Polaris FAQ

Yes, here is a brief list to get you started:

The Polaris toolbar offers several drop down menus with tools for you to use. There are also multi-colored buttons that serve as shortcuts. Below are the most common sections for circulation desk staff.

• Cataloging (Blue Button): BIB (Bibliographic) Records, Item Records, Record Sets, etc.
• Patron Services (Red Button): Patron Records.
• Circulation (Maroon Button): Check Out, Check In, Patron Status, Request Manager, etc.
• Utilities (Orange Button): Reports and Notices, etc.

Note: If you don’t know what an icon means, hover your mouse pointer over it. A message will pop up with the title of the icon.

It is critical to log on and off correctly. When closing Polaris, simply clicking on the X on the toolbar or the Remote Desktop without logging off may cause issues the next time you try to login.

To Log On: Double click on the Remote Desktop/Polaris icon on your computer’s desktop. The Remote Desktop will open on your screen and you can double click the Polaris icon along the left hand side of the screen. The User Name will already be supplied. Then, enter your Password. The User Name and Password ARE Case Sensitive. Note: Having trouble with your receipt printers? You may have logged onto the Polaris toolbar before the printers were able to map completely. It is recommended that you wait a few seconds before opening the Polaris toolbar to ensure that everything loads correctly.

To Log Off: On the toolbar, go to the File ⇒ Log Off or use (Ctrl) + (L) and select OK. After properly logging off, click once on the X in the upper right hand corner of the Polaris toolbar to close it. Then, go to the Windows button in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, right click, move your mouse to Shut down or sign out, and left click on Sign out.

At the top of your screen, you will see the Polaris toolbar. Overlapping the toolbar will be a thin blue bar with minimize, maximize, and exit options.

When minimized, the Polaris Remote Desktop will remain in the taskbar.

Bulk Mode is the recommended method for checking in items! Using Bulk Mode allows you to check in multiple items from multiple patrons and the system automatically charges the patron account for any fines incurred. Slips for items on hold or that belong to another library will automatically print out, no input required!

Click on Bulk Mode and scan items in as you would in Normal Mode.

If an item belongs to another library, it is recommended that you call the owning library and ask for permission to renew the item as a courtesy. If the item is on hold, we recommend that you do not renew the item for the current patron.

A patron may want to suspend a hold request if they are going out of town and reactivate the hold when they return while still maintaining their position in the queue. Or a patron may want to place hold requests on items in a series and see them in order while maintaining their position in the queue. For example, if a patron wants to see the complete first season of The Big Bang Theory on DVD and they are all checked out, they can place hold requests on seasons 1-5.  After they place the requests, they can suspend the holds for 2-5 and reactivate each volume as they check out the next in the series. This maintains their natural position in the holds queue. This feature in available in both the Polaris client and the PAC.

Suspending Holds via the Polaris client:

1. Search for the patron in Patron Status (F6).
2. Choose the Requests option on the left-side of the screen to view requests. Double-click on the title you wish to suspend.
3. From the Hold Request screen, change the Activation date in the upper right-hand corner to some date in the future. This will automatically suspend the request.
   
4. The request will be reactivated on the date that you or the patron indicated.

Suspending Holds via the PAC:

1. Log into your PAC account and go to My Account ⇒ Hold Requests.
   
2. Place a checkmark to the left of the item you want to suspend. If there is no checkmark box available, the item cannot be suspended.
3. Click on Suspend/Reactivate Selected.
   
4. Type in the date you wish to reactivate the hold request, and click Submit. In both PAC and in the staff client, once the hold request is reactivated, the patron appears back in the queue where they were before the hold request was suspended.
   

Go to Cataloging ⇒ Item Records and type in the title of the item or the item barcode. Remember to use the correct selection in the Search by field. In the results list, double click on the item. Click on the field next to Circulation status and select Missing. Remember to click on Save!

If you cannot find a book on the Request Manager, please use the Ask me later button. Click on the missing item and then on the Z^z button to move the request to the next library. Remember to mark the circulation status of the item to “Missing” in the Item Record. This prevents any further holds from being placed on this item and identifies the item as missing. If the status of the item still indicates it’s “In” it will still come up on your Request Manager again and again to fill a hold. Setting the status to missing prevents this from happening.

If your item is the only item in the system, call or email the pickup library and let them know that your library will be unable to fill the hold and they can convert the hold to an ILL. Go to Patron Status (F6) ⇒ Requests and right click on the hold you are trying to convert and left click on “Convert to ILL Request.”

Polaris can save a patron’s reading history to keep track of what the patron has read. The reading history lists information about each item the patron has checked out since the history was turned on, it is not retroactive. Reading history is kept for 3 years or 1000 records. Renewals are not included in the list, but multiple check-outs of the same item are included.

The patron can visit the catalog (here) and login to their account by clicking on My Account ⇒ Login/Register. After logging in, the patron will click on My Account ⇒ Reading History to view a list of their items read.

Reading History not turned on? The patron may turn it on from their PAC account. Please be aware that this history can be subpoenaed by law enforcement agencies so it is recommended that the Patron enable this service directly from their PAC account, where a warning will display informing them of this possibility.

To enable the Reading History function from the Polaris Client:

1. Select Patron Services ⇒ Patron Records (F7) to find and open the patron’s record.
2. Select View ⇒ General to display the General view. Then select the Maintain reading list check box.
3. Select File ⇒ Save, click the save button, or (Ctrl)+(S) to save the record.
4. The next item checked out is displayed in Patron Status (F6) ⇒ Reader Services view, after overnight processing is run.

Dealing with a difficult patron who says they were never notified of their overdue book? Here’s how you can find out not only if they were notified but how and when they were notified.

If you are trying to determine when a patron received an overdue notice, but when you go into the General Tab and only see the Bill notice, double click to bring up the full notice timeline.

You will see the method for which the notice was sent, as well as the date that it went out.

This is a way for you to have evidence that a patron was notified for an overdue, or correct an error that may have occurred with a wrong phone number or other hiccup

Yes! You can also export those reports to Excel.

1. First, visit the web reporting website: http://catalog.flls.org/reports. It is recommended that you use the Internet Explorer browser.
2. Login with the info for a specific Polaris client and be sure to include the FLLS domain. Ex., at Phillips Free Library, they would use homcirc@flls.org or flls\homcirc as the username.
   
3. Locate your specific report. Enter the desired parameters and click on View Report.
4. Finally, click on the floppy disk icon and choose Excel. The spreadsheet will download. You can click on it to open, edit it as needed, and save it to a new location.
   

Polaris Leap is an add-on product from Polaris. The program can be accessed remotely from your Internet browser. Polaris Leap can be used on a tablet or similar device and be connected to a Bluetooth barcode scanner. If you are using Polaris Leap on a laptop and would like to print receipts, please call the CNS Department for assistance with installing the correct printer driver (607-273-4074 ex. 237).

To log in, visit https://fllsleap.flls.org/LeapWebApp/ and enter the user name and password that you normally use to login to the Polaris client. Include the FLLS domain in your user name. Ex. flls\jshonk or jshonk@flls.org. Type your password and click SIGN IN or hit enter on the keyboard.

Next, select a branch and workstation and click Continue. Click here to access Leap documentation.

Contact Rex to have the Polaris Inventory Manager (PIM) sent to you in the delivery. The PIM comes with a laptop with Polaris capabilities, Bluetooth scanner, and user guide.

Phone: 607-273-4074 ex. 237
Email: rhelwig@flls.org