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Talis makes it possible for a Library to have more than one Catalogue. This concept is also known by the BLS term "MINDEX" (Multiple INDEX).
The criteria for defining Catalogues (also termed "collections") are completely user-definable. Each site or branch may have its own Catalogue. Similarly, there may be different sub-Catalogues for distinct subject areas (such as Law or Medicine) or for special collections (for example Local History or Short Loans). It is possible to have a "Main" collection only visible to Library staff, which might include details - such as orders - which are suppressed from the "public" catalogues.
Collections can be restricted by Site, so that only copies at a given location will display. See also Copy Masking.
Up to 32 collections may be set-up. The OPAC user will be able to use the Change Catalogue Menu (selected from beneath the Other Menu) to move from one Library Catalogue to another, provided:
Having selected a particular Catalogue the user will be able to search only that particular sub-section of the Library's holdings (until he/she changes Catalogues again, or selects <Exit>, or timeout occurs from the Catalogue).
In Talis OPAC, the list of collections is displayed to the user to choose from on a pull-down menu from the Action Bar. It is possible to configure the search options available within each collection.
In TalisWeb OPAC, the list of collections is displayed to the user on each of the search screens.
Collections are created using the "manage_collection" script. This is used to define and amend collections (i.e. separate catalogues). Should you have a requirement to delete a collection, this can be achieved by deleting the relevant row in the COLLECTION table using SQL. Contact the Help Desk should you require assistance with this.
The flow diagram below outlines the steps in Collection Management.
Once a collection is created (or the select criteria are amended) "auto_access_points" must be run in order to allocate the existing stock to a collection. Details about "auto_access_points" are provided in System Manager Manual, Vol.2: Application Maintenance, Chapter 20: OPAC Access Points. Once this has been run successfully, the relevant menus must be configured in order to provide access to the collections, and to provide search options within the collection. Refer to Variable Menus & Collection Lists.
Disk Space: Before creating new collection(s) it is important to establish that you have sufficient database space before running "auto_access_points". Please contact Customer Support and specify the number of records you envisage there being in each of your catalogues so that it is possible to confirm you have enough disk space. For example, if you set-up site-specific Catalogues for all your sites this will nearly double the size of the OPAC tables. Refer to System Manager Manual, Vol.2: Application Maintenance, Chapter 20: OPAC Access Points.
The "manage_collection" script is held in the /usr/opt/blcmp/talis/ access_points directory. You will need to run this to define or amend your collections as follows:
cd /usr/opt/blcmp/talis/access_points <Enter>
manage_collection <Enter>
The first item of information you will be required to supply is the name of the database against which the collections are to be defined.
Specify which data base
-----------------------
Enter the database name (prod_talis is default) -
You may simply press <Enter> at this point to accept the default (prod_talis).
Having specified the database, you will be presented with the Main Menu within the "manage_collection" script.
Manage Collection Menu
----------------------
1. Define a collection name
2. Make selection criteria
3. Test collection
4. List collections
5. Exit
Enter a menu number -
As may be seen from the Manage Collection Menu, setting-up and checking collections involves the following sub-tasks:
It is possible to obtain a list of all collections defined (or partially defined) on the system to date. Press the number shown against the "List Collections" option when viewing the Manage Collection Menu:
4 <Enter>
The system will take up to a couple of minutes to return a complete list of all existing Catalogues for this database.
List Collections
----------------
Id Code Name ILL Note
-- ---- ---- --- ----
1 MAIN Main Catalogue N Default
2 ADUL Adult N Special Interest
3 CHIL Childrens N Children's Library
4 LOCL Local History N Local History
5 FREN French N French Lang. Materials
6 ILL ILLs Y Interloans
14 COMM Community Info. N Community Information
16 STAF Staff N Staff Library
Press Return to continue -
As may be seen from Figure 7.3: Listing Existing Collections, the following information will be shown about each collection (where available):
This option is "view" only, in that the collections may not be edited from within Option 4. Up to 32 Catalogues may have been defined to cater for specific audiences and/or particular purposes.
Caution: Before adding a collection name to the system you should have established the SQL SELECT criteria which it will use. If you add a new collection name without defining the corresponding SELECT statement, the new collection will default to a full collection (i.e. a duplicate of the main catalogue). Refer to Defining Selection Criteria.
The first step when creating a new collection is to define its name ("name" here meaning the header information shown when listing collections, i.e. the Collection ID, Name, Code, Interloans and optional Note). The name is displayed in the top right of any Talis OPAC screen and in the collections list in TalisWeb OPAC.
Note: If you want the name of a newer modified collection to appear in TalisWeb OPAC you may need to delete the collection cache file:
/scratch/tgml_cache/OBJECT
New collection names may be added and existing collection names may be edited. Press the number shown against the "Define a collection name" option when viewing the Manage Collection Menu:
1 <Enter>
The system will prompt you to enter the number of the collection to be set-up or modified.
Specify which collection id
---------------------------
Enter a collection id (between 1 and 32) -
Type in a number required, in the range 1 to 32, followed by <Enter>.
The main Catalogue has been set-up by Talis Information as the default collection (i.e. as Collection ID number 1).
Warning: The default collection should not normally be modified in any way, as this is the collection searched when staff users perform a local search. Modifying this collection can cause them to have an incomplete view of the database.
Depending on which number you specify, the system will display a blank template form ready for input, or the same template with Collection ID, Name, Code, Interloans and Note details as defined previously.
Display Collection
------------------
Collection ID : 3
Name : Childrens
Code : CHIL
Interloans : N
Note :
Do you wish to change this collection ? (y or n) -
This "Interloans" prompt allows you to specify whether or not Interloan Works and Items should be included in the collection. You must specify either "Y" or "N" at this prompt. Selecting "N" at the "Interloans" prompt prevents the display of any Works that have only ILL Items attached to the Work.
Note: If, subsequently, the Work has other than ILL Items attached then all Items, including ILL Items, will be displayed in OPAC. This might happen as a result of another Item being ordered or catalogued for the same Work. To overcome this problem it is necessary to ensure all Interloan Items are created with an specific ILL Item Type. These ILL Item Types can then be masked from a Collection by setting up the Collection Rules under Utilities Parameters Rules Opac Collection Rules. Refer to Collection Rules.
Type in the details required against each field and press <Enter> to move down to the next prompt. When you have finished you will be given a chance of going back to edit any of the details shown:
Do you wish to change these details ? (y or n)
To edit the query details shown, type in:
y <Enter>
You will be positioned back on the data input template ready to amend any of the Collection ID, Code, Name or Note details defined earlier. You may go around this data correction loop as often as required.
When happy, confirm the details shown by typing in:
n <Enter>
Having done so you will be asked whether you wish to update the database.
To save the details shown, type in:
y <Enter>
To abandon your input (or any edits to the details previously present), type in:
n <Enter>
You will be returned to the Manage Collection Menu.
The SQL selection criteria which determine the actual contents of a Catalogue are set-up separately from the collection name for the same Catalogue. Before adding a collection name to the system, however, you should establish the SQL SELECT criteria which it will use.
Note: If you add a new collection name (as explained in Defining a Collection Name) without defining any corresponding SELECT (as explained in this section), the new collection will default to a "full" collection (i.e. a duplicate main catalogue).
In order to perform this step you will need a reasonable level of competence in the use of Sybase SQL and an understanding of the structure of the Talis database. If in any doubt, please confirm your SQL SELECT criteria with the Talis Helpdesk before use.
This option is suitable only for fairly straightforward SELECT criteria. More advanced SELECTs have to entered by editing the relevant stored procedure (details follow later in this section).
Refer to the System Manager Manual, Vol.3: Management Information, Appendix D: Attribute Tables.
Type the number shown against the "Make selection criteria" option when viewing the Manage Collection Menu:
2 <Enter>
The system will prompt you to enter the number of the collection to be set-up or modified.
Specify which collection id
---------------------------
Enter a collection id (between 1 and 32) -
Type in a number required, in the range 1 to 32, followed by <Enter>. Depending on which collection number you specify, the system will display a blank editing form ready for input of the SQL retrieval criteria required, or the same template showing any SQL retrieval criteria previously defined for this particular collection.
The SQL statement defined here will include (or exclude) Works from the database into the current collection.
Any previously defined SQL SELECT statement for that collection will be displayed. If no SQL has been defined or an advanced select criteria has been entered by editing the relevant stored procedure then only the collection ID will display. You must actively request to set-up (or modify) the selection criteria for the collection. The system will prompt you whether you wish to change the SELECT statement using "vi".
To edit the SQL query details shown, type in:
y <Enter>
Display Selection Criteria
---------------------------
Collection ID : 3
select * from WORK_SUBFIELD where TAG_NO = 300 and SUBFIELD_CODE = "n" and DATA1 like "%ideo%"
Do you wish to change this select using vi ? (y or n) -
To exit back to the Manage Collection Menu, type in:
n <Enter>
Having typed "y" to create/edit an SQL SELECT, you will be placed in the "vi" text editor, either with the SELECT statement ready for modification (assuming one existed before) or with a blank "vi" screen for input of a new SELECT statement.
For further information on using the "vi" text editor refer to the System Manager Manual, Vol.3: Management Information, Chapter 6: Using the "vi" Text Editor and Appendix B: Summary of "vi" Commands.
Your SQL SELECT statement must access tables containing a WORK_ID, or the SQL will fail. The Talis tables you may wish to use that contain WORK_ID are listed below:
You can link tables that do not contain a WORK_ID, but there may be performance implications for building the collection (using "auto_access_points") and updating the collection.
Your SQL SELECT statement must include a WHERE clause in order to specify the criteria for inclusion of Works in the Catalogue. See Select Criteria.
Type in the SQL SELECT statement as required and then exit "vi" while saving changes:
:x <Enter> or ZZ <Enter>
On saving and exiting "vi", the system will attempt to compile your SQL statement by checking it for syntax errors, logical errors etc.
If the SQL SELECT is valid you will be asked whether you wish to update the database (i.e. save the changes to the database).
To save the selection criteria shown, type in:
y <Enter>
To abandon the selection criteria (or any edits to the details previously present), type in:
n <Enter>
You will be returned to the Manage Collection Menu.
Note: Long SQL statements (i.e. those in excess of 255 characters), require special attention when editing. They become fragmented into 255 character blocks when they are saved.
When the selection criteria are re-loaded into "vi" for re-editing they will appear in separate blocks of information and will not work again when saved (even if they did work previously) unless the spaces are removed while editing.
If the SQL is found to be invalid, details of the errors found in your selection criteria for this collection will be displayed.
Selection Criteria Error
-------------------------
Collection ID : 2
Msg 156, Level 15, State 1:
Server 'prod_talis', Procedure 'collection_002', Line 7:
Incorrect syntax near the keyword 'and'.
Msg 208, Level 16, State 2:
Server 'prod_talis', Line 3:
Invalid object name 'collection_002'.
The select criteria contains an SQL error. Press Return to continue -
On pressing <Enter> to exit this diagnostic information, you will be placed back in the "vi" text editor so that the SQL statement may be corrected. You may go through this process of correction as many times as necessary.
If you are not able to correct the SQL, you will need to quit from the current editing session using the command :q!. Your changes will not be saved.
You should always keep a backup copy of your selection criteria for each Catalogue. There are a number of good reasons for doing so:
Probably the best solution is to save copies of all your SELECTS from within "vi" under alternative backup file names. To do this:
:w /users/talis/opac_collections/collection_002 <Enter>
If you want to have the selection criteria for your collection as an attribute of the Item, such as Location or Item Type, you will have to edit the stored procedure manually (following the procedure outlined in Editing a Stored Procedure), otherwise you risk excluding analytical child Works from that collection. If that risk is not a problem (or if there are no analytical records in your collection), then it is safe to use the "manage_collection" interface to create your select criteria.
To keep an Item-based collection up-to-date, it is necessary to run the "itu_update_wku" script, as documented in System Manager Manual, Volume 2b: Application Maintenance, Chapter 57: Reflecting Item Changes in OPAC. This script assumes that the parent Work and all allocated Items are processed by "update_daily_access_points" overnight.
Create procedure collection_002 @work_id ID , @in_or_out CHAR1 output as:
if exists (select WORK_ID from WORK
where WORK_ID = @work_id
and WORK_ID =
(select distinct WORK_ID from ITEM
where WORK_ID = @work_id
and ACTIVE_SITE_ID in ('AL','BI','GR','HG','ST','SS',
'GC','PR','AMR','LL','RB')))
begin
select @in_or_out="X"
end
else
if exists (select WWW.RELATED_WORK_ID from WORK_WORK_LINK WWW, ITEM I
where WWW.RELATED_WORK_ID = @work_id
and WWW.RELATIONSHIP = 0
and WWW.MASTER_WORK_ID = I.WORK_ID
and I.ACTIVE_SITE_ID in ('AL','BI','GR','HG','ST','SS',
'GC','PR','AMR','LL','RB'))
begin
select @in_or_out="X"
end
Select WORK_ID from WORKS where MONOGRAPH='F'
Select WORK_ID from ITEM where SEQUENCE_ID='THES'
Select WORK_ID from ORDER_REQUEST, ITEM_ORDER_HISTORY where ITEM_ORDER_HISTORY.ORDER_ID=ORDER_REQUEST.ORDER_ID and DATE_RECD > dateadd(day,-28,getdate())
This will include all Works with Items received in the last 28 days.
The Interloans Department may wish to set up a collection which comprises Interloan Works and Items only. Suggested SQL for setting-up an ILL collection only is as follows:
select WORK_ID from ILL_REQUEST where ILL_ID>0
This will include deleted requests. You must also flag the collection as one that includes Interloan Works via the Define Collection Menu. (This will defaults to "N" for all existing collections).
Caution: If you wish Interloan Items to display in OPAC you will need to change this before you begin to use Interloans. If you leave this too late, it will necessitate running "auto_access_points" to build a complete Interloan collection.
Note: Selection criteria for inclusion in a given collection takes place at the Work level, with the result that if there is a mixture of normal Items and Interloan Items then the Work/Items will feature in all the relevant catalogues. The result is that the Interloans Department will sometimes see non-Interloan Items when they are only interested specifically in those involved in Interloan requests.
Where more complex select criteria, using several tables, need to be defined, it is necessary to edit the stored procedure to set up the selection criteria. This also applies where it is necessary to include analytical child Works in an Item-based collection. To edit a stored procedure:
vi collection_004.proc <Enter>
Note: It is important for performance reasons to include the WORK_ID at every point in the join, unless the table does not include WORK_ID.
collection_004.proc prod_talis <Enter>
Any errors in the SQL will be displayed on-screen, but no message is displayed if this is successful.
cp collection_004.proc /users/talis/opac_collection <Enter>
You may need to create the opac_collection directory within "prod_talis".
If you have defined select criteria through the stored procedure you will not be able to subsequently edit this through the "manage_collection" interface.
Note: If in any doubt when setting up or editing an existing OPAC collection, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Support.
Having a valid SQL statement against the selection criteria for a collection does not guarantee that those selection criteria are suitable or sufficient for the intended contents and coverage of the collection. An SQL statement may contain no logical errors or syntax errors and yet still define the wrong criteria for the particular Catalogue you are setting-up. Testing of the selection criteria for each collection is important.
Testing involves selection and preparation of a few sample Works with known Control Numbers which are to act as positive "test cases" for inclusion and/or negative "test cases" for exclusion in the collection to be checked. These Works are then submitted for testing one at a time, using their Control Numbers, and the results used to confirm whether or not the selection criteria are indeed correct as planned.
The Control Number will be tested to see which collections it will be included in from all the collections currently defined on the system. To start the test, type the number shown against the "Test collection" option when viewing the Manage Collection Menu:
4 <Enter>
The system will prompt you to enter the Control Numbers of your test Works, one at a time.
Control Number Test
-------------------
Enter the control number of the test work -
A report will be presented, line by line, showing the name of each Catalogue within which the Work will feature.
Test Collections
----------------
The test work will be within the following collections -
1 Main Catalogue
3 Childrens
14 Staff
Press Return to continue -
You should begin to check your SQL selection criteria either:
The system will check the Work against each collection. This should display the list within a second or two; if it takes longer to display this list then your collection could be inefficient. If so, you should ask the Help Desk to get your collection checked before attempting to run "auto_access_points".
If the results are exactly as expected for several test case Control Numbers then you may be reasonably confident everything is acceptable.
Before running "auto_access_points" to build a new collection, it is always advisable to let "update_daily_access_points" run it for a couple of nights in order to assess performance. The "mcoll_due.rep" file in /usr/opt/blcmp/talis/reports will state how many Works are processed per second. If this is less than one Work per second then performance is unlikely to be acceptable.
Having defined a collection and created the selection criteria it is necessary to build it and create the necessary indexes for that collection. Running "auto_access_points" performs these two tasks automatically:
Note: It is not possible to build an individual collection as all Works in the database must be checked to determine whether they satisfy the collections' select criteria. "auto_access_points" is described in System Manager Manual, Vol.2: Application Maintenance, Chapter 20: OPAC Access Points.
It is necessary to build the collection once only, as from that point onwards it will be maintained by the usual "update_daily_access_points" utility.
The new catalogue should not be made available to the public until it has been built successfully; doing so would give rise to search errors. The steps in making a catalogue available are:
Note: None of the above steps are required to make the collection available in TalisWeb OPAC. Simply delete the existing collections list from /scratch/tgml_cache/OBJECT and the new one will appear next time you do a search.
Any options list or menu in OPAC (or anywhere else in Talis) can be modified by the System Manager. It is possible to change the order in which options appear on a list, change the name of any option, suppress the display of an option or change the character used to select an option.
Note: This works on a global basis for all users at all Sites. It is not possible to have different options display to different users.
Things you may wish to change in OPAC include:
Note: You may correspondingly wish to remove the public Reservations option from these menus.
Tip: The best way to find the correct menu is to type the first part of the menu name before pressing <F5> to list the menus. All OPAC menu names begin with the word "OPAC".
Variable Menus allow scope to define the menu options which will be available to OPAC users. This applies to:
Variable menus functionality is available generally throughout Talis. Full instructions on customising Menus and Action Bars is supplied in System Manager Manual, Volume 2: Application Maintenance, Chapter 42: Interface Configuration.
OPAC permits additional scope for Libraries to vary the menu options available within different Catalogues on the system.
For example, it may be considered important to remove the Author Search options from a Serials Catalogue.
The potential customisability of OPAC extends to functionality for re-wording and re-designing search prompt screens so that they vary between Catalogues. For example, a Title search screen may be given different text in the Serials Catalogue compared with the same screen in the Main Catalogue. Libraries wishing to take advantage of the latter aspects of OPAC customisation should let the Help Desk know their requirements.
Any Libraries with multiple collections will need to edit the relevant collections lists in Maintenance (i.e. Utilities, Parameters, Configure, Menus) to enter the names of those collections. Collections will not appear in the list until this is done.
You will need to edit the Collections List for each of the current collections offered. If there is only one, then start with "Opac collections list 01". Type the name that you wish to display to the public in the "Display" field and change the value to reflect the ordering of the fields.
Note: The name of the current Catalogue will not appear on the Change Catalogue list for that collection. For example, "Serials" will not appear if you are in the Serials Catalogue.
Those Libraries not having multiple Catalogues may remove the "Other Catalogues" option altogether from the OPAC Action Bar using the same variable menus interface.
Aim to consult the Talis Helpdesk for assistance in defining your Welcome screens at least two weeks in advance of your requirement to go "live" with a particular specialist collection. Guidance on the wording of your screens is supplied below.
In order to assist OPAC users to keep their bearings within your Library's multiple collections, it is essential to define a clearly worded OPAC Welcome Screen for each Catalogue. Each Welcome Screen should be worded to announce the title of the particular Catalogue which is being viewed, and should ideally display a brief outline of the purpose and coverage of that collection.
Please supply this information in a clearly typed summary, ideally showing the layout you wish to achieve on-screen (in addition to the precise wording, punctuation and use of upper/lower case you prefer).
You will also need to indicate the collection number you intend to use for each specialist Catalogue.
These individualised screens will be supplied to you as a file called "local_opac.vvd" which resides in /usr/opt/blcmp/talis/lib. This file is accessed preferentially by Talis before using the standard opac.vvd.
The main collection is not normally modified as this is the collection used by staff in other modules when performing OPAC searches.
It is possible to suppress this catalogue from public display and to offer an alternative catalogue as the main public catalogue, for example if you wish to suppress orders from public display whilst retaining the main collection for staff use.
This is done by removing the option to change to the main collection from the Collections Lists of the sub-catalogues. The public catalogues are then set to go straight into a sub-catalogue by setting the environment variable "TAL_DEF_COLLECTION=x", where "x" is the number of the collection you wish the OPACs to go into. For example:
TAL_DEF_COLLECTION=2; export TAL_DEF_COLLECTION
(Refer to System Manager Manual, Vol.2: Application Maintenance, Chapter 19: Environment Variables. Timeouts will return to this collection, as it is now the default public collection. The only drawback to this arrangement is that if a member of staff were searching a sub-catalogue they would not be able to switch back into the main catalogue during that search.
The same variable could be used to set a children's catalogue as the default in a children's library. As this is set as an environment variable it would obviously require these OPAC to have a different login.
Talis provides facilities for suppressing Items with certain characteristics from display. This applies to both Talis and TalisWeb OPAC. This works in two ways:
Collection copy masking involves the ability to restrict the display of Items in certain collections, depending on specified requirements.
It is possible to mask copies from display in Talis OPAC and TalisWeb OPAC on the basis of their Item Type, Item Status, Item Sequence, Item Size, Item Format, Item Site or any combination of these criteria. Effectively this permits Libraries to specify which Item Types, Statuses, Sizes, Sequences, Sites and Formats will be represented in each OPAC Collection.
Refer to Collection Rules for a full account of how to use the "Collection Rules" maintenance interface to define individual Item Types, Statuses, Sequences, Sizes, Formats and Sites for inclusion in specific OPAC Collection.
It is possible to suppress the display of Items with certain Statuses, Sequences or Sizes throughout OPAC. This facility is not collection-specific.
All of these criteria have "OPAC Text" or "Display As" values when they are set-up via the Utilities Parameters Names Item Sequences / Sizes / Statuses interface. Any one of these that is missing an OPAC display value will not be displayed in OPAC.
For example you might have a special sequence for books held in the Vice Chancellors Office. By removing the OPAC display value for that Sequence, none of these copies will be displayed in OPAC. A staff user searching the OPAC via non-OPAC modules will still be able to view these Items.
Note: If you amend any of these values in Utilities it is necessary to log-out of Talis, then back in before the changes will be reflected.
Collection management makes it possible for a Library to set up more than one Catalogue. Up to 32 collections may be created, each specified by user-definable criteria to meet particular requirements such as:
Creating and making available multiple collections involves:
Note: The "itu_update_wku" script is required for keeping Item-based collections are kept up-to-date.
Examples of the SQL required in the selection criteria for Item-based selects, and for Serials, Theses, Orders and Interloans catalogues have been provided.
The "main" collection is used by staff when performing OPAC searches from other Talis modules, so it should not be modified. It may be suppressed from public use using the "TAL_DEF_COLLECTION" environment variable.
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