USG Institutional Billing ProcessIn GIL Express
Bob TrotterUniversity System of GeorgiaDeveloper Meets Developer
March 25-26, 2009
Technical Overview
• GIL– 35 USG Libraries– GA Archives– Atlanta History Ctr– Technical Colleges
Technical Overview• Supported at:
– Georgia State• 8 Servers
• 20 DBs
• UC
– UGA• 4 Servers
• 16 DBs
– Georgia Tech• 1 Server/DB
UGA
Georgia Tech
GeorgiaState
MedicalCollege
Atlanta
Athens
Augusta
Technical Overview
xxxdb
library.fil
tnsnames.ora
HTMLSSL
BrowserVoyagerServer
ApachePHPSQLOracleTNS
Peachnet
Georgia Tech
GeorgiaState
MedicalCollegeUniversity
Of Georgia
Technical Overview
• Apache/HTML - presentation
• SSL Certificates - Security
• PHP – business logic
• SQL – interface to Oracle
• Oracle/SQLNet/TNS – access to other Voyager databases
Technical Overview
• TNS Entries– Add a section, with a unique TNS name, for
each server in the consortium:UGA1 = (DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL= TCP)
(Host=gil1.usg.edu)(Port= 1521)) (CONNECT_DATA = (SID = VGER))
Technical Overview
• Database identification file– A file containing the DB_KEY, database name,
database password, and tns name of all the databases in the consortium.
– Used for relating a DB_ID from some UB related table to the server and database it belongs to.
Billing / Analysis
• USG Institutional Billing Summary
Billing / Analysis
• Institutional Billing Process– Annual Reconciliation for
lost items– Includes books with a lost
status date in range
Billing / Analysis
• Uses price in item record or Boker’s Price Index (MySQL DB (updated annually)).
Billing / Analysis
• Maintain a MySQL DB of GE contact/billing information
• Can either send Informational email, or upload report to send official annual bill to Library whose patron lost your book.
Billing / Analysis
Billing / Analysis
Billing / Analysis• GIL Express
Request Analysis– Counts GE items
requested and charged by Library’s patrons.
– Being updated to click to Titles within each LC class.
Questions?
• gil.usg.edu – GIL Project Homepage
• giluc.usg.edu – GIL Universal Catalog
• gilexpress.usg.edu – GIL Express Information page
• [email protected] - My email
Technical Overview
• DB_KEY– A field in the VOYAGER_DATABASES table
used to uniquely identify a UB database.– When the UB Database checkbox is checked,
the system goes and gets that database’s DBKEY, and puts it in the DBKEY field of that definition.
Background Processes• Blocking local patrons who have become
blocked in GE– Perl program using DBD::Oracle– Looks at UB_CHARGE and UB_FINE_FEE
tables– Keeps list of blocked patrons for comparison– Unblocks patrons when they have cleared– Uses Pptrnupdt to Expire/Unexpire patron
Background Processes• GE Block process
(cont.)– Sends email to list of
staff showing who was blocked and unblocked, and the list of currently blocked patrons
– Log also placed on GIL Web Reports site
Background Processes• Sync Barcode
process– Syncs all Stub
barcodes against Home barcode
– If patron group changed, checks if eligible and mapped
– Log placed on web reports site
Background Processes
• Reset Stub patron record Purge Date– Purge dates in Stub come from Home record
and vary greatly– Circjob 29 purges stubs only if Purge date is
less than current date– Process set Purge date in Stub to current date