Sierra 6.1 Release Notes

Sierra 6.1 went into general release on December 4, 2023.   We released a Sierra 6.1 maintenance update on April 8, 2024. 

This maintenance update version of Sierra 6.1 will display in the Help | About section of the SDA as Software Release: Sierra 6.1.0_10.  The version of Sierra 6.1 released on December 4, 2023 will display in the Help | About section of the SDA as Software Release: Sierra 6.1.0_9. 

Any library, running Sierra 6.0 or older, that preps for update to Sierra 6.1 after April 8, 2024, noon PDT will receive version Sierra 6.1.0_10.  Libraries running Sierra 6.1.0_9 that want the fixes included in Sierra 6.1.0_10 can update to that version by choosing to (again) update to Sierra 6.1.

For further information about which fixes are included in Sierra 6.1.0_10, see Resolved Issues in Sierra 6.1.

Sierra 6.1.0_10 also includes Sierra changes to support LX Starter notices for consortia, which have been added to the end of the 6.1 features list below.

SAML login for staff users

This enhancement allows libraries to use native SAML-based authentication in Sierra so that staff at those libraries will be able to login to the Sierra Desktop Application (SDA) and Web Management Reports using the institution's central authentication system, while those users not included in the central authentication system may still login to the SDA and Web Management Reports using Sierra's native credentials such as username and password.

 In this second phase of SAML login for staff, the SDA and Web Management Reports now support multiple modes of staff authentication:

• Exclusively Native (authentication against Sierra's own store) for staff users
• Mixed SAML (authentication by IdP) and Native (authentication against Sierra's own store) login for staff users

Multi-factor authentication can be enabled with SAML login to provide extra security for staff user logins so libraries can move away from older security methods (e.g., VPN connections). It is expected that libraries will need to configure their identity provider for multi-factor authentication to make this work.

The native SAML-based authentication software must be installed separately. Contact your account manager for implementation services. Separate fees will apply if Innovative implements SAML configuration for your library. No fees apply if the customer configures SAML authentication using the self-configuration option in Sierra 6.1.

Upload of SSO IDs for staff SAML

Added an "Upload SSO IDs" command to the SAML Configuration section of the Admin app. The upload uses a simple text/csv file input. A comma-separated file of username/SSO ID pairs is expected (and a header line that will be ignored). SSO IDs must be unique to be saved in Sierra. SSO IDs are case-sensitive.

None

Customer configuration for SAML Authentication

To make it possible for customers to configure SAML authentication on their own, a SAML Configuration section has been added to the Sierra Admin App. To configure patron or staff SAML, the library staff user must be assigned new SAML Administrator permission (725).

The self-configuration option allows library or IT staff to configure and test the connection between Sierra and the institution's IdP, customize the login screen, and enable/disable the SAML authentication use with Sierra.

Export a table of User Permissions

Exporting user permissions will enable library administrators to easily review and compare the permissions assigned to each user to:

• provide a comprehensive list of permissions to managers for review of roles
• spot any gaps where a user is missing a permission they should have
• spot any redundant or inappropriate permissions that have remained from previous roles. 

A new option to "Export Permissions" was added to the Admin App > User Accounts > Authorizations and Authentication > (select a user). The current user is selected and additional users can be selected. Administrators can filter the list by typing in user information or "Select All" users. Clicking the "Export Permissions" button produces a csv file of the permissions for the selected users (where the rows are users and the columns are permissions).

Re-bill Patrons for Outstanding Charges

Libraries want to be able to send follow-up bills to patrons who owe the library money for lost materials and other unpaid charges. This enhancement provides a configurable setting that allows the library to send multiple bills to patrons with outstanding balances. The library can configure how many bills will be sent and how many days apart the bills can be prepared. The new Repeated Bills notices must be configured by the library after upgrade and prior to sending the follow-up bills to patrons.

Reprint Bills

Library staff will be able to reprint a previously sent bill from the patron's notice history. Bills can be reprinted from the Fines tab of the patron display using either a new right-click menu option or the Reprint Bill button. To be eligible to be reprinted, a bill must have been sent after upgrade to Sierra 6.1 and in the last 60 days and must still have a balance due. Bills that are more than 60 days old or have been fully paid or waived are automatically purged from the Sierra database. Staff users must have permission 361 to reprint bills.

Show Time of Last Status Update Date

Based on customer requests, the last status update date introduced in Sierra 6.0 has been enhanced to show the date and time the status was last changed.

None

None

Add Last Status Update Date to Create Lists 

The last status update date field has been added to Create Lists to allow library staff to search for records using this field, and to list, sort, and export data using this field.

None

Protect Global Update files on server from accidental overwrite 

Library staff members who use Global Update will see updated options in the File menu to make it easier to select either "Load" or "Save" actions and new pop-up messages to confirm the correct command file is being saved. This will help prevent accidental overwrite of command files to ensure that library staff don't replace detailed command files with others by mistake.

Send ILL requests to RapidILL

RapidILL is a fast and cost-effective interlibrary loan tool tailored for article and book chapter requests.

For Sierra 6.1, Innovative has introduced a new acquisition method - RapidILL. Choosing this option and finishing the request will send the request to the RapidILL web pages. Once the request data has been transmitted, library staff can continue processing the request using the RapidILL web pages. The customer illoptions file must be configured to include this new option. Customer prompts for article and book chapter requests must conform to our documented prompt configuration -

https://documentation.iii.com/sierrahelp/Default.htm#sgcir/sgcir_ill_prompts.html

In order to proceed with configuration, we will need the following details for your RapidILL account:

• Requesting Rapid Code
• Requesting Branch Name
• Password

Modify INN-Reach Borrowed Report to follow renewal rule

The INN-Reach Borrowed Report, originally added in Sierra 5.3, has been updated with a new option that allows renewal rules to be enforced. A new checkbox option, Enforce renewal rules, applies renewal rules based on library policies. Messages are displayed for the items that cannot be renewed.

Associated permissions:

• 345 - Modified - View INN-Reach Borrowed report
• 346 - New - Renew INN-Reach Borrowed items using renewal rules
• 347 - New - Renew INN-Reach Borrowed items with or w/o renewal rules

Support new MARC 856 subfield for linking

New MARC 21 standards have been implemented recently to support hyperlinks to persistent identifiers in MARC records using 856 $g.

$g - Persistent identifier (R)
$h - Non-functioning Uniform Resource Identifier (R)

This enhancement adds support for hyperlinks to include the newly defined 856 $g when using record display options (DISPLAY_856 and DISPLAY_CHECKIN_856) and the URL Checker. 

Location data for items in LX Starter notices

New data elements have been added to the notice data for LX Starter to provide a match location and location group to allow LX Starter to select the notice template to use when sending notices to library patrons.

* This feature is new in the Sierra 6.1 Maintenance Release (6.1.0_10)

Unique identifier in notice data sent to LX Starter

A unique identifier has been included for each item in the notice data sent to LX Starter to prevent duplicate items from being listed in notices sent to library patrons.

* This feature is new in the Sierra 6.1 Maintenance Release (6.1.0_10)

Recommended Post-Upgrade Action

Library admin option to restart Sierra Web

Sierra Web can and does hang occasionally at some libraries and the short-term remedy is to restart the Sierra Web container.  This enhancement adds a new choice to the Admin Corner menu: "W > Restart Sierra WEB", which allows affected libraries to conveniently resolve Sierra Web issues on their own.

Upgrade management of SW_SESSIONS_PER_TOMCAT

In Sierra 6.0, we began to work with libraries to increase the number of Sierra Web users. This enhancement in Sierra 6.1 will enforce the maximum user setting in iiiconfig.main during an upgrade.  The change allows the Sierra upgrade process to continue to increase a library's user count to the assumed default (60) if the value at upgrade time is found to be lower, while not decreasing the value if it has already been set higher.

Check Range in Scheduler Tasks

Sierra 6.1 resolves Known Issue SIERRA-38667 "When creating a Scheduler Task, Scheduler saves the range start and stop as the current first and last record numbers, and these cannot be modified.  This means that when new records are created, the task will never consider them."

After upgrading to Sierra 6.1, please check your scheduler tasks and edit the STOP record number where needed, as the upgrade does not automatically update existing tasks.