Polaris Multi-Part Holds

For Serials like National Geographic, patrons may now choose the issue that they wish to place a hold on, and this will translate to an item specific hold on the chosen issue.

1. For multi-part titles like Annuals or DVD sets (for example: Fodor’s Travel Guides, and Planet Earth DVD series) patrons may now choose the edition or disc that they wish to place a hold on, and this will translate to a bibliographic level hold on the chosen edition/disc or set. This means that any branch with the corresponding item can satisfy the hold, and the patron will receive the edition/disc or set that they want.
2. For series books like Harry Potter, each individual title in the series will have it’s own bibliographic record. The item records that are linked should NOT contain any volume information. If one or more of the linked item records has data in the volume field, the patron will be incorrectly prompted to choose a volume.

For multi-part to work, we will need to be sure that everyone is following the the TRAC Multi-Part Guidelines for entering volume information in the volume field of the item record (when to enter it and the format). It also means that only items that qualify as a multi-part should have any data at all in the volume field. If the items linked to a bibliographic record have non-volume information in the volume field, or if they have volume information but do not qualify as a multi-part item (i.e. they are a series but have separate bibliographic records, such as Manga books) Polaris will confuse the patron when they try to place a hold request by asking them to select a specific volume. 

What do you need to do?

1. Please follow the TRAC multi-part guidelines (updated Feb 2012) when creating or updating your item records.
2. Download the brochures for your patrons at the bottom of this page.
3. Have your patrons watch the new YouTube video (see the link at the bottom of this page).
4. Experiment with the PAC and with Polaris by searching for titles and placing holds.
5. Report all problems to our helpdesk.

Report problem titles

If you come across a title that is asking the patron to choose a volume when it shouldn't, please report the bibliographic record control number (and title) to helpdesk@peacelibrarysystem.ab.ca. Each region's system administrator has authority to correct the troublesome item records regardless of which library or region they belong to. We want to fix the records right away so that your patrons are satisfied!

If your patron sees this message when trying to place a hold in the pac on a non multi-part title:

Click on librarian view and report the control number and title to our helpdesk.  We will correct the problem item records and send an email back to you. You can email the control number and title to helpdesk@peacelibrarysystem.ab.ca.

Multi-part brochures for patrons

To assist your patrons with learning the new feature please download these two brochures and print them for your library.

1. Placing holds on Multi-part DVDs
2. Placing holds on Multi-part Books

Training Video for Patrons

A short video clip has been created by the TRAC Public Services Group that shows patrons how to place volume/multipart requests in TRACpac (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JH4Qc_e09k).