2025-01-28 FOLIO Implementers Meeting Notes

Date

Jan 28, 2025

Agenda

Housekeeping (5-min.)

Homework and Pre-Reads

Useful Resources

Last year’s discussion of Remote Storage: https://folio-org.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/IMPLEMENTERS/pages/3051453
Main slack channel: https://folio-project.slack.com/archives/C04PESK81C4

Recording

NOTE: IMPLEMENTERS SIG USES ZOOM’S AI NOTES FUNCTIONALITY. If you would prefer that we turn this off for any session you attend, we are happy to! Please alert the convener at the start of the meeting.

https://recordings.openlibraryfoundation.org/folio/implementation-group/2025-01-28T10:55/

Attendees

@Darsi Rueda @Tara Barnett @Thomas Trutt @Tod Olson @Dale Arntson @Kimberly Smith @Wilhelmina Randtke @Joseph A Molloy @Maura Byrne @Vanessa French @Katie Motush @Stephanie Buck @Kristin Martin @Sarah Kasten @Hinman, Wes @Pennington Jr, Buddy @Cody Neal @Kimie Kester Sam Koutsofthas Cathy Martyniak Kelsey Winter Matt Martin

Notes

Time	Topic	Notes

Time

Topic

Notes

Housekeeping

Add yourself to attendees list

Add Cathy (LC) to invite

Remote storage: Integrations with 3 products

Short presentations/demos of the following 3 software products and how they integrate with FOLIO

Caiasoft (Stanford, and UChicago)
- U Chicago: Caiasoft uses APIs as well. They assign locations themselves, then Caiasoft checks location on accession, rejects locations not on the list.
Dematic (UChicago)
- Uses FOLIO remote storage module. Use Dematic EMS platform (they are sunsetting Staging Director). When moved to FOLIO, wrote translation between FOLIO and EMS (EMS code didn’t change from when they were on Ole). When item accessioned, call out to FOLIO to import metadata about the item. When item updated in FOLIO, pushes to EMS. When request placed in FOLIO on a remote storage location, EMS triggers retrieval. Some Spec Coll materials, requested through Aeon, but not integrated. Retrievals entered manually into EMS. Dematic wrote a Pick Delete function for them to delete items from the EMS inventory (was about $6K). They use Dematic EMS api config (other option is Staging Director).
- Wihelmina: Is Dale’s translation code available? Dale will send her some details.
- Wilhelmina: Do you have IP addresses for your cranes? Dale: used to communicate over serial lines, might have changed with last upgrade.
- Pick Delete is a staff workflow. In EMS, pull up screen, enter barcodes. Queues up work type pick deletes, brings containers up. Pick item, confirm you have it. Then EMS deletes that item, marks container empty as appropriate. Staff can then update (or bulk edit) the items in FOLIO. No automatic FOLIO update from EMS.
FETCH (LC)
- Caiasoft wouldn’t quite work with their security needs. Working on open source solution. IMS user group (anyone can join!). 85% of agile stories done. Authentication, accession, verifies, move and request, reporting. No EDD (send back to campus for scanning). Next version coming in March.
- They can do a demo in another session.
- Offline mode possible

Current issues

For Dematic libraries, you assign remote storage location and then it gets put into a queue for accession. It goes into that queue only once. Items without a barcode are a problem. U Chicago has code to block accession if no barcode. As new items are created they don’t have a barcode yet. Have to unassign location, update barcode, save, reassign location, save, in order to get it accessioned. U Chicago uses DI to load the records, but can’t update instance AND items at same time. Have to update instance, item, location in that order.
Criteria used to send data to EMS needs to be tweaked? Can we decide as a group what changes we want here. Need another session to discuss. We have at least 5 Dematic libraries that want to be involved in this.

PC Update by @Charlotte Whitt

2025-01-23 Product Council Agenda and Meeting Notes

Eureka Early Adopters: The early adopters are just getting started. It’s progressing and getting better week by week. Testing is the priority to ensure all bugs and issues are resolved.

Evaluation of new mod-ill: Slides. The proposal is a FOLIO app which will allow users to create, manage and complete peer to peer loans in accordance with ISO 18626.

📄 Meeting Minutes

🗣️ Discussion Points:

Housekeeping (11:01 - 11:03)
- Darsi introduced the meeting and shared housekeeping notes.
- Participants were asked to add themselves to the attendees list.
Main Topic: Remote Storage (11:03 - 11:26)
Stanford's Experience with CiaSoft (11:03 - 11:14)
- Integration with Folio:
  - CiaSoft is integrated with Folio to manage remote storage.
  - The integration involves multiple customizations and administrative screens.
  - CiaSoft uses a web app hosted by CiaSoft, where data is sent and loaded.
  - Mapping of locations in Folio to CiaSoft is done manually, with plans to automate this process.
- Specific Workflows:
  - Accessioning:
  - Items are accessioned into CiaSoft, which checks for holds and updates item locations.
  - CiaSoft performs a check-in to ensure items are not charged out and updates the holdings location if necessary.
  - It also adds transfer notes to item and holdings records.
  - Retrievals:
  - CiaSoft looks for new requests in Folio every five minutes.
  - If an item is requested, CiaSoft initiates the retrieval process.
  - If the item is already out, the request is rejected in CiaSoft but remains open in Folio.
  - Scan and Deliver:
  - Requests are placed by staff or patrons and processed through ILLiad.
  - CiaSoft communicates with ILLiad to manage the retrieval and scanning process.
  - Items are scanned and delivered to patrons, and the transaction is updated in ILLiad.
University of Chicago's Experience (11:14 - 11:26)
- Integration with CiaSoft and Domatic:
  - UChicago uses both CiaSoft and Domatic for remote storage management.
  - CiaSoft integration is similar to Stanford's, with logic checks and API usage for item retrieval and accession.
  - Domatic integration involves using the EMS platform for managing storage.
- Specific Workflows:
  - CiaSoft:
  - Similar workflows to Stanford, with accessioning, retrievals, and scan and deliver processes.
  - CiaSoft handles refiles, retrievals, and checks for holds.
  - It updates item and holdings locations and manages temporary locations.
  - Domatic:
  - Items are assigned locations in Folio and sent to Domatic via APIs.
  - Domatic performs logic checks to ensure items are correctly stored and retrieved.
  - The integration uses a push data model, where item records are sent to Domatic when updated in Folio.
  - Domatic handles check-ins and updates item statuses in Folio.
Challenges and Issues:
- Barcode-less Items:
  - Items without barcodes create challenges in the integration process.
  - Folio's remote storage module only sends records once, causing issues with barcode updates.
  - Workarounds involve manually updating item locations and running multiple data loads.
- Data Synchronization:
  - Ensuring data consistency between Folio and remote storage systems is crucial.
  - Custom code and logic checks are used to manage data synchronization and prevent errors.
Fetch System by Library of Congress (11:46 - 11:52)
- Cathy introduced the Fetch system, an open-source replacement for LAS.
- Highlighted features like accessioning, verifying, shelving, and offline mode for PDTs.
- Mentioned the collaboration with other institutions and the upcoming demo.
Issues with Remote Storage Integration (11:52 - 12:00)
- David and Kristin discussed the challenges with Folio's remote storage module.
- Issues with barcode-less items and the need for multiple data loads were highlighted.
- The impact on technical services workflows was emphasized.

✅ Decisions Made:

Plan to have a demo of the Fetch system in an upcoming session.
Schedule another meeting to discuss issues with remote storage integration in detail.

Implementers SIG