Synchronizing Borrower Data

If your library is a member of a consortium whose borrower databases are hosted on separate servers, you can synchronize the borrower data on those servers automatically. When you synchronize borrower data, the records of all borrowers are kept current at each library on an ongoing basis. (If your consortium shares a single borrower database, you do not need to synchronize borrower data. You can use a Shared Borrower database instead. For more information, see Understanding Shared Borrower Databases.)

Horizon uses a program called Synchro to let libraries synchronize borrower data across databases—and even across servers. Synchro reads borrower data from one server and duplicates it on a second server. You can synchronize data for an entire consortium from one station, or you can run each instance of Synchro from a different computer.

Use these guidelines when synchronizing data:

The computer you use to run Synchro must be networked with all the databases it synchronizes.
You must run two separate instances of Synchro (one in each direction) for each pair of libraries that want their data synchronized. This synchronizes borrower information in both libraries’ databases.
Members of the library consortium must decide which member library is responsible for running Synchro. This will avoid duplication of effort while making sure each interested library has the updated records it needs.
Each server must use unique borrower numbers.

Here is an example of how synchronization works:

In this example, the Main Library, the University Library, and the Medical Library each maintains its own database. However, borrowers need to be able to check out items at all three locations. New borrower information and changes to existing borrower information need to be synchronized between the three databases.

Each instance of Synchro reads one local queue of borrower record additions, updates, and deletions, and duplicates those additions, updates, and deletions on one remote database. You need to run an instance of Synchro that reads data from the Main Library and writes it to the University Library, and another instance that reads data from the University Library and writes it to the Main Library, to synchronize these two databases. You need to run a third instance of Synchro that reads data from the Main Library and writes it to the Medical Library and another instance that reads data from the Medical Library and writes it to the Main Library to synchronize these two databases, and so on.

This section explains these topics:

 


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