[Wactclc-primo] Primo VE FAQs

[Guidry, Wade]

I got some questions from Green River yesterday about Primo VE, so I'm answering them as best I can here.

It's a good set of questions, so I think everyone can benefit from reviewing them.

A good task for the Primo VE Working Group will be to maintain a Q & A list about Primo VE such as the one below, both for their benefit, and for the benefit of the institutions to follow.

In addition to the Q & A below, Ex Libris has been maintaining their official Primo VE FAQs, at:

https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Product_Documentation/020Primo_VE/006Frequently_Asked_Questions_from_Existing_Primo_Customers



Will all our UI customizations migrate?

Any customizations contained in the Customization Package Manager will migrate.

Will all our customizations to labels migrate?

Labels customized in PBO code and mapping tables will not migrate.

Though, updating labels in Primo VE appears to be pretty straightforward.

Will our Primo normalization rules migrate?

No. Primo normalization rules will not migrate.

With Primo VE, normalization rules no longer apply to Alma records. Primo VE uses native Alma records, rather than Alma records that have been normalized.

if not, will ExLibris provide us with a both a list and a detailed description of all the Primo normalization rules we made during implementation and subsequent to implementation?  As Total Care customers, we are essentially "blind" - we have to make a request, but we do not know exactly HOW ExLibris changed the normalization rules to fulfill our request.

No, but the record of requested changes can be found in your SF cases, if you opened cases for those changes.

if not, prior to migrating to Primo VE, will ExLibris provide us access (either full access or "read only" access or even screenshots) to our current Primo Back Office so that we can actually see which normalization rules we have in place?  This will give us and idea of all the current customizations we need to "translate" to Primo VE

Normalization rules do not apply to Primo VE.

Having screenshots of your existing Primo normalization rules is not going to really help you in Primo VE.

But if you want to see them, I suggest opening an SF case and ask them for a screenshot of your rules.

I understand that we can run a non-public Primo VE parallel to our current Primo so that we can take time to customize Primo VE before making it public, is that correct?

Yes.


What do we need to do to migrate over...

i.             our e-Shelf (paton saved records)?

e-Shelf records are migrated with Primo VE

patron saved searches?

not sure

patron search history?

not sure

Will we need to change anything with our patron authentication?

No, Primo VE authentication works like it currently does, with the added ease of being able to manage the authentication settings directly.

Will each institution get its own sandbox (so that we can test out any subsequent changes we want to make)?  Can we get our entire data set loaded into that sandbox?

We do not have a Primo sandbox currently, and Primo VE does not change that.

If we want a Primo sandbox, we will need to budget and contract for it.

Will all our current Primo permalinks indefinitely redirect to Primo VE?

Yes. See: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Product_Documentation/020Primo_VE/050Other_Configuration/Configuring_Redirection_for_Primo_VE_Deep_Links

Will Total Care go away?

Total Care goes away with Primo VE, but SF will of course continue to exist, and you can continue to post Primo questions via SF.

Will we get a refund?

No, there is no price change associated with Primo VE vs current Primo with Total Care.

Can we still submit tickets to ExLibris asking about normalization customizations?  In other words, even though we would actually change the rules ourselves via Primo VE, can we still lean on them for some wisdom about how to make the changes since this will be a learning curve for Total Care Customers.

Yes, you can always open SF tickets with your questions. But ExL is not going to make configuration changes for you.

And as always, the more specific and concrete your questions are, the easier they are to answer.

Though, tickets about normalization won't apply, as Primo VE does not use normalization rules for Alma content. (Normalization rules will still apply to external record sets.)


Are there other questions I am forgetting to ask - other tasks or potential problems I need to take into consideration in planning the work we will need to do to migrate?

I'm sure there are :)

ExLibris is looking at best practices/roadmaps for migrating from Primo to Primo VE, but will they be providing those best practices specifically for Total Care customers (whose migration will need some extra consideration going from being "blind" in the Primo Back Office to suddenly having all configurations open to us)

Don't know.

Has ExLibris given a timeframe about when those best practices/roadmaps will be available?

Don't know.


Has there been discussion about WACTCLC libraries all migrating during a certain period of time or is the decision of if and when to migrate up to each individual institution?

As discussed at the May 15 call, I have asked institutions to self-identify as being interested in migrating to Primo VE in the next few months.

Representatives from those institutions will be called upon to form and drive a working group to plan and implement Primo VE for their institutions. and to provide guidance to subsequent institutions. I will serve as a consortium ex oficio member, and as a technical expert.


[Title: Big Bend Community College Logo]

Wade Guidry
Library Consortium Services Manager
Big Bend Community College
wadeg at bigbend.edu<mailto:wadeg at bigbend.edu>

509.760.4474
www.bigbend.edu<http://www.bigbend.edu>

Big Bend Community College * 7662 Chanute Street NE * Moses Lake, WA 98837-3299



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