SERIES-M System for
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
This document explains the SERIES-M system setup for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The programs that
were used to define the system options are explained and illustrated. This document also includes a section on the
DAILY reports that are run to process the requests and the procedure for initializing the shipping calendars.
Document prepared by:
Gary A. Dobson
Tek Data Systems
31 Crestview Drive
Westerly, RI 02891
401-594-5175 Fax: 401-596-5063
gary@tekdata.com
Tek Data Systems
SERIES-M V5.0 Installation Document
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Video & Film Library (AV 1)
7003 SW Fourth Street
Miami, Florida 33144
Contacts: Donnette Duggan 786-275-0809
Support Modem:
Installation and Training: Joel and Denise – 8/4/03 to 8/6/03 8/19/03-8/21/03
SERIES-M System number formats
District ## 1 digit
Bldg #### 4 digit
User ###### 6 digit
Title ##### 5 digit
a##### 1 alpha, 5 digits
Print ## numeric
Shelf titles shelved by order number
Subject nnnnnnbbbb
aannnnbbbb
Standard not activated
This document contains the following sections:
Data Conversion Description
SERIES-M System Setup Description
SERIES-M Hardware Specifications
SERIES-M Custom Programming
Miami-Dade DAILY Reports
Miami-Dade Shipping Calendar Setup Procedure
Tek Data Systems
SIEC Data to V5.0 Pentium Conversion
The document Miami-Dade to SERIES-M Conversion document describes the process
that was used to create the SERIES-M database from the Miami-Dade data.
Setup the SERIES-M V5.6 System
1) SHIPPING CALENDARS
The following Calendar/Routes were established.
Calender/Route Number Calendar/Route Name Assign to
0 WALKIN Video & Film Library (AV 1)
2 ROUTE 1 Route 1 Daily deliveries and Pickups
4 ROUTE 2 Route 2 Daily deliveries and Pickups
6 ROUTE 3 Route 3 Daily deliveries and Pickups
8 ROUTE 4 Route 4 Daily deliveries and Pickups
10 ROUTE 5 Route 5 Daily deliveries and Pickups
12 ROUTE 6 Route 6 Daily deliveries and Pickups
14 ROUTE 7 Route 7 Daily deliveries and Pickups
16 ROUTE 8 Route 8 Daily deliveries and Pickups
18 ROUTE 9 Route 9 Daily deliveries and Pickups
The default booking period for all building was set to 5. The SCFLAG field in each calendar record was set to 1,
except for Calendar 0 Walkin. This calendar must have SCFLAG set to 0 so that Walkin bookings can be
scheduled. This forces the system to ship all materials that first ship date prior to the requested view date.
When counting days for the booking period, holidays are not counted. Note, the Period field in the title
records can be used to over ride the default period from the building record.
There is a section at the end of this document that explains how to set up the calendars.
2) ORDERS Booking
Use the SETUP program to review all the ORDERS Options, set as required.
Number of Days Between Bookings – This option setting was set to 0. This means that each item can be
scheduled to go back out the day after it is returned. If an item is due back on a Monday, it can be scheduled to
go back out Tuesday.
3) D/MAX SETUP
The following D/MAX – Web/Max setup options were defined on the SIEC system. Use the D/MAX SETUP
program to change the settings as required.
Earliest Booking Date – This date was set to tomorrow’s date
Maximum Due Date – This date was set to 6/30/04
Absolute Maximum Due Date – This was set to 6/30/04
Cutoff Time of Day (on earliest ship day) – Time was set to 7:00 PM
Extra Days Maximum – Set to 0
Extra Days Maximum on 0 route - 0
NEW Items Date – This date was set to 7/1/02
Default User Password – MEDIA
Require default password change – No
With these settings Users can schedule items via Web/Max for delivery tomorrow up to 7:00 AM today. This
means that up until 7:00 AM on Monday items can be scheduled for delivery on Tuesday. After this time the
earliest items could be booked for, via Web/Max , is the day after tomorrow . Using the previous example, the
earliest items can be scheduled for after 7:00 AM on Monday would be for Wednesday. If this is not acceptable
use the D/MAX SETUP program to change the Earliest Booking Date option. All items booked will have to
have a due date on or before 6/30/04, this is because the Absolute Maximum Due date has been set to 6/30/04.
Each year after re-doing the calendars, use the D/MAX SETUP program to adjust the Maximum and Absolute
Maximum Due dates. This will allow users to schedule materials for the new school year. The NEW Items
date sets the system to identify all titles that were added to the system after 7/1/02 as new titles. On WEB/MAX
if the new items search box is checked, then only new titles will be listed. Also, a special NEW icon will be
displayed for all new titles.
4) Alternate logon feature not activated. Due to the large number of users in the user file, the Alternate Logon
feature can not be used.
5) The default user password was set to: MEDIA
Each time a new user is added to the system, their password will be set to MEDIA
If you wish to use a different default password go to the D/MAX SETUP program and change the Default User
password option.
To change the Default User Password:
Press the Home key to display the SERIES-M main menu
Press F10 for OPTIONS
Press F2 for D/MAX
Press F5 for SETUP
Press the Down arrow key until the Default User password option is highlighted
Type in the desired password (note the password is case insensitive).
6) Set special buildings in MAINT STATUS
MAINT STATUS SETUP
Withdraw 9999
Damaged 9998
Lost 9997
ON-ORDER 9996
These special buildings are used in the MAINT STATUS program to remove copies from circulation. A special
District 99 - Out of Circulation was created for these buildings.
7) The MAINT CREATE-MC-FILE program was run to create the Media Code authority file based on the media
field within the title records. The following media codes were found.
Media Code Description Note
F 16mm Film
V Videocassette Non dubbable
VA Videocassette Dubbable – 30 Mins or less
VB Videocassette Dubbable – 31 to 60 Mins
VC Videocassette Dubbable – longer than 60 Mins
8) Web/Max NO BOOK items – Currently there are no materials set to not be bookable via Web/Max. To make
items non-bookable on Web/Max use the MAINT DECODE NOBOOK option. Nobook items will display on
Web/Max, but they can not be booked via Web/Max. The following MAINT DECODE file settings were made
to suppress Web/Max booking for specified media types.
Press the Home key to display the SERIES-M main menu.
Press F7 for MAINT
Press F9 for DECODE
Press F1 for SELECT
Press the Down arrow until Browse media & level is highlighted
Then Press the Enter key
Press F3 for ADD
Enter the following as the decode key: NOBOOK
Enter the following as the decode text: XXYY
Note, both the media code and the special field are checked for the NOBOOK code.
9) The following MAINT DECODE file settings were made to support Web/Max searches by media type.
Press the Home key to display the SERIES-M main menu.
Press F7 for MAINT
Press F9 for DECODE
Press F1 for SELECT
Press the Down arrow until Browse media & level is highlighted
Then Press the Enter key
The following Browse Media Decode keys were established:
F 16mm Film
V Videocassette
MEDIA V?F
10) The following MAINT DECODE file settings were made to support Web/Max searches by grade level.
Press the Home key to display the SERIES-M main menu.
Press F7 for MAINT
Press F9 for DECODE
Press F1 for SELECT
Press the Down arrow until Browse media & level is highlighted
Then press the enter key
The following Browse Level Decode keys were established
LEVEL1 P Primary K-3
LEVEL2 I Intermediate 4-6
LEVEL3 J Junior High 7-8
LEVEL4 S Senior High 9-12
LEVEL5 T Teacher Education
LEVEL6 A Adult Education
11) The following MAINT DECODE file settings were made to decode the length field for Catalog output and
Web/Max display.
Press the Home key to display the SERIES-M main menu.
Press F7 for MAINT
Press F9 for DECODE
Press F1 for SELECT
Press the Down arrow until Length is highlighted
Then press the enter key
The following Length Decode keys were established
# # min
## ## min
### ### min
#### #### min
12) Set Bldg by media counters and media code authority file.
SA#MD0 V? Videocassette
SA#MD1 F 16mm Film
SA#MD2
SA#MD3
SA#MD4
SA#MD5
SA#MD6
SA#MD7
SA#MD8
SA#MD9 OT OTHERS
13) The SERIES-M PREVIEWS module was installed. Type in the command, PREVIEWS to load the
module.
14) Run the program to set the media codes for the dubbable titles. This program also changes all titles
that have a media code of VA to VT.
Type in the command; INCLUDE SET-DUB-MEDIA
To run the program type in; PROCESS
The following media codes will be assigned:
Videos length Media Code
30 Mins or less VA
31 to 60 Mins VB
61 Mins or longer VC
1) Initialize and Setup the Dubbing module:
Follow the steps outlined in the Quick Start Dubbing Module Setup section in the SERIES-M Video Dubbing
Manual.
a. Use the following parameters:
b. 30, 60, and 120 minute tapes will be used.
c. Shelf Alpha Key format: annnbb (should already be set)
d. Blank Stock title numbers: 99999 Media type code: VA
99998 VB
99997 VC
Setup the DUBS program: 75 Weekly 99999
50 Weekly 99998
25 Weekly 99997
Dub Window: 30
Dub Time: 2
Dub Print: 5
Dub Bldg: None
e. Return to MAINT TITLE and add dub copies for each blank stock title number.
Create first copy with copy ID = ??
99999 Shelf number: A001
99998 Shelf number: B001
99997 Shelf number: C001
Table of Video Dubbing Parameters
Lengths of blank stock tapes 30 min. 60 min. 120 min.
Media codes assigned to blank stock VA VB VC
Number of blank stock tapes 250 150 100
Title number for blank stock title 99999 99998 99997
Starting shelf number A001 B001 C001
To complete the Setup of the SERIES-M Dubbing module, the barcode labels must be printed an affixed to the blank
stock.
1. Printing the barcode labels.
a. While the title is still displayed in MAINT TITLE enter the command, LB
then press the Enter key.
b. When prompted select ALL-COPIES so that a barcode label is printed for
each copy.
2. Apply the barcode labels to the blank stock tape and then shelve them.
Tasks to be Completed
Check the Calendars. Is the library closed from 12/22 to 1/2 for the Christmas and New Year holidays or are just the
schools closed for this time period. If the library is open then the 0 Calendar must show the days as non-holiays.
Print the barcodes for the Dubbing Blank Stock tapes.
Load the PREVIEWS module and run the SETUP program. The module must be set so that it knows which titles
are preview titles.
SERIES-M V5.3 Hardware Specifications
Miami-Dade
SERIES-M Server: ??????????
Pentium III based computer IP address:
____ megabytes of ram
Windows 98 operating system
Drive A: 3½ floppy Drive B: none
Drive C: __ Gb hard disk LPT1 ___________
Drive D: __ Gb hard disk LPT2
Drive E: CD-ROM drive
External Zip Drive ??? Modem service: not available
Seagate STT8000N US Robotics 56K Voice, internal
Uses Sony QW3080XLF tapes Set as COM2
Software: Seagate Backup Exec V4.0 b Software: PCAnywhere 32 V9.2
Miami-Dade Network Parameters 8/5/03
IP Web Server
Net Mask
Gateway
DNS
DNS Domain
SERIES-M Server Name Seriesm
IP SERIES-M Server
Route Password
Tek Data Systems
SERIES-M V5.0 CUSTOM PROGRAMMING
Miami-Dade
INCLUDE BLOCKS The INCLUDE Blocks are stored in a separate file named, INCLUDES.SRC
This file is unique to each customer. It will contain some blocks that are the same for each customer. SERIES-M
updates will never change this file. Customization of SERIES-M programs, such as the DAILY reports, are handled
by installing the custom blocks (programs) from the INCLUDES.SRC file.
DAILY Reports The Daily help screens were modified to only display the required reports and
they are listed in the order that they should be run. On Fridays the TRANSFER
program is added to the DAILY screen.
SERIES-M V5.4 DAILY REPORTS
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
The SERIES-M DAILY screen was customized to display only the reports that are run by Southern Indiana
Education Center and they are listed in the order that they must be run. Each day as the reports are run, they are
checked off on the DAILY screen
The text that is printed in bold are the commands that are used to select and run the necessary programs. To execute
a command press the assigned function key or type in the command then press the Enter key.
Home Press this key to display the SERIES-M main menu.
DAILY Displays a list of the programs that must be run each day to process the requests
NOSHIPS Load the program that will ship (change print status to OUT) all prints that were assigned by
the ASSIGNS program to ship today. The program will attempt to re-assign any prints that
cannot be shipped because of damage or late return. If a print cannot be re-assigned, then the
request is Not Shipped (Cancelled) and is printed on the list. The items that are shipped are
not printed on this list. All items that could not be shipped will be identified on the
PACKING list.
PRINT LIST OK This is the command that will print the Noships list
DAILY Return to the DAILY menu
PACKING Load the program that will print a Packing list for each building. This list will include all
items that are being shipped to each building tomorrow. The contents of this list will be the
items assigned by the ASSIGNS program. Any items that had to be NOT SHIPPED by the
NOSHIPS list will also in listed as the Following items were not packed.
Sort order: ARSA# SANUM AR FLIP LINK ARTM# TMNAME ARPD# PDID
PRINT SORT LIST OK Sort and print the packing list.
DUBS Load the programs used to assign the dub copies and generate a report of the dubs that were
assigned. The report output can be a listing or labels.
PREPARE Load the program that determines which titles need to be dubbed and assign the
dub copy to be used. After the program finishes verify that the Dubs needed column matches
the Dubs assigned column.
DUBLIST Load the program used to generate the listing or labels for the assigned dubs.
ASSIGNS Load the program that assigns prints for shipment. The prints are assigned on a rotation basis.
The print that has been on the shelf the longest will be the next one assigned. Prints will be
assigned to all shipments scheduled for tomorrow. The program determines tomorrow based
on the holidays in ROUTE 0 WALKIN. Tomorrow will be the 1 ST non-holiday after today.
A custom field named, RESULT, has been defined print out the status of each request that is
listed on the ASSIGNS list. The normal status for items on the ASSIGNS list is Assigned, in
cases when a print can not be assigned the status will be Not Shipped. Note, the ASSIGNS
program can be run more than one time on a given day but, the requests that were listed on the
previous report will not be listed again. Only requests for the next shipment, that have been
added since the program was run, will be listed.
PRINT LIST OK This is the command that will print the Assigns list.
DAILY Return to the DAILY menu.
PLABELS Load the program that prints pull labels for the items that have been assigned to be shipped
tomorrow. The number of labels printed should be the same as the number of items that were
assigned by the ASSIGNS program. There will be more labels printed if any of the scheduled
items are multi-part.
Sort order: Ship date, Route, Media code, Title number, and Copy
Label size: AVERY LASER 5262
PRINT LABEL SORT LIST OK This command will sort and print the pull labels.
DAILY Return to the DAILY menu
PULL Load the program that will print Pull or Picking list. This list will include all items that are
being shipped tomorrow (next valid ship day). This list must be run after the ASSIGNS list.
Sort order: Ship date, Route, Media code, Title number, and Copy
PRINT SORT LIST OK This is the command that will print the Pull list.
DAILY Return to the DAILY menu
CHECKINS This program reads the file that was created by the barcode scanner and checks the scanned
items in. Before CHECKINS can be run the barcode reader must be placed into the
communications dock and the wanded file must be transferred to the SERIES-M system.
CHECKINS Run the program to checkin the scanned materials.
DAILY Return to the DAILY menu
CONFIRM Load program that prints the user request Confirmations. All requests that have not been
printed on a Confirmation will be included. If the Confirm program is re-run on the same day,
requests that have been entered since the program was last run and all requests printed earlier
will be included. Note, if the SERIES-M Email Confirmation
module has been activated, then conformations will only be printed for users that do not have
email addresses in their SERIES-M user record.
Sort order: Bldg# User#, Request type, Ship date, Title name
ARSA# SANUM ARID# IDNUM AR FLIP LINK ARSDT ARTM# TMNUM
PRINT SORT LIST OK Sort and print the user Confirmations.
DAILY Return to the DAILY menu
Fridays Only
TRANSFER Load the program that transfers completed requests from the Active to the Historic request
file. Note, although this program can be run on any day, it will be listed on the DAILY help
on Fridays only.
TRANSFER Run the program that will transfer the completed requests.
Tek Data Systems
SERIES-M V5.x Shipping Calendar Setup
Miami-Dade
Once a year, usually in June or July, the SERIES-M shipping calendars must be established for the remainder of the
summer and the new school year. The Route 0 WALKIN calendar must always be updated first. This calendar will
be checked for valid Ship and Due dates when the other calendars are entered. Each calendar contains 400 days
from its start date. The start date for all calendars should be the same and it should not be a future date. Updating
the calendars does not have any effect on existing bookings.
Press Alt+C to load the MAINT CALENDAR program.
ROUTE 0 Name: WALKIN
This calendar must be set for the days that the media library is closed or not shipping media.
Press F1 for ROUTE At the Route number prompt enter 0 This selects route 0 so that it can be
updated.
NEW Initialize the calendar and set all Saturdays and Sundays as holidays. Note, the
default is to have the start date as today.
Use the following commands to specify the holidays for the WALKIN calendar. All days that the Media Center will
be closed must be marked as holidays. If the library is open, but no shipments will be made, then the day should be
made a NOSHIP day. Item can be scheduled for return on NOSHIP days, but no items will be scheduled to ship.
Note, when entering the dates it is not necessary to include the year unless the date is more than a year from today.
When dates are entered a future date is always assumed.
Command format Description Example
mm/dd HOL Marks mm/dd as a holiday 10/6 HOL
mm/dd mm/dd HOLS Marks all dates in the range as holidays 10/25 1/1 HOLS
mm/dd -HOL Makes mm/dd not a holiday 10/6 -HOL
mm/dd mm/dd -HOLS Makes all dates in the range not holidays 10/25 1/1 -HOLS
mm/dd NOSHIP Marks mm/dd as a No Ship date 10/22 NOSHIP
mm/dd mm/dd NOSHIPS Marks all dates in the range as No Ship 10/22 10/24 NOSHIPS
days
mm/dd -NOSHIP Makes mm/dd not a No Ship date 10/22 -NOSHIP
mm/dd mm/dd -NOSHIPS Makes all dates in the range not No Ship 10/22 10/24 -NOSHIPS
days
Note, after entering the holidays the SHOW command (function key F4) can be used to display the calendar so that
the holidays can be checked. Days that are marked as holidays will be displayed in RED. A No Ship day is a non-
holiday that items can be scheduled for return but there will be no shipments on the date. Every date in the calendar
is a potential View date. For each view date Ship, Call, and Due dates are provided.
The calendars are period generic, meaning that they can be used for any period. To determine a Call date for a
request, start counting the non-holidays from the day after the ship date, until you have counted a number of days
equal to the building period (default period = 4). Then the Call and Due dates will be the dates shown for the View
date on which you stopped counting.
.
Use the commands shown in the table above to specify the holidays in Route 0.
Examples:
Labor Day 9/4 HOL Make September 4th a holiday
Veterans Day 11/10 HOL Make November 10th a holiday
Thanksgiving 11/23 11/24 HOLS Make November 23rd & 24th holidays
Christmas Day 12/25 HOL Make December 25th a holiday
New Year’s Day 1/1 HOL Make January 1st a holiday
Good Friday 4/13 HOL Make April 13th a holiday
Memorial Day 5/28 HOL Make May 28th a holiday
Remember, the dates shown here are examples, the actual dates that are used will have to change each year.
ADJUST This command adjusts the ship, call, and due date for the holidays that have been
specified.
Calendar 2 – Route 1
This Calendar is setup as an everyday schedule. Items can be shipped and return on any day that is not specified as
a holiday.
Press F1 for ROUTE At the Route number prompt enter the number of the route to be setup.
NEW Initialize the calendar and set all Saturdays and Sundays as holidays. Note, the
default is to have the start date as today. This calendar must have the same start
date as the Route 0 calendar.
Use the commands shown in the table on the previous page to specify the student calendar holidays.
Examples:
Labor Day 9/4 HOL Make September 4th a holiday
Veterans Day 11/10 HOL Make November 10th a holiday
Thanksgiving 11/22 11/24 HOLS Make November 22nd 23rd 24th holidays
Christmas Break 12/21 1/2 HOLS Make all dates 12/21 thru 1/2 holidays
Martin Luther King 1/15 HOL Make January 15th a holiday
President’s Day 2/19 HOL Make February 19th a holiday
Spring Break 3/19 3/23 HOLS Make all dates 3/19 thru 3/23 holidays
Good Friday/Easter 4/13 4/16 HOLS Make all dates 4/13 thru 4/16 holidays
Memorial Day 5/28 HOL Make May 28th a holiday
mm/dd/yy EOY Specify the End Of Year date for this route. All requests that ship before this
date are forced to be due on or before this date.
mm/dd/yy mm/dd/yy NOSHIPS Make all dates in the range No Ship days. There may be date ranges at
the beginning and end of the calendar that need to be marked as no ship days.
Materials can be scheduled to be returned on NOSHIP days, but no items will be
scheduled for shipment.
Example: 7/26/00 9/1/00 NOSHIPS
mm/dd/yy NOSHIP Makes the specified date a no ship day.
ADJUST This command adjusts the shipping and pickup schedule holidays on the current
route.
Note, after entering the holidays and running the ADJUST command, the SHOW command (function key F4) can
be used to display the calendar so that the holidays can be checked. Days that are marked as holidays will be
displayed in RED. The Ship, Call, and Due dates will be displayed for each view date. Remember the calendars are
period generic, the default period for booking will be obtained from the Building or Title record (which ever period
is longer). Also, when counting the period, days that are marked as holidays are not counted as part of the period.
Once the calendars have been defined for a new year the D/MAX – WEB/MAX allowable booking dates must be
changed to allow booking for the new calendar dates. Use the D/MAX SETUP program to change the dates.
In your type of operation the only difference between the 0 Calendar WAKLIN and your other daily calendars will
be the holidays. All days that the library is closed will be marked as holidays in Calendar 0 WALKIN and in the
other daily calendars just the days that the schools are closed.
Once Calendar 2 has been setup if the calendars 4 –18 are the same, just copy calendar 2 to the other calendars.
Select Calendar 4
While in MAINT CALENDAR press F1 for ROUTE
At the prompt type 4 then press Enter
Type LIKE 2 press Enter and calendar 4 will be made to match calendar 2
Repeat these steps for the remaining calendars.