Mary's week so far

The focus of the sessions I've attended this week has been Horizon 8.x and the future functionality we can look forward to, especially with regard to the needs of consortia.

The serials,acquisitions and cataloging modules feature protection domains that will allow our libraries (or "agencies") to maintain their own data (copy records and pub patterns in serials; budgets and vendors in acquisitions; bib records and tags in shared bib records in cataloging).

In addition, each module has added features that make some workflows easier. In Serials, setting up publication prediction patterns will include the ability to use a graphical calendar to create and test patterns. Acquisitions will allow users to send EDIFACT order files to their vendors directly from Horizon instead of having to download the order file and using third-party FTP software to make the transfer. Cataloging adds a batch MARC record editor which Robin & I will find handy for clean-up projects.

Horizon will finally include tag ownership so that when a library adds a local note or subject heading, it will appear in staff and public PAC displays only for that library; any other library viewing the record in PAC will not see that note or heading. All local notes and headings will appear to all libraries in the MARC editor. Administration of bib record displays for both the staff pacs and HIP will be located within Horizon.

I also attended a session describing the process for migrating our data from Horizon 7.3 to Horizon 8.X. SirsiDynix staff have a series of programs that will report bad data such as invalid codes (collection, itype, btype, etc.), codes no longer in use,"blind" bibs (having no items but still attached to POs, etc. We will use the reports to clean up before proceeding with the migration.

At this point, SD has conversion scripts that can carry over the following data from Horizon 7 to Horizon 8.X: Item data, item/copy record links, patron data, circ and circ history, burb and burb history, requests, and current item status, all serials data.

However, at this point, the only data that can be migrated from Acquisitions is the vendor data. There is a problem migrating the budget data which is currently a flat file, whereas Horizon 8.X will be hierarchical. Without the budget data, they can't migrate the PO data. However, at a session Robin attended, the Acq users told SD they had no problem with the budgets being transferred as flat files to Horizon 8, and that they themselves will create their new budgets in the future fiscal year in the hierarchical format. I hope the SD staff can follow through with this.

The timeline for migration was described as follows:

1. SD runs data reports for bad codes.
2. Libraries do clean-up based on reports
3. SD performs a full test extract/load from Horizon 7 to Horizon 8
4. Library reviews test load results
5. Test load sign-off
6. Production data extract/load (gap loads as needed)
-- Auths, bibs, items
-- Patrons/Vendors/Serials
-- Circulation

I'm looking forward to the increased functionality of Horizon 8.X, but am in no hurry to rush into the migration until SD has completed all its data conversion scripts, especially the missing pieces in Acquisitions. Our libraries would be very unhappy to have to re-create their budgets again, especially since we couldn't migrate their CARL acq data, and they will want their associated POs and invoices to be carried over.