Remote Database Usage Settings for PowerPAC

You can set usage conditions for individual remote databases, including use in the PowerPAC quick-select drop-down, limits on records returned and search time, use as follow-on databases, access restrictions, and search access points.

See also:

Follow-On Search Display in PowerPAC

You can enable a prompt to the PowerPAC user for a follow-on search of databases pre-selected by the library, when a search of the local database returns no hits. This feature is most effective when you specify follow-on target databases that all your patrons can access, regardless of branch, location, or logon status; for example, a state union database.

If you have enabled follow-on searching and designated follow-on databases (see Configure remote database usage settings), a message and link are displayed when the PowerPAC user searches the local database only and no hits are found. If you have not enabled the Show total hits in follow-on search databases option (see Configure remote database usage settings), the user must click or tap the link to determine if there are results in the follow-on databases.

If the Show total hits in follow-on search databases option is enabled and no results are found, no message is displayed. If there are results in the follow-on databases, the message displays the search link and the total number of hits found in the follow-on databases.

Note:
If Show total hits is enabled, the search is performed in the background regardless of whether the user links to the results. The remote database will likely count the search for statistical purposes. If Show total hits is not enabled, no searches are done unless the user clicks or taps the link to see the results.

When follow-on searching is enabled, the user does not have to retype the search term when the follow-on search is launched. However, if any of the follow-on databases require logon, and the user has not logged on, the database requiring logon is not searched. Only those follow-on databases that do not require logon are searched, and an error message is displayed in the search status window for the databases that could not be searched. Similarly, if the library has selected databases that are not accessible to the current user (perhaps because of the user’s registered branch, location, or patron code), those databases are not searched and an error message is displayed in the search status window for the databases that could not be searched.

The follow-on databases (and the local database) are also automatically selected on the Select Databases light box (see Select Databases Lightbox in PowerPAC). All subsequent searches use the selected databases, until the user resets the search databases or ends the session. The Reset Databases option is also displayed next to the Select Databases option on the search form.

Default Remote Databases for PowerPAC Searches

You can specify a remote database or databases to be included by default in PowerPAC search results. When you have set this option, patrons do not have to deliberately select the databases for searching using the Select Databases feature, but they can deselect them to omit the database results from a search if they choose.

Be sure the database servers are registered in Polaris, and that resource groups have been specified if necessary. See Set up a Server Record for a Z39.50 or Other Search Server .

Note:
The PowerPAC profile Remote databases: Maximum number that can be searched at once sets the maximum number of databases that can be searched at one time. The system honors this limit when including remote databases to be searched by default. For example, if you set the maximum number that can be searched at once to 10, but select 12 to be searched by default, only the first 10 will be selected in PowerPAC.

See Configure remote database usage settings for set-up instructions.