Welcome to SHARE

On Monday, Oct. 9, at 6 p.m., the SHARE Polaris system will go down for maintenance and upgrades. This maintenance window is expected to last for the remainder of the day. As part of this system upgrade, all associated services with Polaris will also be affected. This includes the PAC, SHARE mobile app, SIP2 services, telephony, cloudLibrary (for new holds and checkouts), and any third-party services using authentication for patrons like Hoopla, EBSCOhost, and others.

We would like to inform you about an upcoming maintenance window for the SHARE Polaris system that will affect your library operations. Please read the following details carefully:

Are you ready to get the Aspen Discovery implementation process rolling?

SHARE staff and ByWater Solutions have worked together to create a plan of action, outlined below.

Cohort Model

Due to the large number of libraries that have chosen to add Aspen Discovery, we’ll use a ‘cohort model’ for the implementation. Each cohort will consist of 20 – 30 libraries. Our first cohort will begin training in November 2023 with a tentative ‘Go Live’ date of December 18. This cohort will be involved in product testing and reporting issues. We anticipate that every library will be through the implementation process by late Spring 2024. Wondering which cohort your library is in? You can view the list here: Aspen Cohort List

If your library is listed as a first cohort member, you should have already received a welcome email from Lesley Zavediuk.

We are aware of the issues regarding the extra login prompt from Windows. We are working with Lazerware to find a solution. If you are having this issue, please create a ticket.

Please click on Read More for a temporary fix.

Take a look at what's happening in our latest SHARE Member Notes!

The SHARE Finance and Policy Committee hosted three town hall meetings to discuss proposed SHARE member fee scale increases. A recording of the Sept. 12, 2023, meeting is now available.

Listen to the Recording

The committee has been discussing this issue for many months now, and two proposals have been selected as the best options for member review and comment. Current projections from the IHLS Finance department indicate that SHARE will be running on a deficit this fiscal year, which will deplete our cash reserves in the next few years if we do not make this change. Membership fees must be increased to continue providing service and support to members. 

SHARE has a new help desk system! You can access our help desk from the SHARE website under the Support menu, by bookmarking the URL https://help.illinoisheartland.org/, or by emailing us at help@illinoisheartland.org.

The Polaris 7.3 upgrade added several new features for libraries. Here is a video discussing all the new enhancements.

SHARE would like to welcome the inaugural members to the Common Loan Period Group:

Central Citizens’ Library District, Marrowbone Public Library District, Mississippi Valley Library District, O’Fallon Public Library, Paris Carnegie Library, Rend Lake College, Smithton Public Library, Tolono Public Library, Wayne City Kissner Public Library, and Williamsville Public Library.

Many times, library patrons borrow items from multiple libraries, and this can result in many different loan periods. With shared loan and renewal periods we hope to simplify things for the patrons and for the frontline staff as well. After much discussion the Group suggested the following:

• Books, Kits, Periodicals, and Audiobooks—3-week loan period, with 2 renewals
• DVDs, Music CDs, and Video Games—2-week loan period, with 2 renewals

Libraries have the option to participate fully, or a la carte. If your library would just like to have your books and audiobooks with the common loans, that is fine. You can find all the details at Common Loan Periods under the Circulation tab on the SHARE website.

If your library is interested in joining the Common Loan Period Group, please contact Dena Porter.