Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Page 1
Circulation
1.
What self-checks does Polaris NOT work with?
Polaris:
2.
Which receipt printers do not work? Is there a list of equipment guaranteed to work?
Polaris:
3.
Yes, if permitted by IHLS, users can use Windows Remote Desktop to access
the system from home or any other location.
Can the views and print be made larger and have that stick every time Polaris is logged
in?
Polaris:
5.
As the member libraries would connect to the Polaris server via Remote
Desktop Connection, the best printing experience is with Star TSP-600
series (including 613 and 643) and Star TSP-700 series. Most other printers
will work with a generic-text driver including various Epson printers. On
November 29th, Epson had a meeting with Polaris in our Syracuse office
with the express purposes of enhancing their print drivers to work more
effectively with remote desktop and terminal server. We are also testing a
third party solution called ScrewDriver from a company called Tricerat. We
have a large test going on at MAIN in NJ at present and within a few weeks
we’ll know if this solution is of value. http://www.tricerat.com/
Can people like directors use the system from home or locations outside the library?
Polaris:
4.
We are not aware of any current generation self-check units that Polaris is
not compatible with. If the manufacturer supports SIP2, then it would work.
There are a couple of ways to accomplish this. One way is to change the
resolution on the monitor so that everything on screen is bigger. In
addition, with version 4.1 of Polaris (coming Spring 2012) we have
increased the overall size of the Polaris staff client.
What notes/blocks can a patron see and not see?
Polaris:
Patrons cannot see notes of any kind either blocking notes or non-blocking
notes. Nor can they see any staff added blocks. Patrons can see via the PAC
the following blocks.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
6.
Patron has outstanding Fees
Patron has exceeded the total number of claims allowed
Patron has lost items
Number of overdue items
Number of holds ready for pickup
Number of read and unread messages from the library staff
How long does the system hold the last borrower information, and what about if the item
is checked in at multiple locations because of a transit issue?
Polaris:
The system maintains the last borrower information until a different
borrower checks in the item. Regardless of whether an item goes in transit
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Page 2
to multiple locations and is checked in multiple times, the system still
remembers who last had the item as the most recent borrower.
7.
Do you need a specific brand of credit card swipe?
Polaris:
8.
Can you reset an account alias if the patron forgets?
Polaris:
9.
You can place limits on how much patron reading history is maintained:
both a date and total record threshold. However, with the amount of disk
space we’ve proposed, IHLS wouldn’t run into any disk shortages over the 5year expected hardware lifecycle.
Would each library have a separate commerce account or would it all be one account?
Polaris:
14.
These policies are defined during implementation (does the credit go to the
patron’s library or the transacting library?)
How much storage space is needed? If everything is kept at patrons’ whim, then
wouldn't more storage space be needed and how much can we expect to pay for this
storage space if patrons can keep things forever?
Polaris:
13.
The Polaris Inventory Manager Guide was sent to Pat Boze and can be made
available to IHLS members.
What happens if a patron has fines from multiple libraries and they pay with a credit
card? Do the funds go to the library who took the funds or will it be divided among the
libraries who owned the item? What about when it's a lost fine payment?
Polaris:
12.
The “Did you Mean” feature is a part of PowerPAC but is not currently
available in staff searching.
More information needed on Inventory manager?
Polaris:
11.
No. If a patron has forgotten their alias, they can login to “My Account”
using their library barcode to see their alias. If they’ve forgotten their
password, library staff can reset the password for them (security “best
practices” prevents us from allowing staff to see patron passwords and
remind patrons verbally).
Do you get "did you mean" suggestions when in CIRC mode?
Polaris:
10.
No, as long as the credit card swipe is compatible with the desktop
operating system and types of cards (Visa, Amex, etc.)
It probably doesn’t make sense for each library to have its own account due
to cost, but possibly the largest x libraries and then the remaining libraries
could share a single account. This would be up to IHLS to determine and a
periodic audit would need to be done and distribute funds accordingly.
Can you hide all "school" records from patron list when searching by patron name? Does
the status of the item in the ILL show up in the patron record?
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Polaris:
15.
You can setup the permissions so that certain branches can only see the
records of certain other branches. So, for example, you could setup
permissions at a public library (or all your public libraries) to prevent them
from accessing and/or viewing the patron records of students at the school
libraries. If that’s the case, then the student names aren’t even included in
patron name searches.
When a patron requests an un-owned item, who is the request sent to?
Polaris:
16.
This is determined by the Polaris holds routing tables, typically based on
distance.
Can you do "item specific holds"?
Polaris:
Certainly. Staff members can place item specific holds at any time. For
PAC users each library can decide how item requests are managed:
•
•
•
17.
At any time an authorized library staff member can bring up the Request
Manager by selecting Circulation > Request Manager from the shortcut bar.
The Request Manager has two views: one for holds (internal requests) and
one for ILL requests (external requests).
Requests for non IHLS items can be forwarded on to OCLC to fill the request. Can
requests for non IHLS items be forwarded to any other databases (such as I-Share)?
Polaris:
20.
Yes. In addition, Polaris gives you the ability to specify a number of free
days as part of the circulation policies. Polaris does not feature an “exempt
charges checkin” mode.
Once a patron initiates a request for an inter-library loan (for items not found in the IHLS
database), how are those requests retrieved by the individual library staff? If this is done
by report, how often can the report be run?
Polaris:
19.
Do not allow item requests from PAC
Allow ALL item level requests from PAC
Limit item requests to first available copy of specific issues and/or
parts of a multi-part set
In Check in, can dates be reset to an earlier time (Special date) or to an exempt charges
check in?
Polaris:
18.
Page 3
OCLC requests can be transmitted electronically directly from the Request
Manager. There isn’t a similar interface with I-Share, however if IHLS
libraries are members of I-Share they could use their I-Share account to
place holds. A request coming from a Polaris environment would require
manual intervention.
How are the non IHLS requests processed by Polaris when they arrive? What about
items that are not filled? Are there reports for unfilled ILL requests?
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Polaris:
Page 4
When an ILL record arrives from the lending library you can use the Find
Tool to search for the ILL request record using any number of access points
(Title, Author, ISBN/ISSN, Patron, etc.).
From the search results list you simply right-click on the title and select
“Receive.” Polaris then creates a brief item record, allows you to scan a
barcode for circulation in the ILS and the item status is set to “On Hold.”
From that point on the item is treated like any other item on the library
hold shelf.
To get lists of unfilled ILL requests you can bring up the Request Manager or
alternatively, simply search for ILL requests in the Find Tool and limit your
search to active requests. You can even limit your search to requests that
were made within a specific time period.
21.
When using “Offline Circulation”, if a library chose to use the “Check in” function, is there
report that could be run to catch exceptions such as “item on hold” or “send to library x.”
Polaris:
22.
Yes. This reporting is available right from the workform where you upload
the offline files to the online system.
What equipment (other than a camera) is needed to add a photo to the patron record?
How easy is this to do? Please describe the process.
Polaris:
Here are the steps:
1) Bring up the patron registration workform (either a new or existing
patron)
2) Go to the Patron Photo view of the workform
3) Click the “Launch Picture Edit” button
4) If you have a camera (like a common webcam) attached to a USB port
on the workstation, you can click the “Start Camera” button, then
click the “Take Picture” button.
5) If you don’t have a camera you can click the “Load Picture” button
which lets you load a graphic image from a file on a hard disk or
thumb drive, etc.
Note that if you intend to have a workstation that takes pictures, that
workstation will need to have the full Polaris client loaded locally. You
cannot take pictures over a remote session (At present, Remote Desktop
cannot recognize a local USB drive).
23.
Does Polaris work with RFID? What about RFID vendors?
Polaris:
Polaris has extensive RFID experience and many Polaris client libraries
employ RFID. We work with most of the major RFID vendors including 3M,
Bibliotheca, Checkpoint, Libramation, EnvisionWare, and TechLogic among
others.
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
24.
Page 5
Will self-checkout scan those library cards that are scanned on iPhones?
Polaris:
This typically is not a function of the Polaris software. It’s whether the selfcheckout system’s scanner hardware can read the scanned image on the
iPhone. We know of several customers that are doing this with various
smart phones.
OPAC
1.
Is there the ability to search and have returns ranked by home library first, and then
system wide?
Polaris:
You have the ability to create a search limit that filters search results to
titles that have copies at a given library. You can even setup your keyword
searching so that the limit is in effect by default. So, for example, Decatur
Public Library could create a search limit called “Copies at Decatur” or
even “Copies On Shelf At Decatur.” This would become one of the options
in the “Limit By” pull down. You could even put it at the top of the list.
And you could go one step further: you could set the default searching up
so that anytime a user went into the PowerPAC specific to Decatur, the
keyword searching would be automatically limited by your Decatur filter
(and of course users could broaden the limit by changing the “Limit By”
option to “Everything”).
The other option within Polaris is to have the availability of the local library
display first, and then the system wide holdings.
2.
How well does Polaris work with World Cat Local?
Polaris:
3.
Polaris will integrate with any SIP or SIP 2 compliant PAC overlay, although
currently we are not aware of any customers that are using World Cat Local.
The interface work would be up to OCLC to develop and integrate with
Polaris. With the depth of PAC and discovery layer functionality within
Polaris, IHLS may want to analyze if continuing with World Cat Local is
desired.
What is the price for text messages for the patrons? Do we have to have a carrier? Can
the patron’s text us back?
Polaris:
The price for a patron to receive a text message depends entirely on the
patron’s cell plan. Text messages received from the library are treated no
differently than any other text message they receive.
Yes, Polaris does require the patron to identify a carrier. This allows the
Polaris software to transmit text messages via a process that is free to the
library.
No, patrons cannot text you back inside Polaris, unless the Library has setup
a text chat service. .
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
4.
Can a patron create a list and then place a hold on all items in the list at one time?
Polaris:
5.
The library can determine which libraries it will route requests to, in what
order, how long to wait for a response, and how long to keep trying to fill
the request. The library can determine which libraries it will lend to. The
library can also determine if the items should be allowed to fill requests for
patrons from other libraries or if they should be allowed to be sent out of
the library for the purpose of filling requests (in other words, do not allow
this item to be shipped outside the library, but allow this item to fill a
request as long as the pick-up location is my library).
During the demo, when the presenter did a patron online library card registration, a note
popped up about it causing a $3 fee. What was this, and why was there a fee?
Polaris:
7.
Staff can place multi-item holds within the Polaris staff client but at present
it is not something patrons can do from PowerPAC. This is a feature we plan
to develop.
Local Hold? Would it be possible to have a "local holds" type setting that would allow a
library’s materials to only circ at the home branch while still allowing all system patrons
to place requests on items?
Polaris:
6.
Page 6
Libraries can choose to charge a patron registration fee but this is by no
means a mandatory feature. Each library location determines whether to
charge a fee or not (and if so, how much the fee is).
Holds: confusion. When an item is placed on hold is it automatically a system hold for
the first returned item, or do patrons need to go from catalog to catalog to place items on
hold? This was confusing because of the series of volumes materials like DVD series
and magazines.
Polaris:
“System holds” is not a phrase from the Polaris universe of discourse but
the simple answer to When an item is placed on hold is it automatically a
system hold for the first returned item? is Yes; knowing that library
policies can be changed to vary the behaviour. In any case patrons do not
have to go from catalog to catalog.
Don’t be led off by references to serials, volumes and series requests.
These are just variations on the standard request behaviour. Think of them
as title-level holds with special filtering to identify specific data in the
items.
8.
Who maintains the new and popular titles in the mobile domain?
Polaris:
The lists are compiled automatically by Polaris and for each branch location
your System Administrator determines which list to make available within
that branch’s Mobile PAC:
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
9.
In version 4.1 the presenter talked about the community panel - How does this work?
Polaris:
10.
Page 7
A Community organization can register as an organization in Polaris and
then input the community events services offered etc. These events and
the organization itself will appear when a patron does an OPAC search using
terms that are in the community organizations record. Any events will be
featured in the Community panel. For example, when a patron searches for
blood transfusions the local chapter of the Red Cross will appear in the
result set and any Red Cross events will be featured in the community
panel. Also, feature it can be used at branch A but not B even though both
branches have community profiles module.
When he says "your library" can customize, can each library choose things such as what
we see when we open the patron screen or does each library have to have the same
look? How much freedom will each library really have?
Polaris:
When we at Polaris say “your library” can customize something we typically
mean it’s a setting that can be unique right down to the branch (individual
library building) level. For example, when you look at the Checkout screen,
each individual branch can determine what fields of the patron record
display. Each individual branch can determine what title information
displays and in what order.
These settings can be made and adjusted very easily by your System
Administrator using the Polaris System Administration utility.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that although Polaris allows for a
great degree of flexibility and customization, frequently a consortium will
choose to standardize features, displays and policies across all branches in a
library or even across all libraries in the consortium. IHLS may also want to
consider some standardization of customizations between the various types
of libraries – K-12, academic, public, special, etc.
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
11.
Page 8
Our library would appreciate the community resources options that were shown. How
customizable is the resource? Can we have a piece that other cooperating libraries
don't?
Yes, the Community profiles option can be enabled on the library level and
the ability to customize it is based on the HTML in the PAC.
12.
They said that staff can select multiple items and place holds for a patron at one time.
Can the patron select multiple items in the OPAC and place a hold on all of the selected
items at one time?
Polaris:
13.
Staff can place multi-item holds within the Polaris staff client but at present
it is not something patrons can do from PowerPAC. This is a feature we plan
to develop.
How could a location selection drop-down by efficiently managed in a consortium of
400+ libraries?
Polaris:
Once a drop down list is presented in Polaris (in any workform), the
operator can chose to scroll down and/or press the first letter. By pressing
“w”, the operator is taken to the libraries starting with w.
Should we obtain IHLS as a customer, we would most likely result in further
dialogue about how best to present this efficiently.
Cataloging/Authority Control
1.
When doing a search how easy is it to see what is at the home library?
Polaris:
2.
In the item record there was a "limit to" box. Do these limits apply just to the holds or to
the requests as well?
Polaris:
3.
In Polaris holds and requests are synonymous.
Can you tell the computer system how much history to keep for an item?
Polaris:
4.
The Polaris Find Tool allows you to filter your search by library location(s).
Additionally, you can have your search results sorted (either automatically
or on demand) by branch.
Yes. There’s a setting in System Administration which can be set at the
branch level which determines how many days’ worth of history
transactions to show in the history box on the item record.
We need more information on label printing. With the label function can font size be
changed, and can you request items to be printed in color text, NOT on colored sheets
of labels.
Polaris:
Yes, you can determine the font size used on labels. No, you cannot
determine the color of the text.
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
5.
When printing labels, can buckets from two different users print in one batch?
Polaris:
6.
At this time only single print files may be accessed at any one time.
Are the label settings compatible with all labels sizes and companies, and mode of
printing?
Polaris:
7.
Page 9
Polaris pre-configured with most of the common label formats used in North
America. Nevertheless, the Label Manager has an effective “Design Custom
Label” option which gives you the capability to specify your own page size,
label size & content as well as label font.
Under what categories does the system check for duplicates? Would it be considered a
duplicate if one is a hard cover and one is a paperback? What about things with a news
edition every year or so?
Polaris:
Polaris has a very sophisticated and effective method for doing bibliographic
de-duplication. We provide a default set of criteria for doing duplicate
matching, but you can modify the de-duplication rules to make them more
relaxed or more strict according to your preference.
Using our default de-duplication rules, however, a hard cover and a
paperback title typically would NOT be identified as duplicates. The same is
true of new editions that come out every year. They would not be
identified as duplicates using our default de-duplication rules.
8.
I would like more information on cataloging ebooks and adding them into the patron
catalog?
Polaris:
9.
Polaris does not require anything special to import ebook MARC records.
The method of import is no different from traditional MARC records. Most
libraries and ebook vendors use the 856 tag to link to the resource.
What is the difference between keyword and power surfing?
Polaris:
We’re certain this is referencing power searching, which gives the staff
member the ability to search multiple indexes at one time using Common
Command Language as noted in the following example.
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
10.
Page 10
When a subject heading has changed (e.g., Cookery to Cooking), and the authority
record reflecting that change is imported into the database, does the change
automatically affect all subject strings? For example, does Cookery--Illinois--Champaign-Juvenile fiction automatically change to Cooking--Illinois--Champaign--Juvenile fiction,
or would we have to change such strings one by one?
Polaris:
At this point there are two methods to changing subject heading strings
1) The SQL database will enable any permissioned staff member to
change the word Cookery, wherever it appears in the subject
authority file, to Cooking. This will change all headings and
subheadings.
2) Using the Authority Heading Find Tool search for cookery –bring up
each heading, make the change and the associated MARC records will
be changed
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Page 11
Acquisitions
1.
Does Polaris work with BT Online as well as BT title source 3?
Polaris:
2.
According to B&T, BT Online will be superseded by BT360 within the
foreseeable future. Polaris fully supports all order grid distribution, MARC
profiling and cart downloading features of TS3.
Purchase price verses cover price. What or how do we set up the system to charge a
patron cover price rather the discounted library purchase price?
Polaris:
Polaris uses the full PRE-discount price.
When an item is lost and the library charges for replacement, Polaris
defaults to the price on the item record of the lost item. If that item record
was created as the result of a Polaris Acquisitions order, Polaris used the
“Unit Price” and not the “Discount Price” to populate the price field on the
item record.
3.
How can you tell the difference between an on order record and a standard record?
Polaris:
By “order record” we assume you mean a brief bibliographic record created
as the basis for procuring a title through acquisitions. The answer depends
to some extent on your workflow and the context of your question. For
example, the Polaris Find Tool (staff searching) makes it very easy to
identify bibliographic records created within a specific time frame. Order
records created as part of an electronic order import are automatically
grouped in record sets and therefore are easily identified and retrieved.
Many libraries establish local conventions for how order bib records are
cataloged; for example, some libraries add “*** ON ORDER ***” (or
something similar) to a call number tag on order records. In most cases you
can setup your ordering so this data is added automatically from templates,
etc.
4.
Can you use the acquisitions module without using the budgeting portion
Polaris:
5.
You must have at least a rudimentary fund structure in place to use Polaris
Acquisitions. There are steps you can take to minimize your involvement
with the fund accounting. For example, you could use no more than a
single fund account for all your ordering and create templates that
automatically default the fund field for you.
How does acquisitions work with standing orders?
Polaris:
Polaris defines standing orders as: ordering parts in a monographic series
for which there is an overall title, but each volume has its own title. You
link a purchase order line item to the series as a whole, release the
purchase order and encumber funds for the whole series, or you can prepay
the order. Then, you create a Serial Holdings Record for the series in
Serials. When the standing order parts come in, you check them in on the
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Page 12
Serials Check-In workform, not by receiving in Acquisitions. You link the
standing order parts to existing bibliographic records, or create new brief
bibliographic records. Finally, you copy only the standing order parts that
were received (checked in) over to the invoice and pay for the parts. The
rest of the standing order remains encumbered. When you roll over to a
new fiscal year, standing order amounts will be re-encumbered in the new
fiscal year.
6.
Can Polaris budgeting portion be linked to other accounting software such as
Quickbooks?
Polaris:
7.
Polaris reports can be output in Excel or comma delimited format – which
makes it easy to get data out of Polaris into a portable file for use in other
programs. We do have customers that are pulling various data elements
from the acquisitions subsystem and populating an accounting program, but
this would be the responsibility of the Library or IHLS to develop and
maintain.
What is year to date? Municipal? State? Calendar? Can we set the calendar date year in
the system specific to our library? What if we use dates two different way: calendar year
and fiscal year?
Polaris:
Year-to-date statistics in Polaris are based on the calendar year. There is a
statistical roll-over program that will reset the year-to-date number to zero.
In terms of reports, the staff can determine date ranges for fiscal and/or
calendar, etc.
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Page 13
Libraries in IHLS can have separate fiscal years for acquisitions.
8.
Does Polaris have a P.O. connection with Amazon?
Polaris:
You can create printed (or email) purchase orders for ordering from Amazon
and track them in Polaris. Amazon currently does not support the EDI
standard, so it is not possible to send electronic orders to Amazon.
Serials
1.
How do UPC numbers for serials show up in Polaris before the magazine comes in?
Polaris:
If you want to use the UPC number for serials checkin you will typically do
the following:
•
•
•
•
2.
Search for the first (or whichever) issue by title or ISSN
Bring up the Serial Holdings Record
Scan the UPC number into the non-public notes field on the Serial
Holdings Record
Henceforth you’ll be able to search for the publication by UPC
number
What kind of changes will we see with serials in the next update?
Polaris:
Changes to Serials Display in PAC :
The Serial Holdings Record (SHR) public note in the Staff Client is as
large as possible and gives the user more options for formatting the
content of the note. Carriage returns and multiple lines will be
allowed. The goal is for a staff member to be able to type the public
note in a larger area, and more easily be able to see how it will
display in PAC without having to scroll within a small edit control.
Textual information displays inline in the display (controlled via an
SA option)
Related to these changes is a part of the 4.1 PowerPAC user
interface redesign which will support greater configurability of
bibliographic data in the PowerPAC search results screen and
product page. Libraries will be able to define a display specific to
serials that includes 5xx notes and other serials-specific tags. If the
library chooses, these tags will be viewable without having to click
on the product page.
In the Polaris Staff Client, we’ve increased the size of the Serial
Holdings Record’s public note. It’s now 4000 characters, and
respects multiple lines and carriage returns. This allows you to craft
clearer and more informative notes for display in the PA.
Furthermore, the library can determine which serials MARC tags
should be included in the brief Title display for both serials and nonserials titles. For example, tags 310 and 546 may be of interest for
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Page 14
serials title display, whereas other MARC tags would be more
appropriate for monographic titles. Finally, the library will have
much greater flexibility in how public notes display in PAC—at the
Bib/Holdings level, at the Collection/Textual holdings level and at the
Issue level. Please refer to the print screen below, displaying current
4.1 (beta) software:
Linking from Serials to Bibliographic Records: the following additional
options are now available for linking from serials records to
bibliographic and supplier records:
· Link from the serial issue, displayed in the Issue workform or listed
in the Find Tool results or a list box, to the bibliographic record
linked to the serial holdings record.
· Link from a standing order part, displayed in its workform or listed
in the Find Tool results or a list box, to the bibliographic record
linked to the part or to the serial holdings record for the part.
· Link from a standing order part, displayed in its workform or listed
in the Find Tool results or a list box, to the supplier record.
3.
How easy (or complex) is it to move serials holdings from one bib record to another? For
example, if a serial has undergone a title change, and a library has attached holdings of
the new title to the bib record for the former title, how readily can this be corrected?
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Polaris:
Page 15
In cases where the publisher changes the title of the serial publication, and
your library uses successive entry cataloging, it is preferable to create a
new serial holdings record and link it to the bibliographic record with the
publication’s new title. Close the publication pattern for the old serial
holdings record, which deletes any issues that have been predicted but not
received. Then, select File, New, Copy to create a new serial holdings record
with the same publication pattern as the old title, and then link to the new
bibliographic record. If the publication pattern has not changed, you can
then generate issues from the existing pattern, and check in issues for the
new title.
This method ensures that any retained issues and items from the old
serial holdings record keep the link to the old bibliographic record
and display in the PAC under the old title. Any subsequent retained
issues and items will display in the PAC under the new title. In
Polaris Administration, an option can be set to display the 780
(Preceding entry or Former Title) and 785 (Succeeding entry or Later
Title) fields in the PowerPAC brief display (with the exception of
subfields o, r, u, w, x, y, z, 4, 6, 7, 8). If there has been a title
change, the patron can find all the issues of a serial. See “Set data
elements in the brief results display” in the Polaris Public Access
Administration Guide 4.0.
Note: When you select a different bibliographic record to be linked
to the serial holdings record, the compressed holdings statement in
the PAC will not reflect the change until the
BuildUpCompressedHoldings SQL job has been run.
General
1.
Will it be easy to set up Polaris for libraries such as ours which have multiple branches?
Polaris:
2.
The hierarchical nature of the organization setup within Polaris was
designed specifically to address multi-site library systems. Multiple
branches are associated with their library organization record (which in
turn is related to the system organization at the top level). A library with
multiple branches all sharing most of the same policy settings can make
those settings at the higher library organization level; in which case, the
settings will automatically apply to all the associated branch libraries.
Is the remote access always time consuming to log into?
Polaris:
Actually, logging into Polaris via Remote Desktop is extremely simple and
not painful at all. Generally, there is an icon on the staff member’s desktop
that they click-on and are presented with a login prompt – that’s it.
During our presentation we login and logout multiple times to give different
groups the opportunity of seeing the entire process, or to showcase a
circulation view versus a technical services view – or a different version (4.0
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Page 16
or 4.1). But in most real-life situations, a staff user will login once maybe
twice during an entire day or shift.
There are a variety of ways you can streamline the login process via using
Windows Remote Desktop (RDP) to the Polaris terminal server. You can
setup the connection options just the way you want and then save the RDP
profile so that the next time you connect, everything’s already preset. You
can even setup your terminal servers to automatically authenticate your
login (on the demo system you saw us use, however, we require the extra
authentication step for added security.)
You can also setup your RDP session so that it looks and works almost as if
the Polaris staff client were running on your local PC.
3.
With all the growth of the company are there enough staff and equipment to juggle all
the balls in the air from a system as large as ours?
Polaris:
4.
When working offline how do you tell when the system is back up and runnng?
Polaris:
5.
As the attendees heard during the two-day demonstration, Polaris is focused
exclusively on Windows Server and SQL Server. This allows our staff to
become very proficient in providing support, vs. competitor organizations
that must support their application on 6 different operating systems and
multiple databases. We have been and continue to add new staff members
in our support organization at all levels. We are confident in working with
the LLSAP Managers and project management related staffs, along with ICN
and any other third party partners. We trust this will be borne out of the
conversations you may have with our reference customers and/or third
party partners.
That information must be communicated by system staff to library staff.
Polaris doesn’t give an automatic indication that the system is back online.
Are there special connection fees, or hardware fees, or connectivity regulations?
Polaris:
We don’t charge anything for SIP2 licenses for patron authentication but do
have a charge for self-check integration. The optional Federated search
would be the only special connection fee we foresee at this point. In our
quote we proposed for on-site assistance in the hardware configuration. The
Polaris application doesn’t have any regulations on connectivity, other than
the software must run on a Polaris approved platform (Windows 7, Vista, XP
Pro and Remote Desktop). If the system is licensed for 1,500 users, Polaris
will allow more to connect – so we’re on the honour system, combined with
reports that can be run to measure actual usage. If you have a specific
question or scenario you’d like to submit to us, we’d be pleased to respond.
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
6.
How easy is it to change from one user to another?
Polaris:
7.
Ctrl-L is the Polaris shortcut key for logging on and off. So changing users is
as simple as: Ctrl-L once to log OFF. Ctrl-L a second time to log ON as a
new user. (the option to logon and logoff is also available on the shortcut
bar as a menu option.)
During the demo, the presenters mentioned that the system will keep lifetime
circ/transport records for each item. Won't this clog the database with excess, useless
information?
Polaris:
8.
Page 17
There are 181 different types of transactions that Polaris can be configured
to log or NOT log. This is a simple setting in the Administration tool that
your System Administrator can adjust as need be. If there are some of
those transactions that you deem as useless information, you can selectively
choose not to log them. There is adequate disk to easily store 5 years of all
transactions if desired.
Just the demo parts seem slow in processes. How much more sluggish will this be if
there are 450 libraries on board?
Polaris:
There are a number of factors that determine responsiveness. The major
factors are: how powerful are your servers and how fast is your network.
Fortunately, in configuring a new system, Polaris along with IHLS staff will
be able to spec servers to handle your planned workload. Your network
bandwidth is also something within your control.
In doing demonstrations we don’t have quite the same amount of control.
Our demo server is definitely well-configured, but when it comes to
network performance we’re generally at the mercy of whatever venue
we’re in. Several times during our presentation everyone using the
Convention Center wireless was experiencing bandwidth issues. We were
asking quite a bit of the network there – a live demonstration over a
wireless connection which was also hosting a WebEx conference and even at
times streaming live video, not to mention what was going on in the other
conference rooms.
You may recall we stated we’ve done load and performance testing for
Phoenix and Miami-Dade Public Libraries that perform 4 times the
circulation transactions that IHLS will do when all libraries are on a single
system. We have zero concern about the Polaris software managing the
load, and would work with IHLS and ICN for insuring good-to-great network
bandwidth usage, monitoring and evolving.
9.
E-resource management- how is copyright of e-resource handled?
Polaris:
Polaris does not currently offer this feature. The course reserves
functionality does track copyright costs.
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
10.
Page 18
What types of settings will be changeable by the individual libraries and which will be
system defaults only augmented by systems?
Polaris:
Below is a subsystem by subsystem discussion of what can be modified on
the library/branch level versus the System level.
Circulation/Patron Services
At the system level the consortia must decide whether patrons home
library rules or the items owning libraries rules or the transacting
library rules will be followed. Once the decision is made then the
consortia can set the governing branch separately for due date
calculation, loan and request limits, and fine calculation. The
governing branch settings are particularly useful for setting
processing rules in consortia whose members may have widely
differing individual policies.
Circulation work forms and receipts
Members libraries set their own preferences for the
information displayed on staff circulation screens, choose
what receipts to print, and determine the receipt text.
Items
Material types are shared by all members, but any member
can add types to those available, as appropriate. All members
of the consortium must agree on item circulation status
descriptions, since these affect data conversion and ongoing
circulation processes.
Loan Periods
Loan periods are based on settings in the patron and item
records, as well as the policies and schedule of the lending
library. Patron codes and item loan period codes are shared
by all members to facilitate lending and receiving items
anywhere in the system. However, each organization can add
codes to the tables and establish its own policies concerning
loan durations based on specific patron and item code
combinations. (To facilitate patron registration, a member
library can filter the available patron codes to display only
those used in that library’s patron records.)
Blocks
Member libraries can define their own item blocks, patron
blocks (stops), and the loan and request limit thresholds that
are based on combinations of patron codes and material
types. Separate settings control blocks on patron-initiated
renewals from PAC or inbound telephony service, if a member
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Page 19
library chooses to allow these. Member libraries also set their
own claim limits.
Patron Registration
Member libraries determine their own required patron
information, default values, and fees. They also determine
when their patron records can be deleted, and any criteria
that will stop a patron record deletion.
Patron Accounting
Member libraries decide available payment methods, including
credit card processing; when to delete transactions from
patron transaction histories; lost and paid item recovery
policies, and many more. Collection agency reporting may be
governed by an item’s assigned branch or the patron’s branch;
participating libraries should coordinate their policies for the
sake of coherent reporting to the collection agency.
Fines
Fine amounts are set based on the patron code of the person
being charged and the fine code assigned to the item. Member
libraries establish their own fine amounts for each
combination of patron code and fine code, as well as a
maximum fine and a grace period for each combination.
Notices
Member libraries can set up notification options that specify
what kinds of notices are used, how they are delivered,
notice intervals, text wording and language, and other
features. Telephony settings are specific to the telephony
server, so members within a large consortium that are
geographically close can share a server and save long-distance
toll charges. Exporting the notice queue for print or
telephone notices to a third-party vendor, however, is a
consortial decision.
Hold-request Processing
Consortium members establish their own request routes,
trapping preferences, trapping groups, and other hold request
processes. These features allow members to establish “miniconsortia” within the larger consortium that consist of
libraries that are geographically close or share similar
policies. The decision to charge a fee for hold requests,
however, must be made by the consortium as a whole.
Options that control the time when expired, cancelled, and
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Page 20
not-supplied hold requests are deleted from Polaris are also
set at the system level.
PAC
While the public catalog database is shared in the consortium,
member libraries control the general appearance of the Web-based
Polaris PowerPAC, as well as the search default settings and options,
enriched data, holdings display, patron account access, and other
features that they offer their patrons.
Appearance
Polaris provides several choices in page layout themes for
member libraries and their branches, or libraries can use
custom layouts and content down to the branch level. RSS
feeds, news headlines, and weather information are also
controlled by member libraries. Page text and messages are
readily edited for each member organization.
Connection Organization
The PowerPAC root URL and the default organization for a
PAC session are set for each PAC server. However, Polaris
PowerPAC settings for the library to which the patron is
connected control the features and functions the patron sees.
You can choose to allow patrons to switch libraries once they
have connected to Polaris PowerPAC. When the patron selects
a different organization, the settings for that organization
become effective. Each member library controls the ability to
switch connection organizations and the order in which they
are displayed. Whether to suppress certain organizations from
the list (for example, those that serve purely administrative
functions) is a consortial decision. The consortium as a whole
also decides whether to log PAC transactions and which
transactions to log. (Reports, however, are tailored to
member organizations’ needs.)
Z39.50 catalogs
Each member library can then choose the Z39.50 targets
available for searching, and organize them in the way that is
most convenient for that library’s patrons.
Subscription Databases
Member libraries offer and control access to their own
subscription databases. You can allow access from in-house
workstations, remote workstations, or both, and set separate
login requirements for each location. You can further define
access by preventing patrons with certain patron codes from
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Page 21
accessing an e-source target, and by setting specific IP
addresses for in-house access.
Enriched Data
Enriched data is information about a title in PAC search
results that is delivered by a third-party vendor. The enriched
data can consist of a simple book jacket image, or contents,
excerpts, reviews, ratings, and other information related to
the title. Any member organization in the consortium can
separately contract with third-party vendors to offer this type
of content in the PAC.
Holdings
When a patron searches for and selects a title in the PAC, the
patron can see detailed holdings information about the items
associated with the title. Each member library can control the
availability display in the PAC: whether all the system holdings
are displayed in one list, or separated into local and system
views; which branches are defined as “local,” the order of
the branch holdings display; and the specific information to
display about each item.
Patron Accounts
If you permit access to patron accounts from the PAC, patrons
can log on to view and cancel requests, view and renew items
out, and view fines and fees. Depending on the features you
offer, they can also view their reading histories, pay fines or
make donations by credit card, work with saved search-agent
searches, or view transcripts of sessions with a virtual
reference service. Additional administration settings allow
users to set up a new patron account from the PAC, update
information, change their passwords, and request address
changes. All of these features are determined by member
libraries. However, the system-level settings for governing
library determine what branch’s policies govern due date
calculation, loan and request limits, and fine calculation for
renewals on overdue items (see “Consortial circulation,”
above). Patron usernames and e-mail messages for forgotten
passwords are also system-level features.
Cataloging
Certain cataloging rules and tables apply to the entire database, so
they must rest on consortial decisions. These include the following
rules and tables:
•
•
December 5, 2011
MARC and Authority validation rules
Initial articles
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
•
•
•
Page 22
MARC language scoping
Indexing
Retention of deleted cataloging records
SIP2/NCIP
Member libraries can have their own SIP2/NCIP services, independent
of other consortium members.
Reports
Polaris includes roughly 193 standard reports available from the
Polaris staff toolbar; many can be filtered by organization. Polaris
reports are also readily customized at any organizational level to suit
members’ needs. Members can set their own branch-specific patron
and item statistical codes for reporting purposes.
Serials
Serials control does not depend on any consortium-level decisions. As
with other Polaris records, member libraries own their serial
records. Prediction, check-in, and claiming processes are all under
member control.
Acquisitions
Acquisitions processes do not depend on any consortium-level
decisions. Each member library sets up and owns its own fiscal years.
Member libraries can set up and control their own fund structures,
generate their own purchase orders and claims, deal with their own
vendors, and choose to use EDI ordering with any of their vendors
that support EDI processing.
11.
How many staff users can be logged in at the same time?
Polaris:
12.
There is no technical limitation to the number of staff users that can be
logged into the Polaris system simultaneously. Naturally you may have
infrastructure limitations related to your hardware and network resources.
While Polaris pricing is based on user counts (among other things) there is
not a mechanism in the software which prevents the nth staff user from
logging in to the system. Appropriate Microsoft licensing may also be a
factor.
What does Polaris value most from its customers?
Polaris:
Partnership! Imagination! Creativity! Challenging our assumptions of what
we could/should develop in future releases. Working a project with a joint
3rd party partner (for example, we’ve been extending Polaris SIP to allow
for Polaris fines/fees to be paid out of an Envisionware balance.) The
growing and great participation in the Polaris User Group, and/or Forums.
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
Page 23
As Bill Schickling mentioned at the demonstration, when issues or problems
are identified, we “own” them together to find a resolution. TRAC is an
excellent example of expressing our partnership. They located a local app
developer that began to use our API to deliver an iPhone and subsequent
iPad app. There were several features that were missing from our thengeneration API that have since been added to successfully complete these
two applications.
We appreciate hearing from and working with “can-do” libraries that don’t
mind rolling up their sleeves to help Polaris continue to shape the product
and services that help libraries serve their communities in new and exciting
ways. Our community profiles would be a new subsystem that will benefit
public libraries and community colleges and the community organizations,
events and/or persons of significance within their regions.
What attributes is IHLS looking for in an ILS partner?
System Administration
1.
What is our initial setup--what tables do we have to populate that affect the entire
system?
Polaris:
2.
Please see the answer to question 10 in the above section.
What is the initial setup for each individual library—i.e. some sort of agency designation,
assign collection codes, pick a region for holds, pick patron types, etc.
Polaris:
There is a detailed data migration guide that can be shared with IHLS for
evaluation purposes that showcases the options available (sent to Pat Boze).
Polaris sends a senior level implementation librarian on-site to discuss the
pros and cons of various settings. It is our understanding that the four
systems may have been discussing best practices in all areas which would
greatly aid the definition to set strategy going forwards.
Polaris provides two data loads which allows IHLS staff to change various
elements after they’ve seen what their changes look like.
3.
Are collection codes shared, or does each library have their own set? Is there a limit on
the number of collection codes?
Polaris:
Both. Where there are collection codes that are common among libraries,
Polaris allows you to share them. So, for example, my library may have
common collections like: Adult Fiction, Adult Non-fiction, Biographies,
Bestsellers, etc. I will probably share collection designations with other
libraries in the consortium. But where I may have unique collections to my
library, Polaris allows you to create those collections as needed.
December 5, 2011
Polaris Response to IHLS Member Questions
4.
Are patron types shared, or does each library have their own set? Is there a limit on the
number of patron types?
Polaris:
5.
Yes. A record with a “deleted” status can be restored by clicking the
“Undelete” toolbar button. Records with a “deleted” status can also be
restored in batch.
Are public notes in the item record keyword searchable in the staff client and PAC?
Polaris:
8.
The reading history will not display in the staff client if the staff member
does not have Display Reader Services View permission. This is not a
reading history setting but a setting (permission) for individual staff. The
library can simply remove the permission from all staff if the desire is to
suppress display of the reading history in the staff client.
Can records in Delete status be restored?
Polaris:
7.
There is no limit to the number of patron types allowed. At installation the
entire set of patron types is created and then within each branch you
checkmark which codes are used at that branch. Thus, circulation users
only see and assign the patron codes used at their library.
Does reading history have to show in staff client when it’s enabled—can it be set to just
display to the patron when signed in to their account in the PAC?
Polaris:
6.
Page 24
Public notes (and non-public notes) on the item record are searchable in the
staff client. Public notes display in PowerPAC (the online catalog) but are
not searchable in PowerPAC.
Is there option for an overnight process that will automatically free locked records?
Polaris:
Yes, this is a standard Polaris feature.
Thank you for reviewing the enclosed and we welcome further questions
and/or clarifications on our response, these questions, or any issues arising
from dialogue with our customers or third party partners.
December 5, 2011