2010 Mid-Atlantic PUG Ask Polaris Q&A

Transcription

1 2010 Mid-Atlantic PUG Ask Polaris Q&A Q: Will we be able to enlarge the font on the staff side? Too small to read easily old eyes! A: Keep your screen resolution the same, but set your Windows operating system text to a larger size. Since the instructions to make this change vary based on operating system, simply type enlarge text in your Windows Help and Support search box. Q: Would you discuss what the future of the ILL request is and when this may be enhanced or integrated with the current hold requests? A: Our work in this area has progressed, but slowly. The focus on inter-library, or better, intersystem lending has focused on NCIP rather than traditional ILL. To this end we have implemented some NCIP exchanges with 3 rd parties, notably URSA, in support of regional ILL workflows. We anticipate more work in this area in the near future. Q: Currently, uniform titles that are subordinate to name headings (240/1xx) do not link to author/title authority records. When will this be fixed? A: This project is on our list, but given its size we have not yet set a date. The feedback we received from our customer base placed another big cataloging project ahead of it. That project includes allowing overlay of bib records even when Polaris doesn t consider them to be duplicates. Q: We need Polaris to choose the value from Leader 06 as the format display in ILS, and not elements from 006 and/or 007 fields. We were told this change would come with 3.5 but it didn t. When can we expect Polaris to prefer Leader 006 for choice of format? A: If this question is referring to the type of material code that is associated with a bib record, we have no plans to consider only the LDR/06 when determining the type of material for a bib record. The LDR/06 is currently taken into consideration, along with the other MARC fields that allow the user to specify the format with more granularity (006, 007, 008 fixed fields and LDR/07 values). Q: When patron wants to renew an item and there is a hold, the working that comes on the screen is very confusing. Can that be changed? A: It is possible to edit the message text that displays when an item cannot be renewed in PAC. Use the language editor (a.k.a. Web Admin) to change this string. Searching the strings with the word renew will find the message you need. 1 P a g e

2 Q: I m pretty sure this was an enhancement request, but will the ability to show more than 10 records per page in the PowerPAC be available in 3.6 or 4.0? It s a small thing, but quite irritating. A: You can change the number of records per page as follows. Here s an excerpt from the Polaris PowerPAC Guide Set search options You can set any combination of options to focus a search before you start it, and set how many titles you want to see on each search results page. Follow these steps to set search options for focusing a search.[snip] To set the number of titles that appear on each search results page, select a number in the Display results per page list. Lower numbers are displayed on each page more quickly, but the search results consist of more pages. Higher numbers take more time to be displayed. This setting will only persist for the session. The ability to set a different default number of results per page for every PAC search (e.g. using an SA parameter) is not currently supported. Please enter an Enhancement Request if your library has not already registered it. Q: When patron wants to pay a partial fine why can t we just put in the amount they want to pay? Now we highlight items. A: It is possible to partially pay one charge, selected charges, or the total of all charges in the staff client. In PAC, when paying by credit card, the user can only select and pay a full individual amount. The design will be changed in a future release. 2 P a g e

3 Q: We d like to print hold spine labels but can t seem to change the font. A: Currently, the font cannot be changed within Polaris, but many printer manufacturers provide the ability to make font changes by adjusting settings. Q: new hardware required for desk tops? A: Desktop requirements for Polaris 4.0 have not changed from previous releases; however we highly recommend 1024 X 768 screen resolution. You can see the full list of requirements by release on the Polaris Extranet under the menu option Polaris Releases, submenu System Requirement. Q: From the check out screen have you been able to work out typing in the patron s name in the area that takes the number? A: That functionality is not available at this time, although we are aware of the desirability of this feature and will work to get it into a future release. In the mean time you can use the find tool on the workform to locate a patron record if the patron does not have a card. Q: Will there be reports on notice delivery/failure A: Delivery failures are difficult to detect, and therefore the data is not captured in a way that allows reporting. Q: Merge patron will we ever be able to merge data from two patrons (duplicates) into a single account? (ie patron w/fines in one account and items out in another account end up after merge w/1 account showing both fines and items out). 4.0? A: Merge patron functionality is available in 3.5. Please contact your Polaris Site Manager for further details. Q: Multiple Holds would be nice to have the ability to start with a single title in multiple hold page and/or convert single hold to multiple hold. Is this possible? A: This is under consideration for a future Polaris release. Q: Is 3.6 & 4.0 certified for Windows 7? (there was a problem w/report mgr) A: Polaris Quality Assurance staff has tested both versions of Polaris with Windows 7. Both versions are fully supported on Windows 7 by Polaris Customer Support. 3 P a g e

4 Q: We ve recently downloaded Office 2007 into our workstations. We ve noticed that the font has changed when viewing OCLC & Polaris. Is there a way to adjust/change the font and/or color on our workstations? A: Polaris has a hierarchical list of fonts that it will use. The Microsoft Office installation must have added a font that Polaris considers higher on the list, and so the font changed. You could remove whatever font Office 2007 placed there. If you want larger type, you could adjust your resolution. There is no way to change the color. Q: Is it possible to export MARC records into a file that can be imported into a 3rd party tool, such as MARC report, then re-imported after editing back to Polaris? If so, can PLS do a training (webinar, FAQ) to explain? A: Yes, it s possible. For example, some users now export from Polaris using either the staff client or SimplyReports with Export Express, edit the records using the MarcEdit tool (a free Windowsbased MARC editing tool), then import into Polaris. When importing, you would need to set up your bib duplicate detection rules correctly to get this to work. The request for a webinar has been noted. Q: Where or at what points do you see See and see also references for authorities besides in browse client/or OPAC A: You only see them in browse. Q: The president of my board wants cheaper, faster internet connection in Polaris. Can we ditch the old T-1/T-3 connections and go to fiber? A: We do have customers using fiber optic connections successfully. But, without doing an analysis on your specific network configuration, we cannot advise you. Many companies offer network consultation at a reasonable rate. Q: How can I get more information about the Polaris API? A: Polaris is working through the preparation steps of making our API a product. Our Marketing communications team will be sending an announcement once the work has been completed. 4 P a g e

5 Q: What is the best way to order replacements in Polaris w/o having to enter each branch w/in the POLI or using a template? A: A purchase order template is not required to create a new purchase order. The library staff member would create a new purchase order without specifying a template. Then add a new line item and search for the title from the POLI work form to find the existing bibliographic record to link to the purchase order. A central ordering location can be selected in the Destination of the POLI and the total number of pieces ordered is entered in the Quantity. Then when all of the copies come in, they can be processed and distributed to the branches. Q: What is the best way to handle a return (e.g. dup order) in Polaris without losing the order information and invoicing information? A: Credits can be issued for invoices or specific invoice line items. The library would return the material to the supplier and get a credit memo that can be applied to the invoice. By applying a credit to the invoice, the original order and invoice information would be preserved. Consult Polaris online Help for information about crediting invoices. Also, it is possible to modify the status of the purchase order line item segment to be Returned. Then you can identify the copies that were returned which is handy especially if a partial order of copies were kept. Q: Please describe PLS plans for implementing RDA A: In response to several recent inquires on RDA, we will be publishing an article in the Bookmarks newsletter that is scheduled to be sent out next week. If you are not a subscriber, you can find all the Bookmarks issues on our public website: under News and Events. 5 P a g e

6 Q: 3.6 is improving how NoveList will interface but it still requires linking to the content where as in other ILS the NoveList content automatically appears in the bib record full display. Can that be done in Polaris? A: Depending on which version of 3.6 you are on, you ll see more NoveList Select content integrated directly inside PowerPAC. Polaris version and above have all our latest NoveList additions. For the questions listed below, we were unable to provide an answer based on the information provided in the question. The Polaris staff will be happy to look further into this, but we will require additional information. If you were the person who submitted this question, please contact your Polaris Site manager. Can the authority files get incorporated into keyword search capabilities? Having it only available through a browse search defeats the usefulness of authority work. Any changes to telephony ours still sounds bad & patrons complain. Does Polaris plan to add work level records in addition to item and bib records, to facilitate searching, and placing holds? Will patron lists be live for ease of placing holds? Our Product Analyst team has reviewed the questions below and has determined that the request would require new development or a development change. If you were the person who submitted the question, please contact your Polaris System Administrator to enter a Polaris Enhancement Request. Acquisitions Find Tool can please add FY as an option to Limit by when searching purchase orders? For example I would like to search for PO with on-order status at the end of a FY. This retrieves all on-orders regardless of FY. If an item is dropped off, how about a feature to send an to tell the customer that the item came back overdue and they will have to pay X amount next time they come to the library. Can we have mp3 as a viable format term? We have playaways and currently it s only a collection code for us to limit search. Would like a more efficient way to place multiple holds on same title for same patron. 6 P a g e