Alert: Library System Downtime June 6th

UPDATE TO THE BELOW 6/6/13 (3:45pm) Server upgrade is complete and our testing indicates we are back to normal.  As always, please contact us if you experience any issues with the online catalog or our databases.  And thanks for your patience while we did this important maintenance.

We want to give everyone plenty of fair-warning to avoid unnecessary frustration, so here's the warning:  Much of Sawyer Library online functionality (and, in fact, functionality at the Law, NESAD and Madrid Libraries,too) will be unavailable for most of the day on Thursday, June 6th, 2013.

The Library needs to upgrade both our Integrated Library System (ILS) and our server.  Step one is to move from a physical on-site server to a "Cloud" (SaaS) server.  That is what will happen on the 6th.  Because we are shifting all our data and workload from one server to another, there will be unavoidable downtime.

What does that mean to our users?  Well, if you check out something in the Library that day, we will likely be using a manual system.  You won't be able to look up books in the online catalog, look at your circulation record or renew books online.  But here's the real downer:  Since our off-campus authentication system, our proxy server, is also part of our ILS, you will not be able to access databases from off-campus on much of that day.  If you are ON campus, the database should pick up a Suffolk IP address and let you in, so if you can visit the Boston (or Madrid) Campus--and it doesn't have to be the Library itself--you should still be able to access the databases through non-proxyized links that you can find here. (Just click the tabs on the guide for the alphabetical lists of links to all our databases.)

And here is another work-around.  The free web version of WorldCat allows you to look up a print book and then set your zip code to pinpoint a library that owns it.  Set your zip code as 02108 and Sawyer or the Law Library should come up if we own it.  If you click the link for our book or library, you might get an error but if that happens, just click on a different library on the list and get the call number from their catalog.  Since most academic libraries use the same call number, you can take their call number to our stacks and probably find the book.  If you are ON campus, you can also use this version of WorldCat. Look for the green tag for "Sawyer Library" when you search.  The base call number will be listed in the "Class Descriptors" field following LC:

We are sorry for any inconvenience this service interruption will cause.  But we are doing this to provide a better, more flexible, and more secure library system that will make it easier for us to provide the best library service possible.

Updates will be provided via social media.  So, on the 6th, keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter feeds for when things are back to normal.