Use Patron ID for Patron Account Information such as LISTs in Vega Discover
When patrons get a new barcode they currently lose access to their lists in Vega Discover. Lists should be tied to the PATRON ID not the barcode. Barcodes are temporary, IDs are the persistent identifier for a patron account and should not change.
Patrons replace library cards frequently. They get lost or damaged. Patrons move from one home library to another within the system. Patrons get a new card when libraries offer new designs.
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Sam Jones
commented
This is so important for our patrons. If we want to promote lists, it should be something that won't go away if they get a new barcode.
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Sara
commented
As a frequent catalog list user as well as library employee, I would be devastated if I lost lists just because I needed to update my library card number. The most logical solution is definitely to tie this information to the patron ID number rather than an impermanent card barcode.
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Amanda Kloppmann
commented
I agree with the above statement - Patron ID makes much more sense if you are going to continue to push Discover to libraires going forward. Personally, I would be upset to have to redo my lists with a new barcode. People get cards for several reasons - lost/stolen, new designs, moving to a new community, etc. Patrons also sometimes get several cards especially if they misplace them repeatedly like some families do. Please associate lists with Patron ID.
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Emily Laws
commented
Keeping lists with a patron's ID code will prevent aggravation for both the public and staff.
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Alexandra Harvancik
commented
This should be popping to the top of your list to correct as a bug, not an enhancement. Patron barcodes change regularly. Having lists or other information attached to the patron barcode instead of the immutable PatronID isn't an appropriate link
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scarlson
commented
WOW, this is a critical issue that needs to be fixed yesterday. I'm speechless.......
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Sarah Cournoyer
commented
This is a critical issue. Patrons expect their lists to be available to them whatever their barcode is or the reason for changing it. It is imperative that a solution to use the PATRON ID for lists or that a workaround to merge lists when a patron barcode is changed be implemented. Within a consortium with 32 member libraries, we update patron barcodes frequently for patrons who may move from one member library community to another, as well as many other reasons referenced in the original comment.
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Alison Hoffman
commented
This is a critical blocker. Patron barcodes may legitimately change for any number of reasons. I was shocked when I learned patrons will lose their lists when this happens. I will second the earlier comment that if it is not possible to use the Polaris PatronID, then there needs to be some sort of transfer or migration service that could be run to merge the old lists into the new account.
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Wes Osborn
commented
This is a critical blocker. If it is not possible to use the Polaris patron id, then as a workaround, there should at least be some sort of transfer or migration service that could be run at least on an account by account basis to merge the old lists into the new account.
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Aaron Thomas
commented
This issue honestly came as a surprise when we discovered it. Standard procedure is to link things such as bookmarks to a unique key that will never change. Barcodes can (and always have been) able to change in the database. As far as we are concerned this should be marked as a bug and not an enhancement request.
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AdminKatie LeBlanc
(Admin, Innovative)
commented
This is a huge issue. Lists should be tied to PatronID(polaris). This is something that never changes for the patron no matter their barcode.
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Jamie Naylor
commented
In addition to the patron cards, we also use department/staff cards [based on position, not name] that we might need to reassign when someone 'accidentally' misplaces the library card. Since the showcases, lists and saved searches can't be transferred across accounts, we would need to recreate them.
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Stacey McClain
commented
This is a critical change that must be made. Patrons replace their cards CONSTANTLY and having lists tied to that number and NOT the UNCHANGING PATRON ID makes no sense.
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Aja Michael-Keller
commented
Patrons lose cards/they get destroyed. We also do card campaigns and they want to replace their cards for fun. They need to be able to keep their patron account features and information without relying on it being attached to a card barcode that can easily be lost.
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Bill Taylor
commented
Or maybe it's a difference between Polaris and Sierra? We're a Polaris library and Vega is using the barcode, not the patron ID (primary key) from the Polaris database.
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Barth, Christine
commented
Ours is definitely based on barcode not pnnumber like some have suggested. We just tested it. So are there different releases operating differently on this issue?
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Sarah Kasprzak
commented
I believe Vega accounts are tied to the pnumber. I tried to transfer one of my staff cards that had been used to create showcases early on by swapping out the barcode and it didn't work since the content was tied to the pnumber, not the barcode - which is good for the reasons noted in these comments!
I just tested this (in case I was remembering this wrong). I added a new barcode to an existing patron record. When I signed in to vega with the new barcode, I had access to previously created lists and still had showcase permissions.
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Derek Brown
commented
We've also experienced a potential bug regarding misaligned patron barcodes from Polaris to LX starter which causes patrons to not receive outgoing notices. It would be excellent to see Polaris and Vega sync by Patron ID rather than barcode.
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Bill Taylor
commented
I agree with everything that's been said.
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Matthew Etzel
commented
This is a vital service, for all the reasons already shared!