Polaris Upgrade coming soon!!!
We are planning our next Polaris upgrade, which will be started after the last library closes on Thursday, April 13, and, hopefully, be completed before the first library opens on Friday, April 14. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be providing information about the changes and improvements coming with the upgrades, and what to do if the upgrade is not finished when your library opens on the 14th.
RDA Workshops
As we’ve been announcing, RDA is coming and will be the cataloging method of choice (and requirement!) beginning July 1. If you haven’t already done so, catalogers are encouraged to participate in one of the RDA classes being offered in March. Information about the classes can be found below. If you unable to attend any of these classes, rest assured that there will be others offered as we move toward July 1 and beyond.
Searching in Polaris
When searching by author, the best type of search to use is Browse. Type lastname, firstname in the “for” box. This search method will consistently retrieve the best results and you should not receive an error message that says “Resources exhausted”. This type of search takes you to the Authority index, which is great, as you are also able to link to pseudonyms.
In you don’t like browse searching, then do an “exact match, implicitly truncated” or “phrase search”. Again, type lastname, firstname in the “for” box. You won’t find anything if the author’s authority file is different, though. Polaris will lump all Smith, John’s together.
For those authors who use a shortened name (or slightly different name) on the published book, but use their proper name for the authority file (for example, Liz on the book, but Elizabeth on the authority file), a phrase search with the firstname, lastname (as found on the book) in the “for” box should be used.
When searching by author, “Keyword” type searches are not recommended, as they could lead to more false hits and possible “Resources exhausted” or timeout errors.
Dates to take note of
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2/28/17 |
1:00 |
SHARE Circulation Forum |
|
|
2/28/17 |
5:00 |
IHLS Board meeting |
v-tel |
|
3/1/17 |
9:00 |
RDA Class |
IHLS Edwardsville |
|
3/1/17 |
1:00 |
IHLS Directors’ Chat |
|
|
3/2/17 |
9:00 |
RDA Class |
IHLS Edwardsville |
|
3/2/17 |
3:00 |
SHARE Executive Council meeting |
|
|
3/7/17 |
10:00 |
Members Matter |
Marion Carnegie Library & https://zoom.us/j/771377230 |
|
3/8/17 |
9:00 |
Searching and Editing in OCLC Connexion |
IHLS Edwardsville |
|
3/8/17 |
9:30 |
Barcoding I—Searching and Matching |
IHLS Champaign |
|
3/8/17 |
9:30 |
SWAYS meeting |
Mississippi Valley Library District, Collinsville |
|
3/8/17 |
1:00 |
Polaris Circulation training |
Hoopeston Public Library District |
|
3/8/17 |
1:30 |
Barcoding II—Item records |
IHLS Champaign |
|
3/9/17 |
10:00 |
SHARE Finance/Policy Committee meeting |
|
|
3/10/17 |
All day |
Illinois Youth Services Institute |
Crowne Plaza, Springfield |
|
3/14/17 |
9:00 |
Flipster Demo for IL Libraries |
https://ebscomeetings.webex.com/ebscomeetings/j.php?MTID=m86abb7d8cdc3852a474a8567287fdc53%20target= |
|
3/14/17 |
9:30 |
EBSCO Database Webinar for Illinois Libraries |
https://ebscomeetings.webex.com/ebscomeetings/j.php?MTID=m722ae49926aae4d77248524bb7576997 |
|
3/15/17 |
9:00 |
RDA Class |
IHLS Carbondale |
|
3/16/17 |
9:00 |
RDA Class |
IHLS Carbondale |
|
3/16/17 |
9:00 |
Flipster Demo for IL Libraries |
https://ebscomeetings.webex.com/ebscomeetings/j.php?MTID=m86abb7d8cdc3852a474a8567287fdc53%20target= |
|
3/16/17 |
9:30 |
EBSCO Database Webinar for Illinois Libraries |
https://ebscomeetings.webex.com/ebscomeetings/j.php?MTID=m722ae49926aae4d77248524bb7576997 |
Be sure to sign up for any event you’d like to attend on L2!