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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">I've got an update on this.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">The situation was that I was using a user block to flag patron records without email addresses so that circ staff could know to add email addresses during check-out transactions. Since we have over 3000 patron
records with no email address, I was using the Update/Notify Users job to add the user block in batch.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">I discovered last week that the user blocks I was adding were being overwritten during the daily patron load. Communication with Ex Libris support staff indicated that user blocks and notes on external patron
records are overwritten during the daily patron load. Ex Libris support staff recommended extracting the notes and blocks and adding them to the files for the daily patron load.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">I had the time yesterday to do some troubleshooting with circ staff and figured out a bit more about what was going on. I also discovered a much easier fix than Ex Libris support staff recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">When you add a note or user block to a patron record manually, the default setting is to add the block/note as an internal field. Even if the user record is an external record, internal fields are protected
from overlay during the daily patron load. So by simply doing nothing and leaving the box for
<i>Add as an external </i> unchecked, you protect the note/block from being overwritten. In other words, unless you're going out of your way when you add a note or block, it's going to be protected as an internal field.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img width="310" height="189" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D34D93.75EB6A10"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_MailEndCompose"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Further digging into the documentation on
</span><a href="https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/Alma_Online_Help_(English)/Administration/070Managing_Jobs/020Running_Manual_Jobs_on_Defined_Sets">Running Manual Jobs</a><span style="color:#1F497D"> revealed that there's a setting
in the Update/Notify Users job that controls whether data gets added as an internal field or an external field.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">At the top of the Task Parameters screen, there's an
<i>Added/changed field</i> setting. The default option for this setting is: <i>By user account type</i>. If this option is selected, the block/note is set an an external field on external patron records, and an internal field on internal patron records.
If you change the option to: <i>Internal</i> then whatever block/note you add will be an internal field protected from overlay.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img border="0" width="820" height="264" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image002.png@01D34D94.FD76B470"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">When I ran the job before, I'd left the<i> Added/changed field</i> setting as-is. I ran the job last night with the
<i>Added/changed field </i>setting<i> </i>set to <i>Internal</i>. That did the trick. The user blocks I added were still there after the daily load ran early this morning. <sarcasm> Clicking a button turned out to be a much easier option than trying to figure
out a way to merge data from different systems for re-import. </sarcasm><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Kirsti S. Thomas<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Library Technical Services Manager<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Seattle Colleges<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">kirsti.thomas@seattlecolleges.edu<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> Wactclc-alma [mailto:wactclc-alma-bounces@lists.ctc.edu]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Herman, Amy<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, October 25, 2017 10:50<br>
<b>To:</b> WACTCLC Alma Discussion <wactclc-alma@lists.ctc.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Wactclc-alma] blocks and notes disappearing<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At yesterday’s meeting someone mentioned that their blocks and notes for students disappear every night. I put a manual block and note on a student’s account yesterday, and it is still there today after the SIS load ran at 2am, so mine
did NOT disappear. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Would that be because we have the “Users- Remove Blocks” job deactivated?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">“The <span class="screenelement">Users - Remove Blocks</span> job runs daily to determine whether suspended users have fulfilled their suspension period and have not exceeded the configured demerit threshold while on suspension,.
If this is the case, the user's block is lifted.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Amy Herman<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Library Faculty | Olympic College<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1600 Chester Avenue | Bremerton, WA 98337<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:aherman@olympic.edu">aherman@olympic.edu</a> | 360-475-7256<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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