You may have noticed that our Aspen catalog has experienced occasional slowdowns or brief interruptions in service recently. We want you to know that we are aware of the issue, are actively monitoring it, and are working closely with our vendor, ByWater Solutions, to improve stability and reliability.

The disruptions are being caused by a significant increase in automated internet traffic from AI-powered bots and web crawlers. This is a challenge currently affecting libraries, universities, museums, and many other organizations across the country as automated systems attempt to access and index online content at unprecedented levels.
Our vendor’s engineering and security teams have identified this traffic as a major contributor to the intermittent outages and have implemented a number of measures to help protect the Aspen environment, including enhanced monitoring, performance optimizations, and additional safeguards designed to limit the impact of excessive bot activity.

CLEVNET staff remains in regular contact with ByWater Solutions and continues to monitor the situation closely. Both organizations are committed to minimizing disruptions and ensuring patrons have reliable access to catalog resources.
We understand how frustrating service interruptions can be and sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding while these improvements are being made. We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.
Thank you for your support and for using your library’s online services.

— The CLEVNET Team