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

• rwt@mail.libs.uga.edu - 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