We’re pleased to announce that a new release of Bridge is now available. The main item in this release is:

• Updating long overdue items back to In stock/Loanable status in Return on self-service machines

A script (loa_long_overdue), can be used to update the status of very overdue items to a locally defined one, e.g. ‘Long overdue’, to ensure they can no longer be reserved. Self-service machines can now be enabled to update the status of these items back to ‘In stock’ (or ‘Loanable’) when they are returned.

A new parameter LOCAL_ITEM_STATUS_TO_UPDATE_ON_RETURN, is provided that takes the code of the long overdue item status as an argument. If the item being processed in Return has an item status matching that specified in the parameter, Bridge updates it.

Any customisations currently applied in your system will remain in place following this upgrade.

Note: we are working on introducing the same functionality within Soprano, which we plan to release in the coming months.

Release process

If you are interested in this release, please identify the item status you use for ‘Long overdue’ items and raise a support case, and we will schedule your upgrade.

Comments and contact

If you have any comments or questions, please get in touch. You can comment here on the Bridge blog, or contact our Support team directly. To suggest and discuss additional features please contact Heather Brown (csm@librarymanagementcloud.com).

We are pleased to announce the General Availability of Bridge 3.0.

This release of Bridge is a reimplementation using technologies which allow us to plan for the future of Bridge development. We have chosen to migrate Bridge to the Java platform to provide the flexibility required for the next library integration standard for self service, whether that is SIP3, BIC Library Communication Framework or another industry supported standard.

This reimplementation continues to provide the solid performance that has been experienced with previous releases, and continues to support the customisations chosen in your system.

The Features document for this release is available on our website, and the customer portal.

Please raise a service request through the My Support Portal to schedule your upgrade.

Bridge Pro 2.0 was released on the 10 Dec 2012, following a successful beta test. Some of the new features include:

• Display of message if item has been borrowed before
• Display of warning for cards about to expire
• Allow renewals when loan limit is exceeded
• Allow log in for expired cards
• Use the self service machines for automating book sales

Please refer to what’s new in Bridge Pro 2.0  on the website, for a full list of new functionality.

If you are interested in the Bridge Pro 2.0 release please raise a support case and we will schedule the upgrade with you in the New Year.