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The Latest Liberty Release Delivers Again!

Libraries and knowledge center staff have always put their users first. The era of COVID-19 sees our Liberty users pushing that ethos even further. As their partners, Softlink Information Centres continues to deliver functionality our customers request in every new Liberty release.

Our Top 6 New Features in Liberty v5 Build 8.036

As usual, the latest Liberty release is full of new features, enhancements, and required options. So, without further ado, our top 6 are:

1. Easy Visitor Check-in

The easy Visitor Logging feature is a result of recent, direct feedback from Liberty users who are required to track customers as their libraries reopen after the COVID-19 closures.

It provides those librarians with the means to track and keep statistics of registered, non-registered, or anonymous library users as they begin to access the library again.

2. Bulk Extension and Renewal of Loans

The Bulk Extension and Renewal of Loans options have been implemented based on recent feedback from our customers whose libraries are closed due to COVID-19.

Bulk Extend Loans allows staff to simply set a new due date in the future, and apply it to all current loans on a list of Borrowers.

Bulk Renew Loans allows staff to renew all current loans on a list of borrowers according to the individual loan lending rules.Staff can also specify whether a loan receipt is to be sent.

3. Bulk Alerts Option

We’ve added a bulk alerts menu option to the Borrowers page. It means that staff can now opt to send a bulk alert to borrowers via the Circulation Desk or Search screen.

4. Email Newsletter

Library staff can now easily create and email a newsletter of new resources to a group of borrowers directly from Liberty.

They can customize the introduction and summary text that displays before and after the resource list. Details of the resources listed on the newsletter include title, author, and classification.

5. Emailing of Loan Receipts

Staff now have the option to email a loan receipt to a borrower once a Circulation Desk session is completed. The email can be sent once one or more loans have been issued to the borrower. The email they receive includes a summary of the borrower’s current loans.

6. Enhance Authorities on Resources

Staff can enhance authorities included on resources via Z-Cataloguing and delete any authorities “orphaned” by the enhance process at the same time. This means staff don’t have to locate the orphaned authority and delete it later.
Comprehensive Release Notes and Help Guides

As with every release, there are comprehensive release notes. They provide a good overview of all the new features. The release notes are located in the Help interface and display as a link.

Screenshot showing how to access release notes

There are also How To guides giving users step by step instructions on functions available throughout Liberty.

As always, our fantastic Support team members are available if you have any questions. You can contact them by email or phone. And, if you have logged into the Softlink Customer portal, you can always use our live chat option!

We would like to thank our customers for the input they provided for this release. We know you will enjoy the benefits that come with using the new features in the latest Liberty release.

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