Converting and Migrating Data


Data conversion - the process of transferring data from your LLMS to Infiniti - our Infiniti Conversion Team did this for you.

Data migration - the process of manipulating your converted data into a format for optimum management practices - Infiniti provides tools to allow you to do this for yourself.


During the conversion phase of your LLMS to Infiniti our Conversion Team moved your LLMS data into Infiniti. Once this conversion was complete you commenced the staging phase of your transition to Infiniti. During the 10-12 hour / 5-10 day staging phase you checked your converted data to ensure that it was all converted accurately and liaised with our Support Team about conversion issues you may have detected, all of which were corrected prior to moving from staging to production. Now it is time to migrate your data.


Why should I migrate my data?


Data migration focuses on manipulating your data. You are going to push and pull it into shape much like you would if you were shaping clay. The process is not difficult to accomplish nor will it take a lot of time, but it will require some thought and planning. You can't really get it wrong but you can generally improve newly converted data. As you work through the processes below you will likely ask yourself many questions. Where did that come from? Why is it there? Why are some attributes aligned to only a few or even zero (0) resources? Which attributes are mistakes? How can I fix or remove the unwanted attributes.


What do I have to do?


You may have to delete, rename, merge, or in some cases add new data attributes. This is a task that only you can do because you know and understand your data and you know how you want your patrons to interpret it. Data migration requires you to review and possibly adjust the following attributes where necessary:

  • Media Types
  • Sites
  • Sections
  • Access Control


Media Types


Infiniti caters for two distinct media types for identifying or tagging resources - Physical and Digital. A simple distinction between Physical resources and Digital resources is that Physical resources can have a barcode label attached but digital resources cannot.


Every bibliographic record must be tagged as a specific Media Type. Common Physical Media Types might include; book, DVD, Kit, Resource Box, Chart, Sheet Music, and Chart. Common Digital Media Type might include; Audio file, Video file, Podcast, eAudiobook, eBook, PDF, Website, and YouTube.


To check your Media Types Go to: Config > Library > Media Types


Review the numbers associated with each defined Media Type (the number represents the count of individual resources tagged with the Media Type). Based on your review:

  1. Check records of resources where media types have low counts. Were they been mis-tagged in the past?
  2. Merge media types to restore integrity, e.g., if you have Book and Books listed merge one type into the other, or if you have Video Disk and DVD, should they be the same.
  3. Rename media types as required, e.g., if you have BK and would like this media type to be Book, rename it.
  4. Delete unwanted/unused media types, e.g., if you have 0 resources count for a media type you may not want to keep it. You can add it to the list in the future if circumstances change.

Sites

Sites are libraries - physical or digital. Physical resources are stored in physical libraries. Digital resources are stored in digital libraries. Some schools have multiple physical libraries while other schools may have only one. If you are storing or curating digital resources you will have a least one digital library. Sites play a role in segmenting your collection for specific audiences which means that each Site can be open or closed to specific groups of patrons. Because digital resources are accessed online, digital Sites can be restricted to audiences based on content suitability - patrons who can find a digital resource can see, listen, read, or watch it online immediately.

Every copy of a record must be stored in a specific Site. Common physical Sites might include; Junior Library, Senior Library, Teacher Library, and one or more Department libraries. Common digital Sites might include; Digital General (everyone can access it), Digital Senior (Senior students and teachers can access it), Digital Junior (Junior students and teachers can access it), and Digital Teacher (teachers can access it).

To check your Sites Go to: Config > Library > Sites

 

Review the numbers associated with each defined Site (the number represents the count of individual resources stored in that Site). Based on your review:

  1. Check records of resources where sites have low counts. Were they been mis-tagged in the past?
  2. Merge sites to restore integrity, e.g., if you have Site A and Site 1 listed and they should be the same, merge one type into the other.
  3. Rename sites as required, e.g., if you have Junior Digital and would like this site to be Digital - Junior, rename it.
  4. Delete unwanted/unused sites, e.g., if you have 0 resources count for a site you may not want to keep it. You can add it to the list in the future if circumstances change.

Sections

Sections are distinct groupings or locations with in a Site. Sections readily apply to physical resources but can also be used to group digital resources. Sections play a role in segmenting your physical collection for specific purposes. Sections also play in Circulation Rights allowing you to determine loan duration and loan numbers rights for different groups within your school. Patrons can borrow physical resources from your library based on the Section rights.

Every copy of a physical record must be tagged to a specific Section. Common Sections might include; Fiction, Junior Fiction, Senior Fiction, Non-fiction, and Teacher Reference. 

 

To check your Sections Go to: Config > Library > Sections

 

Review the numbers associated with each defined Site (the number represents the count of individual resources stored in that Site). Based on your review:

  1. Check records of resources where sections have low counts. Were they been mis-tagged in the past?
  2. Merge sections to restore integrity, e.g., if you have Fiction section and an F section merge them if they should they be the same.
  3. Rename sections as required, e.g., if you have "Fic" section and would prefer this site to be Fiction, rename it.
  4. Delete unwanted/unused sections, e.g., if you have 0 resources count for a section you may not want to keep it. You can add it to the list in the future if circumstances change.

Access Control

To check your Access Control Go to: Config > Access Control

 

Access Control determines which patrons can access digital resources, and locate and borrow what physical resources from your library and for how long. As part of your data conversion our Support Team created two basic Library Groups (STAFF and STUDENTS) and accompanying Circulation Rights (Staff and Students). These rights were deliberately open and generous to ensure you could start circulation on day one of staging. If you have not already removed these staging rights and configured production rights more suitable for your school, you should do so now.

Please review instructions here for setting up your access control and circulation rights.

Once you have completed these tidy up tasks, your Infiniti will be well configured and fully operational. Further information here...


Holiday Calendar Setup


Your Holiday Calendar helps manage your circulation and in particular ensures you don't accidentally set the return date for a loan to a date your library is closed. If a loan were to fall due on a date your library is closed it could not be returned on that date and so would become overdue, clogging your overdue reports and annoying your patrons with contentious overdue email notices. You should review and if necessary set up your Holiday Calendar to manage calculated loan return dates as soon as possible.