deal. Here's hoping though, that in the next version of the software, improvements can be made to the installation process.

Working with the Collection Management unit of Library and Media Services, I have installed an application called ABLE, a management tool that will be used when sending magazines and journals off site to be hardbound. The software will allow staff to electronically organize, manage and send the lists of materials to the bindery, requiring much less paperwork when coordinating a shipment. While this system won't be perfect, it will be a significant improvement over the old procedures. I have installed the software on one machine for staff to test; I will eventually install the application on about eight machines within the unit.

Last week, an automatic installation of Windows Update KB918118 "broke" the OCLC Connexion client (version 1.6). This Windows update had only been installed on one staff machine, but the Connexsion client is running on about nine machines within the Collection Management unit of the Library.

The short-term solution was to uninstall this Windows update, which I did on the offending machine. Fortunately, the remaining eight machines hadn't received this Windows update yet. On Monday of this week, OCLC announced two options to remedy the Connexion client. We chose the option to upgrade to version 1.70, then install a patch to 1.71. So far, I have about half of the machines updated, and will finish the remaining machines by the first of next week. When I visit each machine, I also run Windows update manually in order to take care of any outstanding patches, including KB918118.

Over the last 2-3 weeks, it seems, there have been two hard drives fail on staff machines. As a result, I have had to reinstall some Library-specific applications, as follows.

PastPerfect

After the reghosting of a Librarian's machine, Joe and I were able to take care of this installation fairly quickly; Joe installed the software to the latest patch set, then I installed the networking, Scatter/Gather (yes, that's what it's called), Digital Imaging and Virtual Exhibit modules. Everything went very smoothly this time.

Unfortunately, PastPerfect is very limited in how these modules are installed. These components are installed within the application itself by floppy or CD (no setup file to run through Windows) and there are no drop down boxes or other ways to point to another location such as the T: drive. Joe and I will meet in the next few days to see if we can devise a better approach.

CD Library

The CD Library application is installed on the Reserves computer, located behind the Checkout Desk. We had originally installed CD Library with its proprietary database on the I: drive. After several attempts, I believe I have the application properly installed and pointing to the correct location on the I: drive.

Clio Software this week released an upgrade (version 5.5.3 IE7) to the application that is supposed to correct some major incompatibility issues with Access 2003 and Internet Explorer 7. We decided to take the leap and start installing the software today. So far, I've installed the upgrade on three machines with no ill effects as of yet, and will complete the installations for about four more machines next week. We all really hope that this new release will resolve the incompatibility issues.

This afternoon Joe, Alex and I met with Janeanne to discuss the possible relpacement of the nine WebOPAC Stations (PCs) with Thin Clients. We're very close to a final agreement. We will place appropriate links on the main menu to access Library resources. With this scheme, all Thin Clients on campus will offer access to the same Library resources.

A change was recently made to the site which hosts the Journal Titles List, resulting in a necessary change to the "whitelist" of allowed sites for the nine WebOPAC Stations. Within the new JTL, links that point back to WOLF open in a popup window, so I had to make an additional change to the Public Web Browser (PWB) configuration. Also, we have renewed the license for PWB for the next year, and I have activated the new key.

For the long term, we are considering replacing the PCs used for the WebOPAC Stations with Thin Clients. Joe and I have had brief discussions about this over the last few months, but we finally decided to make this a higher priority. As a result of the network problems on Friday, I had to go to four of the WebOPAC Stations to disable our security software and reboot the machines to have Windows could find the proper DNS. Having Thin Clients in place will make our lives easier in the future if we experience similar network issues. Also, future changes to the web interface (allowed sites) will be simpler to implement when we have Thin Clients in place.

OCLC Connexion Software Upgrade to Version 1.6 for Collection Management Unit. I have worked on this over the past 2-3 weeks and should have the project finished by Friday. Installation of this new release requires the previous version to be uninstalled using Windows XP's Add/Remove Programs. On one machine, however, the prior version of Connexion was not listed, so I had to uninstall the application using the registry. I was then able to install the new veresion without further incident.

WOLF Network Connections. Because of a need to reinstall the telnet and Millennium interfaces on a staff machine in the TRC, we are considering establishing a subnet for the ITC building.

Interlibrary Loan Unit. It was reported that a student worker could not run Clio or Millennium. I found that the student's Windows login was a Sophos Administrator. Configuring the login as a Local Administrator seems to have resolved things. We are also considering testing an application called Odyssey that could eventually replace Ariel. According to mailing list discussions, Odyssey is heavilly used throughout the library community, and the pricing can't be beat -- it's free.

This morning I moved the tables owned by the libper schema from the web tablespace to the library tablespace. This little project came about as a result of my Staff Development work with Mike Ross.

After moving the tables (there are many tables owned by libper), I discovered a few errors when recompiling the packages and procedures. None of the compile errors were the result of moving the tables, but were instead caused by outdated (and likely unused) code that refers to tables that no longer exist. Camila Gabaldon, of Library and Media Services, has done most of the project development within the libper schema, and will take care of any necessary clean-up.

I spoke with Mike this morning after finishing the work. Using OEM, he confirmed that the disk usage of the library tablespace had increased by almost 40MB.

This week I installed the Clio software on four additional machines, including the Reference Desk computer, Interlibrary Loan student workstation, Michele Kliever's workstation, and the Ariel computer. No major problems to report, except some configuration issues related to Windows XP user profiles, which I was able to resolve. I also installed a maintenance update to the PastPerfect applicatio, used within the Archives unit. I completed the upgrade over the network and without incident. No new problems or issues have been reported as of this writing.

The Interlibrary Loan unit has purchased an application called Clio that will be used as a management tool and for routine tasks within the unit. Clio will act as a front-end for the unit, and will even provide an interface with the OCLC clearinghouse.

I met with several people from the Library last week to take part in an online demonstration of the Clio application, given by the company. Later in the week, I completed a test installation of the software on my machine here at UCS, as I wanted to do a "dry run" before installing Clio at the Library. With the exception of one glitch, which Clio's Technical Support peerson was able to resolve for me, everything went fine. On Friday morning, I went to the Library and successfully installed Clio on two machines. They will get up-to-speed with Clio over the next week or so, then I will go back and install the software on several other machines. The Access database, used by Clio, is easily networked.

Recently I completed a major software upgrade for the Ariel application, used within the Interlibrary Loan department to send and receive scanned articles. As I have noted in previous blog entries, most libraries have had significant technical difficulties completing this upgrade. I, too, encountered my share of technical issues.

During our upgrade, Ariel Technical Support sent me a revised set of instructions for completing the upgrade and resolving several installation errors. I shared these instructions with the ARIE-L mailing list, to which I subscribe. To date, at least three people have contacted me with followup questions. I am pleased to have these opportunities to contribute to the collective knowledge of those who provide software support within the Library world.

I've made the installation information available on a web page

http://www.wou.edu/~goodeld/ariel411.htm

Over the past week, it seems, we have gone through a significant shakedown as a result of the upgrade of the Ariel software (used for Interlibrary loan processing) from version 3.4 to 4.1.1. Below are some issues that had to be resolved.

�? G: Drive Mapping for Prospero Software. This is the folder where documents are saved for access via the web. As this folder resides on the web server, there was fallout as a result of the recent web migration. Ron and Joe worked with Camila Gabaldon, the ILL unit Librarian, to get the G: drive properly mapped on the Ariel computer. I also did some testing of Ariel and Prospero to make sure everything worked properly.

�? Ariel Archive Queue. With the Ariel upgrade, the setting for the maximum number of archived documents had been set to a default of 100. In the previous version of Ariel, the maximum had been changed to 999. With the lower setting, the limit was reached sooner and Ariel reported a cryptic error message when the archive queue was full. Working with Camila and Lori Davidson, we found this option and set the value back to 999.

�? Dither Setting for Scanning. Somehow, the value for this scanning option had been changed, most likely through troubleshooting of the software. This setting needs to be disabled (set to “no dither�? -- I now have this as the default). For anything other than “no�?, Ariel sends what appear to be blank pages.

I believe I have resolved the technical problems with the PastPerfect application. I discovered yet another technical issue last week, in that only one user could run the application at a time. In discussing this with their Technical Support, they had me create a new desktop shortcut for PastPerfect, pointing to the executable residing on the local C: drive. This new shortcut configuration seems to have solved the problem. On Friday, 3/24, I completed the installation of the client software on several machines at the Library.

Working with the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) staff of Library and Media Services, I planned to try to upgrade Ariel to version 4.1.1 during Spring Break. As mentioned in previous blogs, I encountered significant technical difficulties when attempting this upgrade back in December.

On Tuesday morning, 3/28, I had a Ghost backup made of the hard drive of the Ariel computer. Later, during the Ariel upgrade, Setup again reported an error with the initialization of the MSDE component. I thoroughly documented all of the steps I had taken with the upgrade attempt and sent an email to Infotrieve Technical Support. At the end of my message, I expressed my frustration with this upgrade, and asked for a proven set of instructions for successfully upgrading to Ariel 4.1.1.

This morning, Infotrieve Technical Support sent me a new set of instructions that included detailed steps for installing and configuring the MSDE component as a separate part of the Ariel installation. Carefully following these new instructions, I successfully completed the Ariel upgrade without errors. We now have Ariel 4.1.1 running in production, and have received several production documents. As of this writing, we're still waiting for confirmation that the test document we sent has been received.

I hope to conclude, within the next week or so, that this upgrade was successful. If needed, however, I'll be able to use the Ghost backup to recover things back to Tuesday's starting point.

We have been planning this upgrade to the Ariel software for the last two years. With the many technical difficulties encountered by other libraries, as well as my own challenges, I am very pleased to have finally made this much progress with the project.

I believe I have resolved the technical problems with the PastPerfect application. I have reinstalled the software on the Library and Media Services I: drive, following the instructions for a network installation. In the coming days, I'll need to reinstall the client software on several machines at the Library. This will include uninstalling PastPerfect, going through the Windows Registry to "clean-up" remnants from previous installations, then reinstalling the client software. These "remnants" from previous installations were the cause of the recent error messages within the application, as they point to network paths that no longer exist as a result of last summer's reorganization of the LMS I: drive. The errors weren't reported until recently, as PastPerfect hasn't been used a great deal over the last several months. There are more projects planned, so it's good to get the issues resolved.

PastPerfect, the application used in the Archives unit of Library and Media Services, has been problematic lately. I thought I had resolved seveeral issues with the program a couple of weeks ago, but yet more problems have been reported. The software keeps asking for the location of the installation CD at various places deep within the application/database.

When trying to re-install PastPerfect from scratch today, I couldn't resolve this issue. I brought the installation CDs back to my work area here at UCS, and may call their Tech Support on Monday. I found, in the documentation, instructions for completing a network install, and will finish this installation on Monday with the hope that this is the proper solution.

PastPerfect, the application used by the university Archives program within Library and Media Services, has been updated to the latest version, 3.5B8. I had to resolve problems with the application not running, as a result of changes made to the I: drive in the last network migration. PastPerfect, for whatever reason, was not designed to actually prompt the user for the location of the database (a bad idea). To fix this, I had to uninstall then reinstall PastPerfect. Once properly installed, I was able to point to the correct location for the database.

We made great progress today toward the goal of placing Thin Clients in the Checkout Desk at the Library. A major obstacle was the configuration of the receipt printeers. I made the suggestion to try using an external JetDirect server, placing the printers on the network. I borrowed a spare JetDirect server from Shaun and Rick; Paul and Troy completed most of the tasks to put everything on the network, including the configuration of a print server. After sending a couple of self-test pages, Troy sent an actual "test" page to the printer, and it worked.

We still need to configure the Windows session, install software on the Terminal Server and take care of some logistical details before we put the Thin Clients into production. Configuration of the receipt printers was a major obstacle, however, and I know we're all very pleased that we have conquered this detail.

My second attempt to complete the upgrade to Ariel 4.1.1 this morning wasn't successful. This time, following some revised instructions sent to me by Infotrieve, Ariel setup was able to install everything, including MSDE, but then failed when attempting to actually lanuch MSDE as part of the overall installation process. At this point, I wanted to get the machine back up and running with the vintage Ariel 3.4 and come back to this project at a later time. Having a current backup image was a great relief, as I was able to get the machine back in service in very short order. At this time, I don't know when I'll get back to this project.

Infotrieve Tech Support has been helpful in providing additional installation instructions and tips. Also, I subscribe to an Ariel mailing list and have sent a message there describing my attempted upgrades. I hope these resources will prove valuable with my next attempt.

Ariel is the software used by Interlibrary Loan (ILL) to scan and send, as well as to receive documents to and from, other libraries. It's a very powerful application and an essential component in most Libraries. The Ariel application (originally developed by the Research Libraries Group (RLG)), was acquired by Infotrieve about two years ago. Since then, Infotrieve has developed a major product upgrade for Ariel. The upgrade, version 4, was made available about a year ago.

As Libraries have migrated to Ariel 4, many have encountered significant technical problems. As a result, Infotrieve has released a couple of interim releases to resolve the issues. I made the decision, early in the summer months, to wait for the second significant interim release to be made available before proceding with the upgrade for our Library.

The version I had been waiting for, 4.1.1, was released on Monday, December 19. I made the decision to attempt the upgrade yesterday, December 20. My upgrade did not go well, and I have been in contact with Infotrieve's Technical Support department to pursue a solution. Armed with new instructions, I will attempt the installation again on Wednesday morning, December 21. If this is successful, I'll try sending a test document to another library and have them send a test to us. If we can send and receive, and if no other problems are present, I'll put the machine back into production. If the installation isn't successful, I'll have the machine ghosted back to my working copy of the old Ariel 3.4. Thankfully, the very first step I took as part of this project was to have a Ghost backup made of the computer, just in case of problems. I wouldn't have even considered attempting the Ariel upgrade without that backup.

More minor problems were reported with the WebOPAC Stations located at the Library. As users were unable to access the Journal Titles List, I modified the list of allowed domains to include www.wou.edu and www2.wou.edu. The JTL had recently been migrated from Wilbur to Aero.

Another piece of this puzzle involved changing the JTL URL on the OPAC homepage to reflect the above changes; I met with Camila Gabaldon to take care of this. Because of the complexities of the proprietary configuration of the WOLF online card catalog, this was a little more complicated than simply editing a webpage.

This week I have completed the following tasks for Library and Media Services:

Student Worker MASH Logins

As an apparent side-effect of the MASH migration, it was discovered last week that several student workers did not have access to the intended I: drive for Library and Media Services. I worked with Troy to resolve these issues; he verified that these logins were indeed members of the proper groups.

It was also discovered that several student workers did not have the standard Windows XP desktop (where shortcuts are made available for easy access to LMS-standard applications). To solve this problem, working with Joe, we decided to add the group of LMS student workers as local administrators within Windows. This solution is now in place, so hopefully this issue is solved.

WebOPAC Stations

The Library has nine WebOPAC stations or kiosks which provide web access to WOLF (the Library’s online card catalog), Summit (a union catalog, of which the Hamersly Library is a member), and a few other library-related websites and research-related applications maintained on the Aero server. The WebOPAC stations are maintained as a kiosk to discourage the use of email and other common applications, in order to provide easy, open access to the above resources.

Restricted websites are determined by using a “fake proxy�? and “white list�? within the browser. This white list had become out-of-date, requiring the addition and removal of a few URLs.

As one component of the general migration of campus computer labs to the MASH domain, over the last two days Rick Thompson of UCS has nearly finished the transition of the 80 public machines at the Hamersly Library. The reghosting process has become much simpler, as the Library building now has 100-mb network connections for everything on the first floor.

As another part of this particular migration, I worked with Joe, Troy and Travis to create five MASH logins to be used by Community Users. These allow general access to installed software as well as the internet, all free-of-charge; users must pay for printing, however, at the Checkout Desk.

Rick Thompson and I will meet during the week of August 29-September 2 to discuss several details of the migration of the lab computers located at Hamersly Library.

With my transition to UCS, Rick has assumed the responsibilities of maintenance for these machines. We will discuss the installation of the Altiris application, which allows the instructor to take control of the machines located in HL 108, as well as some other specialized applications used at the Library.

I look forward to having the Library public workstations regghosted and migrated to the MASH domain!

...safe to consider our MASH-migration-related issues solved, that is, a LMS staff member discovered a problem deleting files that she owns and, in fact, created herself. Travis is researching this and troubleshooting ways we can resolve this issue.

Another problem was reported when another staff member and her student worker could not edit files the other had created. Troy and Travis were able to quickly solve this.

We are working on the setup of Sun Thin Clients for the Library, to be used at the Checkout Desk and to replace the current WebOPAC Stations.

During the month of July, I coordinated the migration of the Library and Media Services (LMS) staff from the Aviation domain to the new MASH domain.