Preparing for Library Closures in Aspen Discovery
Libraries sometimes have to close for different reasons. Here are the steps to prepare Aspen for a closure.
Many of these steps are significantly more complicated for multi-branch or multi-library systems. We've attempted to note those areas below, but please don't hesitate to contact us with questions.
Closing Down
Suppress a Location's Items
To suppress the location's collections, go to Aspen Administration > ILS Integration > Indexing Profiles > Item Information > Locations to Suppress. Here you will enter in the branch code(s) you need to suppress. The records will disappear completely after an overnight index.
If you need to suppress multiple locations, separate each location code with vertical pipes and no spaces. Example: EAST|SOUTH|STORAGE
If you're not sure what your location codes are, they should be defined in your ILS. Aspen also displays the location codes used by your ILS in Primary Configuration > Locations. The code is displayed in the Code column.
Changes to these settings take an overnight index to be fully reflected in the catalog.
Make Location’s Items Non-Holdable
If you don’t want to completely suppress a location’s items, but also don’t want patrons to be able to place holds on those items, you can make them non-holdable in Aspen.
- To do this, go to Aspen Administration > ILS Integration > Indexing Profiles > Item Information.
- In the Non Holdable Locations field, enter in the location code you want to make non-holdable. If you need to mark multiple locations as non-holdable, separate each location code with vertical pipes and no spaces. Example: EAST|SOUTH|STORAGE
Changes to these settings take an overnight index to be fully reflected in the catalog.
Remove Location from Hold Pickup Options
If the location is closing and you don't want users to be able to pick up a hold at that location, go to Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Locations > click into that Location > ILS/Account Integration > Valid Hold Pickup Branch? > Not Valid
Remove Location from Self Registration
If you are using Self Registration and want to hide this location from the Home Library options, go to Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Locations > click into that Location > ILS/Account Integration > Valid Self Registration Branch? > Not Valid
This change will take effect immediately.
Remove Location from “Library Hours & Locations” Link
To completely remove a location from showing up in the Library Hours & Locations link, go to Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Locations > click into that Location > uncheck Show In Locations And Hours List
Edit Location Info in the Library Hours & Locations Link
To keep a location in the Library Hours & Locations and simply edit the information that appears, go to Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Locations > click into that Location > Description. You can update this text box with information about the closure.
Adjust the Library Hours
If the library location is temporarily closing but you have patrons registered with a Home Library of that location, you can adjust the hours for the location in Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Locations > click into that Location > Hours > click on Closed.
These hours appear in the Library Hours & Locations link for each location.
To completely remove the hours from appearing in the Library Hours & Locations screen, you can delete the hours. They would then need to be manually re-added when the location(s) re-open.
The Hours also relate to messaging within the user account on the "Holds" and "Checkouts" screens.
To completely remove the “[Location] is closed today” message from appearing in user accounts, this can be disabled from Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Library Systems > click into the setting > ILS/Account Integration > uncheck “Show Library Hours Notice on Account Pages”
Remove the Location from Aspen LiDA
If you are using the Aspen LiDA app and want to remove a location from appearing in the app, go to Aspen Administration > Aspen LiDA > Location Settings. Uncheck the location(s) and save.
You may also check individual location settings by going to Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Locations > click into that Location > scroll all the way to the bottom > Aspen LiDA App Settings > make sure "None" is selected.
Create System Messages
To provide information about the closure to patrons, you can create system messages at the top of all pages and/or targeted to specific account pages when users are signed in.
- Set up a system message in Aspen Administration > Local Catalog Enrichment > System Messages > Add New.
- Fill in the Message to Show - You may want to include any links out to your website where you have more information/resources about the closure.
- Show On - you can choose where you want the message to display.
- You can set Start Date to Show and End Date to Show if you have a length of time for the message.
- Click this link to learn more about system messages: https://help.aspendiscovery.org/help/admin/systemmessages
Reopening
Un-Suppress a Location’s Items
To un-suppress the location's collections, go to Aspen Administration > ILS Integration > Indexing Profiles > Item Information > Locations to Suppress. Delete the location codes from this field that should no longer be suppressed. The records will reappear completely after an overnight index.
Make Location’s Items Holdable
- To make a location’s items holdable once again, go to Aspen Administration > ILS Integration > Indexing Profiles > Item Information.
- In the Non Holdable Locations field, delete the location codes from this field that should no longer be suppressed.
- Changes to these settings take an overnight index to be fully reflected in the catalog.
Related Articles
Preparing for Library Closures
Libraries sometimes have to close for different reasons. Here are the steps to prepare Koha for a closure. Many of these questions are significantly more complicated for multi-branch or multi-library systems. We've attempted to note those areas ...Global Settings in Aspen Discovery
These areas of Aspen Discovery may impact all libraries, even those with their own scoped catalogs: System Administration > Administration Users Anyone with the permission to “Administer Users” can add/delete users without restriction across ...Password Reset via Email in Aspen Discovery and Koha
In order to enable the password reset prior to login you will want to enable the ability within Aspen under Primary Configuration. Open the library system you want this ability for and scroll down to ILS/Account integration. Within User Profile you ...Make your "OPAC View" link in Koha work with Aspen
This is a little trick for libraries using Aspen as a discovery layer and Koha as a backend. In the Koha staff client you may be familiar with a button on the record detail page that says: “OPAC view: Open in a new window”. This whisks you away to ...Using Library Groups in Koha
Since Koha version 18.05, libraries have been able to define hierarchical groups. This will allow for grouping of libraries based on a special library branch or geographical region, for example. Staff can now set this functionality up in ...