Like its predecessor, Idea Exchange will allow all Innovative customers to submit, comment on, and vote on ideas for product enhancements, while implementing several improvements to enhance the user experience.

What you need to know

Current Idea Lab members have until February 25, 2023, to vote and comment on current ideas. Working with leadership from the Innovative Users Group (IUG), the transition to Idea Exchange will begin in March 2023.

Idea Exchange is scheduled to roll out to all users on April 3, 2023.

Where to learn more

Your involvement with Idea Lab was paramount to its success. That’s why we want to make this transition as seamless as possible. To help answer some of your questions, and to better explain this change, we put together the handy FAQ linked below.

We will also be available on site at IUG 2023 Conference in Phoenix, Arizona to walk you through the UserVoice platform from May 10-13, 2023.

Idea Lab to Idea Exchange Transition FAQ

Some things will be changing as Innovative ideas migrate from Idea Lab to the new Idea Exchange platform.

As we posted recently, Idea Lab—your home for crowdsourced enhancements and feature suggestions—will be moving to the UserVoice-based Idea Exchange platform.

Like Idea Lab, Idea Exchange will allow all Innovative customers to submit, comment on, and vote on ideas for product enhancements, while implementing several improvements to enhance the user experience.

What is changing?

On April 3, 2023, the Innovative Product team and the Innovative User’s Group (IUG) will roll out the new customer engagement platform, Idea Exchange, which replaces the existing Idea Lab space. While we are introducing the new platform in April, we are planning activities to officially launch the site at the IUG Conference in May 2023.

Idea Exchange will be open to all Innovative customers, from front-line staff to directors, to submit, comment on, and vote on ideas for product enhancements. You are not required to be a member of the IUG to contribute to Idea Exchange.

Why is this changing?

With this move, Innovative will join ProQuest and Ex Libris in using the Idea Exchange platform, which means libraries will have a more consistent experience when making enhancement suggestions.

Additionally, the new platform supports several spaces. We will create spaces for our core products of Polaris, Sierra and Vega, as well as individual spaces for many of our other products, such as INN-Reach, Mobile Worklists and IPA. This will help our products get more recognition in importance and help drive our roadmap decisions.

What is the new URL?

The new URL for Idea Exchange will be ideas.iii.com.

Can I still submit ideas to Idea Lab?

The last day to submit ideas was December 31, 2022.

Until February 25, 2023, we are continuing to capture votes, comments, and other feedback for existing ideas at Idea Lab at idealab.iii.com. After February 25, 2023, we will close our existing Always Open spaces to begin the transition to the new Idea Exchange site.

By mid-March 2023, Idea Lab will be closed, as we move to the new Idea Exchange site.

Will there be any changes to the Idea Lab Leadership Team?

The current Idea Lab Leadership Team will work through the transition to Idea Exchange. We will pick a name for the team that better reflects the change to Idea Exchange.

How does Idea Exchange compare to Idea Lab?

Idea Exchange is very similar to Idea Lab. Both platforms provide an opportunity for users to submit ideas, vote on their favorites and engage in dialogue with other librarians about any idea. The Idea Exchange platform also allows the Innovative Product teams to share in the conversation as well as provide updates as the ideas move into different stages.

As noted above, Innovative will join ProQuest and Ex Libris in using the Idea Exchange platform. This will be a real benefit to our customers, many of whom have multiple products across the Clarivate portfolio. Using the same platform for all products will result in an easier-to-use experience!

Which ideas are moving to the new platform?

We will be moving many of the open ideas from Idea Lab to Idea Exchange. This transition offers us an opportunity to look through all ideas, and Innovative will work with the Idea Lab Leadership Team to identify the ideas to move forward to Idea Exchange. We’ll be sharing more information about the selection process in the weeks to come.

In addition, we are excited to announce that Vega LX will be part of the Innovative Idea Exchange experience, so get ready with those ideas for Vega Discover, Promote, and Program too!

What about Timed Challenges?

While Timed Challenges are not natively supported on the Idea Exchange platform, we understand how important these collaborative events are to the IUG community. We are researching how we can continue these fun events and how we might improve them using tools on the new Idea Exchange site!

We plan to introduce some options at the upcoming IUG Conference in May 2023.

Will we lose our existing votes & comments?

We are investigating options to bring forward existing votes and comments. Innovative and the Idea Lab Leadership Team are sorting through ways to preserve the history of ideas and will have more information as we work through the transition.

How will this impact the Product Roadmaps? Specifically, the “Submit Idea” button on the Product Roadmap pages?

This change will have no impact on the Product Roadmaps.

Are there any further changes?

There will be some nominal changes as we transition to the new Idea Exchange platform. One such change is that ideas will no longer be graduated to the next stage automatically. We understand that this is a change to existing workflows and feel that requiring a more manual approach will help to clarify the true nature of the idea status. This, in turn, will reduce some of the confusion that might exist when using an automated process.

While we will see other minor changes, we are confident that this transition will result in a better overall customer experience, as we join the Ex Libris & ProQuest products on Idea Exchange, in addition to bringing the Vega products to the platform too! We will see all the benefits of being Better Together!

The post FAQ: Idea Lab is now the Idea Exchange appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

Pairwise voting has concluded for the Analyze This challenge, and we have our winners! 

Focused on ways to support reporting in your library, this challenge had 13 ideas submitted and 15 pairs for voting.  

The Winners 

Submission:  Create Record Sets in Saved and Scheduled SimplyReports 

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Rachel Fischer 

Submission:  Upload a File of Patron Barcodes into a Record Set 

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Heather Arnold 

Proposed For: H2 2023 – H1 2024 (TBD) 

“A reporting challenge was one of the top requested challenge themes from our Meta-Challenge, so I’m glad we were able to get this into our 2022 challenge schedule,” said Samantha Quell, Polaris Product Manager. “I’m looking forward to implementing the record sets enhancement to SimplyReports, because I can see how valuable that would be for staff who regularly need to create lists of records for modification.”   

Remember, submissions live on in Idea Lab and our Always Open Space never closes. If you submitted an enhancement that is still important to you or you’ve just discovered a development opportunity, the Always Open Space provides a place to post that idea for any Polaris product. 

Visit the Innovative Idea Lab: https://idealab.iii.com/ 

Thanks again to our wonderful Idea Lab Leadership team: 

• Sarah Frieldsmith, University of San Diego 
• Eleanor Crumblehulme, Saskatchewan Information Library Services Consortium 
• Kathy Setter, IFLS Library System 

And special thanks to your moderators and expert reviewers: 

• Beth Lane 

• Beth Bechtel 
• Sharon O’Brien 
• Kathy McKinney 
• Sarah St. Martin 

WHAT IS IDEA LAB? 

Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, simply go to Idea Lab, and enter in your username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in! 

Please spread the word to colleagues at your own institutions and beyond about joining Idea Lab. At Innovative, we are committed to user-driven innovation that will benefit all our library partners, and we look forward to the next Challenge with you. 

Happy Innovating! 

The post Congratulations to the Polaris Analyze This! Idea Lab Challenge Winners appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

Pairwise voting has concluded for the Sierra – Academically Speaking challenge, and we have our winners! 

This challenge highlights enhancements and new features to improve functionality in support of academic libraries using Sierra. Library users submitted 17 ideas for this challenge and had 15 pairs of ideas for voting.  

The Winners 

Submission:  Allow local Create List saved exports 

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Kimberly Allen 

Submission:  Make URL report useful and launch URLs correctly 

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Susan Johns-Smith 

Proposed For: H2 2023 – 2024 (TBD) 

Honorable Mention 

Submission:  Display volume in holdings records 

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Kimberly Allen 

This enhancement will be available in the upcoming Sierra 5.6 release. 

“Sierra customers submitted several great ideas for enhancements that would benefit staff and students in academic libraries and Sierra libraries in general,” said Mike Dicus, Sierra Product Manager. “I’m thrilled that we will be able to implement multiple ideas from this challenge to enhance Sierra workflows and give library staff and patrons a better user experience.”  

Remember, submissions live on in Idea Lab and our Always Open Space never closes. If you submitted an enhancement that is still important to you or you have just discovered a development opportunity, the Always Open Space provides a place to post that idea for any Sierra product. 

Visit the Innovative Idea Lab: https://idealab.iii.com/ 

Thanks again to our wonderful Idea Lab Leadership team: 

• Sarah Frieldsmith, University of San Diego 
• Eleanor Crumblehulme, Saskatchewan Information Library Services Consortium 
• Kathy Setter, IFLS Library System 

And special thanks to your moderators and expert reviewers: 

• Adam Hornsey 
• Xuemei Ge 
• Paivi Rentz 
• Jason Thomale 
• Dorothea Richards 
• Kimberly Allen 

 WHAT IS IDEA LAB? 

Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, simply go to Idea Lab, and enter in your username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in! 

Please spread the word to colleagues at your own institutions and beyond about joining Idea Lab. At Innovative, we are committed to user-driven innovation that will benefit all our library partners, and we look forward to the next Challenge with you. 

Happy Innovating! 

The post Congratulations to the Sierra Academically Speaking Idea Lab Challenge Winners! appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

This challenge is for ideas that will improve functionality and introduce new features to support academic libraries and, more broadly, workflows in all types of libraries. Submit ideas about link checking, course reserves, system integrations, or anything else that would help library staff provide exceptional service to library users.

Submit your ideas for how Innovative can help academic libraries. This challenge starts on September 19, 2022.

Do you have something in mind that would make workflows easier in Sierra? Access the Academically Speaking Challenge in Idea Lab and submit your idea today! Submissions are open until October 2, 2022.

Getting input can make good ideas great. Voting and commenting will continue through October 9, 2022.

Pairwise voting begins October 31, 2022. When you enter the challenge and click on the Pairwise tab, you’ll be prompted to choose your favorite idea from a series of several pairs of ideas until you’ve seen every possible combination. Vote on as few or as many pairs of ideas as you’d like, and invite your colleagues to vote, too!

We look forward to seeing your ideas and appreciate your effort!

What is Idea Lab?
Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, simply go to Idea Lab, and enter your username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in!

Happy Innovating!

The post Announcing the Sierra “Academically Speaking” Idea Lab challenge appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

This challenge is for ideas that will improve functionality and introduce new features to support reporting for your library. Submit ideas about SimplyReports, improvements/additions to canned reports, data elements that would help with reporting, or anything else that would enable you to gather data for your library.

Submit your ideas for how Innovative can help you efficiently make reports in Polaris. This challenge starts on September 19, 2022.

Do you have something in mind that would make analysis easier in Polaris? Access the Analyze This! Challenge in Idea Lab and submit your idea today! Submissions are open until October 2, 2022.

Getting input can make good ideas great. Voting and commenting will continue through October 9, 2022.

Pairwise voting begins October 31, 2022. When you enter the challenge and click on the Pairwise tab, you’ll be prompted to choose your favorite idea from a series of several pairs of ideas until you’ve seen every possible combination. Vote on as few or as many pairs of ideas as you’d like, and invite your colleagues to vote, too!

We look forward to seeing your ideas and appreciate your effort!

What is Idea Lab?
Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, simply go to Idea Lab, and enter your username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in!

Happy Innovating!

The post Announcing the Polaris “Analyze This!” Idea Lab challenge appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

Pairwise voting has concluded for the Sierra challenge, and we have our winners!

Focused on enhancements to batch update records in Sierra, library users submitted 13 ideas for this challenge and had 21 pairs of ideas for voting.

The Winners

Submission:  Add record to list feature — Adding the ability to add any record to a review file from any open record in Sierra.

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Jeremy Goldstein

Submission:  Have system-generated Review Files appear in the dropdown list in Global/Rapid Update — While working with Global Update/Rapid Update, system-generated review files will appear in the Review File dropdown list.

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Pam Skittino

Submission:  Create Lists to Global Update button – When working with a review file, add a button that will take the user directly to Global Update to work on the same review file.

Proposed For: H2 2023 – H1 2024 (TBD)

“Sierra customers submitted several great ideas for improving the functionality to batch update records,” said Mike Dicus, Sierra Product Manager. “I’m delighted that we will be able to implement multiple ideas from this challenge to improve Sierra workflows and give library staff a better user experience.”

Remember, submissions live on in Idea Lab and our Always Open Space never closes. If you submitted an enhancement that is still important to you or you have just discovered a development opportunity, the Always Open space provides a place to post that idea for any Sierra product.

Visit the Innovative Idea Lab: https://idealab.iii.com

Thanks again to our wonderful Idea Lab Leadership team:

• Sarah Frieldsmith, University of San Diego
• Eleanor Crumblehulme, Saskatchewan Information Library Services Consortium
• Kathy Setter, IFLS Library System

And special thanks to your moderators and expert reviewers:

• Jeremy Goldstein
• Roz Goldstein
• Nicole Turzillo
• Jason Thomale
• Alex Vancina
• Lynn Uhlman

WHAT IS IDEA LAB?

Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, simply go to Idea Lab, and enter in your username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in!

Please spread the word to colleagues at your own institutions and beyond about joining Idea Lab. At Innovative, we are committed to user-driven innovation that will benefit all our library partners, and we look forward to the next Challenge with you.

Happy Innovating!

The post Congrats to Sierra Winners in the “All Together Now” Idea Lab Challenge! appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

The Winners

Submission: Select a range of records with shift/click [in record sets] — Lets you select a range of records by holding down the shift key on the keyboard while clicking with your mouse.

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Bill Harrison

Submission: Adhoc bulk change for item records [from find tool and bibliographic record] — Adds to Leap the ability to select several item records from a results list or linked to a bib record and apply a bulk change.

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Rachel Fischer

Submission: “Show all” option for record sets — Adds to Leap a ‘show all’ function to see all items in a record set without the need to scroll.

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Katie LeBlanc

“This challenge had a lot of excellent submissions,” said Samantha Quell, Polaris Product Manager. “This was a very active challenge for the Polaris community, so I am excited we were able to select multiple submissions from the top-ranked ideas. We have been testing out a new model for ‘show all’ in table views in Leap and it is great to see there is significant interest in adding that ability to record sets.”

Remember, submissions live on in Idea Lab and our Always Open Space never closes. If you submitted an enhancement that is still important to you or you’ve just discovered a development opportunity, the Always Open space provides a place to post that idea for any Polaris product.

Visit the Innovative Idea Lab: https://idealab.iii.com

Thanks again to our wonderful Idea Lab Leadership team:

• Sarah Frieldsmith, University of San Diego
• Eleanor Crumblehulme, Saskatchewan Information Library Services Consortium
• Kathy Setter, IFLS Library System

And special thanks to your moderators and expert reviewers:

• Marian McCollum
• Sara Scodius
• Jessie Bach
• Elaine Sloan
• Paul Keith

WHAT IS IDEA LAB?

Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, simply go to Idea Lab, and enter in your username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in!

Please spread the word to colleagues at your own institutions and beyond about joining Idea Lab. At Innovative, we are committed to user-driven innovation that will benefit all our library partners, and we look forward to the next Challenge with you.

Happy Innovating!

The post Congratulations to Polaris Winners in the “All Together Now” Idea Lab Challenge! appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

Innovative, now part of Clarivate, would like to announce that pairwise voting has concluded for the Polaris All Systems Go! Idea Lab Challenge, and we have our winner! 

Designed to focus on ways to improve administration of the ILS, this was a smaller challenge with 7 ideas and 6 pairs for voting. 

The Winner  

Submission:  Multi-Select in Patron / Material Type Loan Limits Table – Allow multiple selections of Organizations & Patron Codes to populate Material Type list (lower table) on the Patron / Material Type Loan Limit Blocks, Policy Table. 

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Eric Young 

Proposed For: TBD 

“While this idea was larger than the allocated point estimate, it received the highest number of votes by far,” said Samantha Quell, Polaris Product Manager. “This is one of the highest-use tables in System Administration and it can be time consuming to make updates across all organizations. This idea would provide some bulk-change capabilities to streamline modifications to loan limits.”  

Remember, submissions live on in Idea Lab and our Always Open Space never closes. If you submitted an enhancement that is still important to you or you’ve just discovered a development opportunity, the Always Open space provides a place to post that idea for any Polaris product. 

Visit the Innovative Idea Lab: idealab.iii.com 

Thanks again to our wonderful Idea Lab Leadership team: 

• Jeremy Goldstein, Minuteman Library Network 
• Eleanor Crumblehulme, Saskatchewan Information Library Services Consortium 
• Kathy Setter, IFLS Library System 

And special thanks to your moderators and expert reviewers: 

• Marian McCollum 
• Sharon O’Brien 
• Beth Bechtel 
• Jason Tenter 
• Sarah St. Martin 

 WHAT IS IDEA LAB? 

Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, existing customers can simply go to Idea Lab, and enter in your their username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in! 

Please spread the word to colleagues at your own institutions and beyond about joining Idea Lab. At Innovative, we are committed to user-driven innovation that will benefit all our library partners, and we look forward to the next Challenge with you. 

Happy Innovating! 

Actual product development often varies significantly from roadmaps and Clarivate reserves the right to change product plans at any time. 

The post Congrats to Polaris Idea Lab Winners for “All Systems Go!” appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

Hello Innovative users! 

Innovative, now part of Clarivate, would like to announce that pairwise voting has concluded for the Sierra – All Systems Go! Idea Lab Challenge, and we have our winner! 

Designed to focus on ways to improve administration of the ILS, this was a challenge with 16 ideas and 120 pairs for voting. 

 The Winner  

Submission: Improve load profile editing and/or viewing interface – A new graphical editor for load profiles to prevent syntax errors and to clearly present options. 

Inspired by: Idea submitted by Dani Elder 

Proposed For: TBD 

 “Batch loading is an essential part of libraries’ workflows and the current text-based interface to edit the load profiles is difficult to use,” said Mike Dicus, Sierra Product Manager. “This idea will provide a much-needed update and navigational improvements to make it easier to create, edit, and maintain load profiles. We expect this project will require development in phases across multiple releases, and plan to work with several systems librarians to make sure the new interface incorporates as many improvements as possible while maintaining the existing capabilities.” 

Remember, submissions live on in Idea Lab and our Always Open Space never closes. If you submitted an enhancement that is still important to you or you’ve just discovered a development opportunity, the Always Open space provides a place to post that idea for any Sierra product. 

Visit the Innovative Idea Lab: idealab.iii.com 

Thanks again to our wonderful Idea Lab Leadership team: 

• Jeremy Goldstein, Minuteman Library Network 
• Eleanor Crumblehulme, Saskatchewan Information Library Services Consortium 
• Kathy Setter, IFLS Library System 

And special thanks to our moderators and expert reviewers: 

• Laura Lazaraton 
• Lindsey Bray 
• Sheryl VanderWagen 
• Kimberly Allen 
• Scott Matheson 
• Sarah Frieldsmith 

WHAT IS IDEA LAB? 

Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, existing customers can simply go to Idea Lab and enter in their username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in! 

Please spread the word to colleagues at your own institutions and beyond about joining Idea Lab. At Innovative, we are committed to user-driven innovation that will benefit all our library partners, and we look forward to the next Challenge with you. 

Happy Innovating! 

Actual product development often varies significantly from roadmaps and Clarivate reserves the right to change product plans at any time. 

The post Congrats to Sierra Idea Lab Winners for “All Systems Go!” appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

System Administrators need to easily find, understand, and use settings that allow for smoother staff workflows and easy access to the full functionality of the ILS. This could include reorganizing settings, tables, permissions, security, etc.

Submit your ideas for how Innovative can help you efficiently administer Sierra or Polaris. This challenge starts on October 18.

Do you have something in mind that might smooth out a process? Access the All Systems Go! Challenge in Idea Lab and submit your suggestions there. Idea submissions are open until October 31.

Getting input can turn good ideas into great ideas. Voting and commenting will continue through November 7.

Pairwise voting begins November 29. When you enter the challenge and click on the Pairwise tab, you’ll be prompted to choose your favorite idea from a series of several pairs of ideas until you’ve seen every possible combination. Vote on as few or as many pairs of ideas as you’d like, and invite your colleagues to vote, too!

We look forward to seeing your ideas and appreciate your effort!

What is Idea Lab?
Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, simply go to Idea Lab, and enter your username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in!

Happy Innovating!

The post The “All Systems Go!” New Idea Lab Challenge appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

The Idea Lab Meta-Challenge is where you can define future Idea Lab challenges! Help us focus challenges on the areas of the products most important to you.

If you’ve ever wished that the Idea Lab challenges were about topics that YOU wanted to see improved, now is your chance!

For this challenge, we’d like to see what you would like to see in Sierra or Polaris Idea Lab challenges. This challenge starts on August 2.

Access the Meta-Challenge challenge in Idea Lab and submit your ideas there. Idea submissions are open until August 15.

Pairwise voting begins August 16. When you enter the challenge and click on the Pairwise tab, you’ll be prompted to choose your favorite challenge from a series of several pairs of challenges until you’ve seen every possible combination. Vote on as few or as many pairs of challenges as you’d like, and invite your colleagues to vote, too!

We look forward to seeing your challenge ideas and appreciate your effort!

Note: Winning themes will be considered for ILS specific and general challenges. Themes for general challenges may be narrowed/broadened as needed to accommodate both product lines.

What is Idea Lab?
Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, simply go to Idea Lab, and enter in your username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in!

Happy Innovating!

The post The “Meta-Challenge” New Idea Lab Challenge appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

Leap Cataloging Enhancements:

This suite of new features empowers cataloging staff to manage bibliographic data anytime, anywhere using the Polaris Leap web interface. Cataloging in Leap also has the added benefit of easily supporting increased font size through browser zoom.

• MARC record import – It is now possible to import MARC records into Leap to use as a basis for cataloging. This includes the ability to generate or update item records and create record sets from the import file, as well as manage import jobs through the jobs queue.
• MARC edit for bibliographic records – Users can now edit the MARC fields of bibliographic records in Leap. This includes several new keyboard shortcuts to streamline editing.
• Automatic authority control – Leap now supports automatic authority control.
• Creating bibliographic records – Libraries can now create bibliographic records within Leap from scratch, from templates, or by copying existing records. The ability to create MARC records from templates originated in Idea Lab, where libraries propose and vote on new features.

Leap Acquisitions Improvements

• Shelf-ready item check in – Acquisitions staff can now use Leap to receive new materials.
• Ability to find, view, and pay invoices – Leap can be used to view and pay invoices.

Additional Enhancements

• Streamlined patron address updates – Thanks to an Idea Lab submission, libraries can opt in to a new System Administration setting that will empower patrons to edit their addresses directly, without approval or processing from staff, or patron address verification blocks. This means patron address updates submitted from PowerPAC, Mobile PAC or PAPI can be immediately applied to the patron record.
• New PAPI endpoints – New endpoints facilitate automated creation of MARC records, purchase orders, and on-order item records. Baker and Taylor will be the first vendor to use these endpoints with their TS360 product. This is another features that originated in Idea Lab.

We also recommend taking the opportunity to review and upgrade your operating system and SQL version to 2016 or higher. This is the last year Polaris releases will support SQL Server 2012.

Detailed release notes are available on the Innovative Supportal (login required).

Customers can view the Polaris roadmap online anytime and contribute to the roadmap by participating in Idea Lab.

The post Polaris 7.0 Improves Cataloging, Acquisitions Features for Leap appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

Please note that Sierra 5.3 and Encore 5.3 have the new requirement that the hosting server be running CentOS 7 or RedHat 7 and above.

Manage Holds Improvements

“View Outstanding Holds” will now be called “Manage Holds” in the function drop-down list. Additional changes include:

• Manage Holds update – Manage outstanding holds information in real-time, as well as revise the limits available to include limits for item location, hold status, and “special limits.” The “Holds placed before” limit will be changed to “Holds placed between” two dates.
• Modify individual holds – Transfer, cancel, or otherwise manipulate holds in the new Manage Holds list.
• Display “Frozen” hold status in Sierra hold queues – Frozen holds will display a “Frozen” status in Check Out mode, Search/Holds mode (and similar), and Manage Holds.
• Additional holds improvements – Export the outstanding holds table to a csv file, automatically page title-level holds, and more.

Create Lists Improvements:

• Create Lists User Interface Changes – Seven ideas suggested through Idea Lab to make Create Lists easier to navigate for users.
• Create a review file by importing a file of barcodes – Users can now upload a file containing item or patron barcodes and populate a review file with the records corresponding to those barcodes.
• Volume records in Create Lists and Delete Records – The volume (j) record type is now available in the Store Record Type drop-down in Create Lists, and users can now create a review file of volume records and use that file in Delete Records.

INN-Reach, Usability, And More

Sierra 5.3 includes almost a dozen more features, such as:

• A new INN-Reach “Borrowed” report – This report will provide customers with a list of what they have borrowed from partner libraries and is intended to be run at the borrowing library.
• Automated INN-Reach transit slips at non-checkin locations – Materials borrowed from an INN-Reach partner library will trigger the option to print a transit slip if it is checked in at a location that is not the pickup location. This will help to route materials to their intended destinations more quickly and easily.
• Enhanced error log for Data Exchange Output MARC Records – When outputting MARC records using Data Exchange, some records will be output with errors, but the log file doesn’t identify which records had errors. Starting in Sierra 5.3, the Output MARC Records error log will include the details of the records that generated errors. The user will be able to download the error log if necessary to check the records with errors.
• Capacity for up to 5,000 Sierra logins – Libraries will be able to create up to 5,000 Sierra user logins and see those logins in the Sierra Admin App.
• Float Determiner Table limit expanded – The Float Determiner Table limit is increased from 1,500 to 2,500 lines

Encore Improvements

Encore 5.3 also contains many fixes. A few highlights:

• Fixed an issue where logging out of SSO-proxied Encore in Firefox does not successfully redirect back to the Encore home page and displays an error.
• Fixed an issue where selecting Encore facets refreshes the Encore results screen, contravening Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
• Fixed an issue in Encore Duet searches, where the last catalog record in a result set disappears if any facet is selected while the patron has selected the Plus tab.
• Fixed an issue with OverDrive outages causing Encore to become unresponsive if the OverDrive integration in Encore is enabled at the time of the outage.
• Fixed an issue with Syndetics cover images not displaying correctly when an ISSN is used to retrieve the image
• Fixed an issue with some authority records not returning results (as Established Terms in Encore) unless a space and wildcard is added to the search term.

You can read the detailed release notes on the Innovative Supportal (login required).

The post Sierra 5.3 Brings Improvements to Holds, Expanded Limits appeared first on Innovative Interfaces Inc..

Sometimes a little thing can make a big difference in your day—and improving that little thing can make your work so much easier.

For this challenge, we’d like to see what small changes in Sierra or Polaris would make a big difference to you. This challenge starts on April 19.

Do you have something in mind that’s bugging you? Access the It Bugs Me challenge in Idea Lab and submit your ideas there. Idea submissions are open until April 28.

Getting community input on ideas is what makes a good idea great. Voting and commenting will continue through May 3.

Pairwise voting begins May 24. When you enter the challenge and click on the Pairwise tab, you’ll be prompted to choose your favorite idea from a series of several pairs of ideas until you’ve seen every possible combination. Vote on as few or as many pairs of ideas as you’d like, and invite your colleagues to vote, too!

We look forward to seeing your ideas and appreciate your effort!

What is Idea Lab?
Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, simply go to Idea Lab, and enter in your username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in!

Happy Innovating!

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Pairwise has concluded for the Death to Popups challenge, and we have a winner!

Designed to focus specifically on smoothing workflows that allow staff to work more easily and effectively, this challenge garnered 29 ideas and received 1040 votes!

The Winner 

Submission: Recover from printer failure when printing notices

Inspired by: Ideas submitted by Edwin Byamugisha, Jeremy Goldstein, and Alison Pruntel

Proposed for: Sierra 5.3, Q4 2020

And special thanks to your moderators and expert reviewers:

• Cathy Lamoureaux
• Paivi Rentz
• Stephanie Kaceli
• Doug Kariel
• Robin Poffenberger
• Diane Ward

WHAT IS IDEA LAB?

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Each challenge was pre-seeded with ideas previously submitted by IUG members via Idea Lab or had been past IUG Ballot winners. Each idea has been reviewed by a Product Owner and is an approved candidate for the product roadmap. The challenges will be evaluated during the month of April and the winners will be announced at the Innovative Users Group annual conference in May.

Pairwise voting is open through March 27: When you enter the Challenge and click on the Pairwise tab, you will be prompted to choose your favorite idea from each of several pairs until you have seen every possible combination. Vote on as few or as many pairs as you like, and spread the word to your colleagues so they can vote, too!

We hope you will take this opportunity to vote for the features you would most like to see on the product roadmap. We look forward to and very much appreciate your input!

What is Idea Lab?
Idea Lab is the website hub for our customer-driven innovation process that informs Innovative product roadmaps. To participate, simply go to Idea Lab, and enter in your username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s not too late – simply follow the instructions on the Idea Lab FAQ and join in!

Happy Innovating!

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New features in Polaris 6.1:

• Comprise eCommerce Support. Multiple account support for Comprise eCommerce. This enhancement suggestion comes from the Idea Lab Always Open space.
• Loan Length Subtype. New check in subtype for loan length. This enhancement suggestion comes from the Idea Lab Always Open space.
• Novelist Integration. Novelist integration features added to PAC through accelerated development.
• Polaris Web Application New Features:
  • Export a record set to Excel. This enhancement received top votes from the Polaris Users Group.
  • Print List from Patron account. This enhancement was an Idea Lab challenge winning idea.
  • Item record bulk change. This enhancement was an Idea Lab challenge winning idea.

For a comprehensive look at all new features offered in Polaris 6.1, library partners can review the announcements in the Innovative Supportal.

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Idea Lab has seen tremendous success using the Challenge model to engage customers in the enhancement and innovation process.  Beginning with the Innovation Challenge focused on Leveraging Data, and continuing through two Product-specific Challenges, focused on Polaris Web Application and Sierra Public Services, respectively, we’ve seen engagement grow to include more than 1,100 individual customers from Innovative libraries across the globe discussing more than 350 unique ideas. Thanks to a dedicated team of almost two dozen IUG volunteers serving as Moderators and Experts, each challenge has produced actionable ideas and clear priorities.  Innovative is incorporating the input into the development planning process immediately.

We also want a way to capture ideas from our customers that might not match an open challenge.  The new Always Open Space ensures that ideas always have a place to land. “We want to focus development resources on the areas that will deliver the greatest value to our customers,” says Kathryn Harnish, SVP of Product Strategy at Innovative. “Idea Lab gives us an opportunity to hear directly from our customers about their priorities, and to quantify the impact of proceeding with a new development or enhancement. Challenges are one way to ask for that input, and the new Always Open Space is another way we can always be listening for what our libraries need.”

With the addition of the Always Open Space, customers can enter ideas about any current product at any time into Idea Lab.  Even better, the Always Open Space is organized so customers can submit ideas for new solutions completely unrelated to current ILS offerings, opening the door to some truly Innovative ideas.

You can learn more about how ideas graduate in the Always Open Space.  We invite all Innovative customers to create an account on Idea Lab and join the discussion.  Please spread the word to colleagues at your own institutions and beyond to get involved.

Happy Innovating!

View other articles about Idea Lab here: https://www.iii.com/tag/idea-lab/ 

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• 160 New Users Added
• 291 Challenge Participants
• 113 Separate Ideas
• 437 Comments & Replies
• 1,244 Likes or “Up Votes”
• 7,485 Pairwise Votes to Prioritize Best Ideas

Participants emphasized how ideas could be implemented to streamline processes and improve patron services, and Innovative is pleased to have specific examples of opportunities where we can deliver additional value for our library partners.

“The input we received during this challenge enables us to focus current development resources on the items that matter most to our users,” said Kellie Conner, challenge sponsor and Innovative product owner. “With the addition of these winning ideas, we look forward to seeing even more public services staff adopt the Polaris Web Application to achieve greater efficiencies and deliver better service at their libraries.”

The top winning idea focuses on enabling bulk changes within the Polaris Web Application. Additional winning ideas center on improved print options and fines payment integration. Development of all three ideas is planned for an upcoming Polaris release in 2018.

What’s Next for Idea Lab?

We launched a new Always Open space in Idea Lab on February 28! Unlike previous Idea Lab challenges, this new space will remain open indefinitely, and users are invited to submit ideas across a broad spectrum of categories. If you’ve been holding on to a great idea, waiting for a way to share it with your colleagues and with Innovative, this is the space for you! Stay tuned for more details as our Always Open team ramps up.

Please spread the word to colleagues at your own institutions and beyond about joining the Idea Lab community. At Innovative, we are committed to delivering value that benefits all our library partners, and we look forward to the next Challenge with you.

Happy Innovating!

View other articles about Idea Lab here: https://www.iii.com/tag/idea-lab/ 

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After the successful launch of Idea Lab, we’re excited to share the results of our first innovation challenge and announce what’s next!

Our initial challenge “Leveraging Data” was a huge success! We know Innovative users are the most engaged and creative in the library industry, but we did not anticipate they would exceed every established benchmark for activity during this first challenge. Here’s what we’re talking about:

• 683 Registered Users
• 584 Challenge Participants
• 316 Users Creating or Submitting Feedback on Ideas
• 83 Unique Ideas
• 453 Comments & Replies
• 1386 Likes or “Up Votes”
• 7833 Pairwise Votes to Prioritize Best Ideas

These counts reflect a representative cross-section of all types of Innovative libraries and consortia from more than 30 countries around the world.

Nine separate ideas about Leveraging Data were selected as “winners” – that’s more than 10% of the total ideas submitted during the challenge! And every single winning idea has been incorporated into Innovative’s roadmap for analytics development.

The initial release of our new analytics product is scheduled for the first half of 2018, so it won’t be long before you see some of these capabilities in production! Others are planned as part of the longer-term product direction.

Amanda Schukle, Product Manager for Analytics and Sponsor of our Leveraging Data Challenge, expressed how pleased she was with the feedback we received, “This was an ideal way to validate with a broad cross-section of users that we are on the right path with our Analytics initiative and to understand the priorities libraries place on various capabilities. I cannot overstate the value of this type of structured conversation among users in driving innovation for libraries.”

What’s Next for Idea Lab?

The next Idea Lab challenge opens on Tuesday, November 28! This time, it’s a product-specific challenge concentrated on Sierra.  The challenge question is:

“How might we simplify public services workflows by enhancing Sierra?”

With just a few weeks between holidays for many of our users, we are counting on intense focus from everyone to help us select and announce winning ideas before the end of the year. Start thinking about the possibilities now, so you’ll be ready to submit your ideas when the challenge opens!

Our Polaris users should get ready, too, as we have a Polaris-specific challenge planned for January 2018.

We’ve also been working with the IUG Enhancements Committee on how users might share ideas that are outside the scope of an active challenge. We plan to open an Always Open space in Idea Lab for this purpose. Unlike timed challenges that are designed to solicit ideas for a specific development initiative or product release, the Always Open space will be a place in Idea Lab where you can share any ideas at any time, even if they are not related to an area that we are prepared to act on right away.

The Always Open space is scheduled to open in February 2018.

In the meantime, please look for communications on November 28 to kick off our next challenge.

Thanks again to every one of our users for your part in a successful launch!  Please spread the word to colleagues and other Innovative users about how to get involved in the Idea Lab collaboration.  At Innovative, we are committed to user-driven innovation that will benefit all our library clients, and we can’t wait to dive into the next Challenge with you.

Happy Innovating!

View other articles about Idea Lab here: https://www.iii.com/tag/idea-lab/ 

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The Leveraging Data Challenge is about how we might use data to improve library operations and services, and the results will inform the product roadmap for our Analytics initiative. With 83 ideas submitted, 452 comments added, and 1386 votes cast so far, there are some exciting options to consider.

We’re grateful to our Subject Matter Experts–a team of library customers and Innovative staff–for the work they are doing now to review the leading ideas against key criteria. Based on those evaluations, the strongest ideas will progress to the Prioritization phase, where any user from any Innovative customer library or consortium can use the Pairwise head-to-head voting process to help us where to focus our attention first. We will follow up with a formal Selection process and share results with participating users by the end of July.

View other articles about Idea Lab here: https://www.iii.com/tag/idea-lab/ 

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