News

The July 2021 (April-June) Quarterly Billing is complete and the invoices and checks will be mailed shortly. Documentation is available to help guide member library staff through the Billing Summary sheet as well as the detail statement reports folder accessible in BlueCloud Analytics Shared Reports. Library Directors have been provided with BCA login credentials. If you are a Director and do not...

Please be aware, RAILS is currently experiencing a server outage at their Burr Ridge datacenter. This outage affects the following services: Logins to all RAILS websites and RAILS-specific services Logins and access to L2 (Library Learning) events and directory website Logins to the SWAN support site (this site) as these authenticate via L2 You can still access any content that does not require a...

We have further evaluated this consortium-wide console game limit and have decided to move forward with the Circulation Advisory Group recommendation to lower the limit to 5 checkouts. Starting tomorrow, patrons will be limited to 5 checkouts of each console game item type -5 CONSOLEGAM, 5 CONSOLENEW, etc. It is important to use the correct item type for these limits to apply. SWAN will be...

As data has shown, patron behavior is consistent regardless of the method used for overdue blocking. Patrons return material on time at a high percentage. Approximately 1% (.86% at 22 days; 1.33% at 15 days) of 522,000+ items checked out were overdue, as reported on June 28, 2021 at our last Fireside Chat. We want to allow libraries to determine the best patron experience for their community. A...

---Update on 2021-09-07 at 11:00 a.m.---- This process has been delayed to better prepare our libraries and patrons for the change. Watch for upcoming news post announcements including recorded instructions for processing these accounts and an updated timeline. ----Original Posting on 2021-07-13 at 11:15 a.m.---- Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, SWAN had suspended a process to purge expired...

In an effort to ensure our catalog represents diverse groups of people respectfully, SWAN's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force has launched our first batch of updates to subject headings. For this phase of the project, we have updated subject headings using the terms "illegal aliens" and "aliens", mirroring recent changes in government terminology and many other library systems. We...

Are you interested in purchasing the Kanopy streaming service for your patrons? SWAN is working with Kanopy to offer a group discount for SWAN libraries. Please join Paula Roman, Senior Account Executive, for an overview of Kanopy's streaming video patron interface and a live Q&A session. This session will not be recorded. If you are interested please register and plan to attend the live webinar...

Please visit the Graphic Novels page for best practices on cataloging graphic novels. This is brand new documentation that arose from tickets and questions on how to handle these types of materials. It's worth mentioning that the confusion usually revolves around the 245 title tag. One of the recommendations is that SWAN records should contain series, volume, and numbering in the 245 field. We...

I hope everyone is enjoying Summer! Here are just a few updates on cataloging practices and what’s coming. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force A new working group was formed in late Spring with the objective of analyzing subject headings deemed obsolete and biased, and selecting a new controlled vocabulary to replace these terms. The group is in the process of working out the technical...

Today is the start of the second year of the EBSCO group subscription. If you made changes to your subscriptions, you’ll want to update the URLs on your website. The attached sheet contains the links for every library. Scroll across the bottom to find yours. If you have any questions about the subscription, the links, or anything else, please send a help ticket to the SWAN ticketing system.

This evening, SWAN is migrating the SWANcom mail service to a new server. This migration will only disrupt SWANcom service for a brief period as the server is migrated. No other SWAN services will be impacted. ACTION NEEDED: If you have not already, please whitelist the @list.swanlibraries.net domain and/or swancom@list.swanlibraries.net in your email client. This will ensure emails from the new...

Are you planning a diversity audit of your library’s collection? Do you think you might plan one in the future? Are you curious to know more about the topic? SWAN’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Metadata Task Force is hosting a panel discussion about performing diversity audits. We’d like to learn from you and help you learn from each other. Our panelists will be members of the Illinois...

Your Shelf Check for MISSTRNSIT and MISSHLDSHLF report for tomorrow (Wednesday, June 16th) will be blank since nothing was checked out to these users in May, 2020. We are taking advantage of this opportunity to instead have you check your shelves for MISSING and CLAIMSRETD items checked out before June 1, 2020, as relating to an ongoing record cleanup project. The attached report lists any MISSING...

--Concluded Successfully on 2021/07/28 at 7:10AM-- Essential overnight maintenance reports have concluded, so we’ve reenabled the VPN connections to your libraries. You’re free to login to the Symphony/WorkFlows server immediately (Offline mode is no longer necessary). A few important things to remember: You will be prompted to update your staff client upon logging in. Click “No” on the automatic...

The election concluded this week on Monday and the final vote tally has elected 2 new representatives to the SWAN Board, with terms starting July 1st. Charity Gallardo, Executive Director, La Grange Public Library Tim Jarzemsky, Library Director, Bloomingdale Public Library We would like to thank those library directors that were part of the 2021 election. It was exciting to see a large group run...

The agenda and documentation for the meeting on June 3 are available. No registration necessary. Thursday, June 3, 2021 9:30am to 12pm GoToMeeting Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://www.gotomeet.me/SWANLibs/cataloging-users You can also dial in using your phone. United States: +1 (571) 317-3112 Access Code: 652-340-613 New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and...

Monday, May 31st is Memorial Day and SWAN will be closed and there is no RAILS Delivery service. We will have staff on-call should any emergency arise. When to Call 844-792-6542 (844-SWAN-LIB): A service is down Circulation is impacted Unable to perform key job functions Otherwise please use the SWAN Help Desk or email the SWAN ticketing system if you require assistance.

The Cataloging Users meeting will take place via GoToMeeting on Thursday, June 3rd, from 9:30 to 12:00. It will depend on the agenda if the meeting will last 2.5 hrs ; however, I will be available for the full duration if need be. Please submit topic ideas for the agenda or questions to claudia@swanlibraries.net. We will send out the agenda a week before the meeting. Please note you will also have...

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) presents a unique one-time opportunity for Illinois libraries to apply for funds for programs or services created to help communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have invited Diane Foote, ILA Executive Director, to our June 3rd SWAN Quarterly meeting to provide an overview of the various forms ARPA funds will be allocated in Illinois. Following the...

The proposed schedule and selection criteria for removal of patron records and purging of long outstanding bills have been met with concern throughout the membership. Open office hours were provided for discussion. The SWAN Community Forums provide links to the recorded sessions and a discussion thread. Members are encouraged to share their ideas, concerns, and recommendations for moving forward...