BCLC Support Suite - Evergreen and Beyond

Laurie Davidson, Sitka,BC Libraries Cooperative

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BCLC Support Suite - Evergreen and Beyond

• Sitka is a consortium using Evergreen, part of the BC Libraries Cooperative

• Currently 68 libraries (some with branches) with ~1.5 million bib records

• Support for Sitka Evergreen includes an array of tools and resources ensuring operational efficiency.

• Some tools are Evergreen specific while some are also used to support the Coop’s other member services (eg. licensing, library website maintenance)

Tools

• Ticket Tracking System• Phone Support• BC Libraries Cooperative website• Sitka Ideas• Staff Client splash page• Migration• Training – on-site and web-based

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The Request Tracker (RT) ticketing system

• RT available at http://bestpractical.com/rt/

• Sitka’s instance of RT is at https://support.sitka.bclibraries.ca

• RT is a self-serve ticketing system, supporting the ability to submit and track tickets through completion.

• For Sitka Evergreen sites, RT is considered the main conduit to access Evergreen support.

• Sitka’s instance of RT is configured to allow email ticket submission and or ticket creation via authenticated online access.

The Request Tracker (RT) ticketing system

• Sitka support uses one login per library system for self-serve ticket creation

• Majority of sites email support which creates a ticket and triggers an automatic email reply.

• RT utilizes Sitka standardized topic, library and priority tags to help support team organize and triage tickets as they come in.

• Sitka support uses RT’s highly configurable queues and priority assignments to manage streams of diverse technical support tickets.

The Request Tracker (RT) ticketing system

• All BCLC employees and contractors have full administrative rights and access to all queues, and configuration of individual workspace is entirely customizable

• RT enables efficient management of support requests by its ability to simplify triage of issues, which allows us to detect themes, communicate with one another, communicate with sites, assign tickets, and create reports

• Confidentiality, fiduciary and privacy considerations all apply to the use and management of RT at the BCLC

Telephone Support in a distributed environment across three time zones

• www.voip.ms

• BCLC uses a voip server and soft phones or soft phone clients in a distributed environment

• Telephone service is integrated with RT to help create and triage support requests. A voicemail creates a ticket in RT, same as an email or online submission of issue

• Different queues for emergency and routine support calls

Telephone Support in a distributed environment across three time zones

• The Support 1-800 number

• The 1-800 number is available to access Sitka support day or night (emergencies only on weekends and evenings). Regular support hours are 9-4 PT Monday to Friday.

• The 1-800 number is both electronically and human monitored, with after-hours routing protocols in place for emergencies

The BCLC website

• http://bc.libraries.coop/

• The Cooperative website combines Sitka Evergreen services and support with its other member services for increased integration of resources.

• Support specific tools include access to RT for Evergreen, licensing and library website issues, access to “how-to” videos, and space for member-to-member interaction, Sitka Group Forums.

The Sitka Support page on website

• http://bc.libraries.coop/support-documents/

• One-stop shopping for Sitka Evergreen documentation, policy, best practices, contacts, videos, latest news, access to Sitka ideas and RT self-serve, and supported staff client downloads

The Sitka status dashboard

• http://bc.libraries.coop/status/

• The Evergreen status dashboard was developed as a quick-and-easy method to determine if a core system component is affecting all sites

• Accessible from splash page - colour indicates whether each of the following components are up or down: – Evergreen db, reporter, fine generator, hold targeter,

overdue email, and SIP2.

The Sitka Group on the BCLC website and Sitka

group email digests

• http://bc.libraries.coop/

• Authenticated access to this part of the website creates facilitated interaction amongst Sitka sites and between Sitka sites and the Sitka team

• Critical support and development advisories are posted to the group as well as emailed to all members from the site.

Sitka Snippets and Group Forums on the

BCLC website

• Sitka snippets - Sitka support creates the Snippets based on such things as current trends in support tickets, current topics affecting all libraries at a given time, suggested workflows etc.

• Sitka Group Forums are designed to enhance and encourage communication between Sitka libraries. The Sitka support team monitors forums for current topics and issues of interest to the Sitka community.

Sitka Ideas for Development

• BCLC uses IdeaTorrent at https://ideas.sitka.bclibraries.ca

• Sites can view and submit ideas for enhancements, vote on ideas from other libraries, and track the development of new features.

• Sitka Ideas login is the same as for RT self- serve

• Each library can submit multiple ideas

• Each library has one vote, with weighted voting applied to larger multi-branch libraries

• Annual voting cycle to date

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The Sitka Evergreen staff client splash page

• Support and development updates and advisories are put front and centre on the Evergreen staff client splash page.

• This page also includes links to the Sitka training manual, access to authentication page for RT self-serve, access to the authentication page for Sitka Ideas, the status dashboard, links to policy and best practice manuals, and the in-house patron deletion tool.

BCLC Sitka Evergreen Migration and Training

Suite

• Data Migration

• Suite of web based training (WBT) and on-site training and go-live support

• Quarterly group WBT sessions offered to all members. Topics determined by member feedback, support trends or new features

• Train the trainer model

Training Tools

• Sitka Training Manual in DocBook format at http://docs.sitka.bclibraries.ca/Sitka/current/html/

• Training server

• Simple suite of guided training exercises and barcodes for use on training server promotes self-learning

• Self-learning also encouraged at data conversion testing - phase-libraries are given access to a migration server and provided with standardized data testing exercises

Training Tools

• Various open online meeting tools exist and Sitka - Currently using a BC provincial government hosted tool – Elluminate (through Blackboard)

• Toll free landline telephone conference numbers used for audio portion of WBT

• On-site training method is hands-on or demonstration style, dependent on resources at local site, e.g. computer lab, other training space

Training Schedule Supporting a Migration

to Sitka Evergreen

• Pre launch – Migrate Data

• Pre launch – 90 minute introduction to Evergreen.

• Pre-launch – 3 hours circulation session on training server.

• On-site training and go-live support – 2 days

• Post-launch – Cataloguing and Reports session on production server. Basic cataloguing and reports functions tailored to suit local workflows.

Questions?