Currently library patrons in our Central and Western regions can request titles from the opposite region using our Union Catalog. Effective Monday, August 1, this catalog will no longer accept new holds for C/W MARS patrons. All patrons will still be able to use the Massachusetts Virtual Catalog. Any holds placed in the Union Catalog prior to August 1 will be honored and processed as normal.
Up comming changes to the online catalog.
All library items in one place! All C/W MARS libraries will have their items in this catalog, so patrons will not have to change catalogs to request from the other region.
Patron Dashboard. When logged into your library account, it will show all checkouts, holds, items to be picked up and fines in one place.
RSS Feeds for lists. Do you have a list of books you want to share with others? You can create a "published" list that others can see.
Patrons will also need to be prepared for some changes. These next items will not be able to be carried over to the new catalog, including:
Outstanding Holds. Academic patrons who have holds that have not been filled at the time of migration will have to replace them after moving to the new catalog.
Current PIN. Patrons will be able to login to their new online catalog account using the last four digits of their library card barcode as a password. They will be required to create a new password when they login for the first time.
Reading History and Current Wish Lists. In the case of Reading History and Wish Lists, patrons have the ability to export their lists or print from a computer. There is a button to choose "Export List" at the top of their list. We recommend that patrons choose "Brief Display" for their list; this will give you the title, author, and publishing information. These can be sent to an email address as a text file or displayed on the computer for printing.
Patrons who wish to export their Reading History or Wish Lists should do so by September 30th, 2011. Library patrons will still have full access to the current system through the summer.
If you have any questions on the mirgration please contact Danielle.