Student Photos & New Process for Tracking Insignia Issues

We are cleaning up some processes here at IT regarding student photos and software issues. Here's what I'm asking for in regards to these efforts.

Student Photos: When school photos come to the school's office, they need to be forwarded on to IT for uploading to Infinite Campus, Solano (lunch), and Insignia. This year there have been only a handful of schools who have done this, therefore the pictures in these systems are still last year's photos. I believe Lifetouch emails the photos to the school Admin Assistant. I'm not sure about other school photo vendors. Check with your Admin Assistant to see if they've received photos from your vendor and submitted them on to IT as a Service Request.

Insignia/OverDrive issues: I am going to track issues with Insignia and OverDrive in the IT Service system, like other software issues. If Insignia is giving you trouble*, or you have a question about OverDrive, continue to email me or the TL group. I will then add the email to an IT service ticket when appropriate. The heads up to you is that my responses to your emails may come from it.service rather than rae.ciciora. If you are uncertain who is sending an email from the it.service, scroll to the bottom of the email and there should be a signature block with the sender's name.

*Clear your browser cache regularly, especially if you are getting random or odd behavior from Insignia. Teach your students and staff how to do this. It's like raking leaves - it's just part of digital housekeeping.

Insignia update Wednesday night 10/10/2018

When you log in on Thursday, some new features and fixes will have occurred. Highlights you might be interested in have been emailed on Friday 10/5.

This update will include fixes for a few outstanding technical tickets and some enhancements. I have summarized all the pertinent changes in this document. A more extensive list can be found on Insignia's Release Notes page.

OPAC shortcut on Desktops and School Sites

IT has pushed a corrected url to the BVSD Library Catalog on PCs. Patrons will not be able to log in to this generic OPAC. Students and staff will need to use the SSO page (SSO) to log in to their account on the OPAC to reserve books or see fines/overdues. School Library websites will be updated with the log-in-able OPAC url. This way students who are already logged on to a device will be able to log in to the catalog when they click on the link from your school page.

Substitute Teacher Instruction

DO NOT SHARE YOUR LOGIN INFO WITH THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER

If you have a regular substitute, you can create an account for them in Insignia where they can login with their BVSD credentials, using SSO. If you call the general sub line or if the usual sub prefers, you should use a generic sub account.

Creating an account for a specific substitute

1. Navigate to Patron > Find/Add Patron
2. Click Add New (note that you should modify these instructions if you are editing an existing patron account).
3. Leave the Barcode field blank. It will automatically generate a number when you click Save.
4. Add a First and Last name.
5. Assign the patron to either the Helper, Librarian, or Library Assistant group. Each group has a different set of permissions. To choose the correct permissions, see the Patron Group Permissions doc. Grant the lowest level of permissions necessary for someone to do their job.
6. Assign the patron to the correct Circ Type. Every school sets up their own circ types, but in general there should be a Staff or Teacher circ type.
7. Assign a Patron ID using the format first.last.
8. Check the box marked Library Staff. Very important!
9. Click Save.
10. Go to the Additional Info tab and click Edit.
11. In the User Domain field, enter bvsd.
12. In the User Name field, enter the staff member's BVSD username (it's their email address without the "@bvsd.org")
13. Click Save.
14. 
    
15. The library staff member should be able to log in to both the Insignia Administrative Module and the OPAC using the Library tiles in the SSO.

Creating a generic substitute account

1. Navigate to Patron > Find/Add Patron
2. Click New Patron
3. Leave the Barcode field blank
4. Add a First and Last name
   • Hint: For generic logins, such as Subs and Self Checkout, include your 4-digit school code as the last name. Ex: Sub ####, Self ####
5. Assign the patron to a group. Each group has a different set of permissions. To choose the correct permissions, see the Patron Group Permissions doc. Grant the lowest level of permissions necessary for someone to do their job. Perhaps just “Circ” if this is not a regular sub for you.
6. Check the box marked Library Staff. Very important step.
7. Assign a Patron ID. This acts as the login name. Try to use the same conventions you used for the first and last name. Sub.####
8. Click Save.
9. Click Set Password.
10. Assign a password and click Change. Write password in sub notes. Do not click Reset & Send.
11. Open a new browser window and try logging in as your new generic patron using the generic url: bvsd.insigniails.com/ilsi

*Alternatively, substitute teachers can open the BVSD Library Self Checkout app on a Chromebook or Chromebox and login with the generic sub account. Be aware that this locks the Chrome device into only Insignia work.

Database Migration to Insignia Hosted version

We have moved the district library database from our hosted servers to Insignia's hosted servers. Library services software is now aligned with the district goal of having software hosted in the cloud, thereby reducing the complexity of support needed and increasing the reliability of the software.

There is no change in how Insignia works, this is simply a back-end move for data storage.

As part of this change, IT has put Insignia on the district's Single Sign On (SSO) portal. There is a tile for the ILS and a tile for the OPAC. (Personally, I go to my.bvsd.org every morning - it makes accessing all software easier.) For more information on the SSO, including how to get started, read Andrew Moore's blog from February.

Students and staff will now be automatically logged in to the OPAC when they access them through their own Chrome. This means you can now teach some of those personalized options available on the OPAC! (My Favorites, My Borrowing, Historical Data, Notifications)

Tasks you’ll need to do before school starts:

• Update OPAC url’s on your websites, see below.
• Update any QR codes you or your students are using to get to the OPAC.
• Update any Chrome bookmarks you use for administrative work on Insignia.
• The new urls will be forwarded through my.bvsd.org.
  • Admin https://bvsd.insigniails.com/ils and
  • OPAC https://bvsd.insigniails.com
  • For volunteers or helpers who are not BVSD employees, use http://bvsd.insigniails.com/ilsi

If you encounter any issues with Insignia, please put in an IT Ticket and I will work on it.

Year-End Procedures

These are some tips and procedures for closing your library at the end of the year.

1. Decide on a last day for checkout and set it as your term due date in Insignia.
   1. Administration > Library Setting > Configuration
2. Send out overdue notices, either through email or by printing and giving to students.
   1. Instructions for Email Notifications
   2. To print overdue messages, run the Circulation Report called Overdue Message.
      1. Tip: Customize your messages under Administration > Library Setting > System
3. Turn off email notifications so they don't continue throughout the summer.
   1. Administration > Library Settings > Configuration > Automation Tab.
   2. Check the box next to "No Notification for My School".
4. Resolve any fines on student accounts.
   1. Collecting Fines
   2. Waiving Fines
   3. Resolving Fines for Inactive Students
   4. District recommendation for handling fines (grades 5-6, 7-8, and concurrently enrolled seniors)
5. Run Year-End Reports if desired.
   1. Clear any reserves.

Insignia Update - April 6

Library Services and Insignia have scheduled a database update over the weekend of April 6. Library Services has curated the release notes. There are no big enhancements so there should be no impact on libraries.

OverDrive Professional Learning Titles

Visible in OPAC

We have a relevant, timely, growing collection of professional learning titles (120+) purchased by the district that is available to all staff at all schools on the OverDrive Teachers Lounge. In order to ensure that staff has easy access to these titles, they will show up in the OPAC.

Staff should know that all staff has access to all titles in OverDrive (even student titles). However, student titles will only show up in the OPAC of participating OverDrive Consortium schools. If teachers would like to teach using a title from the OverDrive student collection, they can find the title at bvsd.overdrive.com. Staff can check titles out using their bvsd username and password.

Insignia was updated at the New Year

Insignia updated from version 8.1.2 to 8.2.6 on the evening of January 3, 2018. This version will fixes bugs and adds enhancements which will resolve open issues with them.

If you have any concerns, feel free to email Rae.

If you are interested in reading through Insignia's release notes, they are available online. There is also curated a list of the enhancements and fixes that might be of interest to teacher librarians at BVSD. Feel free to comment on the list.

Chromebook as Self Checkout Kiosk

1. Make sure the Chromebook is fully charged.
2. Connect USB barcode reader.
3. Power on the Chromebook.
4. On the bottom left corner, click on Apps, then click on [BVSD Library Self Checkout]
5. The Insignia login will open on the screen.
6. Ensure you login with the Self Checkout profile or Check In/Out profile. Do NOT log in as yourself.

Disabling the OPAC app

1. Ctrl+Q will restart the Chromebook

2. Or push the power button, turning off the Chromebook

IT Knowledge Base document

Adding a Self Checkout login

Chromebook as Library Lookup Kiosk (OPAC)

1. Make sure the Chromebook is fully charged.
2. Power on the Chromebook.
3. On the bottom left corner, click on Apps, then click on [BVSD Library Lookup]
4. The OPAC will open on the screen.
5. Ensure your school is displayed in the School Drop Down Menu on the left of the OPAC search bar

Disabling the OPAC app

1. Ctrl+Q will restart the Chromebook

2. Or push the power button, turning off the Chromebook

IT Knowledge Base document

Insignia User Guide

Insignia has published their latest user guide online. You can access it here.

v8.0.4 | HTML 5 Live after Spring Break!

Ready to have Insignia at your fingertips wherever you are working on whatever device you are using? It's coming! When you come back from spring break, you will be using the Insignia administration module (cataloging, check in and check out, etc.) on your Chromebook!

Familiarize yourself now with the new Insignia on this test site. Use your bvsd username and password. Play in this sandbox, using a Chromebook, to see how the program is still familiar in function, just a little slicker in looks. You will want to be comfortable with the looks before we go live on March 27.

• Insignia has changed the buttons from words to icons.
• Some of the windows can be customized to add or hide features.
• The reports function is searchable from one window.
• Configuration settings are searchable.

If you run into any frustrations, log them on this spreadsheet which is shared with Insignia programmers, they have been very responsive.

If you have any questions about the upgrade, feel free to contact Rae or Zoe.

Best Practices Alert - Insignia Account Types for library helpers. Effective 1.26.17