Only 36 Days ALEPH till ALEPH- Implementation Update #13, Dec. 4, 2005

Only 36 Days ALEPH till ALEPH- Implementation Update #13, Dec. 4, 2005

Hi,
I’m in a quandary here and could use some help. I’ve got a major decision to make that could have wide-ranging consequences if I choose wrong. I’ve been waffling for days, but with the big deadline approaching I’m running out of time. Should I get Janice the Garfield or Scooby Doo Chia Pet for Christmas?
Now, for the project, there aren’t many decisions left to made. The final stretch has arrived and the schedule of events is pretty much laid out. The main task for all of you in the next few weeks is to continue functional testing (trying your daily workflows in ALEPH)
In this update:
Schedule of Events for December
Functional Testing
Reporting Issues
OPAC Launch
Post-STP
Dec. 5, 6:
All parts of ALEPH will be unavailable on Monday and Tuesday.
Dylan installs software patches to our Oracle database.
Copy all of our data and tables from the Live region to the Test region so that they are identical
Dec. 7 – Jan. 6:
Continue with functional testing.
Set up printing at all libraries
Dec. 9:
At closing on the 9th (midnight) Convergent will begin the final extract of all our data in Advance.
All Technical Services in Advance stop on the 9th.
Circulation activities will continue until Jan. 6, when a second mini-extract of just Circulation data will be done.
Dec. 12:
All functional testing will be done using the Live client (6991) and using this URL for the OPAC: http://aleph1.novanet.ns.ca:8992
There will be no access to the Test region (6992)
The final extract will be given to ExL
Have I mentioned that its time for doing as much functional testing as possible? I encourage you to use the Live client (6991) to practice your regular workflow. This is the time for you to get familiar with how things work in ALEPH and to discover any problems we have with suggested workflows and the setup of ALEPH. The Training Coordination Team and the trainers have put together a series of documents to help you. They are available on the Staff Training page at: /
Reporting Issues
While you are testing the functionality (I mentioned that you should be doing testing, right?) you are sure to come across problems in ALEPH. You should report these to your functional contact who will bring them to committee for discussion. The committees will report issues through the Error Reporting form at: /wp-content/uploads/2011/03/errReport.html . A link to the form is available on the Staff Training page. This form will be the mechanism for tracking and resolving issues, both pre- and post-STP.
The public face of ALEPH was launched last week and can be accessed at its permanent address of : http://aleph1.novanet.ns.ca . Many of you have already added a link to the ALEPH OPAC to your web pages. We are asking your help to publicize our new catalogue in any way that you think works for your campus and patrons. The ALEPH Publicity Team has put together some suggestions for publicity material that can be found at: / . So please take some time out from your testing (you ARE testing, right?) and make sure your patrons know about the new OPAC.
Well that’s all for this mini-report. I’ll be sending out another one in a week or so for any last minute announcements that need to be made. Thanks to the over one-third of Novanet staff who have participated directly on the ALEPH working groups and committees and to all of you who have provided input and suggestions. We are almost there! In case I haven’t mentioned it before – now’s the time to do functional testing!
I’ve been saving an extra-special prize for a long time and I think its time to put it up for grabs. The cheapies among you may want to take a stab at this contest and regift the prize for Christmas. Here’s an Implementation Multiple Guess Quiz for you. The person with the quickest response and the most correct answers will receive the best prize ever offered!!
Implementation Multiple Guess Contest
1) How many patron records were extracted for the second load?
         a. 120,178
         b. 66,980
         c. 88,616
2) What percentage of Novanet staff participated on Implementation working groups and teams?
         a. 63%
         b. 33%
         c. 8%
3) What is the name of Dylan’s goldfish?
         a. Fin
         b. Figaro
         c. doesn’t have one (flush!)
4) What was the combination for the Training room in the Killam?
         a. 3-6-15
         b. 4-1-23
         c. 2-2-45
5) Name of the Chief Librarian of the 3rd largest institution in Novanet (by student enrollment)?
         a. Lynne Murphy
         b. Madeleine Lefebvre
         c. Marie DeYoung
6) When should functional testing begin?
         a. now
         b. now
         c. all of the above
Send your answers to me at bill.slauenwhite@novanet.ns.ca
Not to belabour a point, but the main thing you should be concentrating on after reading this newsletter is: Scooby Doo or Garfield? 
Thanks for reading
Bill