[LM_NET] HIT: Athena Problems (the end is near) Pt. 1

[Shonda Brisco <sbrisco@GMAIL.COM>]

First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who responded, offered ideas,
suggestions, and well-wishes with the problems that we've had with
Athena.  Our issue was that several items in our circulation system
would not show up as "In the Collection" when we scanned OR typed in
the barcode.  However, when we search for the title in the catalog,
the book was there.  We checked the scanners (they worked); we checked
the connections (all was well); we contacted Athena (were given 5
different solutions with three different downloads / patches to fix
things such as Windows XP compatibility issues, database utilities,
circulation corrections); contacted two different listservs (many
individuals are having the same problems); performed "collection
checks" (all was fine); performed "circulation checks"  (all was
fine); reviewed the contents of the collection (all materials showed
to be there); did a "restore" the collection (nothing changed--the
materials would still not scan); brought the collection back to the
original date (nothing changed---the materials would still not scan).
Athena "Hospice Care" Support offered one last chance--- to rebuild
the collection.  I was sent the paperwork to follow---did this on a
Saturday to prepare for circulation on Monday (after we closed because
of the overwhelming number of problems at the circ desk)---and the
results?....nothing changed.  When the Athena "Hospice Care" Support
told me that they had run out of options, I knew that finding a
solution now would be up to me...and it wasn't going to be fun....(and
I call Athena "Hospice Care" Support because the reality is this----
I'm paying them good money to hold my hand and make me comfortable by
telling me things that I know probably won't help the situation, all
the while I know my system is dying!)

So here's what I've discovered:  Many students and teachers (113 to be
exact) checked out materials (123 items to be exact) on December 16-17
between 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.  (I narrowed the dates and times down
to the specific points where the problems began) that now cannot be
checked-in or removed from their records through circulation. In
addition, some items within the collection are not recognized by the
circulation system but are listed within the catalog by typing the
title.   I can manually change the status of the item in the
circulation program to show that the book has been withdrawn (to give
me a reminder that this was a problem book) but it does not remove the
item from the person's record---and I am waiting for January 22 and 23
when the "overdue" clock will strike and these items begin to create
fines on the records (if they do, I will eliminate the fines
completely).

There isn't an issue with the leading zeros on the barcodes (many
books with those leading zeros do check in and out); however, there
are segments of the catalog that are missing when the circulation
system is being used to scan the barcodes (with approximately 100
pages of the shelf list printed along with barcodes, I have managed to
figure out that there seems to be sections of the collection that have
been eliminated from the circulation that were entered into the
catalog between 1998-2000).  I have also discovered that many of these
books are series titles (like the Magic Treehouse Series or the Hardy
Boys Series----all of which were entered into the system about the
same time).  This, in some ways, makes it easier to correct.

Luckily, I had downloaded the entire library collection into a
separate file earlier in the year and have it on my laptop.  From this
file, I have been able to isolate specific authors, titles, series,
and dates.  I have been able to delete the "bad records" that still
show-up in the Athena catalog when you search by typing (but which
can't be scanned into the circulation program) and then upload the
same records back into the collection from my laptop's files.  The
results?  SUCCESS!!!  The books are recognized by the program again in
both modules and everything is right with the world.

The good news...I think I have found the problem areas and have a
solution.  The bad news....this will require deleting individual
records, checking for any possible errors in the MARC record as I go
along (to make sure there aren't other issues), then uploading the
records and then scanning the book. How many books does this involve?
Approximately 2,000 titles--- (and yes, some people think that this
"fix" can be done immediately---as if by "wiggling my nose" and
"ta-da" it will be all better!  They do not understand that I am
looking at each MARC record to make certain that there are no
additional errors and that each record has to be individually deleted
before the "batch" can be reinstalled.)

What caused the problem?  I believe that there are sections within the
system that have been corrupted due to recent electrical failures
(which did occur during that time period).  The combination of an
outdated system with no upgrades, running on an updated computer with
new software, and then a mixture of electrical shocks may have caused
the problem.  (Athena "Hospice Care" Support also suggested that the
software might be corrupted when I entered the final stages and we
were discussing any final options....and they had nothing left on
their "scripts" to suggest to me, so I feel certain that I did
everything that I could to correct the problem before entering this
stage.)

I will send an additional HIT with your suggestions, so that if anyone
else finds themselves in an "Athena situation" they will have some
ideas of possible avenues to travel before moving into the "Hospice
Care" stage.  (Yes....we are migrating to a new system over the
summer....and it can't come soon enough!!)

Thanks again for ALL your help!  Your support and suggestions make me
want to create a special bank account to deposit my final Athena
"Hospice Care" Support fees for the remaining campuses that aren't yet
due....(and probably won't be paid!).

~Shonda

-- 
Shonda Brisco, MLIS
District Librarian
Peaster ISD
Weatherford, TX 76086

Currently reading:  "Easy" by Kerry Cohen Hoffmann"

Digital Bookends wiki / blog:
http://digitalbookends.pbwiki.com
http://shonda.edublogs.org/
sbrisco@gmail.com

Resources for Texas School Librarians:
http://txschoollibrarians.ning.com/
http://txschoollibrarians.wikispaces.com/

"Digital Resources" columnist
School Library Journal

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