SIP2 Circulation Interface

If your library has acquired the SIP2 Circulation Interface product for SelfCheck units, you can use SelfCheck units to check items out and in. If your SelfCheck unit manufacturer has set up your library's SelfCheck units to use SIP version 2.0, you can also use SelfCheck units to renew items.

In Sierra 4.1 and later, the SIP2 Circulation Interface supports a secure communication method in addition to the standard (plain-text) method. The secure method uses the open-source stunnel program to wrap the plain-text SIP2 messages in an encrypted tunnel. This tunnel protects the SIP2 traffic in transit between your library's network and the Sierra app server. Note that the secure SIP2 method can exist alongside the plain-text SIP2 method.

To set up and use the SIP2 Circulation Interface product with your SelfCheck units, see the following:

INN-Reach Compatibility with SIP2 Circulation

INN-Reach virtual item records are supported in all applicable SIP2 Circulation transactions.

Setting Up the SIP2 Circulation Interface

Your library, your SelfCheck unit manufacturer, and Innovative work together to set up the SIP2 Circulation interface. This process involves the following steps; where applicable, the steps are marked as applying only to the secure SIP2 or plain-text setup.

  1. Innovative installs the SIP2 Circulation Interface on your system.
  2. Your library chooses parameters for the logins used to access the SIP2 Circulation Interface. Unlike logins for other applications, you cannot create your library's SIP2 Circulation Interface logins; they must be created by Innovative. You can define one login for each SIP2 license your library has acquired. To create logins, contact Innovative and provide the following parameters for each login:

    After Innovative creates your login, your library can edit the settings above (with the exception of the login name) and add necessary permissions for the login. If your library is setting up secure SIP2, you must also set up a password for each login.

  3. Your library edits the Limit Network Access table as follows:
    • (Plain-text) Add the IP address of each SelfCheck unit to the SELFCHECK entry.
    • (Secure SIP2) Add the IP address for the computer running the stunnel client to the SELFCHECK entry.
  4. If you are a Software Only site, open one of the following ports in your firewall for the Sierra app server:
    • (Plain-text) -- Open port 5550.
    • (Secure SIP2) -- Open port 45550.

    For Innovative-managed servers, including hosted systems, Innovative makes the firewall change.

  5. (Secure SIP2 only) Install and configure the stunnel program. You can download the stunnel program for various operating systems from the following website:

https://www.stunnel.org/downloads.html

For the greatest security and control, stunnel should be installed on the system where the SIP2 client is running. If that is not possible, you can run the stunnel client on a different machine. However, make sure the connection between those machines is adequately secured to avoid a section where the traffic is unprotected.

After installation, edit the stunnel client configuration and set up a tunnel to port 45550 on your Sierra app server. Also choose a port for the tunnel to accept connections to the SIP2 client (for example, port 5550).

  1. Your SelfCheck unit manufacturer performs the technical and communications setup on your SelfCheck units. Note that you might need to provide the following information to the manufacturer.
    • Type of connection (telnet vs. socket): socket
    • (plain-text) Port used to connect to Innovative server: 5550
    • (secure SIP2) The stunnel accept port: the port chosen to accept connections in the step above
    • Message checksum / error checking: enabled
    • Terminal password (SIP2 AC element): Must be left blank or the device will be unable to connect to the Innovative server
    • Current location of the SIP2 device (SIP2 AP element): Typically set to "III"
    • Institution ID (SIP2 AO element): Library's Innovative site code
  1. Establish the SIP2 Circulation Interface login in one of the following ways:
    • (Plain-text option #1) - Your library associates each IP address with a SIP2 Circulation Interface login in your library's Limit Network Access table.
    • (Plain-text option #2) - Your SelfCheck unit manufacturer configures the client to request login with a SIP2 login message (message 93), but does not include a password. If you have assigned the login for the IP address in the Limit Network Access table and the client also sends a 93 message, the login from the 93 message overrides the Limit Network Access setting.
    • (Secure SIP2) - Your SelfCheck unit manufacturer configures the client to request login with a SIP2 login message (message 93) with a password required.
Enabling Patron Notifications for Your SelfCheck Unit

If your library has the Sending Circulation Notices via Email product, the system supplies your SelfCheck unit with patron email addresses (when available). Depending on the unit, your SelfCheck can be configured to use these email addresses to send automatic patron notifications and reminders. For more information on setting up these notifications and reminders, contact your SelfCheck unit vendor.

For more information on modifications available for the SIP2 Circulation Interface, see Optional Features for the SIP2 Circulation Interface.

Using the SIP2 Circulation Interface for Checkout

Your library provides instructions to patrons (or uses the instructions provided by the manufacturer) on the use of the SelfCheck unit, such as how to position library cards and items for scanning.

At checkout, SelfCheck units function as follows:

  1. A patron starts a self-checkout session by scanning their library card at a SelfCheck unit.

To modify the default behavior for starting a self-checkout session, you can request that Innovative enable PIN Verification. Note that some SelfCheck units support numeric PINs only.

  1. The SelfCheck unit scans the patron's barcode. The system accesses the patron record and checks for any conditions that would block the checkout. If the checkout is not blocked, the system proceeds to the next step.

If your library keeps certain copies of popular items on circulating shelves for patrons that come in to browse, Innovative can modify your system to not check for holds on those items during checkin, checkout, and renewal transactions. See Skip Hold Check for more information.

  1. The patron positions a standard circulation or INN-Reach item on the SelfCheck unit.
  2. The SelfCheck unit scans the item's barcode. The system accesses the item record and checks for any conditions that would block the checkout.
    • If the checkout is allowed, the system proceeds to the next step.
    • If the checkout is blocked, the SelfCheck unit displays a message directing the patron to the library's circulation desk. The patron may continue to use the SelfCheck unit to attempt to check out additional items.

To modify certain messages displayed on your SelfCheck units, see Editable SIP2 Selfcheck Messages.

  1. The SelfCheck unit automatically desensitizes the item after successful checkout.

To prevent certain items (for example, magnetic media such as DVDs) from being desensitized, you can request that Innovative enable the Preventing SIP2 Desensitization feature.

  1. The SelfCheck unit prints receipts containing the library name; the patron's name; and the title, barcode, and due date of each item the patron checked out.

Conditions that Block Checkout at SelfCheck Units

The SIP2 Circulation Interface does not allow a patron to check out items under the following conditions:

You can modify the default checkout blocking behavior as described here by asking Innovative to configure the following features:

Desired Change Feature
Allow checkout of items with STATUS values other than '-' (AVAILABLE) Customize Item Statuses Available for Automated Self-Checkout
Allow or block checkout of items with holds and INN-Reach requests Block Held Items at Self-Checkout
Allow checkout of booked items Selfcheck Bookings
Block checkout of checked-out items or change how fines are assessed for these items Restrict Checkout of Checked-out Items

Using the SIP2 Circulation Interface for Checkin

You can use the SIP2 Circulation Interface for checkin if your library's SelfCheck units are capable of checking in items.

To modify the default SIP2 checkin functionality, you can do the following:

  • If your library has acquired the SIP2 Sorter product, you can use the SIP2 Circulation Interface with an automated materials handling system to check in and sort items.
  • To use the SIP2 Circulation Interface with an autosorting machine to automatically check items in, you can request that Innovative enable the Autosort feature.
  • To enable SelfCheck units to automatically check in items with certain special conditions, you can request that Innovative enable the SIP2 Checkin of Items with Special Conditions feature.
  • To enable display of additional information in the call number element of the SIP2 Checkin Response message, you can request that Innovative enable the Autosorting Items with Non-unique Call Numbers feature.
  • If your library has enabled the Sticky Status feature, each time you check in an item, the system checks the item record for the presence of a Sticky Status fixed-length field. If the system encounters a value in the Sticky Status field, Sierra updates the item's STATUS field with that value and checks the item in.

    Note that the Sticky Status and Updating Status for Checked-In Items features are not compatible.

See also:
Optional Features for the SIP2 Circulation Interface
Possible Messages (SIP2 Circulation Interface)