Evergreen 3.11 Upgrade: November 2, 2023

New features in Evergreen 3.11

Patron notes / alerts / messages redesign

Consolidated notes interface

Major change for this upgrade. Patron notes, alerts, and messages are all in one single "Notes" interface.

Much more information about the new consolidated Patron Notes / Alerts / Blocks page is available here.

There is no longer an alert field on the patron edit screen. All notes and alerts will be included in this interface.

To create a new note, alert, or block, click on the Create Note button at the top-left of the Notes table. You will be presented with a popup:

Create a note / alert / block

IMPORTANT:

• There is a conversion involved in upgrading existing notes, alerts, and messages, so some items (like alerts) will be stamped with a message that the real date is unknown.
• Alerts may not display in sidebar on the first load.
• Be on the lookout for more information about policies / recommendations from EAC and OWWLDAC, especially regarding the use of blocks.

Holdings editor redesign

New holdings editor

Major change for this upgrade.

• Big changes to look and feel
• Choose between tabbed interface (call number & item details separate) vs. unified interface
• Holdings templates can be managed all within the holdings editor
• Templates can't apply or use "magical" statuses
• Can batch edit items only with particular values
• All fields visible by default, but can be hidden in preferences

IMPORTANT: Preferences will be wiped clean. You will have to set your preferences again after the upgrade.

Holdings editor preferences

Be aware of:

• Timeouts (don't walk away in the middle of adding an item!)
• Small bug with adding items from Item Status rather than from catalog record -- editor doesn't open
• Some mismatched terminology accidentally slipped in ("Copy Status" / "Quality" vs. "In Mint Condition")
• No "clear" button for holdings templates. If you apply one template, then apply a different template, the second template will not clear out values from the first template if there is no value set for an attribute in the second template. The second template will still overwrite the first template, though, if there's a value set for a particular attribute in the second template.
• No "working barcodes" section (this was likely rarely, if ever, used)
• When batch editing items, batch edits to stat cats can't be limited to a certain group within the batch.

Staff catalog improvements

Record summary

Record summary

You asked, developers delivered! There is now a summary tab ("Staff View") for title records.

Find information including the summary, linked subjects, hold and copy counts, and more!

Circulation information

Circ stats in Item Table

Circ counts and the last circ dates for items are included as available fields in a number of new places:

• Item Table on a record page
• Holdings View on a record page
• Item Status / Item Details

Goodbye, Traditional Catalog!

The Traditional Catalog will be leaving us. Thank you for everything you've done for us, Traditional Catalog!

Please note that links to the Traditional Catalog may still show up in limited circumstances. These links, as well as any bookmarks for the Traditional Catalog, will work until the full switchover to Aspen is completed in January 2024.

Record notes

Record notes

No plans, but just pointing this out since you'll see a new tab on record pages.

Search Preferences

Renamed from "Catalog Preferences." Also has a handy Return button.

Show More Details includes due date

Due date column when Show More Details selected

Items' due dates are now included when you "Show More Details" on search results pages.

Override all hold failures

'Override All' option when multiple holds fail

If you are placing multiple holds for a patron at once and multiple holds fail due to overridable errors, an option to "Override All" will appear.

Patron Home Library field available for holds

This field is now available in the View Holds tab on record pages.

Browse improvements

Move between browse headings

• You can browse between headings without having to return to the results.
• The publication year has been added for results in the Shelf Browse.

Other miscellaneous improvements

Password reset button

Password reset button

You can now instantly send a patron a link to update their password with the simple press of a button. They'll need to have an email address on their account.

Inventory: Only owning library can use now

Only owned copies can be inventoried. Previously, any item would get an inventory date / workstation recorded if checked in with this checkin modifier active, even if it wasn't owned by the library.

Item Details: Circ History List includes more checkout information

Checkout details

Including Check Out Library, Workstation, and Staff

User Buckets includes Balance Owed field

This field is now included as an available field in User Buckets.

Hold cancellation reasons limited

Old vs. new hold cancellation reasons

Staff are only able to select hold cancellation causes that are actually selectable.

New workstation setting: View full library names instead of codes

Full library names (in some interfaces)

Available in Administration > Workstation.

Note: Not universal yet. Only available in newer interfaces.

Cash reports update

New cash report interface

This interface has been refreshed

Patron preferred language

There is now a new field available on patron edit pages to indicate a patron's preferred language. This may be useful for staff to use for customer services purposes. Additional use of this field may be available in the future.

Reveal password

There's a little "eye" icon that you can use to reveal your password as you're logging in. Please be very careful; you don't want to show off your password to anybody nearby!

Preparing for the upgrade

Before Wednesday, November 1

We recommend doing the following ahead of time before the upgrade to 3.11. On or before November 1, you should:

• Take note of the workstation name.

• Export a copy of your receipt templates if you ever print anything from Evergreen (receipts, hold shelf lists, etc.). Please note that exporting your print templates will create one single file that includes all of your templates; you don't have to export each template individually.

• Export a copy of your holdings templates if you perform holdings maintenance and have holdings templates. Just as with the print templates, please note that exporting your holdings templates will create one single file that includes all of your templates. Please note that all staff who use holdings templates should export their own individual sets of holdings templates.

• There's no need to open either of your exported files. For both types of template exports, please note that the file will download in JSON format. The data inside this file is structured and encoded and may be difficult to read (but not for Evergreen).