Setting Your Library Up for Success: A Sierra Migration Tip Series – Part 3

 

This is the third in a series of tips that can help you successfully prepare your library mentally and physically for a migration from Millennium to Sierra.  Go here to read more about our first two tips.

TIP: Evaluate your technical resources, data quality and training needs. Now.

Overcome migration fears.

It’s not so uncommon.  Libraries, particularly small ones, are often hesitant to migrate for fear there are not ample technical staff resources to support a migration project. After all, making a smooth transition is just the beginning. You also need people for ongoing support once the migration is complete.

If you are confident you have sufficient technical staff, then you can check that off your migration readiness list. If you don’t – there’s good news. Innovative not only does most of the heavy lifting during a migration, we offer services to support your team before and after the migration as well. Our Managed Services can help you cost-effectively administer Sierra through basic, standard or premier Services packages.

Then there’s the question of data. To proceed or not to proceed.

In our first Sierra Migration Tip Series post, we discussed the advantage of running Millennium and Sierra side-by-side so that the systems remain in sync in real time. With the exception of migration day, libraries can continue their work and record loading without interruption. But what about that data you are moving to Sierra. Is it clean enough for a migration?

If you have cleanup projects your staff has been putting off, migration time is a logical time to assess your system. Innovative offers Data Cleanup Services to improve your data organization.

While data cleanup is always a good idea, it’s important to note that it is not a requirement. Data cleanup can be done before or after a move to Sierra. Innovative tools have been refined to handle any type of data your library has and successfully migrate it, as-is, to Sierra. Data Cleanup Services can be done at any time — in as little as a month or an entire year after your migration.

Train staff for Sierra success.

A well-trained staff is key to a successful migration. It not only reduces your staff’s anxiety, but creates excitement around your new Sierra ILS. And when staff feels confident in your daily operations, so do your patrons and students.

In our experience, most partner libraries can benefit both from System Preparation services training as well as ongoing training that continues beyond the Sierra migration period.

Let us show you what your individual migration would look like, and the experience you can expect.