Bonn City Library will close all its facilities for four weeks from Monday, March 31 to Monday, April 28. The reason for this is the installation of new library software. The last opening day before the closure is Saturday, March 29. From 2 p.m., the outside return station at the Haus der Bildung will also be closed for the entire duration of the four-week closure.
The volunteer-run district libraries in Endenich, Dottendorf and Auerberg will close for one week longer until Monday, 5 May, i.e. for five weeks. The full-time facilities of the city library will reopen on Tuesday, 29 April, while the voluntary district libraries will reopen on Tuesday, 6 May.
The changeover to new library software is necessary because, according to the manufacturer, the software currently in use is no longer being developed further. Ongoing maintenance, service and bug fixes are no longer guaranteed in the long term.
New functionalities, such as barrier-free web use, responsive web design, online fee payment and an easy-to-use customer account, are not technically feasible with the existing software. Closing times are necessary for the changeover in order to migrate all data - such as customer or catalog data - completely and without errors. In addition, all employees need to be trained and new work processes need to be practiced.
Fee cards extended
The fee expiry periods on the ID cards of all customers who have paid an annual fee or a three-month fee will be automatically extended by four weeks after the changeover to the new software.
Limited functionalities
Since Friday, 28 February, interlibrary loan requests are no longer possible, and from Wednesday, 19 March, 7 pm, the reservation of borrowed media and the ordering of media from branches will be deactivated for organizational reasons, so that the media can be picked up before the closure if possible.
Online catalog OPAC is being converted
As the online catalog OPAC will also be switched off and converted, customers must back up their reserve lists privately and independently before the changeover; an automatic transfer to the new system is not possible. If necessary, customers can create new watch lists in the new OPAC themselves after reopening using the saved title records. Instead of the previous 20 watch lists, there will only be one watch list in future. The loan history cannot be transferred automatically either. It will not be possible to create them manually in the same way as the watch list.
It is already being pointed out that the personal OPAC password will no longer work in the new system and that customers will have to create new passwords themselves. The new system will automatically store an initial login password consisting of the date of birth (DDMMYYYYY). Together with the ID number, the new OPAC can be used from Tuesday, April 29. For security reasons, the password should then be changed.
Effects on other online services of the city library
The provision of almost all of the city library's other online services is only possible using the library software.
As the passwords cannot be transferred to the new software, this also means new authentication in the digital services. For eLibrary customers in particular, this means major restrictions: the loss of loans, watch lists and especially existing reservations. The City Library very much regrets this restriction. Customers are asked to save their watch lists in advance if necessary, as reservations cannot be technically transferred.
During the changeover phase of the library software, restrictions are therefore also to be expected for the City Library's online services. The city library cannot reliably say when exactly which of the services will work again. For various reasons, this could even vary depending on the customer card.
No events and use of the premises
During the closure period, no events will take place and there will be no opening of the premises, as this would not be feasible in terms of organization or staffing. This applies to all City Library facilities without exception.
The City Library asks for your understanding for the closure and the restrictions.