11 results found

1. Patron Notes field - pop-up alert on check out

   It would be useful to have a pop-up alert for notes to patrons that are important, but not so urgent we need to block their record. This would mean that when staff scanned their card at check out, there would be an obvious pop-up to alert them of a message, rather than relying on them noticing a colour change to the Notes link.

   18 votes

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   PLANNED  ·  2 comments  ·  Circulation, Access Services & Fulfillment  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →
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2. Add Library Level to Hold Pickup Limit

   Currently, a library may limit an item to be holdable for pickup at a single branch location. This setting allows the item to be limited to pick up at the item's assigned branch only. While this feature may work for single-branch libraries, it does not function in a practical way for multi-branch libraries. Expanding this feature to have a library-level option would increase the usability of this setting.

   Example 1: Library A has 3 branches. They want to make their mobile hotspots holdable for pickup at any of their 3 branches. They do not want their hotspots to be placed on hold for pickup at other libraries in the consortia. The way the hold limit currently works, they are forced to limit holds to pickup at a single branch. Patrons who try to place holds on the mobile hotspots for pickup at their other two branches are blocked.

   Example 2: Library B has two branches: Their normal branch and a separate curbside branch for patrons who do not want to pick up holds inside the library. Library B wants to limit their new videogames to pickup at one of these two branches. Currently, they can only limit pickup to their normal branch. If patrons attempt to place these items on hold for pickup at the curbside branch, they are blocked (and vice versa).

   Idea Value
   Currently, 35% of the libraries in our consortia have more than one Polaris branch. Adding a library level to the hold limit settings would enable this functionality to be used by all our libraries.

   Multi-branch libraries have to employ a few workarounds for items that cannot be sent in transit to other locations, none of which are ideal:

   1. Limit holds to only their patrons, which reduces the likelihood a request will be placed for pickup at a different library. If a hold is placed for pickup at another library in the consortia, the library must manually contact the patron to switch their pickup location.

   (This isn't ideal, because many libraries would like all collections to be holdable to any patrons who visit their locations. This forces them to be more restrictive than they would like.)

   1. Limit holds to pickup only at the item's assigned branch. Patrons who try to pickup at a different branch are blocked from placing a hold.

   Currently, a library may limit an item to be holdable for pickup at a single branch location. This setting allows the item to be limited to pick up at the item's assigned branch only. While this feature may work for single-branch libraries, it does not function in a practical way for multi-branch libraries. Expanding this feature to have a library-level option would increase the usability of this setting.

   Example 1: Library A has 3 branches. They want to make their mobile hotspots holdable for pickup at any of their 3 branches. They do not want their hotspots to be placed… more

   38 votes

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   PLANNED  ·  2 comments  ·  Circulation, Access Services & Fulfillment  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →
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3. Bulk update held until dates

   The ability to bulk change Held Until dates would allow library staff to perform this task themselves in a timely manner, rather than having to submit a ticket to Innovative.

   37 votes

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   PLANNED  ·  5 comments  ·  Circulation, Access Services & Fulfillment  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →
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4. Support Custom TOMs / TOM Override

   While there are many advantages to way that Polaris calculates TOMs, there are currently some significant limitations for differentiating between formats. 4K BluRays, Playaways/Yotos, and video game systems are all very difficult to distinguish from one another when using only the MARC fixed fields. Additionally, many libraries are expanding their collections with Libraries of Things that are usually coded as "Kit" or "Three Dimensional Object" rather than describing what it actually is. These bib TOMS are also now featured prominently in Vega Discover's rollups.

   Over on the Sierra side, the options for bibliographic format can be customized. If a library wants to add a specific format, they can add those options to a drop-down list. This approach wouldn't transfer over to Polaris perfectly, but it could lead to a hybrid system where Polaris still calculates TOMs, but certain conditions would allow a custom TOM to be used in place of the calculated one.

   There are a couple different ways that this could potentially work, but I'm currently leaning towards something like a TOM override drop down box that is configured in SA and displays in the bibliographic record. When an option is selected, the bib's Primary TOM will be them term that is selected. If it's left blank, Polaris will calculate the TOM as normal. Since it's configured in SA, libraries will still be able to control the terminology used and can supply the necessary format icons in the PAC files. Ideally, when records are exported, this gets converted to a MARC tag so that it can be reimported.

   Other options could be a designated MARC tag that contains specific wording. When the TOM is calculated, the system will look within this MARC tag just as it looks in the fixed fields. Another option could be some kind of calculated logic that determines custom TOMs based on the attached item's Material Types. ("If all items are X then display Bib as Y").

   Polaris' current approach for TOMs works really well for traditional library items because that info is readily available in the MARC fixed fields. But this process starts to break down with newer, non-traditional library items that MARC does not account for. And now with Vega Discover, the format rollups (arguably the most popular feature) highlight many of these issues that we've been ignoring.

   While there are many advantages to way that Polaris calculates TOMs, there are currently some significant limitations for differentiating between formats. 4K BluRays, Playaways/Yotos, and video game systems are all very difficult to distinguish from one another when using only the MARC fixed fields. Additionally, many libraries are expanding their collections with Libraries of Things that are usually coded as "Kit" or "Three Dimensional Object" rather than describing what it actually is. These bib TOMS are also now featured prominently in Vega Discover's rollups.

   Over on the Sierra side, the options for bibliographic format can be customized. If a library… more

   127 votes

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   PLANNED  ·  14 comments  ·  Cataloging & Metadata Management  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →
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5. Polaris 8.0 - Auto update member code from Junior to Adult when they turn 18

   Having member codes change automatically based off patron age, changing junior to adult when they turn 18.

   50 votes

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   PLANNED  ·  10 comments  ·  Customer Relationship & Account Management  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →
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6. API to Update Bibliographic Records

   I'm specifically looking for a great integration between the cataloging tool BTCat and Polaris.

   Libraries use tools like BTCat and Skyriver to search for new bib records and update/edit existing records. After making changes, the records currently have to be exported from the cataloging software, then imported into Polaris. These tools have the ability to "push" records into other ILS systems, skipping the need for a manual export/import of records. Adding this functionality would aid libraries in transitioning away from the Polaris desktop client (as bibliographic editing in Leap is a tedious process, at best).

   22 votes

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   2 comments  ·  System Administration (incl APIs)  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →
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   PLANNED  ·  AdminSamantha Quell (Admin, Innovative) responded

   We actually added an endpoint to support this integration in Polaris 7.6 (BibsPost). We've been working with BTCat to consume the endpoint in their application.

   
   

   I'm going to set this to "Planned" for now because the integration is not live with BTCat yet. But the development piece required for Polaris has been done. Please let BTCat know you are interested!!

7. Bulk Change Pickup Location for Held Items

   We often have branches close unexpectedly due to facilities issues, when this happens we need to move the Held items from that branch to another branch. Currently there is no way to bulk change the pickup location between branches. This function would be very helpful for us.

   28 votes

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8. Polaris 8.0 - Dated patron notes

   It would be very useful for patron notes to automatically include date and time - this would allow us to track "updates" to progressive situations with patrons that multiple staff are addressing.

   99 votes

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9. Web Admin - PAPI Key Management Permissions

   With 7.1, Polaris administrative settings can now be accessed on the web, which includes PAPI Key Management. However, the PAPI keys can be accessed and changed today by anyone with the permission 'Access Administration - Allow' (which gives basic access to system admin settings).

   We give some of our staff access to admin settings, for activities like adding workstations and updating branch hours. As it stands these users can access and change the API settings through web-admin, but they should be secured so only systems administrators have access. This will be barrier for us sharing web-admin with our staff in the future, and moving admin activities from the client to the web.

   There should be more granular, PAPI Key Management-specific permissions, so that only appropriate users can access or change these, not anyone with admin access.

   Idea Value
   For customers who use API keys, and also give some staff access to system administration functions, this is likely to be a security gap, and may prevent them from moving all staff functions off the client.

   With 7.1, Polaris administrative settings can now be accessed on the web, which includes PAPI Key Management. However, the PAPI keys can be accessed and changed today by anyone with the permission 'Access Administration - Allow' (which gives basic access to system admin settings).

   We give some of our staff access to admin settings, for activities like adding workstations and updating branch hours. As it stands these users can access and change the API settings through web-admin, but they should be secured so only systems administrators have access. This will be barrier for us sharing web-admin with our staff in… more

   16 votes

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   9 comments  ·  Discovery & OPAC  ·  Delete…  ·  Admin →
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   PLANNED  ·  AdminSamantha Quell (Admin, Innovative) responded

   We will be adding a permission to address the issue of users with general access being able to reach the PAPI keys. There are some other comments here that could be considered separate enhancements, so please open new ideas for changes beyond a PAPI Key Management permission.

10. Polaris 8.0 - Fix the Leap Bibliographic Find Tool Search to use Initial Articles like the Polaris Client

    Currently in Leap there is no equivalent Bibliographic Title search to the "Exact match (implicitly truncated)" in the Polaris Client. The Leap search "Bibliographic>BasicSearch>Title>Exact ()" doesn't utilize the Initial Articles entries in the Bib record so any title search with a "The" or "A" or "An" in the title are not returned in the search results. This has caused a push back to adoption since the very real perception is that Leap has inferior search capabilities. I'm not sure why the the "Bib Exact ()" search requires staff to strip out the A, An & The initial article to return results when that hasn't been the standard method of searching in the Polaris Client.

    Idea Value
    To provide a Bibliographic Title search in Leap that is equivalent to the extremely functional "Exact match (implicitly truncated)" that has been in the Polaris Client. This is needed to remove the obstacle for staff to implement Leap. Having to retrain all staff to drop the initial article to achieve a successful title search just doesn't make sense to me. Currently there is no client parity in this area.

    Currently in Leap there is no equivalent Bibliographic Title search to the "Exact match (implicitly truncated)" in the Polaris Client. The Leap search "Bibliographic>BasicSearch>Title>Exact ()" doesn't utilize the Initial Articles entries in the Bib record so any title search with a "The" or "A" or "An" in the title are not returned in the search results. This has caused a push back to adoption since the very real perception is that Leap has inferior search capabilities. I'm not sure why the the "Bib Exact ()" search requires staff to strip out the A, An & The initial article… more

    68 votes

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11. Polaris 8.0 - Better Handling of "Display" Items

    : In its current configuration, a "display" shelf location can be used to indicate an item has been placed on display. However, changing this shelf location is a semi-permanent change and when the display comes down staff must change the location codes, either manually or through a record set, to the original location. Because displays are often very popular, this often results in items being checked out and returned. Without markings on the books that indicate they're on a temporary display, these items are often reshelved in their original location while their Polaris record indicates they're still on display, hindering findability. The idea is to create the ability to set a "temporary display" designation on an item (or several, depending on the number of display spaces in a Library) that is automatically cleared from the item record when the item is checked in.

    Idea Value
    This would save staff time in multiple ways. Shelving staff would be able to quickly check-in and shelve items without having to monitor the shelf location to ensure they're shelving on the correct display; staff creating displays wouldn't need to remember to revert record sets back to the original shelf location; and the occurance of items shelved incorrectly (in standard shelving with a "display" location code) would decrease, increasing findability for both staff and customers.

    : In its current configuration, a "display" shelf location can be used to indicate an item has been placed on display. However, changing this shelf location is a semi-permanent change and when the display comes down staff must change the location codes, either manually or through a record set, to the original location. Because displays are often very popular, this often results in items being checked out and returned. Without markings on the books that indicate they're on a temporary display, these items are often reshelved in their original location while their Polaris record indicates they're still on display, hindering… more

    149 votes

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