We’re pleased to announce that the next release of Soprano is available for preview.

This release includes the following:

• Changes to the MARC editor
• Cataloguing fixes
• Generate issues – undergoing beta testing
• Circulation fix
• ILL fixes
• General fix

Cataloguing

Changes to the MARC editor

The layout of the MARC editor has been amended to make it easier to read and edit the contents of the fields. Fields and subfields can now be deleted.

Clicking in a field allows the user to make changes directly. New subfields can be added using the ‘+’ at the end of the field and they can be copied and pasted within the the field. If an invalid subfield is added to a field, the system gives an alert when you click away from the field or click on the Save Changes button.

Cataloguing fixes

Changes to indicators not being saved – Previously changes to indicators were not always saved as expected. This has been corrected.

264 indicators in MARC editor – Soprano now shows and saves the indicators for the 264 field in the MARC editor.

Serials

Generate issues – undergoing beta testing

Soprano has been enhanced to include generating issues for serial records.  Currently the software is under going beta testing. Please note this feature requires LDS 2.9.7

Note: The functionality does not yet support patterns with the issue prediction type Non-standard.

Access to the Generate Issues button is controlled via a parameter in the Soprano tenancy. If you would like this switched on please raise a case and we will enable it once the beta test is complete.

Additionally:

• The title must be linked to a subscription
• A pattern has to be attached at the delivery site of the subscription (delivery site(s) are displayed on the Open Orders tab for the title)
• You need to be logged in at the Delivery site of a subscription
• ‘Filter by Delivery Site’ must be set to the login location

If all these criteria are met, the Generate issues button appears on the Issues tab.

Clicking the Generate issues button shows the Prediction default fields. The values are takne from the first row of the prediction template linked to the serial so may be quite old.

Edit the values to reflect the next expected issue. Note: please make sure you clear the number field, if there is a ‘0’ in it to prevent the system taking this as the starting number.

Click on the Generate button. The system will create the issues following the template.

If you require rows for part of a year it is best to generate a full year’s set, starting at the beginning of the year, and delete those you do not require. The system does not check for overlapping rows. If the prediction defaults contain values that exactly match an existing row then the system will stop the generation process. If you need to create some rows that overlap, e.g. in order to generate rows for part of a year, then change the expected date slightly.

Circulation fix

Recovering borrowers created when offline – Some changes have been made to the recovery process for borrowers created in offline mode. When a borrower is created offline the system cannot validate if the borrower type is right for the age of the person when borrower type age rules are set. The recovery process stops if there is a mis-match between the borrower’s type and their age. Now staff can edit the borrower record in the queue and select an age-appropriate borrower type. Clicking on Create Borrower completes the create process and removes the record from the queue. The recovery process then automatically continues. Note: currently the recovery process stops even if the borrower type is age-appropriate. This will be fixed in a future release.

ILL fixes

ILL Supplier displaying as blank on ILL requests – If an ILL supplier only has a code associated with the record then the code will now display on the fulfilment tab of an ILL request. If a name is associated with the ILL supplier record then the name shows. Note that if you add a name to a supplier record, then it can take a few minutes to appear since these details are cached.

Receipting an ILL item and the delivery site – When receipting an ILL item, the Delivery site is no longer updated to the borrower’s home site.

Delivery format – Paper copy – You can now choose the Delivery format: Paper Copy, when the delivery type is set to “Post to borrower”.

Unable to receipt ILL items from other suppliers – ILL requests which were initially sent to BLDSS but were subsequently received from another supplier can now be received.

General fix

Password ageing warning – if you have password ageing enabled the system now takes account of the TAL_PASSWORD_WARNING_DAYS environment variable. It now only warns that the password is going to expire within the time period specified by TAL_PASSWORD_WARNING_DAYS or 7 days if the environment variable is not specified and password ageing is switched on. If you would like more information on how to configure password ageing please contact the support team. Please note this fix requires LDS 2.9.7

Release Procedure

To preview this release

You can preview this release by inserting ‘-demo’ into your tenancy URL after the word ‘soprano’: soprano-demo.librarymanagementcloud.co.uk/{your tenancy name}. Please remember that it accesses your live data.

Release to the live service

This version of Soprano is expected to be released to the live service on Thursday 30th April 2020.

If you need an LDS upgrade

Your current LDS version number is displayed in the footer of Soprano pages. If you require an upgrade to LDS 2.9.7 mentioned for the above features, please raise a support case through the customer support portal.

Comments and contact

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please get in touch. You can comment here on the Soprano blog or contact our support team directly.  To suggest and discuss additional features please visit the Soprano Ideas Forum.