Are You Ready?

Your success is our top priority. We want your switch to Alexandria 7 to be as easy and straightforward as possible — once you've switched, you can't go back! So let's go over all the things you need to know.

Interested in making the switch? Here's what you'll need to do!

Contact Us 

Fill out the interest form and we'll get back to you, or directly call your Account Executive at 800-347-6439 and let them know you want to make the switch. They'll go over your license and subscription options, and explain everything you need to know to make an informed decision. Then, if you want to proceed, they'll transfer you to Customer Support to make sure your system is ready.

Prepare 

Consider Cloud Hosting

Alexandria 7 is designed and optimized for the cloud. If you're running a self-hosted library, start saving time and resources with Cloud Hosting. Let us be your IT department! We'll manage your data, backups, hardware, server maintenance, and more. You'll always be on the latest version, so you always have the latest features. Ask your Account Executive about moving to Cloud Hosting today.

Consider merging with Textbook Tracker

If you also use Textbook Tracker, this is a great time to consider merging it with Alexandria. There are many benefits to merging the two systems, including the sharing of patrons and various settings for easier management. Note that this is only possible if you're on Alexandria 7 and Textbook Tracker 7. So if you need to update both in order to merge, we recommend doing Alexandria first. Contact your Account Executive if you're interested in this option.

Prerequisites for Self Hosted

Cloud Hosted libraries are already eligible for the switch, but Self Hosted libraries have additional requirements to stay Self Hosted. If you need to update your system, now is the time.

• • The library server(s) must meet all install requirements

• • Alexandria must be updated to version 6.23.1

 Review the changes

There are a lot of differences between 6 and 7 that will affect how you run your daily operations, and we don't want you to be caught unaware. Read through the list of changes and try out all of your usual activities in the demo. Go to the See What Changed tab for a list of suggestions.

Things to do

Not everything can be converted and transferred to Alexandria 7. Read the Things to Do list thoroughly and make note of everything you need to do before the switch.

 Video

If you'd like to, watch the workshop video put together by our certified trainers that goes through what has changed and what you'll need to know.

Back up your data

(If you're coming from v6 Cloud Hosted, we'll take care of the backup for you!) Alexandria will convert your current data into a format that is readable by the new program. Because nothing in life is guaranteed, we strongly recommend that you back up your data to an external drive before making the switch. 

Alexandria 7 was designed based on Alexandria 6, so much of it should be familiar to you, but a lot of things have changed, too. We want you to hit the ground running, so we created Distributed and Centralized Catalog demos for you to try. Open the demo that matches your library setup, then test out all of the features you normally use and note the differences. Use the checklists below as a guide.

Distributed Catalog: demo.goalexandria.com

Centralized Catalog: ccdemo.goalexandria.com

Better tech

Alexandria 7 doesn't require any client installations! It's all web based, meaning you can use it from any browser, from your laptop or your tablet, from school, home, or anywhere in the world. 

New Researcher interfaces support responsive design, and you can use them on smartphones. (See our Alexandria Requirements.)

It's more secure! Alexandria 7 uses TSL 1.2. Alexandria version 6 uses TLS 1.0. As of March 2020, most browsers are depreciating TLS 1.0 and 1.1.

Librarian

We are improving Alexandria with every release. Circulation, Items, and Patrons are largely the same in both programs, so everything should feel familiar to you. Explore all of the tabs, buttons, and options to see where things were moved. 

New features include:

• Merge patrons.
• Interactive Patron Details, Item Details, and Copy List
• New Textbook Tracker.
• New Activity tracker.

With more major new changes coming with the Alexandria Dream Makeover...

Integrations

Part of how we are adding more features than ever is by working with our longtime partners for better integrations, and partnering with new services. 

• Make managing your patrons easier with SIS Integrations like Clever or GG4L. 
• Take advantage of single sign-on (SSO) with GG4L. 
• Automatically import books ordered through Bound to Stay Bound. 

Reports

No more Boolean options, at least not the way you're used to. We've simplified the selection options to only those that are relevant to the specific report, making it easier and faster to get the data you need. Run a quick report as-is, or customize it and save it for use later.

Because Alexandria 7 is a web app, all reports are generated in PDF format; VWP reports are no longer supported.

Old Saved reports will not transfer, so they will need to be recreated. The report titles in Alexandria 7 aren't the same as those in Alexandria 6, but the Reports Conversion Guide can help you match them up.

Run some of your favorite reports and compare the results to those in your current program. Here are a few suggestions:

• • Discarded or Lost Copies
  • Patron Overdue List
  • Loaned Items
  • Overdue Items Notice
    
    

Reservations

Making reservations—in both Librarian and Researcher—is a breeze with our improved Reservations interface! There's even a calendar to help you easily select a date range.

 Check out the new and simple process

 Try it out in the demo

Cover Art

That's right! Now you can choose to include cover art when viewing, emailing, or printing patron details. 

 See what it looks like

Researcher

Some of the most exciting changes are to our patron searching tools. Researcher is now a collection of tools for patrons. The main page is an Explore pane, which means you can choose which icons and links to display. The demo has buttons for each of the Researcher modules. Try them out on your computer and mobile devices to see how they work!

Go to Researcher and log in (top left) as a patron.

• • Username: 1001
  • Password: anderson
    
    

Explore Builder

The all-new Explore Builder lets you fully customize your Explore panes. Explore Builder includes hundreds of all-new modern icons at your disposal, so you can create buttons that navigate to predefined searches, specific items in your catalog, saved lists, external websites, panes in Search and Explore, bulletin boards, and more.

Explore buttons from Alexandria 6 will need to be recreated in Alexandria 7. Learn how:

  Create an Explore pane

  Configure Explore buttons

Modify the Researcher pane

Browse

Students don't always search for a book by author and title. Browse gives your students a new way to look through your library shelves by genre or study program — no searching or rearranging required. 

 Browse the demo by genre

Learn more

Explore 

Not every student can read yet, but nearly everyone can click through pictures. Explore is a fully customizable, engaging search tool that uses pictures to guide patrons to the items in your library. Explore panes can be set up by genre, topic, theme, or anything else you'd like.

 Explore the demo by topic or category

Learn more

Scout 

Scout is a streamlined search tool for the K-4 crowd, because younger students don't need to be confused by complicated search options. There isn't even a search button — just enter a word or phrase and Scout will start looking.

 Try Scout on a mobile device

Learn more

Slideshow 

Display a slideshow presentation of titles from a list or search string. Use Slideshow to promote a theme or subject on a TV, computer, or tablet in your library!

  See what it looks like

Set up your own Slideshow

Search

Alexandria Search is highly customizable, powerful, and fast. Find exactly what you want by searching keyword(s) in Smart Search, or use the drop-down menu to change the search type. You can refine your search by adding filters, like titles that have won awards or only titles with eBooks.

 Search for an item (learn How Search Works)

 Refine your search results with filters

 Place an item on hold

 Create a list and add items to it

 Try an advanced search

Accessibility

Only in version 7—the Researcher Hub, Scout, Status, Browse, and Slideshow are WCAG AA-compliant! Read more about accessibility in Alexandria.

Alexandria 7 has been has been completely redesigned as a web app, which means many of the tools and features have changed from what you're used to. Please read through the list carefully so you understand what needs to be done before the switch.

Non-transferrable items

The following things will not transfer to Alexandria 7, so you'll need to run reports and write some things down. This is a great time to see everything you have and decide what is and isn't coming with you!

Image Modified Saved and scheduled reports, utilities, exports, and imports

Run the Operation Summary report for a detailed list of your saved operations. Review the list for operations still in use, then plan some time to recreate them. Report formats and titles have also changed. Use the Reports Conversion Guide to determine which Alexandria 7 report best matches each Alexandria 6 report.

Learn more: Saved Reports, Saved Utilities, Saved Items Import, Saved Patrons Import, Saved Exports

Image Modified Explore panes and buttons 

Run the Explore Pane Summary report for a detailed list of your Explore panes and buttons, so you know what to recreate later.

Learn more: Explore Builder

Image Modified Researcher lists

Alexandria Researcher is brand new, which means your Saved lists will not transfer. Make note of the lists you have and want to save.

Learn more: Search Lists

Image Modified Researcher links

Researcher links cannot be transferred because they're handled differently now. In Alexandria 7, links are added to the title record and are displayed in the item details in Search results. Write down the URLs of the links you want to save.

Learn more: Title Record Links

Image Modified Z39.50 addresses

The z39.50 Address Book has been discontinued in favor of a new stand-alone preference in Alexandria 7. During the transition, Alexandria will convert the top ten addresses set to Available; all others will need to be added manually. If you have more than ten z39.50 addresses, write them down.

Learn more: z39.50 Preferences, Set up z39.50 Servers for Adding Titles

Miscellaneous tasks

These can be done either before or after the switch, but we recommend you take care of them beforehand.

Image Modified Print a list of the new keyboard shortcuts. 

They have been redone, so they'll need to be relearned. Print off the v7 Circulation Commands cheat sheet.

Image Modified Reassign Union Site items (Centralized Catalog). 

The Union Site cannot be used to circulate items in Alexandria 7, so all items assigned to the Union Site will be given a copy status of In Processing. Reassign all items from the Union Site to a registered site. If items need to be circulated from a district site, please speak with your Account Manager about purchasing a new district site subscription.

Image Modified Consider upgrading your printer. 

Alexandria 6 slip printers are not compatible with Alexandria 7, so it may be time to upgrade to the Alexandria Network Printer — it's fully integrated with Alexandria 7 and can be shared by multiple stations.

Switch to 7 Video

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Our Conversions team will review the work order and call you in the next week to schedule the data conversion and version upgrade. It doesn't have to be now, though. If you decide you'd rather wait, give us a call back when you're ready. We'll do this on your time.

Time Frame

Your Alexandria library will be down during the conversion process, which which can take about 2 business days from the time we receive the data; larger districts and Central Unions with 10 or more sites may take longer. We recommend scheduling it for off-peak days.

Cloud Hosted Conversions

Already on Cloud Hosted? Fantastic! We've got everything we need to set up your new server. Easy peasy.

Self Hosted Conversions

The transition from Alexandria 5 or 6 Self Hosted is a bit different. Before we can schedule the transition, we'll need you to send in your library data so we can convert it to Alexandria 7 data. If you're moving to Cloud Hosted, which we strongly recommend, we'll get it set up on your new Cloud server. If you're sticking with Self Hosted, we'll send back your converted data so you can set up your new server manually.

A Word of Caution

We do not provide support for Alexandria Controllers running on a virtual machine. Alexandria Controller is a highly sophisticated database application that should be run on a dedicated server to optimize performance. While you can run it on a virtual machine, we don't recommend it. The resource-intensive nature of a controller's workload can place a significant strain on an inefficient VM, leading to challenges we will not be able to troubleshoot or diagnose. Refer to our Controller System Requirements for more technical information.

Once your conversion is complete, you'll receive an email from our Operations Team. This will include important account information and some getting started resources.

Here are some specific things you need to do after switching:

 Recreate all of those non-transferrable items you documented before the switch. You should also take care of the miscellaneous tasks if you haven't already. (See the Things to Do tab.)

 Authority Control has been redesigned and now works completely different than it did in Alexandria 6, and the existing index cannot be moved over. So you'll need to repopulate your Authority Control terms! Do this by clicking on Authority Control's  Actions Menu while holding down the ALT/Option key; then select Rebuild All Authority Terms. Feel free to contact Customer Support if you would like help.

 Continue learning about Alexandria 7! Explore the Support Center and use our resources, such as Tip of the Week and FAQs.