The annual gathering of Polaris users met October 5th – October 7th 2006 in Syracuse, New York. Directors, IT staff, department heads and public service staff had the opportunity to learn and share opinions, workflows, rants and raves about Polaris 3.3, Library 2.0, AACR3, administrative and staff issues, SQL and more. Sounds like a meeting of acronyms, but for those with an interest in programming, cataloging, managing a library, or the Polaris software, these small group interactions were worth the trip to Syracuse.
Outside of the breakout sessions and workshops, PUG (Polaris User Group) was an excellent opportunity to meet with the Polaris staff. The Polaris staff listened to workflow issues, took notes and asked questions. These actions show a committment to product development and our current and future needs.
This committment is further evident with the enhancement request process. Polaris commits to adding 18 “major” enhancement requests that PUG members vote on each year. The commitments appear in a later software release. Some Product Analysists also enhance the software with smaller requests further down on the request list. The approved list is currently available on the from the Polaris Users Group website. (The username and password are on the JA Intranet)
Mark your calendars for next year’s meeting. It will be held on October 4-6, 2007 Wyndham Hotel, Syracuse, NY.
Looking for something closer and interested in learning more about the next Polaris release and enhancements? The next SMUG meeting is November 30, 2006 at 9:30AM at the Schenectady County Public Library.