254 results found
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Data Exchange should automatically identify and fix MARC-8 records.
Data Exchange should determine if a file being loaded is in UTF-8 or MARC-8 format before loading. If it is MARC-8, it should be converted to UTF-8 before loading.
I want to be clear that I'm not talking about using the MARC bit that supposedly identifies if the character set is UTF-8. That cannot be trusted. I want a system like the character detect feature in MarcEdit, that will actually look at the characters in the incoming records and determine what character set they really are.
There are still a lot of MARC-8 records out there, and it is not…
13 votes -
Show pop-up when placing holds on items with special statuses
Sierra SDA allows you to place holds on items with special statuses, and do not show any pop-up window to warn of this circumstance. Currently this is not possible in Sierra for statuses other than 'Library Use Only'.
We would like the system to display a pop-up window when attempting to place a hold on an item with special status, as Sierra SDA does in checkout and checkin procedures.
Thanks.
13 votes -
Auto- Update library card expiration dates
When a new library card is created in a month, Sierra auto-populates the expiration date for the card as next month +3 years, but this has to be manually adjusted every month by the Circ supervisor. It would be nice if Sierra could automatically set the expiration date for library cards created every month.
13 votes -
Add an API endpoint which permits writing to review files
Currently, when a query is beyond the capabilities of Create Lists, it is usually possible to use a SQL query with Python to produce a report. Such a report might list record numbers of bibs/items/orders/patrons/etc which bear further examination and correction by library staff, but staff must copy record numbers or barcodes in the report and paste them into the SDA to pull up the records in question. It would be much easier if an API endpoint permitted those record numbers to be written to a review file so staff can go through them one-by-one in the SDA.
Another use…
13 votes -
Include periodical issue information in overdue notices
We had a patron complaint that the email notices do not include magazine issue information, only the main title. The notices also do not include item barcodes, so there isn't any data to match against a specific issue. Could information from the Issue field in the item record be displayed in overdue notices?
13 votesThe product team will review this idea for consideration for a future release.
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Allow changing of hard coded "collection agency" wording
We would like to change the wording on our bills to patrons for long-overdue items from “COLECTIONS AGENCY REPORT CHARGE” to “MATERIALS RECOVERY SERVICE CHARGE,” but this is hard-coded. We use Unique Management, who describes themselves as a materials recovery service, and we try hard to always use that wording and not say "collection" or "collection agency." Some patrons have become alarmed by seeing "collection agency" on our bills for long-overdue items and in their accounts.
13 votesThe product team will review this idea for consideration for a future release.
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Notice Counts Should Reflect The Number of Notices, Not Items Notified About
This is a resubmission of a recently expired idea. I’ve added insights from other users shared in comments on the original post.
Since becoming a III customer in 2008/2009, it's baffled me that we don't see a representation of the total number of notices sent daily via autonotices, but instead have the Notice History feature, which shows the number of items for which notices are sent. I feel like it would be far more useful for statistical purposes if the number of notices sent for each notice type was what's recorded & shared by Sierra.
Beyond metrics, this would aid…
12 votes -
Sorting Search/Holds Queries
Staff would like to see the ability to sort results retrieved from queries performed in Sierra's Search/Holds mode.
Say for example they do a keyword search for Star Wars at our Forest Park branch. 124 items are found. The results are displayed alphabetically by default. But if the staff member wants to quickly sort by DVDs, they can't even click on the Format column heading, as it exists currently.
While they can run multiple limits to narrow down the results by format, language, shelving location, publication date, etc., they might just as equally be inclined to SORT the entire list…
12 votes -
Spending Limit Pop-Up
I know its shocking when the subject of pop-ups in Sierra comes up that anyone would want "MORE!," but our Acquisitions staff would like to see a warning of fund spending over limit at invoicing in addition to ordering.
Their rationale is that shipping & Mylar costs usually cannot be pre-determined. Once posting happens, the fund goes negative. Since there is no going back, like when you're about to go down the chute at the end of a log flume ride, there should be a warning.
12 votes -
Make Selecting 'All' Genuinely Purposeful
From time to time we'll see support tickets where, because of some glitch in the discovery layer, a patron has managed to place upwards of 60 bib level holds on a title.
The holds need to be cancelled in Sierra, so you select 'All.' However, doing so, you still have to address each item individually with a series of additional pop-ups. Over & over again.
This is just one example where I'd like to see selecting 'All' allow for making a single, batch change on the selected records.
12 votes -
Insert/Update Location Codes from a CSV file
Develop a utility to add new location codes to the so-called Branches table using a CSV file as input. Optionally permit updates (overlays) of existing location code entries so that the branch_code_num, name and/or is_public columns may be reassigned values in this way.
Our library has very granular location codes which describe branch (or collection subset of a branch such as a display area), audience, format and genre, loosely speaking. This amounts to 220-250 location codes per branch (or collection subset). We currently have over 5,000 distinct location codes in our Sierra database, and every time a new branch is…
12 votes -
Need for "Check-in: Do not fulfill holds" function to only apply to current check-in
Libraries have the option to use "Check-in: Do not fulfill holds". This checks in the item without without fulfilling any holds that are in the hold queue for that item. This item will never appear on a Title or Item paging list unless the item is checked in AGAIN. To be eligible to appear on a Title or Item paging list the item must be checked in a second time.
We need an option to release that restriction. The hold should be unfulfilled only during that specific check-in.
Reasons for this:
1) Our transportation system may be stopped due to…
12 votesThe product team will review this idea for consideration for a future release.
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Enable Passkeys for patron authentication
Passkeys are both easier for people to use and safer than using passwords and PINs. Passkeys allows users to sign in to their account using the same mechanism they use to unlock their device - fingerprint, face recognition, etc. There are a couple of good introductions to the benefits of Passkeys over traditional username/password credentials here:
https://fidoalliance.org/passkeys/
https://developers.google.com/identity/passkeys12 votesThe product team will review this idea for consideration for a future release.
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Improve diacritics in sierra to search Arabic and other Semitic langauges
Improve diacritic searching in Sierra to include Semitic languages, especially Arabic! We have a fair number of Arabic books in out collections, and a large Arabic community, but Sierra support for Arabic characters does not seem complete. We often find that Arabic letters in Sierra is replaced by a white square, which seems to mean that the character is not supported. The names appear fine in Vega but the non supported letters do not seem to be indexed in the search results. This is an important language for members of our community and support for it is important in our…
12 votesThe product team will review this idea for consideration for a future release.
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Allow staff to unfreeze frozen holds
We'd like a way for staff to un-freeze frozen holds when patrons need help reactivating a previously frozen hold. Currently we have to walk patrons through signing into their accounts to unfreeze the hold themselves, or cancel and replace the hold. Allowing staff to make the change in the SDA would improve customer service and make life easier for our staff.
(Restarting this archived idea: https://ideas.iii.com/forums/952252-archive/suggestions/46917761-allow-staff-modification-of-frozen-holds)
11 votes -
Add index selector and pre-search limits to Check Out (Circulation Desk) Function
This idea is expanding on one originally proposed here by Catherine Kelso (https://ideas.iii.com/forums/951745/suggestions/47046682).
It would be helpful to more easily search on patron record indexes besides barcode when you need to (name, record number, e-mail, etc...) and for those sorts of searches it would be helpful to limit the search preemptively as you can in other search functions throughout Sierra. Say you want to search for the "Smith, John" with a teen ptype and a home library of anytown branch.
The current default search of entering a barcode should remain, it should just be simple to toggle to…
11 votes -
Overlay matching should evaluate all repeatable subfields (e.g., every $a in the 019), not just the first occurrence
When a load table's overlay match point targets a repeatable field such as the 019 (OCLC number cross-reference), the load process only compares the first subfield occurrence against Sierra's index. Although Sierra correctly indexes every $a in the 019 individually, the overlay-match routine stops after the first $a. Any additional OCLC numbers stored in the second, third, or subsequent $a subfields are ignored when determining whether an incoming record should overlay an existing one.
As a result, records that should match an existing bib overlay as new duplicates instead, because the matching value lives in a $a other than the…
11 votes -
Make Third Party API Transactions More Apparent in Sierra
Some time ago, an idea was submitted to enhance the Sierra API to provide statistical group information, so that circulation transactions in third party applications could be credited to a statistical group other than 0 None.
The idea won the "Let's Connect Sierra API Challenge."
With the release of Sierra 6.0, it then became possible to include a new optional data parameter to specify the statistical group that should be used when recording a transaction performed using the APIs.
My library was excited to hear this, as we'd recently begun using the self-checkout feature in the Bibliocommons' app not long…
11 votes -
Ability to find the most checked out item in a year
Ability to find the most checked out item in a year
Please add a simple way in Sierra to report the most checked out item for a selected year, including the option to show the top five checked out items.
Currently, this is very difficult or impossible to do directly in Sierra because checkout totals are not stored in a way that allows staff to easily rank items by circulation count for a specific year. Create Lists can find items based on fixed fields, item data, and limited transaction-related criteria, but it cannot easily produce a yearly “most checked out”…
11 votes -
Make Vendor Payment Info More Readily Accessible
The vendor payment address should be accessible at invoice payment function. Currently, the invoicing function needs to be closed & address information accessed at order record, vendor, etc.
11 votes
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