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

This release includes:

•  Purchasing
  • Prediction patterns
  • Filter serial issues to find the next one to check in
  • Edit serial issues
  • Edit open order
  • Default Item data in Create Order
  • Create and view invoice notes
  • Purchasing fixes
• Inter-Library Loans
  • ILL Request Note
  • Add ILL report
  • Edit ILL supplier
• Circulation
  • Hide the Convert to Set button
  • Reservation Pick List Last Seen date
  • Circulation fixes
•  General
  • More search facets, more facet terms
  • Search predictions
  • General fixes

 

Purchasing

For the serials features described here you will need LDS version 2.8.31. To upgrade your LDS, please open a Support case.

Prediction patterns

As the prerequisite to generating predicted issues, you can now view and change the prediction pattern associated with a serial under a new tab labelled Predictions.

You can select a different pattern from the drop-down menu, and create a new pattern to add to the list using the Create new prediction pattern link.

 

Filter serial issues to find the next one to check in

The set of filters at the top of the serial issues list under the Holdings tab for a serial includes a new filter, Limit Future Issues.

The toggle is set to On by default, which aims to filter out predicted issues beyond the one that should be due next. This is intended to make it easier to find the issue to be checked in, particularly for frequent serials (daily, weekly) where there may be many predicted issues.

 

Edit serial issues

In the serial issues list under the Holdings tab for a serial, two new buttons on the right allow you to edit and remove serial issues – see the screenshot above. (The Receipt Issues button now has an icon rather than a textual label.)

The Edit button (pencil icon) gives you an inline form where you can change the Year, Volume, Issue and Number of the issue, as well as select an issue Type and add or update the issue note.

 

Edit Open Order

In an Open order a pencil icon on the right of the Header opens an edit form where you can update Subscription Start Date, Subscription End Date, Cost per annum, Currency, Official Order Number, and Note.

 

Default Item data in Create Order

The Create Order form now includes fields for setting default item data to be used when adding items to the order. This allows you to create the data once and use it multiple times.

 

Create and view invoice notes

In the Create Invoice form you can now add a note. Existing notes can be viewed in invoice header of the respective invoice.

 

Purchasing fixes

Link to open orders from invoice. You can navigate to an open order associated with the invoice by clicking on the open order number in the invoice line.

Create new funds without a start date. The start date field has been removed from Create Fund form.  The date when fund is created is set as the fund start date.

 

Inter-Library Loans

ILL Request Note

Under the Request tab of an ILL request you can now add, view and edit a note.

 

Add ILL Report

Under the Fulfilment tab on an ILL request the History section displays reports from targeted suppliers.  In addition to automated reports you can now add reports manually via a new Add Report button. Manually added reports can be deleted using the delete icon displayed next to these reports.

 

Edit ILL supplier

In an ILL supplier record you can now change the supplier name and contact details and also set the supplier to status to Active/ Closed/ Inactive.

 

Circulation

Hide the Convert to Set button

When Item Sets (which are typically used for project boxes) are disabled for your tenancy, the Convert to set button is now hidden. You can enable or disable item sets via the Admin Console > {your Soprano tenancy} > Interface > Enable Project Boxes check box.

 

Reservation Pick List last seen date

For easier readability, the terms Today and Yesterday are displayed as appropriate for the Last Seen date.

 

Circulation fixes

Set Borrower Type using Borrower Type Age settings. Borower Type is now derived correctly from the borrower’s age using your settings in SetConfig > Parameter Management > Rules > Circulation > Borrower > Borrower Type Age.

Add new item to a work without having Purchasing options enabled. New items can now be added to a work by users without needing to be enabled for Purchasing. This requires LDS version 2.8.31. To upgrade your LDS, please open a Support case.

Improvements to Manage Reservation Shelf display. Manage reservation shelf display has been fixed so that rows without item and borrower information are not displayed.

 

General

More search facets, more facet terms

We’ve added more search filters/facets. You can now filter results using menus of options by Location, Format, Subject, Collection, Year and Language. Furthermore, in each filter there is now More option at the foot of the list when more than five terms for that filter are represented in your results, which expands the list to all terms for that filter.

 

Search predictions

When you start typng a search query in the Resources search box either on the Home page or on the Resources page, you now get a list of suggested queries that complete what you have typed. You can select a query from the list to run it without having to finish typing it.

 

General fixes

Enable/Disable support for Item Sets. You can enable or disable item sets in your Soprano tenancy via the Admin Console > {your Soprano tenancy} > Interface > Enable Project Boxes check box.

 

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.

 

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

This release includes:

• Inter-Library Loans
  • Receipt ILL Request
  • ILL Fixes
• Circulation
  • Circulation Fixes

 

Inter-Library Loans

Receipt ILL Request

ILL Requests that are at status Requested now have a Receipt button in the header and also under the Fulfilment tab.

The button gives you a new page, Receipt Interloan. By default it is set as a loanable item; you can click the alternative radio button to set it as a retainable item.

For a loanable item you can record the date the item is due back to the supplier. It is set one month hence by default. When you specify a retainable item the due date field and the information around it disappears.

When you press the Receipt button the ILL Request is re-displayed with its status updated to Received and a banner confirming that it has been receipted. If the item is loanable then the system automatically creates an item and confirms that in the confirmation banner. The status change event is recorded in the History under the Fulfilment tab.

The item record for a loanable item is created with the ILL request number as the barcode. The Type is set to your Default Item Type for your current site as configured in  SetConfig Parameter Management > Rules > Interloans > General Rules.

When you issue the item to the requester the automatic due date is derived in one of two ways. If the operator (or the global settings) has the the environment variable TAL_ILL_INTERCEPT set to YES then the due date will be some days earlier than the ILL supplier due date. The number of days defaults to seven; this is a setting in your Soprano tenant configuration that we can change for you if you open a support case. Otherwise the due date will be set according to your normal loan rules. You could also set a manual due date if permitted.

When the item is issued the status of the ILL Request is automatically changed to On Loan. When the item is returned by the user the status of the ILL Request is automatically changed to Discharged.

 

ILL fixes

Create ILL Supplier. We’ve fixed an issue where an error is reported when creating an ILL supplier, and another relating to the placing of the supplier email address.

 

Circulation

Circulation fixes

Borrower guarantees list. The list of borowers guaranteed by the borrower you’re viewing (i.e. their guarantees) is no longer limited to 50. This is of interest to schools library services.

 

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.

We’re pleased to announce that the version of Soprano that was in preview recently has been released to the live service this morning.

This release includes:

• Inter-Library Loans
  • Re-direct an ILL request to a different supplier
• Cataloguing
  • MARC Editor
•  Circulation
  • Borrower types menu constrained by borrower age
  • Borrower phone numbers Outbound Approval indicator

Details of the inclusions are given in the release notice.

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

This release includes:

• Inter-Library Loans
  • Re-direct an ILL request to a different supplier
• Cataloguing
  • MARC Editor
•  Circulation
  • Borrower types menu constrained by borrower age
  • Borrower phone numbers Outbound Approval indicator

 

Inter-Library Loans

Redirect an ILL request to a different supplier

Sometimes you need to redirect an ILL request to a different supplier, such as when the previous supplier cannot supply or has put your request on a wait list. Soprano now enables you to do this. In a Requested status request under the Fulfilment tab there is a Change Supplier button against the supplier name.

The button opens a form where you can select from a list of your ILL suppliers.

When you save the change a confirmation banner displays at the top of the page. The status of the request is automatically changed to Pending, so the request will be picked up by the relevant process to send it to the new supplier.

This assumes that the previous supplier will not proceed further with the request, typically because either they have notified you that they cannot supply, or you have cancelled it with them.

 

Cataloguing

MARC Editor

The MARC page that is accessed by the View MARC button on a Work page now gives you the MARC record in an editable form. This is a first iteration.

Each data element is given within an edit box. Non-editable elements are greyed out, such as the system controlled elements in the Leader, the Control number and its identifier, field indicator position markers and subfield codes.

When you select an element a label is displayed below it giving the name of the element and, for subfields, whether it’s repeatable. On a field indicator you get a list of possible values and their names.

In field 008 you can select from a list of values for the place of publication and the language.

For the variable fields (with tag higher than 009) an arrow on the right hand side gives you a menu of subfields that are valid for the field, omitting any that are not repeatable and have already been used. Selecting a subfield code from the menu adds it to the field with a box ready for you to enter the data.

You can add a new field by selecting from the Add Field panel on the right. That panel remains fixed when you scroll the record up and down. It gives you a list of all valid fields. You can search by typing the beginning of a tag number to limit the list to matching fields. Click the Plus sign button to add your selected field to the record – it is inserted in tag number order. Then you can use the subfield menu on the new field to enter the data.

 

Circulation

Borrower types menu constrained by borrower age

You can configure your system to specify age ranges to which Borrower Types apply: SetConfig, Parameter Management > Rules > Circulation > Borrower > Borrower type age. Soprano now takes account of this. When creating or editing a borrower, entries in the Type menu that do not apply to the age of the borrower are greyed out and cannot be selected.

In Create Borrower, if you set the Date of Birth so that the default borrower type in the form is not valid, a warning is given.

 

Borrower phone numbers Outbound Approval indicator

Under the Borrower Contact Details tab the Outbound Approved column is now not displayed by default.

The Outbound Approved data element reflects the code prefixed to phone numbers in Alto (V, T or X for Voice, Text or Do not use)  that was used by the old notifications system. It is not used by the new notifications system. The column can be reinstated in the Admin Console, which has been updated to include a check box in the Interface section of your Soprano tenancy admin to switch this feature on or off .

 

 

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.

 

 

We’re pleased to announce that the version of Soprano that was in preview recently has been released to the live service this morning.

This release includes:

• General
  • Specify collections for search in Soprano
• Circulation
  • Circulation fixes

Details of the inclusions are given in the release notice.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please get in touch. You can comment here on the Soprano blog, on the Soprano forum and Soprano Ideas or contact your Account Manager or the Soprano team directly.

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

This release includes:

• General
  • Specify collections for search in Soprano
• Circulation
  • Circulation fixes

General

Specify collections for search in Soprano

Now it is possible to specify collections to define the scope of the bibliographic data that is searched by Soprano.

Please raise a support case if you wish to specify collections for searching bibliographic data in Soprano.

 

Circulation

Circulation fixes

Scan not on loan items in Return items

When an item which is not on loan is scanned in ‘Return Items’, Soprano displays appropriate actions for the item.
e.g.

1. If the item is in transit to its home site, item will be taken out of transit.
2. If the item is in transit to satisfy a reservation, item will be taken out of transit and ‘Process Reservation’ button is displayed under Actions. 
3. If an item which is not on loan is scanned in at site other than its home site, provided Auto transit is set to True the item will be put into transit to its home site.
4. If an item has come off the reservation shelf it may belong elsewhere, you can scan the items in Return items to check for other reservations or if the item has to go back home.

Scan not on loan items in offline mode

When an item which is not on loan is scanned in during offline mode, Soprano treats it as a non-failure when synchronising after the connection is restored, and simply resumes the next transaction in queue.
Similarly, if an in-transit item is scanned in at its home site during offline mode, item is taken out of transit provided Auto transit is set.

 

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.

We’re pleased to announce that the version of Soprano that was in preview recently has been released to the live service this morning.

This release includes:

• Inter-Library Loans
  • Delivery Options for BLDSS requests
•  Purchasing
  • More information in Receipt Item
• Circulation
  • Circulation fixes

Details of the inclusions are given in the release notice.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please get in touch. You can comment here on the Soprano blog, on the Soprano forum and Soprano Ideas or contact your Account Manager or the Soprano team directly.

 

 

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

This release includes:

• Inter-Library Loans
  • Delivery Options for BLDSS requests
•  Purchasing
  • More information in Receipt Item

• Circulation
  • Circulation fixes

 

Inter-Library Loans

Delivery options for BLDSS requests

When verifying a pending request where the supplier is the British Library Document Supply Service (BLDSS) configured with request method BLDSS Web, Soprano now allows you to specify three delivery options: Format, Speed and Quality.

 

Purchasing

More information in Receipt Item

When you receipt an item that was on order, the information displayed now includes Shelfmark and Item Type.

 

Circulation

Circulation fixes

Borrower lookup in Issue Items.  We’ve fixed problems with looking up borrowers in Issue Items by Institution ID, Date of Birth and Postcode, and in cases where there are multiple matches.

 

Return an item that has a message.  Soprano no longer requires you to have permission to set a manual return date in order to return an item from loan when it has a message.

Don’t pay a charge twice on double click.  When paying a charge against a borrower, if you keep clicking the Pay button Soprano will now register the payment only once.

Borrower contact publicity preference.  Under Borrower > Contact Details, in the Contact Preferences section, the check box formerly labelled as relating to marketing messages is now labelled: would like library publicity messages.

Count of reservations on an item.  The alert that displays on the item detail page when the item is reserved now shows the correct number of reservations even when it is greater than 10.

 

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.

 

 

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

This release includes:

• Inter-Library Loans
  • Review and verify ILL requests
• General
  • Create Work with format Microform
  • Last copy warning
  • General fixes
•  Purchasing
  • Purchasing fixes

• Circulation
  • Circulation fixes

 

Inter-Library Loans

Review and verify ILL requests

The Home page already provides links to your inter-library loans records, subject to your operator permissions: Manage ILL Requests displays the full list of requests; Process unverified requests displays the list filtered to unverified requests.

The list tells you the status of each request and whether it is verified. Selecting an unverified request now takes you into the Verify Interloan workflow, at the first of two steps: Check Metadata. Here you can edit any of the bibliographic metadata fields and save your changes.

Pressing Save takes you to the last step, Confirm Fulfilment. Here you can amend the details of the request such as the supplier, the delivery type  and the delivery site, selecting values for each from drop-down menus. You can also add a note to the supplier.

Pressing Save takes you back to the list. Your request is now verified, at status Pending, and it will be automatically sent to the supplier according to the Request Method you have set for the supplier. You can view your ILL supplier records under Purchasing > Suppliers, using the scope filter.

In the Request Detail page the Create date and Last Useful date of the request are now displayed in the header instead of under the Fulfilment tab, together with the date requested when it reaches that status, and the date and number of the last report. The borrower information in the header now includes their Type and their  active interloans tally and limit. More of the requested title is displayed, with line wrapping where needed. On verified requests whilst the status is Pending an Un-Verify button is now provided.

Request History and Supplier Reports are now shown in a single time-line under the Fulfilment tab on a Request; the History tab has been removed. The various fulfilment data elements are now grouped in Supplier,  Delivery and Loan Information sections rather than in multiple other sections.

 

General

Create Work with format Microform

In Create Work the Format drop down menu now includes Microform as an option.

 

Last copy warning

When you change the status of an item in the Item header from In stock to an inactive status such as Withdrawn, and there are no other active status items attached to the Work, an amber message displays at the top of the Item description panel in the header when you save the change, telling you: Item was last copy for this work and was moved to an inactive status.

The same occurs in Update Item Status when you scan the barcode of the last active item for a work to change it to an inactive status.

 

General fixes

Sequence and Size lists in name order. The menus of Sequence and Size in the Item header as part of the shelfmark are now listed in name order rather than code order.

Pick Reserved Items – Process Unfound. It is no longer necessary to tick items as found on the pick list to prevent them from appearing in the Process Unfound list. This will mean a more accurate list in Process Unfound for those who print the list to take to the shelves, then scan picked items to transit or satisfy.

 

Purchasing

Purchasing fixes

Copy Order with multiple items and funds. Copying an order that has multiple items with different funds now correctly preserves the item-fund relationship.

Create Supplier. Soprano no longer goes offline when you create a new supplier.

Transfer all money out of a fund. You can now transfer all of the money out of a fund, rather than only up to one penny less – you are no longer stopped by an erroneous warning that the transfer would set the allocation under 0.

 

Circulation

Ciculation fixes

Borrower Search results – Borrower Type. A Type column no longer displays in Borrower search results. The Borrower Type is displayed under the borrower’s name.

Transit item for reservation when multiple reservations. When an item is in transit for a reservation and there are other active reservations against the item, the list under the Item Reservations tab now displays the In Transit label only against the correct reservation rather than all the reservations.

 

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.

 

 

 

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

This release includes:

• Circulation
  • Borrower contact preferences
  • Borrower Institution ID create and edit
  • Borrower Profile and Recommendations combined page
  • Print the offline transaction queue log
  • Overdue alert potential fine
  • Print transit slip in Return Items
  • Reservation rules
  • Borrower name display when satisfying a reservation
  • Borrower last edit information
  • ILL quotas
  • Circulation fixes
•  Purchasing
  • Multiple funds on an order
• General
  • General fixes

 

Circulation

Borrower contact preferences

You can now view and edit a borrower’s preferences for how and why they would like to be contacted, and you can record preferences as you register new users in the Create Borrower form.

The Borrower page has a new tab, Contact Details, for all contact details including preferences. The contact details have moved from the Information tab, which has a link below the Membership section to the new Contact Details tab.

The Contact Preferences section displays:

• contact methods that are in use (as configured in LMS configuration settings Parameter Management > Names > Notifications > Delivery methods)
• reasons for contact (routine, marketing and ad hoc).

Methods and reasons that cannot be changed are displayed faded. The post method and ad hoc reason can never be changed; others reflect configuration settings in Parameter Management > Rules >  Notifications.  All are displayed with check boxes, so each method and reason is either ticked or not, showing the borrower’s current preference or the default for those that cannot be changed.

The Create Borrower form has a new Contact Preferences section at the end.

This includes the methods and reasons that are generally amendable and by default are treated as not wanted by the user.

 

Borrower Institution ID create and edit

When Show Borrower Institution ID is enabled in the Admin Console (in the Interface section), you can now add an institution ID in a new field on the Create Borrower form.

Similarly, you can add or edit an institution ID on an existing borrower in a new field in the Borrower header edit form.

 

Borrower Profile and Recommendations combined page

We’ve removed the Borrower Profile tab and put its contents under the Recommendations tab, to bring together related information.

 

Print the offline transaction queue log

If you have a queue of unsynchronised offline transactions due to one or more that cannot update, you now have the option to print the queue. With the Synchronise modal open, your browser print button or Ctrl+P will give you a formatted print of the complete list of transactions.

 

Overdue alert potential fine

The borrower card in Issue, Renew and Return includes a red alert label when the borrower has overdue loans. This now includes the potential fine in parentheses, enabling you at a glance to give more specific advice to the user.

 

Print transit slip in Return Items

When a returned item is automatically put in transit to its home site, you now have a Print Slip button in the action column to print a transit slip.

 

Reservation rules

When you have LDS version 2.8.12 or higher, Soprano now uses newer web services in the LDS, which use your configured Circulation > Reservation rules rather than OPAC > Borrower Reservations. LDS 2.8.12 is now available. To request an upgrade to your LDS, please open a Support case.

 

Borrower name display when satisfying a reservation

In Process Items when you scan an item and press the Satisfy button, the success outcome notice now includes the name of the borrower after their barcode number. This may be useful when you need to write a reservation slip rather than print one.

 

Borrower last edit information

At the top of the borrower page a label tells you by whom and when the borrower was last edited.

 

ILL quotas

The ILLs tab on a borrower record now shows how many requests the borrower is entitled to.

The Active filter shows the number of active requests and the active limit. The All filter shows the borrower’s total number of requests to date and the total they are allowed.

 

Circulation fixes

Edit Borrower Contact point – Label list filtered. When you edit a contact point for a borrower such as a phone number, the list of labels that you can assign is now filtered to exclude any that are already used in contact points of the same type for this borrower, ensuring that you cannot duplicate them.

Limited access sites and borrowers from another site. When you are signed in to a Limited Access Site, if you enter a borrower whose Home site is elsewhere in the borrower search box on either the Home page or the Borrower page, you now get a message telling you that you cannot access that information, rather than getting the offline options.

Ad hoc notification content preview. The content preview now displays when you select an ad hoc notification under Borrower > Notifications, as it already does for other types of notification.

Borrower name search. You can now search with borrower names that contain an apostrophe without enclosing them in double quotes; for example, o’sullivan.

We’ve added some tips on searching for names below the search box on the Borrowers start page.

We’ve also added postcode to the list that displays in the search box as a hint about the data types you can use in borrower search. It can be useful to combine post code with the name of the borrower to find the right one with a common name.

Borrower search by NEC card on the Home page. When using the Soprano Wrapper for windows, the Find Borrowers box on the Home page now reisters the borrower number when you scan a borrower’s NEC smartcard, bringing behaviour in line with the search box on the Borrowers page.

Reservation display where copies on order. The label copy ordered rather than copy available at branch is now displayed under Work > Reservations for an active reservation where the only items whose home site is the reservation collection site are on order.

Pick reserved items list build performance. We have made some performance improvements which should mean that lists are generated more quickly.

Return Item not on loan: alerts & actions. In Return Items when the item is not on loan you now get appropriate notices, and options in the Actions column, such as the Process Reservation button when the item is reserved.

Borrower address update. We’ve fixed a problem where, for some borrowers’ addresses, an attempt to update was getting an error message.

Closing pop ups in IE11. We’ve fixed a problem where, in Internet Explorer 11, sometimes the X to close a pop up box did not work, such as to Pay a borrower’s charges.

 

Purchasing

Multiple funds on an order

The Create Order form now allows you to specify a fund for each copy ordered.

 

General

General fixes

Inter-Library Loans filters re-organised. We’ve re-organised the filter and search options at the top of the Inter Library Loans list page to improve their usability. When you select a status filter or press one of the Show Only buttons it is applied immediately.

 

Release Procedure

 To preview this release

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