This topic summarises new features in Talis Alto 3.0, as well as previous releases.
This version includes important enhancements to bibliographic management to support MARC 21 (the new cataloguing standard) and ISBN13 (the new format for the International Standard Book Number), and together with Talis Prism 2.0 and Talis Base 2.0, represents the first phase of the Lyra programme.
In Talis Alto 3.0, you can now:
Catalogue in MARC 21
Catalogue diverse resources in their native script using the Unicode extended character set
Import batches of MARC 21 records online
Find MARC 21 records quickly
and easily from Talis Base
Talis Alto 3.0 includes new MARC 21 cataloguing tools that work alongside existing TalisMARC facilities, with appropriate alerts to ensure the integrity of both environments. You can catalogue in TalisMARC or MARC 21 on a record by record basis. Dual format views within the cataloguing editor, Quick Manage Work form, and bibliographic search results, allow you to easily move between the MARC21 and TalisMARC version of a record.
In Alto 3.0, each MARC 21 record is automatically duplicated to create an equivalent TalisMARC record, which is available for use throughout Talis and can be searched in the usual way. When using Talis Alto 3.0, MARC 21 takes precedence, so it is not possible to edit the TalisMARC record if a MARC21 equivalent exists.
Control over the publication of MARC 21 records within Talis Prism enables you to choose whether to publish the MARC 21 version of all records, and/or suppress individual MARC 21 records from display.
More details...
Unicode support now allows a vast range of characters and scripts to be imported, entered, edited and stored, with a variety of input methods including on-screen keyboard and character picker. Unicode is the widest and most interoperable character set for cataloguing and display. This enables you to provide an OPAC with better support for a multi-cultural audience, presenting diverse resources including Arabic, Hebrew and Chinese in their native script.
Alto 3.0 comes with a new MARC Import Manager utility, which makes it easy for bibliographic staff to import batches of MARC 21 records in their native format into the local catalogue. This gives staff greater control over this increasingly important aspect of catalogue maintenance, enabling cataloguers to quickly import MARC 21 records provided from external sources (such as CURL, RLIN, or suppliers of e-serials and e-books).
For more information, refer to the online help provided with the MARC
Import Manager utility.
Talis Alto 3.0 also enables MARC 21 records to be sourced from the enhanced Talis Base 2.0 records supply service. Talis Base 2.0 extends the data sets of Talis Base 1.0 and offers faster, more powerful searching. Where possible, data sets have been refreshed from source in MARC 21 format, rather than converting them from Talis Base 1.0. More records are now available and include:
The Library of Congress: The ‘complete service’, including serials (the CONSER database) and records for non-book materials such as music, maps and electronic resources
British Library: The full integrated catalogue, rather than just the BNB and music files
BDS: a new database, covering
DVD and video.
Talis Base 2.0 provides high performance searching with extensive search types and options based on the Z39.50 search and retrieve protocol Bath Profile and the US National Profile (Z39.89). New precision search options include exact match and first word in field for title, personal author and corporate author, and new flexible search options include keyword with right truncation and unanchored phrase for title searches. UKMARC and TalisMARC records will continue to be available from the Talis Base 2.0 record supply service.
Talis Alto 3.0 provides continued support for TalisMARC cataloguing, for those libraries who are not yet ready to convert. Bibliographic staff will notice some changes to TalisMARC cataloguing workflow to reflect the introduction of MARC 21 cataloguing options. Protected editing prevents editing in TalisMARC when a MARC21 record exists - which ensures that cataloguers don’t make conflicting edits in different formats. Dual format views enable staff to easily move between the MARC21 and TalisMARC version of a record. UKMARC and TalisMARC records will continue to be available from the Talis Base 2.0 record supply service.
This version delivers new support for importing and detailing multiple tax rates for a single invoice line item. This enables EDI invoice processing for items made up of separate components which each incur different rates of tax, for example, if a book incorporates a CD and the book incurs zero rate VAT while the CD incurs tax at a standard rate.
This additional support for EDI Invoices, completing the range of invoice enhancements delivered in Talis Alto 2.0, now enables you to subscribe to this brand new Talis EDI service. EDI Invoices can substantially reduce the cost and effort involved in the procurement process, by eliminating manual copying of data from paper invoices into the LMS. With invoice data delivered complete and ready for payment into your system, it also dispenses with the need to deal with payment during receipting. Instead payment can be carried out in bulk separately. This removes the dependency on specialist skills for processing new stock, which in turn accelerates the receipting process and speeds the flow of stock onto the shelves. To find out more about EDI Invoices, speak to your Account Manager, or contact sales@talis.com.
In response to feedback from our Reservations Focus Group in March, this version repositions the Item field as the first field at the Reservation prompt, making it quicker and easier for you to wand in a batch of reserved items to satisfy the reservations and prepare them for collection.
Improvements to the wording of selected reservation exceptions make them easier for staff to understand, enabling them to respond more quickly at the issue desk, and reducing the potential for mistakes through misinterpretation. “Waiting reservations” has been changed to “Reservation(s) waiting collection”. “Active reservation” has been changed to “Item is reserved”. “Already has loan(s) has been changed to “Title already on loan to borrower”. Dialog “Item satisfying reservation for this borrower – do you still wish to issue?" has been changed to the simpler "Satisfying reservation - continue with issue?"
There are numerous enhancements to the Talis Alto help as a result of improved work flows and customer feedback. For example, there are now instructions for systems that need to identify public request orders.
The topic you are now reading (“What’s new in this release”) now displays as the default topic whenever staff go into the Talis Alto Help. This should make it easier for all Alto users to find out about the benefits of each new version. Encourage your colleagues to keep up to date with the information in this section, so they can see how they can take advantage of new features.
Support for EDI Invoices gives you the option of subscribing to this brand new Talis EDI service, which can substantially reduce administrative workload in inputting and maintaining invoice data. Improved facilities for specifying, viewing and managing tax and invoice details improve the accuracy, detail and auditability of your invoice data.
Email client integration streamlines borrower contact, enabling individual emails to be quickly generated from the borrower record.
Talis Alto 1.2 introduced improved borrower email address handling, separating borrower email addresses from property addresses. This enabled several email contact addresses to be recorded for use in customer communication. Email addresses within ILL requests can now be similarly defined. In particular, this means that it will be possible to use the new BL SED codes with email addresses stored in the new email address fields.
Previously, Web Applications launched from the Web menu were displayed in an embedded Internet Explorer window within the main Talis Alto work area. Talis Alto 2.0 launches Web applications the links within your default browser in a separate window.
You can pick the font size at which bibliographic records are displayed within the Cataloguing MARC editor.
Your System Manager can now automatically shut down the Talis Alto system. In such instances, you will be warned beforehand by a broadcast shutdown message, advising you sent to save your work and log out.
New database capacity warnings (in the form of the TAL_DATA_SPACE_USED and TAL_LOG_SPACE_USED environment variables) help eliminate potential causes of down time. For more information refer to the Talis Alto Configuration online help.
The addition of a Parameter management interface is a further enhancement to the powerful Talis Alto Configuration utility, making it quicker and easier to manage the rules which govern the operation of your library management system. Talis Alto Parameters enables you to manage all aspects of names, rules and permissions.
An optional facility to store a photograph as a component of the borrower record, and display in Talis Alto when the borrower is authenticated for issue, renew, discharge etc, as a form of identification. Photographs can be imported in bulk from an existing store, or imported individually into a borrower record.
An extension to the new ad hoc letters feature introduced into the Talis Alto Circulation module in version 1.1. This functionality enables a letter to be generated on the fly using an appropriate template, and allows data from the record to be automatically extracted into the template. These new enhancements add an ad hoc letters history so that sent letters can be reviewed, and extends the ad hoc letters facility into Acquisitions and ILL, where they can be populated with relevant order/ILL details and produced on the fly for either borrowers or suppliers as relevant.
ILL Funds can now be accessed and managed from the ILL menu. This improves workflow and enables ILL staff to manage their Funds without requiring the Acquisitions enablement.
This enhancement enables you to record multiple URLs within Alto, for example when an electronic resource is available from more than one source. A subsequent release of Talis Prism will deliver enhanced formatting of multiple URLs so they are presented clearly for your users.
Borrower email addresses are separated out from property addresses, enabling several email contact addresses to be recorded for use in customer communication. In addition to changes at the borrower form, this enhancement also includes a conversion script to transfer your existing email address data into the new email address area. For details on the changes to the database please refer to the Alto 1.2 release notice. For more details, refer to the of the conversion script refer to the Email address transfer utility script.
Expert searching in Alto allows you to carry out a bibliographic search by entering search criteria directly into any Control Number field. This shortcut allows you to quickly specify complex search criteria using a single command line.
A password management area within the Alto configuration tool gives you the option of allowing staff to maintain their own Alto password, eliminating the need for the system manager to generate and update passwords for all users. A range of options allow you to specify pre-requisites for password quality, including password length.
For more details, refer to the Talis Alto Configuration Application help.
Extended printing facilities now enable you to print a snapshot of any open form within Alto. In addition, you can now output the contents of any list within Alto to a .csv (Comma Separated Value) file format which can be manipulated, printed and imported into Excel.
Enhanced facilities for setting up search targets within the Alto configuration tool enable you to copy an existing target as the basis for creating a new target, reducing time and effort in setting up your bibliographic searches.
For more details, refer to the Talis Alto Configuration Application help.
It is now possible to access the borrower form directly from a tab at Circulation prompts, without needing to move into Borrower. This enables changes to the borrower record to be made quickly and easily during circulation transactions, and reduces unnecessary navigation.
The book industry standards body BIC have disallowed the transmission of free text instructions in TRADACOMS BTOERS segment DNB GNAR which maps to the Order "Instructions" field as there are coded priorities that can be used in its place. Talis EDI ordering is now compliant with BIC and EDItEUR standards (http://www.editeur.org) for handling orders with an urgent priority. That is, libraries can send urgent orders via EDI to suppliers and the supplier can interpret an incoming order as an urgent order.
Alto 1.2 includes the receipt printing functionality previously available in text-based Talis.
For more details, refer to the Talis Alto Configuration Application help.
In December 2003 the BLDSC introduced a number of new requirement codes related to new services. The ILL requirement codes have subsequently been updated in Talis Alto. A new document delivery service called Secure Electronic Delivery (SED) has been introduced during which BLDSC place PDF files on their secure server which can be collected via a URL link in an email sent to the requester or the end user.