URSUS outage Wed 7/30

The URSUS library system will be offline for the day on Wednesday, July 30th.  Read on for more information about what this means, and how to cope during the outage.

Why is it offline?

We upgrading from the Millennium system to the Sierra system.  Both systems must be unavailable during that time because data is being transferred from one to another and the MIllennium system is being taken offline. Afterwards, we will be using Sierra exclusively!

What is affected during the outage?

The system being entirely offline means that all of the following will be unavailable

  • All work done through the Millennium staff client installed on library desktops will be unavailable.  Clients will not even open.
    • No cataloging, serials, and acquisitions work will be able to be done in the system.
    • Circulation functions such as checkin, check out, placing holds, running notices, filling holds and ILL requests will be unavailable. Checking in and out will need to be handled through local offline circulation processes.
  • The public web catalog (ursus.maine.edu) will be completely offline (shows an error page)
  • Databases where patrons verify their eligibility using their URSUS barcode will not recognize the barcode.  UMS patrons can use the single sign-on to verify their identity and access electronic materials. From on-campus, databases that recognize patrons accessing from on-campus will be fine.
  • Although they can use it to locate materials, patrons will be unable to place holds in MaineCat.
  • The Maine InfoNet Download Library should work for all URSUS patrons, as we are using a workaround for logins, but may have some interruptions.

How long will it be offline?

Although it will hopefully be shorter, it can take up to a full day, so expect not to have the system at all on Wednesday.  We will tweet if there are any relevant status updates at twitter.com/maineinfonet.  InfoNet staff will send an email to the URSUS listserv when it is back up to use (contact InfoNet support to be added to the list).

How can I work while offline?

1. Patrons can find most of your materials in the MaineCat catalog (mainecat.maine.edu), so you can use that as an alternate online catalog.

2. In circulation, you can use the offline circ module, following the directions found here.  You can use the Millennium Offline Circulation module, but you’ll need to update the LAX file to point to the new port. These instructions are posted on CSDirect: http://csdirect.iii.com/sierra/kb/article.php?cat_id=3&typ_id=5&art_id=24 (login: umain password:pollen8)

Is there anything I should do?

Yes, thanks for asking.

1. Before Migration: Test out your installation of Sierra now, before we go offline and before you have to use it

2. After Migration: If you experience any issues doing tasks that you have previously done, please let us know by submitting a ticket to InfoNet support.