Changing System Information

Information about your Polaris system is stored in the system record, which is created upon initial Polaris installation. The system record is the top level of the Polaris administration hierarchy. It may represent an organization or consortium with up to 1,000 branches, all sharing the same Polaris installation, or it may represent a single library.

You can change many system settings from either the System workform or the Administration Explorer, although most database tables are set using the Administration Explorer. The system record cannot be deleted.

The system record specifies the following information in the Polaris system:

Control number - The unique record identification number assigned to the organization record and displayed in the workform title bar. This number is used in Polaris code and for special purposes. For example, if you run reports from Reporting Services, you specify an organization filter by control number. The system organization control number is always 1.

Name of the library system - The full name, abbreviation, and the display name of the library, cooperative, or consortium that owns and administers the system for all organizations using this installation of Polaris.
Address and contact information - The postal address of the central office, and contact information for the system director or Polaris administrator. These are initially defined in the organization address and contact tables. See Setting System Postal Codes, Setting Organization Addresses, and Identifying Organization Contacts.
Default Country and Default Currency - The default country and the main currency that is used throughout the library system. The default is U. S. dollars. You can specify other currencies to use when ordering materials from foreign vendors.
Default Language - The default language used throughout the library system. (Currently, this setting is English and cannot be changed.)
Permissions - In general, Polaris permissions set at the system level apply only to records that belong to the system organization. Organizations at lower levels must define their own permissions settings. However, the Allow permissions set with the Security view at the system level are applied to all workstations and staff members in Polaris. See Granting Permissions.
Parameters, profiles, policies, and database tables - If set at the system level, the settings are inherited by or used as the basis for settings at subordinate organizations. Some settings are available only at the system level.