polaris inventory manager (pim)
Contents
1. Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 Step 3 UPDATE THE DATABASE When you update the Polaris database with your inventory data the inventory date for the relevant items is updated and an Inventory Statistics report is automatically generated as a pdf file The report contains information such as the update date and time the date and time the item information was loaded branch and call number range or record set and totals You can select any or all of the following sub reports to include in the Inventory Statistics report e Misshelved sub report e Out of range sub report e tems Not In sub report e Expected Items Not Processed sub report e Weeding sub report The report is placed in the following location based on your operating system e Windows XP c Documents and Settings All Users Application Data Polaris Polaris Inventory Manager YYYYMMDD Time e Windows Vista c Program Data Polaris Polaris Inventory Manager YYYYWMDD Time You can also choose to create Polaris record sets of items that e were expected but not processed named PIM_branch abbreviation_date_time e marked for weeding named PIM WEEDING _branch abbreviation date_time The record set owner is the branch specified when the item data was loaded and the default record set note is the call number range of the inventoried items To UPLOAD the completed section of inventory 1 Establish a network connection on the lap2. a Polaris Inventory Manager Preferences Alerts Statuses Appearance Collections Not Displayed Displayed Columns Shelf Locations sare Held ndery iii Claim Never Had Claim Retumed In In Processing In Transit Lost Mending it e Non circulating On Order Shelving Cart Transtered Unavailable Withdrawn Select OK The Process Items Window will now open with the inventory list according to the preferences you set la Polaris Inventory Manager Process Items File Help a Done Mesheha Weed Stie Title Puls Barcode an Eight spells a week 17 39335014955053 YA PCO Ost betes Ne SOSA YA O OF C jnissing MYSTERY STORIES FOR GIRLS No 39335000623004 YA E O O n trebridesmid o oi o i 3935017207148 YA ABI 0O O fm fret No 9335020752718 YA ABE O O O n Sweptaway O OZ OOOO oo 8935011028946 YA ABI WO a eee YA ABI Tha mlamas dane Bla Te gaam g i a a rE aLe YA AM Now Scan your items in Call No order or check them off using the check boxes not recommended Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 Notes If a barcode does not scan properly you can key in a barcode Then select Process The list jumps to the position of the keyed item and the Done box is checked for that item The following messages may appear e item not found in the current call number range Select OK on the message box and set the it
3. as a wildcard for the most part to ensure you are not eliminating items with faulty Call s e You may select more than one collection or shelf location at a time by highlighting it and moving them all to the LOAD field e tis important to ensure collection codes are correct For example When I started at my library we had 67 collection codes now we have 30 This can be corrected by using the Polaris Record Sets and Bulk change features e Remember to record the call number and date for each set of items that you LOAD as you will need this information later to run reports in the Staff Client Click LOAD on the bottom right hand corner to gather the data from Polaris You may select Close from the File Menu Now you are back to the PIM Main Window below La Polaris Inventory Manager _ X File Help Loaded 10 8 2009 7 24 28 AM Branch Millet Public Library Record Set Shelf Location s Collection s Young Adult Young Adult Fiction Call Range Frefix is included in call number Not In 101 that fulfill 16 holds Total items 935 Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 Step 2 SCAN Choose Scan from the File Menu This is where you will see the list of titles that you just loaded This is called the Process Items Window Inventory List You can start scanning items right now or you can customize PIM a Polaris Inventory Manager Process Items File Help ra B
4. LOAD As shown below you choose your branch at the top then your available shelf locations and collections will populate ld Load Call Range DER Audio Visual A Young Adult Audiobook Cassette Young Adult Fiction Audiobook Compact Disc Beginning Readers Cassettes Adult French Cassettes Adult Christian Fiction Compact Disc Mir Fecdude the selected shelf location s iy Include prefix in call number Shelf locations or collections are interfiled There are 3 ways to LOAD data from Polaris choose one 1 By Record Set You may use this feature for items that may not necessarily follow regular Call formats scan them into a record set and inventory them that way It is also a good way to polish off your inventory if there are random items left over once the collections have been completed 2 By Shelf Collection You can also choose to exclude selected shelf locations For example If you have a travel section somewhere in your library not interfiled with your non fiction you could inventory the NF excluding the Travel shelf location Record Sets and Bulk changes are a good way to set shelf locations Ask YRL for assistance if required 3 By Collection You can choose from a list of collections that are specific to your library Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 Notes e You MUST enter values in the Call fields recommend using an asterisk
5. POLARIS POLARIS INVENTORY MANAGER PIM EASY AS 1 2 3 User Manual Provided to member libraries courtesy of viL Yellowhead Regional Library Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 POLARIS LIBRARY SYSTEMS Contents PEE OCCT OE PAT tae stays A A A T A E T 3 What wil you Need eserucnanei a 3 Before you begin es ssssssssssssereerssererrssrereresesreressserrereseseurereserereresesreres 3 Sep TLA D ane E E E E 4 5 PESAN a E aaa aaa O Setting Inventory Preferences e ssssssssererrrsssesrererrssesesrereresesseereresesee 6 9 Step 3 UPDATE THE DATABASE cesssccssscecsrscsssscesseecesseeceseeeseees 11 13 Update the inventory date of out of range items cceeeeeeceeeeee 13 Inventory Reports in the Staff CENT eceeeecessteceecssseeeeseseaeees 13 Yellowhead Regional Library Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 INTRODUCTION What YOU Need to Know About PIM Polaris Inventory Manager What will you need e All required equipment will be provided to your library by YRL e You should receive a laptop equipped with PIM and a wireless barcode scanner e You can do the inventory visually by checking boxes rather than scanning but this is not recommended e You will need a network connection to update the inventory data into Polaris but not while you take the inventory What will PIM do e PIM will identif
6. a Hold Status Not In On the left hand column there are other options Appearance Collections Columns Shelf Locations and Statuses Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 The Appearance Options by selection on the left may be adjusted if necessary a Polaris Inventory Manager Preferences Alerts Appearance Collections Row Height default 18 pixels Columns Shelf Locations Font Size default amp pt Statuses Skipped tem Sensitivity a default 4 rows Column Widths pixels Reset Widths YTD Gre Court 50 Life Time Circ Note the Skipped Item Sensitivity If you are going to scan items that you know are out of order you may wish to up the number in this field Maximum is 20 This is a good idea if you shelve by author but not necessarily by title or if there are display items within your shelves If you specified multiple collections to load you can select Collections in the left hand column and choose which ones are actually displayed in the Process Items Inventory List a Polaris Inventory Manager Preferences Collections Appearance Collections Not Displayed Displayed Columns Shelf Locations h Young Adult Statuses d Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 Columns can be selected on the l
7. arcode Call Ni Yo g 3A Wee 39335014955053 E N Eight spells a week Eat k oe 39335014955053 YA EP E a ee YA OO B m no MYSTERY STORIES FOR GIRLS 39335000623003 YA O O O tm iso fthebridesmaid 8985017207148 YA ABE O O O m No Fre 8988020752718 YA AB OO O fm fno Sweptaway 0 393350110289465 YA AB O O O m No intothedare OO _89835020753518 YA AB O O O m o Theplaguedoos 8935011027948 YA AD O O O jot no Names wilneverhurtme 3935016991700 YA ADI O O O im No Thecockatriceboys 393 35013295246 YA AIK O O Om No Nightfon 89835011254665 _ YA ATK O O O fm Mo thebeggarqueen 893 35010180268 YA ALE 00O Om No Westmark 8935010280037 YA ALE O O O jm No Gityofthebeasts 3935018757554 YA ALL O OO mim fey OD YA ALD O O O jm No___ Beforewewerefree 3985018757414 YA ALN O OO fm imo Feveria 8988501329417 YAANI O O O fot ives Speak 898 350110462245 YA AN O O Om no Wirartstale 9335010844350 YA AN O O Om we ee O O O fm No Buttery 8988003607467 _ YA AN O O Omn No erste 8985045577308 4 LL Now from the File Menu you can choose Preferences This is where you can set the parameters to ensure you are getting the information that you require You can choose which Alerts to activate by selecting the check box a Polaris Inventory Manager Preferences Appearance Collections Columns Shelf Locations Misshelved Statuses Out of Range Fulfills
8. database has been updated you can run standard inventory reports from the Polaris Staff Client To access the standard reports select Utilities Reports and Notices on the Polaris shortcut bar The following reports are available under Cataloging Item Inventory Exception Incorrect Status List items that had a status other than IN during inventory You specify a call number range and a cut off date Set the cut off date to the day before the inventory date You can filter the report by organization Inventory Exception Misshelved Lists items with a status of IN that should have been in the inventory sequence but were not You specify a call number range and a cut off date Set the cut off date to the date you started the inventory You can filter the report by organization Inventory Shelf List Lists inventoried items in a specific call number and date range You can filter the report by organization In order to run these reports you must have the date and call number information from your inventory CONGRATULATIONS Welcome to Polaris Inventory Manager EASY AS 1 2 3 Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009
9. eft hand side you can choose what information displays by highlighting the selection and using the arrows below to move between Displayed and Not Displayed You can use the up and down arrows below to change the order of the columns as they appear from left to right in the Process Items Inventory List Top of the list far left when displayed a Polaris Inventory Manager Preferences Alerts Columns Appearance Collections Not Displayed Columns Shef Locations Author Statuses Last Cire Year Pub Date Shelf Location Collection Title Fulfills Hold Barcode Call Number YTO Gre Count Life Time Cire Count Last Circ Date Creation Date FirstAvailable Date The Weed column must be displayed Note The Weed column is always displayed but you can change its location If you specified multiple Shelf Locations to LOAD you can choose which of those loaded are actually displayed in the Inventory List then change your selections when needed as you take inventory a Polaris Inventory Manager Preferences Alerts Shelf Locations Appearance Collections Not Displayed Columns Statuses Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Displayed ich No Shelf Location Graphic Novels Young Adult Fiction Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 The last Preference is Statuses You can choose to suppress certain statuses from the list for example you may wish to suppress On Order Items from the list
10. em aside When you update the Polaris database a txt file that lists the out of range barcodes is automatically created You can view and update these items in the Polaris Staff Client later e tem s status is not N For example the item may be checked out or marked LOST Select OK on the message box and set the item aside These items should be checked in using circulations functions in the Polaris Staff Client later e The status of this item is status You chose to filter certain statuses from display when you set your preferences Select OK on the message box and set the item aside for appropriate processing later e Item fills a hold request Select OK on the message box and set the items aside Check them into the Polaris Staff Client later to transfer the item for ILL e Item is misshelved Select OK on the message box and set aside for proper shelving Remember If the item is NOT misshelved make sure to clear the misshelved check box for that item If you want to mark items for weeding select the appropriate check box for that item These items can be listed on a report when you upload your inventory data into the Polaris database and you can create a record set of the items at that time Select File Close or select X in the upper right hand corner of the Process Items window The main window appears You can resume the inventory at any time When you have finished the set of items you are ready for Step 3
11. sage indicates that the update was successful and the Inventory Statistics report opens as a pdf file If you have previously updated the database you can now view the other reports Select File Report on the main PIM window 5 Click OK The Update window closes and the PIM main window opens 6 Select File Exit to quit PIM If you still have loaded items not completely inventoried the next time you open the PIM main window Select File Scan to position the list at the next item to be processed Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 In the Polaris Staff Client the inventory date is displayed in the Last Inventory Date field of the Item record Update the inventory date of the Out of Range Items a a Log into the Polaris Staff Client on the laptop that you used to complete the inventory Select Circulation Check In Select View Update Inventory Date Press CTRL ALT l An explorer window will open Browse to and select the OutofRange txt file The locations again are Windows XP C Documents and settings All Users Application Data Polaris Polaris Inventory Manager YYYYMMDD Time Windows Vista C ProgramData Polaris Polaris Inventory Manager YYYYMMDD Time The items are listed on the work form For each item the Comments column lists whether the inventory date was updated successfully and any other pertinent information Inventory Reports in the Staff Client After the
12. top used for the inventory La Polaris Inventory Manager C Configure Load Reports Exit 2 On the main window of PIM Select File Update Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 3 Select check or deselect the sub reports to include in the Inventory Statistics report a Polaris Inventory Manager Updating SEa Inventory Statistics Report Include Misshelved Subreport Include Out of Range Subreport Include tems Not In Subreport Include Expected tems Not Processed Subreport Include Weeding Subreport 4 Click Update Messages are displayed as the OutofRange txt file and Inventory Statistics report are generated If an OutofRange txt file is being created you will be prompted to choose a location for a copy of the file The default location is always Windows XP C Documents and settings All Users Application Data Polaris Polaris Inventory Manager YYYYMMDD Time Windows Vista C ProgramData Polaris Polaris Inventory Manager YYYYMMDD Time This default copy is deleted if you load a new call number range without updating the database You may see an option to create a record set in Polaris Click YES to create the record set The maximum number of expected but not processed items that can be shown on the Inventory Statistics report is 5000 If you marked items for weeding you will be prompted to create an optional Polaris record set Finally a mes
13. y items that are misshelved have a status other than IN or satisfy hold requests e You can also mark items for weeding e You CAN stop or resume your session at any time You can close and re open PIM without losing data e When you are finished a section PIM updates to the Polaris database when prompted This is when you need the network connection e A PDF report is automatically generated along with an optional txt file you might want a txt file if you want to upload the data into excel at a later date e You set the parameters for the reports and PIM in general to ensure you are only getting information that matters to YOU e PIM can create record sets in Polaris if you choose e Additional standard custom reports can be run in the Polaris staff client after e PIM also has a cart feature Before You Begin e Are your shelves in good order e Are items consistently catalogued e You should ensure that collection codes and shelf locations are consistent for example J and Juv may have been used interchangeably over the years you may want to create Polaris record sets and do some bulk changes to make one collection A good place to start would be to runa report of current collection codes and compare with the sections in your library YRL can help you with this if needed Polaris Inventory Manager PIM Copyright Yellowhead Regional Library 2009 EASY AS 1 2 3 Step 1 LOAD From the File Menu Choose
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