Registering a Branch

To add a branch to Polaris:

Note:
Address and contact information must be defined in the appropriate tables before you can specify them in the branch record. See Setting Organization Addresses and Identifying Organization Contacts.

Important:
If you have deleted a branch and are setting up a new one, you may have difficulty matching settings such as item statistical codes. In this situation, contact your Polaris Site Manager for assistance. Fees may apply.

1. Select Administration, Explorer, System on the Polaris Shortcut Bar. The Administration Explorer appears.
2. Select File, New, Branch on the Administration Explorer menu bar. The Branch workform appears.

3. Type the formal name of the branch in the Name box.
4. Select the library organization to which the branch belongs in the Parent box. A branch that has the same name as a library administration record should have that library as the parent.

Tip:
In Administration boxes where the options are marked with an organization icon, such as the Parent box, you can type the first letter of an organization name and that organization is chosen. If multiple selections begin with the same letter, keep typing the letter to cycle through the choices.

5. Type the abbreviation of the branch name in the Abbr box.

Important:
If you use enriched EDI ordering and shelf-ready cataloging with Baker & Taylor, the branch abbreviation is limited to 5 characters or fewer to comply with this vendor’s data requirements.

6. In the Display Name box, type the name you want to appear in the workform title bar and on the Polaris Shortcut bar, where the name appears as the parent organization of the logged-in workstation. This name is also used in Mobile PAC and text message hold notices.

Note:
These characters cannot be used in the Name or Display Name fields:

; (semi-colon)
? (question mark)
: (colon)
@ ('at' sign)
& (ampersand)
= (equals sign)
+ (plus sign)
$ (dollar sign)
, (comma)
\ (back slash)
* (asterisk)
< (less than sign)
> (greater than sign)
| (vertical pipe)
" (double quote)
/ (forward slash)

7. Select the appropriate addresses for the branch in the following boxes:
   • Addresses Primary - Select the main mailing address for the branch.

Tip:
In Administration boxes where the options are not marked with an organization icon, such as the Addresses boxes, you can type the first letter or number of an option and that option is chosen. If multiple options begin with the same character, type the first two or three characters.

• Billing - Select the address where invoices and other billing information should be mailed. This address is used on purchase orders created in Polaris.
• Shipping - Select the address where packages and other bulk shipments for the branch should be sent, typically the address for a receiving department at the library or branch. This address is used on purchase orders created in Polaris.

8. Type the email and URL addresses in the Email and WWW boxes.
9. Select the branch staff to contact in the Primary and Alternate boxes.
10. Type the library office phone and fax numbers in the Phone Numbers boxes.
11. Define the normal hours of operation for the branch by following these steps:

1. Select Tools, Define Hours of Operation. The Hours of Operation dialog box opens.

2. Clear the Closed checkbox for each day of the week that the branch is open. The opening and closing time boxes become available for each open day.
3. Set the appropriate opening and closing times. Select the hours, minutes, seconds, and AM/PM fields, and type the appropriate entry or use the up and down arrows to set the field. Then click OK.

Note:
Once the branch is set up, you can edit the normal hours of operation using this method, or with the Patron Services parameter Hours of Operation for the branch. To set specific dates closed, such as January 1, 2012, see Identifying Dates Closed.

12. Complete the following optional information according to your library policies:
    • Standard Address Number - If the branch has a registered SAN, type the number.

Important:
If you use EDI for acquisitions, the SAN number is essential for the correct processing.

• Tax Exempt # - If the branch does not have to pay sales taxes, type the registered exemption number.

13. To set up error reporting, in the Error Reporting Email field, type the email address of the administrator who should receive the report of a system error. You can use error reporting to identify workstations that have stopped functioning due to unhandled exceptions. If you use Polaris ExpressCheck and credit card processing, an error report is sent if a credit card refund is not successful when a lost or billed item charge needs to be resolved. Your error reporting settings at the system and library level are inherited by branches unless you change the settings at this level.
14. Select File > Save to save the branch record. Record saved appears in the status bar.
15. Edit branch-level permissions, profiles, parameters, and tables as needed. See the “Related Information” section.

Related Information

• General information about how to edit administration records - See Setting Parameters and Profiles and Working with Tables.
• Setting permissions - Permissions must be set explicitly for the branch. See Managing Organization Security.
• Setting specific dates closed - See Identifying Dates Closed.
• Collections - If this branch uses collections, see Setting Statistical Codes for Reports.
• Acquisitions settings - See Acquisitions Administration.
• Cataloging settings - Certain settings, such as tags to retain for overlaid bibliographic and authority records and preferred cataloging sources, are made at the branch level. See Cataloging Administration.
• Circulation and patron services settings - Many settings, such as fines and fees, loan periods, item blocks, and holds routing, are made at the branch level. See Patron Services Administration.
• Statistical reporting - If the branch does statistical reporting, specify the item and patron statistical categories.
• Search databases in the staff client and public catalog - See Controlling Database Access in the Staff Client.
• Display characteristics in the public catalog - Many settings, such as the bibliographic information displayed in search results, the item holdings display, cross-reference terms, and shelf locations, are made at the branch level.
• Suppressing a branch from display in PAC - Use the system-level PAC profile Suppress branches to select branches to suppress from list displays in PAC. This is useful if you have a branch set up strictly for administrative purposes. For Polaris PowerPAC, the selected branches are suppressed from the connection branch list (Switch to another branch), the list of branches on the Search Options scoping page, and the list of branches on the donations page. For Mobile PAC, this profile suppresses selected branches from the drop list of organizations on the Library Hours page and the Mobile PAC Preferences page.

Note:
Use the Request parameter Holds options (Pickup tabbed page) to include or suppress the branches available as pick-up library choices for hold requests placed through PAC.

• Branch properties - The branch property sheet shows summary information about the branch, including the number of accessible remote databases available to the branch in the staff client and in PAC , collections, workstations, staff members, and registered patrons. To open the property sheet, right-click the branch name in the Administration Explorer and select Properties, or click the Properties icon on the Branch workform.