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home>>support>>librarian's corner>>Tip of the Week
Tip of the Week
Tip for: 12.15.2003
Cruising with Alexandria 5.44
Summary: Updating to Alexandria 5.4.4 is a snap and provides new enhancements that save valuable time and increase functionality.
What are some of the new features?
Circulation Window: A drop-down menu has been added to make quick changes from one command mode to another possible. Several tabs have been added to allow fast access to a current patron or item's holds, reservations, charges, as well as accessing Command Help. Additional icons allow access to the different tabs and the renewal window.
Report Formats: The Copy List format of Weeding List is perhaps the most helpful. This report features Call Number, Title, Barcode Number, Publication Year, Number of Checkouts, and Last Checkout Date to making collection weeding easier. A new option under Super Summary has been added and been moved to Item Reports. The Ignore Super Summary Classifications format now displays all items sorted by their actual call numbers (rather than having Alexandria classify them based on pre-assigned categories).
Check Out Utility: This utility allows librarians to move a group of items from one system patron to another, or to check out a selected group of items to the desired system patron (i.e. checking out items not inventoried to the Lost Patron). One other change to Utilities is that Exports have been separated out to the File menu.
Administration Preferences: Revision C of v5.44 features the ability to customize what the different security levels have access to. You can also add your own levels, such as "Substitute" or "Volunteer".
Authority Control: Revision C of 5.44 also offers enhanced Authority Control features. These enhancements make it easier to make data more consistent, and allow for quick removal of inconsistent entries, making modification of the Authority Control indexes much simpler.
Is the learning curve a pain?
There are a few basic format changes and features to learn and get used to, but the old commands and procedures can still be used to circulate, catalogue, etc. And the new tabs and icons are pretty self-explanatory. You should find the changes to be a significant improvement in ease of use.
What about the system requirements?
When looking at the current system requirements listed for updating to 5.44, it is important to realize that these are the ideal situation. In many cases, if you are running v5.4.3 on your current system, you will be able to run v5.4.4. If you have any questions about your current setup, contact Technical Support. They can give you the friendly advice you need.
What should I do prior to upgrading?
Be sure to make a backup of your v5.4.3 data file. If there are any problems whatsoever, or if you are not completely happy with 5.4.4, you can use the backup to return to v5.4.3. However, we have every confidence that once you get a taste of v5.4.4, you will be pleased.
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