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Soprano release Wednesday 5th February 2025

We’re pleased to announce that the release of Soprano previously in preview has been released to live service this morning. This release includes:

  • Ad hoc notifications for Inter Library Loan requests
  • Updating long overdue items back to In Stock/Loanable status in Return
  • Fix to the display of a borrower’s age, related to leap years
  • Fix to correctly handle the 040 tag following an import or edit of a marc record (LDS)

The details are described in this release notice.

If you have any comments or questions, 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 contact Heather Brown (csm@librarymanagementcloud.com).

Soprano release to preview Thursday 30th January 2025

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

  • Ad hoc notifications for Inter Library Loan requests
  • Updating long overdue items back to In Stock/Loanable status in Return
  • Fix to the display of a borrower’s age, related to leap years
  • Fix to correctly handle the 040 tag following an import or edit of a marc record (LDS)

Ad hoc notifications for Inter Library Loan requests

Ad hoc notifications for Soprano ILL requests enables a Soprano user to create a notification for an ILL request, based on predefined templates. Small changes can be made to the content preview of the notification before it is saved, and it can then be copied to an email. In a future release we plan to provide the ability to send the notification directly by email as it is saved.

The ad hoc notifications use a set of templates that are configured and managed in the Admin console.

One Notification Template Set is used to hold all the templates for ILL requests.  This is linked to Soprano by a Notification Rule in the Soprano tenancy, which enables Soprano to find the templates that are available.

Configuring Ad Hoc notifications is covered in a separate document available here. Note that Ad hoc notifications requires LDS 2.9.38.

Creating an ad hoc notification for an ILL request
  1. From the Home page, click on Manage ILL requests.
  2. Select the ILL request and click on the Notifications tab.
  3. Use the + CREATE NOTIFICATION button to start the process.
  4. Choose the template you want to use from the list and then the system will automatically populate the Content Preview with the details from the ILL request, borrower and bib records.
  5. You can make changes to the content by editing the text in the CONTENT PREVIEW. Tabs can be used to indent text and a URL can be added if necessary. See the on-screen Formatting Tips for details.
  6. Use the SAVE button to save the ad hoc notification.
  7. Once you have created the ad hoc notification you want to send, select it again in the list of notifications and then click OPEN FULL DOCUMENT.
  8. Copy and paste the output into an email. (The ability to send the request by email is planned for a future release.)

Updating long overdue items back to In stock/Loanable status in Return

A script (loa_long_odue), 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. Soprano can now be configured to update the status of these items back to ‘In stock’ (or ‘Loanable’) when they are returned. This is to match the functionality introduced with Bridge Pro 3.1.6.

A new parameter local.item.status.to.update.on.return, is provided for the LDS, which takes the code of the long overdue item status as an argument, e.g. ‘LONG’. If the item being processed in Return has an item status matching that specified in the LDS parameter, Soprano silently updates it. Note that this change requires LDS 2.9.36.

Fix to the display of age, related to leap years

The system now displays the correct age of a borrower, regardless of the number of leap years since their date of birth.

Fix to correctly handle the 040 tag following an import or edit of a marc record

Now when a record is imported, the 040 is no longer updated. In addition, when a bib record is edited the 040 is updated with the editing library’s organisation code when the bib record is saved. Note that this fix requires LDS 2.9.37.

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.

Note: is it not possible to delete ad hoc notifications so you are advised to carry out testing using test ILL requests and borrower records.

Release to the live service

This version of Soprano is expected to be released to the live service on: Wednesday 5th February 2025.

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 2.9.38 (which contains all the functionality in earlier versions) then please raise a support case through the customer support portal.

Comments and contact

If you have any comments or questions, 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 contact Heather Brown (csm@librarymanagementcloud.com).

Change to the TLS protocol for Soprano Monday 19th August 2024

We’re pleased to announce that to further enhance the security of the Soprano web application, we have made the following changes to the LIVE environment:

  • TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 have been deprecated.
  • TLS 1.2 continues to be supported and is now the only protocol actively used for secure communications.

Please note that while TLS 1.2 was previously supported, we have now formally disabled older protocols in LIVE, to ensure a higher level of security. Your access to Soprano through web browsers remains unchanged, and no action is required on your part.

Comments and contact

If you have any comments or questions, 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 contact Heather Brown (csm@librarymanagementcloud.com).

Soprano wrapper release 29th May 2024

We’re pleased to announce there is a new version of the Soprano wrapper available. This new version has been updated with the latest security features for Chromium.

The Soprano wrapper release notice and download can be found here.

Comments and contact

If you have any comments or questions, 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 contact Heather Brown (csm@librarymanagementcloud.com).

Soprano release Wednesday 24th April 2024

We’re pleased to announce that the release of Soprano previously in preview has been released to live service this morning. This release includes:

  • Ability to re-link an item record to another bib record

The details are described in this release notice.

If you have any comments or questions, 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 contact Heather Brown (csm@librarymanagementcloud.com).

Soprano release to preview Wednesday 17th April 2024

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

Ability to re-link an item record to another bib record

When viewing an item record in Soprano, you can now re-link it to a different bib record. In order to re-link an item you must have rights to edit item records, which requires the following enablement:

  • Circulation> Circulate item> Edit Circulate item

To re-link an item record, first find the 001 (or BIB ID) of the bib record the item is to be transferred to. Then, display the item record and click on the pencil beside the title details.

In the search box, enter the 001 of the bib record identified above, and then press Return or use the magnifier to complete the search.

The system will display the record that exactly matches the 001 entered.

Use the select button to complete the re-link of the item.

If the item record is at the status: Potential, Order pending, Order sent, Cancelled or Deleted, or it is directly linked to an ILL request, the pencil will be greyed out with a hover hint.

Changes to the admin console to prepare for Ad hoc notifications in Soprano

Over the next few weeks, we will be releasing new versions of the Admin console in preparation for allowing the configuration of Ad hoc notifications within ILL requests. These changes won’t impact anything already configured and can be ignored when using the Admin console while this work continues. When the changes to the Soprano interface are ready, they will be released in the usual way and we will explain how to set up and use Ad hoc notifications.

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: Wednesday 24th April 2024.

Comments and contact

If you have any comments or questions, 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 contact Heather Brown (csm@librarymanagementcloud.com).

Soprano release Wednesday 13th March 2024

We’re pleased to announce that the release of Soprano previously in preview has been released to live service this morning. This release includes:

  • Copies in transit excluded from branches count in Recent activity and search result cards
  • Defaults on the create borrower screen

The details are described in this release notice.

If you have any comments or questions, 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 contact Heather Brown (csm@librarymanagementcloud.com).

Soprano release to preview Wednesday 28th February 2024

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

  • Copies in transit excluded from branches count in Recent activity and search result cards
  • Defaults on the create borrower screen

Copies in transit excluded from branches count in Recent activity and search result cards

In the bibliographic record ‘cards’ in Resources, if there are no copies of the item at the current site, a count of the number of other branches where copies are available is displayed. This count no longer includes items that are in transit. In addition if the login site copy is in transit, the system shows the count of other branches rather than the shelfmark of the intransit copy.

Defaults on the create borrower screen

Following the creation of a new borrower record, if the user doesn’t opt to reuse the borrower details and closes the ‘Borrower created’ message to return to the create borrower screen, the Date of Birth and Borrower Type fields now display the original, default values.

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: Wednesday 13th March 2024.

Comments and contact

If you have any comments or questions, 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 contact Heather Brown (csm@librarymanagementcloud.com).

Soprano release Wednesday 17th January 2024

We’re pleased to announce that the release of Soprano previously in preview has been released to live service this morning. This release includes:

  • Fixes to the shelf mark display in the Resources> Recent Activity and search results cards (LDS 2.9.34)
  • Recent activity and search result cards count of branches where copies are available
  • Timestamp on supplier reports in ILL records
  • Soprano offline Return Items – Item Barcode field is now cleared
  • Changes to the VIEW MARC template to incorporate further updates from the Library of Congress

The details are described in this release notice.

If you have any comments or questions, 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 contact Heather Brown (csm@librarymanagementcloud.com).

Soprano release to preview Wednesday 10th January 2024

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

  • Fixes to the shelf mark display in the Resources> Recent Activity and search results cards (LDS 2.9.34)
  • Recent activity and search result cards count of branches where copies are available
  • Timestamp on supplier reports in ILL records
  • Soprano offline Return Items – Item Barcode field is now cleared
  • Changes to the VIEW MARC template to incorporate further updates from the Library of Congress

Fixes to the shelf mark display in the Resources> Recent Activity and search results cards

Where a copy is available at the current login location, the system now only shows the Sequence once in the shelf mark. In addition, where a size is specified as part of the shelf mark, this now displays. These fixes require LDS 2.9.34.

Recent activity and search result cards count of branches where copies are available

When looking at the bibliographic record ‘cards’ in Resources, if a copy isn’t available at the current site, the number of other branches where copies are available is shown. The number of branches now only includes those with ‘In stock’/Loanable status copies.

Timestamp on supplier reports in ILL records

Reports from suppliers now display in create date order and the timestamp is displayed.

Soprano offline Return Items – Item Barcode field is now cleared

In Soprano offline, once an item has been scanned in return, the field is now cleared and the cursor focus is placed in the returns field while the system is returning the item.

Changes to the VIEW MARC template to incorporate further updates from the Library of Congress

Changes have been made to the Marc21 template used by Soprano to update it it with further Library of Congress changes. Additional updates will be provided in a future release.

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: Wednesday 17th January 2024.

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 2.9.34 mentioned above, please raise a support case through the customer support portal.

Comments and contact

If you have any comments or questions, 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 contact Heather Brown (csm@librarymanagementcloud.com).