273 results found
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Add the ability to require fixed-length fields, not just variable length fields
We require certain information to create a library card, however Sierra does not enforce this requirement at the system level. Since it isn't mandatory, some data simply never gets captured and creates more work on the backend.
Beyond that, having certain information in the record would allow us to build a better understanding of our usership so that we can make better decisions as an organization.
I especially would love the ability to require any and all of the fixed-length fields; especially patron category, birthdate, home library, and notice preference.
16 votes -
Generate Statement of Charges directly within patron record
It would be very helpful to be able to print a Statement of Charges directly from a patron record (and have it formatted for 8-1/2 x 11 paper and mail-ready).
For context, we are a 138-library consortium, all notices are Auto Notices, and we do not run Statement of Charges for the consortium. Yes, you can run a statement for 1 patron in the Notices function, but this requires consortium staff intervention since that permission is locked down to consortium staff. It would be much simpler for our member libraries to be able to print such a statement on an…
16 votes -
Add ability to extend the hold Pickup By date to the /v6/patrons/holds/{holdId} API endpoint
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…
15 votes -
Add Character Map to Patron Record Creation/Editing Menu
Despite the constant threats to our funding & the fact that some seem to treat the notion of DEI as offensive, we continue to want our library to be seen as a welcoming & inclusive environment for our patrons.
We would like to be able to extend this to how their name is represented in Sierra & on notices/when seen in the catalog. We currently have a sort of crib sheet for staff to use to insert diacritic characters into patron names as needed, but think it would be helpful if they didn't have to navigate away from Sierra when…
15 votes -
Show number of copies on order per library
We are a Consortia of 51 libraries with 25 Acquisition's Units. We would like to see how many copies each library has ordered. This was available in Encore.(see screenshot) Vega does not show order records at all so we would like to see more detailed information in Sierra. Currently, you can only see that other libraries have ordered, not number of copies (see screenshot)
15 votesThe product team will review this idea for consideration for a future release.
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Option to exclude frozen holds from total holds queue in catalogue
Libraries should have the option to exclude frozen holds from the total holds queue that appears in any catalogue.
Benefits:
1) Customers will have a better idea of where they are in the hold queue.
We encourage customer-driven hold management, and customers have told us that they want an estimate of when their holds will be filled.
This is especially true when customers place multiple hold on titles within a series.2) Customers will not see inflated hold queues and provide feedback to the Library that they should purchase more copies.
3) Customers could make an education decision on whether…
15 votesThis idea will be reviewed by the Innovative product team for consideration in planning the upcoming product roadmap.
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Add a Note Field in the RFID Pad Server Options Table
As ILS administrators of a large consortium, we would like the RFID Server Options Table to have an additional field/column to add notes (library name, dates, staff initials). When one of our member libraries needs to change RFID entries, we sort through nearly 200 lines to determine which one needs updating. Many entries use IPs without identifying library information. We must read through old library correspondence to discern which IPs belong to the library. This task takes up valuable time when we are trying to assist a library with troubleshooting or adding and removing entries.
An additional free-text field to…
15 votesThis idea will be reviewed by the Innovative product team for consideration in planning the upcoming product roadmap.
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It's about time to make Holds APIs first-class citizens
Idea Description
It would be far nicer to have the ability to work with hold data directly--in contrast to having to retrieve hold data via the patron APIs. For example: currently, in order to (reasonably) find the "pickupByDate" values for holds with status "(Bib, Volume, Item) hold ready for pickup" you would have to use a combination of the Sierra SQL feature (to first find all the patron record numbers possessing such a hold) and then filter all the holds for the list of patrons (from the previous step) having the "pickupByDate" key in the response object. Once you have the holds,…15 votes -
More universal accessibility features
Improving universal accessibility features for users/employees with diverse accessibility needs.
For example, for employees with visual impairments :
- High contrast mode and adjustable font size. Currently, users can change text color and size, but increasing the font size often causes content to be hidden, as the window does not automatically adjust. Users must manually resize the window each time. A responsive layout would greatly improve usability.Other potential improvements could include : screen reader compatibility, customizable keyboard navigation, text descriptions for icons, etc.
Even just the high contrast would help a lot. Additionally, it would be helpful if users…
14 votes -
add "did you mean" search logic to SDA keyword search
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.
14 votesThis idea will be reviewed by the product management team for possible inclusion in a future release.
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Limit Pickup Location Based on Item Type
We have three pickup locations: lockers, curbside and hold pickup shelves inside the library. For our Library of Things item type we would want to eliminate the lockers as an option because they cannot hold those items because of space.
14 votesThis idea will be reviewed by the Innovative product team for consideration in planning the upcoming product roadmap.
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Exclude specific patron types from getting notices
Being in an academic library, we have certain patron types which function differently than other types. This applies particularly to the differences between a student patron type and a faculty patron type. It would be helpful for us to have the ability to exclude certain patron types from getting certain kinds of notices.
14 votesThis idea will be reviewed by the Innovative product team for consideration in planning the upcoming product roadmap.
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Separate summary view property for each of the search functions
When a Sierra SDA login is first created the system utilizes individual summary view properties for the various search functions. By default in cataloging if you open up the summary view of a record you see item records, in search/holds you see holds, in place orders you see orders and in serials checkin you see checkin records.
If you opt to change that setting however from the record view properties menu (say to change this to view all) it can impact all 4 search functions. It would be better to split this menu out, so that the setting for each…
14 votesThis idea will be reviewed by the Innovative product team for consideration in planning the upcoming product roadmap.
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Include zero results for selected locations in all reports in Decision Center
Currently Decision Center only returns data for a location parameter if there was activity for the selected time period and does not return a zero placeholder for locations without activity. This creates extra work for staff when working with the resulting Excel files. They can't easily reference the cells in Excel consistently.
14 votes -
Dark contrast display option for the SDA
We see the Sierra 6.0 Release Notes features new Accessibility improvements in the SDA. It is unclear if this includes a high contrast display option which staff recommend to support use of the software by many different types of staff.
14 votes -
View Public Display - Allow for Multiple Choices
https://ideas.iii.com/forums/951745-ils-sierra/suggestions/46670854-sierra-5-5-direct-view-public-display-to-disco is closed/says it's already supported, but the part for being configured to more than one display option is not addressed. We would like to be able to have more than one option to display - Vega, Classic, Encore and even III Mobile if possible - so we can see how all iterations look right from the SDA. So in the menu it would be View | Public Display | array of choices
14 votes -
Postpone/freeze a hold after it's Ready for Pickup
Postpone/freeze a hold after it's Ready for Pickup
Similar to Overdrive's redeliver option. Allow a patron to postpone/redeliver their hold one time if it comes in unexpectedly or at a time when they cannot come to pick it up.14 votesThe product manager will review this idea for possible inclusion in a future release.
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Expand invoice record fields that can be exported from Create Lists
Create Lists allows staff to create review files of invoices, but a number of useful fields from the invoice cannot be exported from the system. Notably the subtotalamt, shippingamt and totaltaxamt fields, which can all be accessed via both SQL and the RestAPI, are missing from the export options.
We would like to see these added so that fuller invoice data could be exported into something like Excel for further accounts reporting and tracking.
13 votes -
Rearchitect iiirecord.record_metadata to provide improved audit trail accountability
It is sometimes helpful to see who created, updated or deleted a record. Catmaint provides a lot of detail but doesn't cover many record types. I propose the following solution, which doesn't have particularly burdensome storage requirements:
- Build a many-to-many table with an id primary key column, a timestamp, a code indicating the C-R-U-Uprevious-D record operation and foreign keys linking to record_metadata.id and to iii_user.id.
- Backfill this new table using the available timestamps in record_metadata, catmaint and any other table like catmaint which might provide record edit history.
- Rename record_metadata and drop its four *_gmt timestamp columns. Yes, this creates…
13 votes -
A "full Payment History file" event should log an error to the Admin App's System Messages log
Today our Payment History file reached 9,999 records which is close enough to the 10k record capacity that the attached error message was displayed. Fortunately the staff member had the presence of mind to screen-capture this error dialog today so I could read its message verbatim, but this isn't always the case. It would be helpful for an error of this severity to be written to the System Messages log viewed using the web-based Sierra admin app.
Given the low variety of error messages written to that log, there must be all kinds of similar messages which are not logged,…
13 votes
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