Aeon documentation

Aeon is the request and workflow management software used by special collections repositories at Harvard Library. Aeon is the client side of HOLLIS Special Request. 

At the Isham Memorial Library, we use Aeon principally for workflow management of our special collections (Merritt Room) materials. Patron requests for Merritt Room materials are monitored by Houghton Library staff. 

Requesting items

If you are placing a request for your own research, please do so from a personal account. Do not use the Music Library Aeon account for personal research. 

There are two ways to generate a new Aeon request: from HOLLIS and from Aeon. While patrons may only request from HOLLIS, Music Library staff may choose either venue to place requests. 

To request from HOLLIS:

1. Click on Request to Copy or Visit.
2. Follow the prompts for a non-Harvard Key user. 
3. Log in using the Music Library user ID (music) and password (Music2024). 
4. Once you have placed your request, note the transaction number it has been assigned. 

To request from Aeon:

1. In the Search Users group on the Aeon dashboard, search for Music Library.
2. Click on the New Request for User button in the Requests group.
3. On the Request form, click the Catalog Search tab and search for the item.
4. On the Catalog Search ribbon, click the Import button.
5. In the Request Information pane, under Request For, select Researcher, then your name. If you are requesting the item for a class or other event, select Activity, then the name of the event. 
6. Click on Save Changes in the Next Step group.

Checking out items

1. Click on the Print Callslip button to generate a paper slip. We use perforated paper to print Aeon requests: half goes in the item being taken from the shelf, the other half stays on the shelf. It is #4339 (laser paper perforated, 8 1/2 x 11, center vertical perf). A supply of perforated paper may be found in the supplies cupboard on the first floor of the Music Library. 
2. Route the request to:
   1. In Item Retrieval planning to page it immediately
   2. Awaiting Request Processing – Reviewed planning to page it later; when you are ready to page it, route the request to In Item Retrieval
   3. Awaiting Activity Processing planning to page it later for a class or other event
   4. Awaiting HD Delivery planning to order it from HD immediately
   5. Awaiting HD Ordering planning to order it from HD later
3. When you page the item from the shelf, leave the half of the slip marked Item In Use on the shelf and tuck the other half into the item. Once you are back at your desk, change the item's status to Item Checked Out. If the item is stored at HD, you will place the entire slip in the item when it arrives and route the request to Item Checked Out. 

Returning items

When you are finished with the item, route it to Awaiting Item Reshelving, reshelve it, remove both halves of the slip, then route it to Item Reshelved. If the item resides at HD, simply route the request to Request Finished, remove the slip and place the item in a red HD refile bin in the record stacks. 

Changing the site

Each repository at Harvard has its own Aeon site. Users can see only their repository's Aeon transactions. 

When transferring materials to another site, do any printing, updating and routing work you need to do, then change the site by clicking Route → Change site, and selecting the destination repository. Once you've changed the site, you won't be able to see your request anymore. 

(It is possible to change your own site and view another repository's transactions from within their site. The path to do so is: C: → Program Files (x86) → Aeon → DCBChooser.) 

Aeon activities

Classes, exhibitions, tours: these are all Aeon activities. Aeon funnels to RTL Core Data, so when you log your activity, you can report attendance numbers right in the application rather than toggling back and forth between Aeon and RTL Core Data. Please don't report one task in both places as this would be redundant. 

To set up a new activity in Aeon, follow these steps:

1. In the New pane of the ribbon, click on Activity. 
2. Enter the details of the activity. For a class, please include the instructor and course number.
3. Save the activity. 
4. Affiliate users with the activity and send the confirmation message from Aeon to any instructors added, editing as needed. 

When an activity has ended, close the activity by following these steps:

1. Make sure you checked out the material to the activity before routing to reshelving. This is important for maintaining accurate statistics.
2. Enter the attendance for each session by date at the bottom of the class in Aeon (under "Attendance Tracking"). If there was more than one session on a particular date, enter subsequent dates for each session (there is a bug that does not allow more than one session per day: this is a workaround).
3. Uncheck the "Active" box for the activity and save.
4. After updating the routing in Aeon, return the materials to the shelves and to HD as outlined in Returning items, above. 

Setting up Aeon

It is possible to customize the Aeon client to suit your needs. As you begin working with Aeon, you will likely wish to set your options to not receive notifications for new users or requests. 

Some Aeon files are located on the T drive. If the T drive is not already mapped, you will need to do so. To see if you have access to the T drive, open File Explorer and look for "Aeon (T:)". Click on the T drive and open it up to confirm that your permissions are correctly set. If you are able to see the folders in the drive (e.g. Print), then you do not need to do anything else. If you cannot see the folders in the drive follow these instructions to map the drive.

Getting help with Aeon

Aeon documentation may be found on the Harvard Library Aeon wiki or the Aeon section of the Atlas Systems website.

Issues with HOLLIS-Aeon compatability, for example unwarranted error messages, should be reported to HUIT.

LTS staff are responsible for resetting passwords for staff who have forgotten their staff client passwords and for making any other changes to client account permissions.  Instructions for requesting these changes can also be found on the LTS wiki.  The turnaround time for password resets can be up to 1 business day.

Creating new staff client accounts in Aeon

To create a new Aeon account for a Music Library staff member, the Keeper follows the instructions on the LTS wiki. Essentially, the workflow is, fill out the account request form, sign it, have the co-liaison sign it, then start a new LTS ticket and submit the form as an attachment. After requesting a new Aeon account, the Keeper immediately initiates permissions so that the staff member may map their T: drive (see below). Turnaround time for new accounts once the form is submitted can take up to 5 business days.

New Aeon users will also have to have their T: drives mapped. To do this, the Keeper must submit a request to central HUIT. Requests for access should come from the Aeon login liaison or approver for the repository/group. Access to the HUL drives is restricted, so Harvard Library will also need to give permission. 

The Keeper sends the email to ithelp@harvard.edu and cc libraryoffice@harvard.edu, stating that she is requesting that a staff member be added to the HUL-AeonALL-RW permissions group. The staff member’s name and central account ID should be included (the central account ID can be found on https://connections.harvard.edu/ as part of the staff directory record). Once the Keeper receives confirmation that the staff member has been added to the permissions group, she can follow the mapping instructions below.

Terminating staff client accounts in Aeon

When staff members depart, the Keeper terminates their Aeon accounts and remove them as Researchers from the Loeb Music Library account, following the instructions on the LTS wiki. Their personal accounts, if they have them, need not be terminated at this time.