4 results found

1. Polaris 7.8 - Allow for Almost Due / Auto-renew to patrons by SMS

   Allow patrons to receive Almost Due / Auto-renew messages through the SMS - Cirriusimpact product integration.

   12 votes

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   COMPLETED  ·  4 comments  ·  Customer Relationship & Account Management  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

2. Polaris 7.8 - Improve Student/Patron Import

   The Problem

   At best, the method and workflow used to bulk import patrons into Polaris (often referred to as student import) is archaic. The Polaris documentation for this process, Importing Student Records as Patron Records, is 19 pages long and seven of those pages are definitions and descriptions for the format of a pipe delimited file. This file contains 65 separate columns, all of which must be included in the file even if they contain no information. The documentation defines at least three columns that you should not populate… so why are they there? You can obtain a sample Excel file so long as you have access to the Supportal.

   After you've populated this spreadsheet you'll need to convert it to PSV and add another and completely separate line above the patron data that specifies the number 1 (Why?), the time, the date, a branch ID, a user ID, a workstation ID, and the version and build of your Polaris system. (Incidentally, the documentation doesn't specify that last bit, you only find out about it in another Supportal post. The documentation says you should end the top line with the number 20. Again, why?) After you do all of that, rename the file in a very special way and change the extension to TRN before putting it in a very special location on your workstation or server. Finally, initiate the import via… the BookMobile?

   Meanwhile, with Koha, you can obtain a starter CSV from within the ILS itself, and import the patrons through a patron import workform. Their patron import documentation comes out to just over two pages and 554 words.

   I apologize for the rant, but I want to stress the length, the tedium, the potential for error, and the brokenness of the Polaris process. As it stands right now, it's almost impossible for anyone other than an ILS administrator to handle patron imports.

   Ideas to Fix the Problem

   Basic changes that would go a long way:

   • Change the import file to CSV.
   • Simplify the CSV to remove columns that shouldn't be used.
   • Add patron import to Leap.
   • Offer the sample CSV within Leap.
   • Create an import process that asks for the information in the leader of a TRN file, but defaults to the current time, date, branch ID, workstation ID, and user ID.
   • This import workform should be separate from the BookMobile functionality.

   Idea Value
   Every year, right around the time I'm submitting this idea, Polaris libraries across the United States are importing large amounts of students into their systems. The process for doing so is meticulous, yet it's also error prone and convoluted. That's not the kind of system you need when you're adding hundreds or thousands of new patrons into your system. The PSV format of the TRN file practically guarantees that you're going to have to make at least one or two file conversions when you obtain data from a separate entity, such as a school. Switching to CSV helps ensure a closer interoperability between database types and product vendors so the potential for error is greatly reduced.

   The Problem

   At best, the method and workflow used to bulk import patrons into Polaris (often referred to as student import) is archaic. The Polaris documentation for this process, Importing Student Records as Patron Records, is 19 pages long and seven of those pages are definitions and descriptions for the format of a pipe delimited file. This file contains 65 separate columns, all of which must be included in the file even if they contain no information. The documentation defines at least three columns that you should not populate… so why are they there? You can obtain a sample Excel… more

   53 votes

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   1 comment  ·  Customer Relationship & Account Management  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →
   COMPLETED  ·  AdminSamantha Quell (Admin, Innovative) responded

   An updated student record/patron import option has been added to Polaris 7.8.

3. Polaris 7.6 - Bulk waiving of old fines

   We have a lot of very old charges for fines on patron accounts. We know we're never collecting on these and would like to waive a bunch at once - hundreds, maybe thousands. So we could never open each patron record individually and waive the fines manually. It would be very helpful if there were a batch process of some kind that would allow us to waive fines based on certain criteria:Reason for the charge - late fee (fine) vs. lost or damaged item, etc.Date the charge was incurredPatron code of the customer (adult, teen, child, etc.)There are probably other criteria that would be useful - the more flexibility the better.Some examples where this could be useful:One library has been manually waiving all overdue fines on juvenile accounts, one by one.Our board previously approved purging bills over a certain age and under a certain dollar amount, but there is no function to do this cleanup.Widespread amnesty/welcome back to the library programs

   Idea Value
   Being able to clean up old fines would create a more accurate picture of the library's finances.

   We have a lot of very old charges for fines on patron accounts. We know we're never collecting on these and would like to waive a bunch at once - hundreds, maybe thousands. So we could never open each patron record individually and waive the fines manually. It would be very helpful if there were a batch process of some kind that would allow us to waive fines based on certain criteria:Reason for the charge - late fee (fine) vs. lost or damaged item, etc.Date the charge was incurredPatron code of the customer (adult, teen, child, etc.)There are probably other… more

   49 votes

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   COMPLETED  ·  2 comments  ·  Customer Relationship & Account Management  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →

4. Polaris 7.7 - Make 'non-blocking' circulation blocks optional

   Many of the blocks that pop-up during transactions at the circulation desk are more informational than related to rules. Separating 'blocking blocks' (patron is over the fines threshold) from 'informational blocks' (patron has a hold available) and making the latter optional would help libraries improve accuracy and efficiency at the circulation desk.

   Idea Value
   Having unnecessary blocks popping up during circulation transactions takes staff and patron time and trains staff to click past blocks without reading them closely, making it more likely that important messages will be missed and ruled will be overridden. Giving libraries the option to include or exclude informational blocks, would allow them to better prioritise the large amount of information circulation staff have to wade through.

   Many of the blocks that pop-up during transactions at the circulation desk are more informational than related to rules. Separating 'blocking blocks' (patron is over the fines threshold) from 'informational blocks' (patron has a hold available) and making the latter optional would help libraries improve accuracy and efficiency at the circulation desk.

   Idea Value
   Having unnecessary blocks popping up during circulation transactions takes staff and patron time and trains staff to click past blocks without reading them closely, making it more likely that important messages will be missed and ruled will be overridden. Giving libraries the option to include or… more

   43 votes

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   COMPLETED  ·  6 comments  ·  Customer Relationship & Account Management  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →