| 10 min | Report on Testing Progress | Round-Robin | - Dennis has been able to set up a dummy RFID configuration.
- Steve & Dennis have reported that they've begun setting up the integration, but they need to set time aside to implement an RFID driver which accepts requests from Alma, as per Exlibris' documentation, which would allow Alma to change the RFID security bit.
- Renaldo reported that even though they've successfully tested RFID integration with Alma, they do not plan to use it how Exlibris envisions it. In conversations with Exlibris and 3M developers, Fresno realized that Alma will not automatically read the RFID barcode when an item is placed on the RFID pad. Instead, the user needs to click on the blue RFID icon for every item that they want to read. Fresno Systems folks have discussed with the Access Services staff, and have determined that it's better at this time to use a separate piece of software that 3M makes available to do the "flipping" of the security bit from on/off and vice versa. In conclusion, even though 3M RFID integration with Alma has been tested for Fresno, a different method will be used to handle RFID, until better support is available from Exlibris, namely being able to "feed" the item barcode into Alma, as opposed to "requesting" it every time an item is placed on the pad. For now Fresno will use the set of hotkeys used to switch between check in/ check out in Alma (respectively, ALT+R and ALT+W) and will configure the 3M piece of software to switch from a checkin to a checkout mode using the same hotkeys. Essentially, the hotkey keystroke will switch both Alma and 3M, and will change the item security while checking the item in or out. This can be better understood by watching the recording demo, below.
- Renaldo Gjoshe (Unlicensed) suggested that this approach might also work with the TechLogic campuses, and Steve from MB confirmed that they also have a separate piece of software that can be used to "flip" the security bit. Regardless, the Techlogic campuses will attempt to test the integration how Exlibris has envisioned it and will decide which method works better.
|