Skip to content
Innovative Idea Exchange

ILS - Sierra

JUMP TO ANOTHER FORUM

  • Hot ideas
  • Top ideas
  • New ideas
  • My feedback

318 results found

  1. In our library, all in-transit items are put into a single bin at the check-in location to be picked up and run through a central sorter which separates them by destination. This workflow doesn't require the use of transit slips, so our staff are trained to choose not to print one when prompted at check-in.

    Having to choose "no" at check-in for each item can become onerous when staff are checking in many items, but currently the only alternative is to have the system automatically print a transit slip for every item — which would simply be a waste of…

    15 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  2. In the PIN reset workflow, when a user enters a new PIN and confirms it with a different value, the message “New PINs do not match” is displayed. Currently, this string does not appear to be configurable via the messages.conf or messages_lang.conf files, and cannot be localized.

    This limits our ability to fully support non-English users and ensure a consistent and accessible user experience across the system.

    Suggested improvement:
    Allow the “New PINs do not match” message to be configured through messages.conf, using a key such as RESETPINSDONTMATCH, or by extending the functionality of the existing REQ

    5 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  3. It would be great if the logic & momentum that introduced Send To - Rapid or Global Update in Sierra 6.3 & will soon allow the same shortcut to Delete Items could also be applied to Globally Purge Charges.

    The state of Ohio has a statute of limitations on debt collection that has us purging money owed longer than 5 years on a weekly basis. While this is bazonkers IMO, apparently it's also the law of the land, & it would make the process much more quick & convenient if we could select a file in Create List, navigate to…

    4 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  4. The Situation: Our library's room checkout suddenly shorted to a hard limit of 6:00pm. I discovered that last year's spring break hours were listed in the Hours Open table and last year spring break occurred earlier in March.

    The Problem: Entries in the Hours Open table do not include the year. If the year was included, hour checkout issue wouldn't have been an issue.

    Solution #1: Add the ability to include the year to Hours Open table. Default to the current year but have the ability to change the year.

    Solution #2: Revamp the Hours Open table. Modifying the Hours…

    8 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  5. Intergrating Sierra with IMMS, Sierra does not show the placement information from IMMS on item records. In particular, when the items are stored in chaotic placements such as hold shelves. This means that looking for an item on a hold shelf or other chaotic type location in Sierra, the user has to copy the barcode from Sierra to IMMS to pin point it's known location.

    With further integration, it would be great to see placement information in Sierra to assist staff with helping customers find items on hold shelves in particular.

    11 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    A new field for placement information for items on the hold shelf will be added in Sierra 6.5 (planned for Q4 2025). Staff members will be able to see this hold shelf information at the Circulation Desk for items ready for pickup.

  6. Library staff would like to be able to see more details on holds that have been placed, including how the hold was placed (Sierra Desktop vs. SierraWeb vs. Web vs. mobile app, etc.) and who placed the hold (Sierra login if not the patron).

    Right now, it is not consistent how holds information is displayed.

    If you view holds w/in a patron record (holds tab), you don't see when the hold was placed or how they placed it. However, if you View Cancelled Holds, you see the date/time it was placed, along with the date/time it was cancelled, along with…

    35 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  7. For testing purposes, it would be beneficial to be able to make a backup of a patron PIN, assign a new temporary PIN, perform the testing from the patron's perspective, and then restore the original PIN. This way we would not have to inconvenience the patron by asking them to reset their PIN when testing has completed.

    We can retrieve the encrypted PIN with this API GET request:
    https://library-app-server:443/iii/sierra-api/v6/patrons/patron-record-number?fields=varFields
    but the PIN string will be re-encrypted if we attempt to write it back using the patron record PUT request. We would like to have the option of passing a directive…

    4 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  8. 5 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  9. The Time to Holdshelf feature in Sierra is useful in keeping patrons from showing up too early to pick up their holds. As seen in the attachment "Discovery Layer View" – which in our case happens to be BiblioCore – the availability status correctly reflects that the recently checked-in item "Easter Mice!" is not ready for pickup because the item is en route to the pickup location (which in this case is a set of freestanding pickup lockers in a remote area of the county).

    However, the holds status as displayed in the SDA incorrectly reports the item as being…

    25 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  10. Problem: The text of emails sent when using the Approval and Denial notifications in Recommends cannot be currently altered. We would like to be able to provide more customer friendly email templates to patrons that allow us to explain why an item was denied or what the process is for items that are approved.

    Impact: Being able to communicate with our patrons at the outset of the process will save staff time by not having to have go back and forth with customers over email to explain processes and reasons for purchase requests. Additionally it will improve the customer's experience…

    5 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  11. Idea: add the money owed fixed field as an option for a data point in the Bills Notice Data Library for print templates.

    Value: Some libraries would like to be able to call out to users how much in total they owe on their account, not just the total of the items on that particular bill. Adding this field to the data library would enable them to do so.

    5 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  12. In Sierra, on Windows 11, when you click "Tile Vertically" so you can see multiple records at the same time, it makes the windows too long, so that the bottom of the windows get hidden behind the taskbar if it is locked. It does not do this if you maximize a record window, or if you use snap. It only seems to be the "Tile Vertically" function.

    We use this function a lot to compare records for deduplication, and it is really annoying to have to manually resize windows so you can see the whole thing.

    16 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  13. For volume records, it would be helpful to have 'volume' listed as an option in Admin - Settings - New Record Templates (see attachment). When adding volume records, it would be helpful to have the desired 'volume' template appear in the same way our item record template appears. Currently we have to always select the volume template we want to use. All the other options are listed and it would be nice to have 'volume' listed as well.

    6 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  14. When a hold has been cleared or is defunct, the information Sierra provides integrated integrated systems (IMMS for our example) over API is not consistent In particular, when clear holds is run in Sierra. During clear holds, the item status either remains at ! On holdshelf or changes to another item status. When it remains as !, IMMS sees the hold is still active and does not instruct staff to clear the item from the hold shelf. Daily and weekly processes are needed to update the item records for IMMS to recognise the changes.

    Can the clear hold function in…

    3 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  15. Idea: Create an additional notice type, Hold Pickup Reminder/Courtesy, that can be configured to send a reminder notice to patrons that they have a hold ready for pickup that is about to expire, similar to the courtesy notice for checked-out items.

    Relevance: When you place an order for pickup at most other businesses, you are sent a reminder email before the pickup deadline that the item is ready for pickup. Libraries would benefit from a similar option, especially those that use hold pickup lockers where there is limited space for holds. This way, if a patron decides they don't want…

    34 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  16. Problem:
    In the current version of the Sierra system, restricted or sensitive bibliographic records can only be suppressed from the public catalog but remain visible and accessible to catalogers within the system. This visibility creates the risk of accidental editing, publishing, or mishandling of these records, particularly:

    • Restricted Records: Some records are sensitive or confidential and should not be visible to all catalogers.
    • Records Under Review: Records undergoing auditing or verification need protection from edits until the review is completed.

    • Recommendation:
      Introduce a feature that allows the System Administrator or Cataloging Supervisor to hide specific bibliographic records within the Sierra…

    11 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  17. There SHOULD be an OpenAPI definition document available for Sierra's APIs via Swagger, but currently, there is not.

    The OpenAPI definition document (https://swagger.io/specification/) is a standardized format for describing the structure and behavior of an API. It is a machine-readable document, usually written in JSON or YAML, that provides a comprehensive blueprint of an API's endpoints, operations, input/output parameters, response formats, authentication methods, and other essential details.

    For comparison, here is an example for the Polaris API / Swagger install (on an iii training server):
    https://polaris-training.polarislibrary.com/PAPIService/swagger/v1/swagger.json

    Benefits of an OpenAPI Definition Document:

    * Standardization: Provides a consistent format
    30 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  18. Our consortium would like an automated way to update the encoding level to help with managing load profiles that use the encoding level priority function. It would be very helpful to add an API endpoint for updating all the MARC Leader fields. The 008 MARC field can only be used for updating some of the Leader fields.

    5 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  19. Our library has very generous allowances for both checkouts & holds on patron accounts. This can sometimes come into conflict with Sierra's seemingly arbitrary system limits. For example, when these items go unreturned & result in replacement charges, which then cannot be added because of the imposed limits. Like my waist can no longer accommodate 32" pants, Sierra cannot currently accommodate the lending policies taken advantage of by some of our more active borrowers.

    I'm sure there are other examples where these limits can manifest, but attached is an example message recently seen by staff which reads:

    CANNOT ADD FINE…

    3 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  20. It's great to be able to add a single item to a review file from the item record page. It would be even better if we could add multiple items from the item summary page.

    8 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  • Don't see your idea?