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  1. Our consortium would like to request a feature enhancement in Sierra that allows ability to transfer volume-level holds to bib-level holds.

    Currently, when we need to move records from a multi-volume bibliographic record (with volume records) to a monographic bibliographic record (without volume records), we must manually add or copy each volume-level hold to the bib-level record and then remove the original volume-level hold. This is a very tedious and time-consuming process, especially within a consortium of more than 100 libraries.

    A streamlined method to transfer holds between volume and bibliographic levels would save staff time, reduce errors, and improve…

    21 votes

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  2. This idea came from a discussion at the IUG2025 Sierra Reporting Forum.

    It would be very useful to provide an endpoint to assist with gathering/generating the sorts of circulations statistics that would normally require SQL access. However, the all or nothing nature of SQL permissions is a barrier that prevents many users from being permitted to access those features. With the API on the other hand a user could be limited to simply having read access to an endpoint such as this, along with likely the bib and item endpoints so that they may craft reports without also having to…

    21 votes

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  3. Spine Label Queues are only available in the current session and do not save. We are able to print spine labels (sheet or continuous) from Create Lists, but cannot apply print templates with this function. Can we either have the option to apply print templates when wanting to print batches of labels via Create Lists and/or have the option to hold on to our spine label queues for more than just the current session?

    21 votes

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  4. It'd be great if authority records and cross references were included under the Search/Holds module and be the same as what staff encounter with the Catalog module. Right now it is different. In our system, staff often use Sierra to place holds with the public on their behalf. It would be great if authorities were available in the Search/Holds module results display so that staff could benefit from the information.
    If a staffer did an author search and they had a pen name (Robb, J.D.) then they'd be redirected to see the other author's name (Roberts, Nora).... Or they may…

    20 votes

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  5. The high demand hold report is a powerful tool that sums system items and system holds.

    Adding a "hold status" and "item status" pre-search limiters would vastly improve the use of this report

    Why add these limits?

    There is no Sierra product (including Decision Center) that allows users to deselect frozen holds from “total holds” count.

    This report counts "system holds" as any hold with any status (including item holds that will be filled by "in transit" item)

    This report counts "system items" as all items (including billed and missing) so there is no way to know how many items…

    20 votes

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  6. Add the ability to suppress subfield 1 in the 1xx field so it will not show in Sierra. This way it can be unsuppressed when the library starts using linked data.

    20 votes

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  7. The current documentation on loan rules, loan rule determiner, and float determiner table is very limited, and training on these important functions do not exist within Innovative's training & learning center. More comprehensive documentation with examples would help libraries better manage loan rules, and perhaps simplify how libraries' existing rules are setup.

    20 votes

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  8. Sierra 6.5 saw the move of the process for restarting terminal sessions from our text-based management tool to the Sierra Admin App. While I'm chuffed enough about that to be writing this enhancement idea on Thanksgiving Day (and to be using the word chuffed), I'm hoping further development can make it even better & restore some of the functionality from the admin app that isn't available in this updated interface.

    Specifically, I'd like to be able to restart a range of terminals (for example, all staff sessions), mirroring the Restart Multiple Terminals option in text-based. Yes, we can check a…

    19 votes

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  9. Currently, when a staffer goes into Create Lists and sorts the lists using one of the column headers, while scrolling down to locate the appropriate list, Sierra jumps or hops upward thereby losing the staffers place in Create Lists. This idea is to prevent that from happening and to make the default or custom sort in Create Lists stick. This would save staff time and reduce errors as well.

    18 votes

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  10. The Invoice Summary that is sent after posting invoices only lists the voucher number. Our Finance department has to go through the Invoice Register and match the invoice number to the voucher number to know what invoices should be paid. This is very time consuming, and susceptible to human error. Please consider adding the invoice number to the Invoice Summary.

    18 votes

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  11. The ability to log into admin corner, view all users and with one click disable them (not delete, but deny them log in access) would be helpful for those with revolving part time employees.

    We have student employees that change out regularly, but sometimes they come back as graduate student help, etc within a short time.

    Being able to simply turn off an employees access and review it within a year or less to determine if it should be deleted or held would be helpful for keeping our staff accounts cleaned up.

    18 votes

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  12. Currently in Create Lists it is very difficult to specify criteria for special fields like the leader, 006, 007 and 008. Many of these have the exact same label, like Audience, which appears four different times. Each of them is for audience as it appears in different versions of the 008 for different record types. Then it appears four more times in the 006.

    It would be helpful if each of these different audience codes were labeled in Create Lists, such as "Audience for Books," and "Audience for Music," etc. This would make it much easier to use this function.…

    17 votes

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  13. I had first suggested this over a decade ago when at another library that was struggling how to balance its combination of branch & research library users & the sort of requests they might make. While no longer there, I still see it as a potentially useful means for staff to develop their request processes & create limits within limits.

    What I'd like to see is the ability to not only set a hold threshold, but as is the case for the Max Items A-D allowed as applied to checkouts, allow a similar breakdown for holds.

    Optimally, this would allow…

    17 votes

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  14. The problem that's prompting this suggestion:
    I work at Gondor Library. An item arrives from Rohan Library (outside of scope) to fulfill a hold for my Gondor patron. But staff notices it has damage that has NOT been noted in the record (or on the physical object).

    Gondor staff have two choices.
    a) the damage is extensive enough that we decide to not fulfill the hold and send it back to the owning library, Rohan.
    b) we use our judgement to decide whether the Rohan book's damage is minor enough to fulfill the hold.
    For example, only light stains on…

    17 votes

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  15. Circulation staff would like to see "did you mean" logic applied to the SDA keyword search. This is the top complaint from circulation staff who search the database to help customers place holds. Staff are used to a Google (or Discovery Catalogue) keyword search that has some flexibility for human error.

    17 votes

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  16. We've had patrons requesting to be allowed to choose both notification methods- phone and email, not only one. This would be very useful for patrons whose phones get shut off frequently, or who have another person helping them by picking up their holds for them. Two contact methods would be helpful.

    16 votes

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  17. Currently the only hold parameters one can modify via the API are

    PatronHoldPut {
        pickupLocation (string, optional): the hold's pickup location code,
        freeze (boolean, optional): whether the hold should be frozen (suspended)
    }

    It would be very helpful if the Pickup By date – and while you're at it, the Hold Note – were added as modifiable parameters.  There have been many times when unscheduled branch closures or problems in sending hold pickup notices have caused us to want to extend hold Pickup By dates for items on the holdshelf.

    Having this functionality in an API endpoint would permit a…

    16 votes

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  18. 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…

    16 votes

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  19. 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

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  20. Sierra patron records should include a patron pronouns field, so that library staff can record customers' stated preferred pronouns and use the correct language in conversations and communications with customers. The field should be able to display in the Brief patron display. This step would help to support inclusion, wellbeing, and belonging in libraries.

    16 votes

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