WorldShare Circulation release notes, April 2024
Release Date: April 21, 2024
Introduction
This release of WorldShare Circulation provides new features and enhancements:
- Improvements to the modernized staff interface
- Feature retirement: Legacy offline circulation client
- Bug fixes and performance improvements
Many of these enhancements are the direct result of your feedback.
Recommended actions
For this release, we recommend that you review the following checklists and complete the relevant tasks so that you can adjust your policies and workflows and train your staff. These checklists identify updates that we have determined as significant for most institutions. We encourage you to review all of the items in the release notes to determine whether there are other items that might require additional action or follow up by your institution.
Administrative actions
These items require immediate action or decisions.
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You can no longer download the legacy offline client from OCLC Service Configuration. The legacy client will continue to be supported through 30 June 2024. We recommend that you follow these steps:
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New configuration settings are available for My Account to help you customize the Profile tab to meet your library users' needs. Configuration options include:
See the My Account release notes, April 2024 for more details. |
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Determine when your library will preview and begin using the modernized Circulation staff interface at your workstations, etc. As of 18 February 2024, each user can easily switch between the legacy and modernized interfaces. You do not need to make any configuration changes to preview the modernized interface. The preview period has been extended into July 2024 to give you time to learn, train others, update your local documentation, and provide feedback to the WMS team. Moving forward, most new features and enhancements will be available exclusively in the modernized interface. To learn more about modernization:
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New features and enhancements
Improvements to the modernized staff interface
WorldShare Circulation's staff interface has been modernized and restyled to improve usability, navigation, and accessibility. The new interface was designed to be fresh and intuitive while minimizing changes to your workflows. A dedicated preview period for Circulation users began on 18 February and will continue into July 2024. The preview period is intended to allow your library time to get familiar with the modernized screens while still being able to use the legacy interface.
Modernization is driven by your feedback. Thanks again to the many members who have provided essential input for modernization; the WMS team appreciates your participation in focus groups and pilots as well as your willingness to share your enhancement requests in the Community Center.
We encourage you to register for the WorldShare Circulation modernized staff interface overview and updates session on 8 May 2024. See below for more details.
Print settings for check in are retained
The Print settings for check in are now retained by the system for your next session, regardless of which browser or machine you use.
This change will help to streamline your work if you always log into workstations with the same printer setup.
Note: If your library uses point-of-sale (POS) printers, you may need to select your POS printer each time you change workstations, install or rename a printer, etc.
Focus moved to the Print button when network printing
Network printing is now easier to navigate with a keyboard. When the Print preview modal opens, cursor focus is now on the Print button so that you can use the enter or space key to open your browser's printing menu.
Improved behavior for data grids
The behavior of some data grids (tables) has been improved with this release including:
- Retention of your customizations for the pull list after you refresh the list, print a pull-list-entry receipt, etc.
- Row height adjustments to the holds queue when viewing a title record.
- Resetting any data grid to the default column display will now also reset columns to their default width.
Improved behavior when entering a reply-to email address for the Miscellaneous notification
It's now easier to enter a reply-to email address when sending the Miscellaneous email notification. After typing an address in the Reply to field, you can now use the tab key to move to the Subject field.
Improved behavior after an error occurs at checkout
Cursor focus has been improved at checkout if the barcode is unknown, the item is not in a loanable status, or any other error occurs that you cannot simply acknowledge. With this release, the failed item barcode will be cleared and cursor focus will be returned to the barcode entry field, ready for the next item to be scanned.
Coming soon: Future improvements
Additional improvements are in progress and expected to be released later in April and May 2024 including:
- Reduced font and element sizing for all modernized Circulation screens
- Changes to the Checkouts screen to make more efficient use of screen space
- Display of the requesting patron's name when checking in an item to fulfill a hold or item schedule
Feature retirement: Legacy offline circulation client
As of this release, you will no longer be able to download the legacy offline client from OCLC Service Configuration.
The offline client is a downloadable desktop application that allows you to track items that you check out and items that patrons return to the library while WorldShare Circulation is not available or while your library is unable to connect to WMS. These offline transactions can be uploaded when you are able to connect to WMS again.
The legacy client will continue to be supported through 30 June 2024. However, you will not be able to fix issues with an expired WSKey, an invalid user-to-act-as, etc. If those problems occur, you will be unable to upload transactions that are pending in the legacy client.
Download the new offline client for WorldShare Circulation
The new WorldShare Circulation Offline Client is available for download from the OCLC Community Center. The new client includes several significant improvements that have been requested by the WMS community.
Review the following resources before you begin:
Uninstall the legacy offline client
You may safely uninstall the legacy client from all workstations once you've downloaded and adopted the new client and uploaded any transactions that were pending in the legacy client.
To fully uninstall the legacy client, find and delete the following folders and files:
- wms-offline-circulation.jnlp
- File that you execute to run the legacy client
- derby.log
- Database for the legacy client
- All program files in the wms-offline-circ folder
- Default location is usually C:\Users\jsmith\wms-offline-circ
After completing the steps above, Java can be removed from your workstation if it is not needed for anything else.
Note: Assistance from your IT department may be required for some of the uninstall procedures.
Bug fixes
Patron account summary incorrectly displays a green checkmark when no holds are ready for pickup
The patron account overview displayed on the Checkouts screen would sometimes incorrectly display a green checkmark when no holds were ready for pickup. As of this release, the green checkmark will appear only if at least one of the patron's hold requests is ready for use.
When no holds are ready:
When at least one hold is ready:
Incorrect count sometimes displays for item schedules
The count of item schedules was sometimes incorrect in the Schedules tab name when viewing a title or item record. As of this release, the count of schedules will accurately reflect the number of schedules displayed in the data grid under the Schedules tab.
Known issues
See the Known Issues page.
Important links
Register for WorldShare Circulation modernized staff interface overview and updates, 8 May 2024
Join the WorldShare Circulation team for an update session on the modernized staff interface on 8 May 2024.
The preview period of the modernized WorldShare Circulation staff interface began in February 2024. As part of the preview period, we have been collecting community feedback on the changes and features.
During this session, we will review the features introduced with the modernized staff interface, highlight changes released in April 2024 in response to your feedback, and preview the improvements that are planned for future releases. This session is open to all community members.
WorldShare Circulation modernized staff interface overview and updates
Date: 8 May 2024
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm EDT (UTC -4)
Register now
This virtual event will be recorded and posted in the WorldShare Circulation community. All registrants will be sent a link to the recording after the event.
Support website(s)
Support information for this product and related products can be found at: