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    June 13th, 2020LISWire aggregatorUncategorized

    Aspen Discovery announced this week that the 20.08 release is available. This major release includes 63 improvements and 4 performance & reliability fixes.

    Mark Noble, Aspen Discovery Developer, recently commented on the release:

    Aspen Discovery 20.08 advances the integration of Aspen Discovery with Koha by making it easier to configure both systems simultaneously and ensuring that patrons can always use Aspen Discovery. Although Aspen Discovery and Koha work together more closely, integration with other ILS systems is not compromised at all, and library systems can use Aspen Discovery no matter what ILS they use.

    Account Integration Updates
    When the PIN for a logged-in user changes PIN within the ILS, redirect them to the login page rather than presenting an error.
    Change default text of frozen holds to frozen rather than suspended for consistency
    Translate the status of a hold for ILS and OverDrive
    Abstract patron reset functionality such that the ILS controls what fields are displayed and how the results are processed
    Administration Updates
    Prompt administrators when leaving a page if they have unsaved information
    Allow IP Addresses to be specified as xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx-xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
    Allow Libraries to configure a Pinterest page within contact links
    Correct patron account blocking functionality
    Properly validate adding by barcode and display a meaningful error to the user if the patron cannot be found
    Remove supplemental instructions that were improperly formatted
    Fixes for adding new Sideload Settings to reduce the number of required fields
    Add a new option when creating new settings to create the object and continue editing it
    Hide History button when creating new settings
    Allow onchange event for select lists
    Add the ability to link to another object within properties form
    Give sticky table headings a solid background for better readability
    Updates to the default display of panels to ensure text is always readable
    Add a new superCataloger role to allow access to additional areas that require more trust like Indexing Profiles
    Updates when creating new objects to better handle checkboxes and numeric values
    Aspen API Updates
    Add a method to retrieve patron barcode by a given patron id
    Add total amount outstanding to return call from getPatronFines
    When an ILS provides both the original and outstanding amounts for each fine, return:
    amount = current amount owed
    amountOutstanding = current amount owed
    amountOriginal = original amount of the fine
    Update methods to retrieve patron checkouts, holds, and fines to allow calling with id or patronId
    Add a method to retrieve patron id by barcode
    Remove expireTime from the documentation for getPatronHolds since it was not being returned
    Browse Functionality Updates
    Allow browsing of events, archives, indexed web content, and genealogy
    Do not show the option to add to browse when there are no results for a search
    Additional error checking messaging when loading recommendations if the user's session expired
    Collection Spotlight Updates
    Allow creating spotlights for different types of searches (Events, Open Archives, etc)
    Hide options for spotlight list that aren't relevant to the selected source
    Update administration interface to make it easier to administer lists in a spotlight
    Update old collection spotlights to use new method of defining them
    Do not show create spotlight option from events search page
    Do not show the option to create a new spotlight when there are no results for a search
    Indexing Updates
    If an item does not have a call number in the item or bib, but does have volume information, show the volume information as the call number
    Remove the old method of grouping works by specifying grouped work ids in favor of new method which specifies alternate title/author information
    IP Address Blocking
    Extends the existing IP Address functionality to allow blocking of all access to Aspen based on IP Address.
    Aspen blocks access to APIs by default now to prevent unauthorized usage and access can be granted based on IP Address.
    When Aspen blocks a page or API request, Aspen logs the block.
    Information about the total number of blocks that have been done is found on the Aspen Usage Dashboard.
    Koha Integration Updates
    Added new functionality to allow the pickup branch for holds to be changed by the user.
    Update return message when we cannot connect to Koha OAuth service during Pin Reset
    Self Registration Updates
    Allow a list of valid states to be specified as part of the registration process.
    Optionally submit the form with values in all upper case
    Allow a message to be displayed regarding password requirements on the self-registration form
    Properly detect when Koha has locked an account due to the maximum number of login attempts being reached and issue an appropriate message to the patron
    Update filtering of pickup branches when setting contact information to use the full list of valid pickup branches
    Password Recovery can now be set up so that the patron completes the password recovery process within Aspen Discovery rather than Koha
    Update to support new fines structure from Koha 19.11
    When displaying contact information form, do not use the list of libraries allowed for self-registration
    Do not suppress items with no collection code for Koha
    Fixes for updating messaging settings in newer versions of Koha
    Add author name to each hold within Koha
    Cleanup of calls when marking fines paid within Koha to pass numeric values as numbers and properly case payment type
    PayPal Updates
    Update PayPal to trim the description further when creating new orders
    RBdigital Updates
    Additional error trapping when loading RBdigital ID from the API
    Do not show sample call numbers for eMagazines within search results
    Record Display Updates
    When displaying subjects for a MARC record, don't show subfield 9
    Website Indexing Updates
    Add required fields for website indexing settings
    Other changes
    Remove culturally insensitive terms from codebase that are not part of third party libraries
    Fix Select Interface to use defined base url for a library
    When checking system health, look at the last 3 log entries for indexing to prevent rapid changes in the health report during eContent outages
    When checking system health take into account the number of processors while looking at load average
    Allow display of both offline message as well as system message
    Updates to determination of audience and form (Fiction/Nonfiction) for Arlington custom processing
    Updates when creating records to include and records owned to allow blank sub locations
    Additional error handling when submitting tickets via Aspen
    Add AhrefsBot to list of bots that are blocked by default
    Ensure that ping of Solr server happens more quickly by reducing timeouts
    Cleanup of facet code
    Cleanup of unused Pika code and references
    About Aspen Discovery
    Aspen is a full-featured Discovery System that integrates with e-content and other 3rd party providers, giving your patrons comprehensive access to all of your materials in one place. Aspen combines your library catalog with e-content, digital archives, and enrichment from all major third-party providers improves relevancy and ease of use, provides native reading recommendations, displays all formats of titles within one result (FRBR) and much more. Aspen was created to give users an improved experience over other Discovery systems with less of an impact on library budgets. For more information about Aspen please visit: https://bywatersolutions.com/projects/aspen-discovery

    About ByWater Solutions
    ByWater Solutions is a full service, high-quality Open Source support and implementation company dedicated to providing libraries with a lower cost, more advanced level of support for their systems than a traditional proprietary solution can offer. ByWater Solutions has a proven track record in the first-rate implementation and support services with library systems of all sizes for the Koha ILS, Aspen Discovery, Folio LSP, Coral ERM, and Libki PC Management.

    Our highly ranked, comprehensive support is what sets our company apart from any other vendor in the industry. Partnering with ByWater Solutions not only lowers the cost of implementation and maintenance of OSS but more importantly empowers libraries by giving them the flexibility and freedom they deserve. For more information please visit https://bywatersolutions.com.

    For More Information
    Jessica Zairo
    Marketing & Outreach Coordinator
    ByWater Solutions
    bywatersolutions.com
    Phone:(888)900-8944

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