Millennium Server Replacement Feedback

Thanks to all those who battled through last Saturday off-line.


Our team worked very hard to try to make the transition smooth, and the first library (Glenfield) came back on-line soon after 2pm on Saturday. The new server is now well bedded in with only a few minor issues to deal with. The feedback we've received has been positive so far, but in order to capture a snapshot of the user experience we are running an online survey at www.tinyurl.com/millsurvey .


It would be very helpful for us to gather this data while the experience of the pre-upgrade is still fresh in your minds. It will also help us to isolate any areas requiring further attention. The survey is limited to 100 responses so please make one of them yours.

Millennium Server Replacement - 21st February

All the critical components for the new server array are now on-site, and work is beginning on the installation and configuration of the new hardware ready for the software installation and migration of data to the new server.


The migration is scheduled for the 21st February.


Millennium will be unavailable for the duration of the migration, so all libraries will have to use off-line circulation on Saturday 21st. SelfChecks will also not be working.

No other Millennium functions (OPAC, Cataloguing, Aquisitions, etc) will be available for that day.


The current server has been working continuously since Millennium go-live in 2005, so this is the first replacement, and the first shut-down of this magnitude since then. The server is connected to five different networks, connecting to 57 different sites and also serving about 150,000 web visitors and 1,500,000 pages per month.

We will be communicating with more specific information a little closer to the date.

Customer communication:

Ever had a customer want their notices emailed to more than one address?

• When a teenage customer wishes to receive their own email messages (the business rule states that a parent/guardian’s email address should be used for all under 18 customers).
• When a customer would like to receive email messages at work as well as at home.
• If a customer has more than one email address they access regularly.

this is easy to do! the Millennium record can store multiple addresses for each customer and send email notices to all of them, providing the format is correct. Here's how:

Enter the email addresses into one email (z) field, separated by a comma but with no spaces. If there is already an email address entered you just need to enter a comma immediately after the last letter and then type the next email address. You can do this by typing straight into the existing (z) field, or by using the Edit > Edit field option.

At present, additional email addresses can only be added to patron’s record in Millennium (the OPAC on-line form will not allow more than one email address)

Talk with your circulation trainer for more information.

New Hardware on its Way

Welcome back, hope everyone is rested and ready for 2009.

I know that those who were trying to keep service going with an under-performing Millennium system over the past couple of weeks are probably not rested!

Some further config changes were made to our servers last week which seem to have improved Millennium performance more than any of the numerous other changes made.

We are seeing improved performance numbers now. Last week's changes were a work-around while we await delivery of our new hardware to replace the current server.

I'm expecting this to take a few weeks, and will be letting you know the expected dates etc for the new hardware as soon as we have them to hand.

Payonline & Notice History extracts

From Monday (29 Sep) onwards, eLGAR will be doing regular extracts of Fines Paid (Online) and Notice History from Millennium. These will be done fortnightly. If you are interested in receiving a copy of these files, please email Prateek.

Millennium Release 2007 Planning - update 24/09/2008

Upgrade preparations are proceeding according to our plan, with further detailed application testing increasing our confidence that this will be a 'business as usual" upgrade.

We've been evaluating Release 2007 ver. 1.0 on the TRAIN server, however the first 'patched' version, 1.1 is now in general release. This newest version is what we will be trying out on the TEST server and, all going well, going live with. It apparently brings a fix for the issue identified in Cataloguing, as well as a variety of more minor issues.

The change in versions mid-project does mean we will have to put a little more effort into baseline checks on TEST than we were anticipating, however we are still on target for our scheduled upgrade date. We have refreshed the data on the TEST server today, and will be upgrading it to Release 2007 1.1 tomorrow.

We have not identified any significant issues affecting our ability to upgrade 11/10.

Any questions, please contact Sarah or Millennium.helpdesk@aucklandcity.govt

Millennium Release 2007- 1st server upgraded

We now have Millennium Release 2007 installed on our TRAIN server.

This latest update of Millennium has a heap of fixes and some interesting new functions. If you would like a sneak preview - and perhaps help out with process evaluation and signoff, contact me for a login to the TRAIN server. We refreshed the data on this server immediately prior to upgrade, so it is now up to date as at 18th August.

We intend to refresh and upgrade the TEST server in late September, and if all goes according to plan, to upgrade the live Production system overnight 11-12th October

Opportunity Knocks!!

Are you looking for a great learning opportunity?

Are you detail oriented and well organised?
Do you have a interest in supporting library business processes, and library customers through accurate and timely information?

Do you know a bit about Millennium and ready to learn a lot more?.............Then look no further!!
There is a 6 month temporary entry level position available for 15 hours per week in the eLGAR Programme Office (Auckland Central City Library) for an eLGAR
Data Assistant. The role is at a similar level to a library assistant.

If this sounds like you, please express your interest by sending your cv to
Shawn Pearce-Blom (HR Administrator Auckland City Libraries ) via mailto:Shawn.Pearce-Blom@aucklandcity.govt.nz by 4pm Friday 11th July 2008.

Load Profile training

While here in Washington, DC for the Innovative User Group conference, I am also attending Load Profile training. This is a 2-day intensive workshop on building data manipulation tables for importing records into Millennium.

The training content is excellent - an in-depth approach to a very useful topic - and the presentation is an effective mixture of lecture and hands-on. I only hope to have opportunity to put it in to practice before it falls out of my brain.

The most obvious use of this new skill is in improved import of bibliographic records from cataloguing suppliers - but there are other applications including migration from other systems, and data cleanup/enhancement not possible inside Millennium. If you are interested in hearing more about this, or would like to explore possibilities for a project, please get in touch with me

Cheerio for now,
Sarah Cox