Polaris Glossary

One thing that’s making this interesting for us all is Polaris doesn’t use all of the same terms we used with CARL (r.i.p.). Plus Polaris has more capability, and thus there are some new terms for us to use.

There’s a new document posted to the Intranet to help us learn all these new terms: Polaris Vocabulary.

Take a look and if you have suggestions for common, frequently used Polaris terms that should be on the list, send them to Jeanne Crisp.

Polaris PAC Videos for Staff and Customers

Three PAC training videos are ready for viewing and there are more to come soon. View the list here. These will also be made available to the public very soon.

Rollout Day in the Circ Department

Here at OAK we had a very enjoyable Polaris rollout day. But that doesn’t mean it was a mellow and relaxing experience!

Two of our 3 Express Check machines didn’t work at first, so that created some backups at the checkout desk. We had a staff meeting that afternoon also, so three Island PSA I substitutes bravely took over the Circ department at the very height of the day.

It was really a testament to how well Polaris is designed though — our entire team including our subs shared tips and tricks, worked together on remembering how to do various things in Polaris, and generally enjoyed the heightened energy level. We’re setting up some clipboards in the Circ department so we can track the various ongoing issues and share what we’re learning.

So we’re all very happy with the new system and especially how the transition went. And how did things go in your library? Add your story in the comments!

Magazines in Polaris

In early March, Acquisitions staff learned how to handle magazines in Polaris. The new ILS will enable much better customer service from our magazine collection but because we are moving to such a robust system, we must also be robust in our data entry…

Read more about it in this TechNews article.

PAC view now the default in staff client

Effective this morning, March 9, the default view when you open a bibliographic record is now the PAC view (what customers will see on the Web). The MARC view is available by clicking on the icon just below the vertical “Bibliographic Record” on the left-hand side of the record. If anyone prefers the MARC view to be their default, submit a Tech Report and we can make that change on a person by person basis.

Now Available From Staff Computers – Polaris PAC!

Please visit http://ils-test01/polaris to see our new Public Access Catalog!

Colleen Brazil, Mike Longley and the ILS PAC Committee (Chris Sorenson, Nate Cushman, Mark Barnett) have tailored Polaris’s out-of-the-box interface.  What you see reflects input from Sno-Isle staff as well as reactions from members of the public who participated in usability tests a few weeks ago.  You’ll also see a link to enable you to provide feedback.

The catalog will continue to change through the month of February.  By March 1, we expect to have a pretty stable version so we can start training staff and the public using what they’ll see when we go live at the end of March.  But we will continue to improve the PAC as good ideas come along.  Suggestions might not be acted upon immediately but they will continue to be evaluated and implemented when the time is right.*

Log in with your own account. Feel free to choose a new name and password, set lists on and off, place requests, etc. This will not impact CARL or the real Polaris catalog that goes live at the end of the month. Please remember: the data you’ll be viewing is from last November when we created our test database. If it says you have an overdue item you know you returned, don’t worry, this is just static data, okay to change and play around with.  

You may notice problems with individual bibliographic or item records.  For example, the record for an Overdrive ebook might show the icon for a regular book.  This sort of thing will be easy to correct once we are on Polaris so those types of errors will remain in the test catalog. 

Have fun !

Hearing the Audio in Elluminate – How to Verify

Some Polaris PAC training attendees have had problems hearing the moderators speak in their Elluminate training session. No worries, a fix has been identified, and only needs to be done one time on each staff workstation.

First of all, you’ll want to make sure the speakers or headphones are plugged into the correct port on the pc. On the back of the machine, it’s the green one. On the front of the pc, it’s the one with the little headphone symbol.

Then start up Elluminate, and when it’s completely loaded, click on Tools / Audio / Audio Setup Wizard. Here you can test the sound. If you can hear the test sound, you’re fine.

If you cannot hear the test sound, leave it running in Elluminate, and click on Start / Control Panel / Hardware and Sound / Manage Audio Devices. Here you will probably see 2 entries for the same Audiotek speakers. One of them will have a green arrow (the default), while the other one will have a color bar under it indicating the sound is being sent to it. So click on that one, then click on the “Set as default” button down below, then “OK”.

You should then start hearing the sound track. It may have ended in Elluminate, so go back to Elluminate and test it again.

If this procedure doesn’t work, it’s time to get one of your building Technical Liaisons involved!

Communication with Schools Regarding the Transition to Polaris

As usual, Sno-Isle staff are doing a lot of good lateral thinking about the transition to our new ILS, Polaris. One of the recent questions concerns informing the schools in the areas we serve, and how the inability to place holds for a time might affect teachers and students.

Jenny Piper is creating an informational piece that community library staff can use to send to teachers/contacts in local schools, to inform them about the conversion to Polaris, including specifics about the short-term unavailability of holds during the transition.  It will be available next week and will be a part of the overall Polaris communication plan. 

Local library staff may also choose to communicate directly with their school contacts, and can be directed to the Sno-Isle website if they want more information. A web page on the SIL site about the Polaris conversion, including transition details such as when holds cannot be placed, will go live on March 1.

Keep those great questions coming!

Polaris is coming! Polaris is coming!

Aren’t you excited?

The ILS training committee met on Monday, Feb 14^th, and would like to pass along some information we hope you’ll find useful:

PAC training

Need headphones for the PAC webinar?  We have LOTS of earbud style headphones that are available.  Let Terry Beck know how many sets you might need.

One of the PAC webinars will be recorded so that staff members can watch or review the training.  This will be useful in the future for new hire staff, too.

Isn’t it great that the training is coming to you?  We will save staff time and mileage costs by doing this training on site.  Be sure for the PAC webinar sessions that you log in at least 15 minutes before your session starts (the log in information will be sent to you by your trainer).  So, if your training starts at 8 am, you’ll need to start your log in and round up your ear phones by 7:45.

Want to play with the test PAC?  Type  this into your browser:          ils-test01/Polaris

(This will only work from a staff PC, you can’t get there from home.)

 If your library is planning some public PAC training sessions after we migrate to Polaris, Terry Beck and a group of adult programmers are developing scripts you can use.  Thanks, folks!

Patron services/Circulation training

Everyone who needs Patron services and circulation training should now be registered for the classes.  Extra class sessions will be cancelled next week, so make sure you have a spot reserved for you!

 How long will it take to do the homework between Session 1 and Session 2?  This will vary from one person to the next, but we anticipate the homework will take less than one hour.

Polaris Introduction

We are currently developing some brief introductory videos that all staff and library customers will be able to view.  There will be several, short videos covering topics such as searching for an item, how to place a hold, etc placed on the library’s website.    These will be great to give everyone a basic understanding of our wonderful new catalog.

Windows

If your Window skills need a brush up, talk with your supervisor.  An easy way you can practice these skills at your work site is through our online database, Learning Express Library   http://www.learnatest.com/LEL/index.cfm/learningCenter/computerSkills

posted by Valerie Stevens for the ILS Training Committee

Migration details

A Tech News published on Feb. 3 contains details of what will happen during the switch-over from CARL to Polaris. 

https://intranet.sno-isle.org/?ID=3676&rid=732

Examples of questions covered:  Will self-checks work?  (Yes, we think so)  Can we register new cardholders? (Yes)  Can people place holds?  (No)  And more – click on the link above to read the article.

We will go live the week of March 28, hopefully March 30 though we are not sharing this as a concrete date with the public yet. 

posted by Jeanne Crisp