These instructions are intended for Dartmouth College Library Staff. If you are not library staff, please contact a library Info Desk or Circulation Desk to report an off-hours outage of a critical system. All other problem reports should be directed to the general feedback form.
This document discusses troubleshooting procedures for the following systems: eResources, Digital Library, Library Catalog, Millennium (MilCirc, MilCat, etc) & Innopac Staff functions, and the Art History application Artemesia. For any library server or resource not explicitly listed, follow the guidelines under "The system doesn't seem to be working".
The system doesn't seem to be working.
First follow these basic guidelines:
- Check with another department or library to see if they are also having the same trouble. If not, then it might be a local network problem. Circulation staff who are using MilCirc should check to see if the library catalog is working. If neither are working, be sure to check with a circ site outside of your building, preferably Baker-Berry Circulation, to see if they are having a problem. Wait 5-10 minutes and recheck to see if the problem cleared up. If not, then report it.
- Did the power go out? If it did, wait 15 minutes before reporting that there are problems. Depending on the extent of the outage, it can take at least this long for the network computers and mainframes to come back up.
- If the system you are trying to access is reported to be down, consult DartPulse or monitor the Blitz Bulletin "Computing - Outages" for updates. Libcat hardware problems will also be reported to "Computing - Outages". Millennium/Innopac software problems are reported to the Innopac Department Coordinators and Library-Group@mac.
If you're still not able to access the system:
- Monday-Friday, 8am - 5pm
Email the problem report to Digital Library Technologies Group (DLTG). If email is not working, then phone a staff member from DLTG.
- Evenings, weekends and holidays the Machine Room is not staffed.
If there is a system down during evenings, weekends, or holidays, call Jennifer Kortfelt at home. If appropriate, leave a message with instructions to call you back. Please leave your name and a phone number where you can be reached. Also state who else, if anyone, you have contacted to help solve the problem (i.e. another member of DLTG).
Library Catalog or Millennium/Innopac staff function problems
First follow the above general guidelines for determining the extent of the problem and deciding who to notify. The library catalog and the staff functions that support patrons are considered critical systems. When reporting a problem with the Innopac system, please follow up and make sure that the problem is being addressed.
- First, call Jen Fritz at home. If she is not available, try Jennifer Kortfelt. Be sure to leave answering machine messages when one is available, including date and time of call, what you've done so far, what you are going to do next. Don't forget to leave your name and phone number!
- It is best if one site, such as Baker-Berry Circulation, coordinate the problem reporting.
- When Innopac-SysAdmin is not available and there is a critical problem (i.e. system down), you should contact Innovative directly. Innovative keeps a list of staff authorized to open calls with the Helpdesk. Contact Innopac-SysAdmin for more information about who is on the list.
- If none of those people are available to open the call, you MUST explain this when you report the problem to the Innovative Helpdesk. The following information will also be needed:
- Phone 800-878-6600 and ask for the Help Desk
- Our site code is 'dartm'
- Explain the problem fully. If the problem is with Millennium, be sure to try the same function in the telnet interface (when appropriate) so you can report if that is a problem too. Be prepared to report all error messages fully and completely.
- Get the name of the person you are speaking to and the call tracking number. As soon as you can, email this information to Digital Library Technologies Group (DLTG) so they will know how to follow up with Innovative if they come in in the middle of the problem.
- When the problem is resolved please email DLTG to inform them.
- If you have left answering machine messages with Jen or Jennifer and have not heard back from either of them, please call them back to let them know that the problem is fixed.
A special note about off-hours problem reports
DLTG is not staffed to offer 24x7 response to all software problems. If a problem is not critical, please report the problem via email and be prepared to wait until business hours for a resolution. A thorough explanation of the problem, the steps to recreate it and any error messages (reported verbatim) are always appreciated.
I'm having trouble with resources that require a password.
You may be having problems with your Kerberos software. Make sure your Kerberos software (KClient and Sidecar) is working correctly. See Testing the Kerberos Software Installation. If you are trying to access resources from off-campus, please consult the page Off-campus Access at Dartmouth College.
An electronic resource in the Digital Library or Library Catalog doesn't work anymore.
Email a problem report to Library-EJhelp@mac.dartmouth.edu. They can determine whether access is controlled locally or by the information provider and refer the problem to the correct place. Please include in your email the URL you are trying to use.
Artemesia problems
Send a problem report to Digital-Library-Technologies-Group@mac.dartmouth.edu. Please include as much information as possible to describe what you are trying to do and the exact error message you are getting. If Artemesia is not working and we are in an exams period, this is a critical system outage. Please treat it as such and contact staff from DLTG by telephone as described above.
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