Meeting Registration

The 2006 Annual Meeting was a success!

Polaris Library Systems have posted their presentations.
 

Printable 2006 Annual Meeting Agenda

5th Annual Conference October 5-7, 2006 Wyndham - Syracuse 6302 Route 298 East Syracuse, NY 13057 (315) 432-0200  PROGRAM Conference Registration Hotel Location and Reservation Info (See PUG website for group code and Wyndham By Request perks)
Thursday, October 5, 2006 -- "Polaris Day"
8:00 - 8:30		Registration and Breakfast
8:30 - 9:15		PUG Business Meeting
9:15 - 9:30		Welcome - Sylvia Lee, PUG President and Bill Schickling, Polaris President
9:30 - 12:00		What's In Polaris 3.3 and What's Coming Next? (led by Polaris Product Analysts and selected R&D staff) A 15-20 minute break during the session will be provided. Overview of 3.3 and Review of PUG Enhancements (A high-level view of 3.3 features with a review of the top candidates that went into development) Current enhancements and preview of the next (Results of the current poll and a peek at what's coming) New Products, New Collaborations Polaris Reporting Strategy
12:00 - 1:15		Buffet lunch / State-of-the-Business Presentation
		HAVE A FEW MINUTES OF SPARE TIME? VISIT THE POLARIS KIOSK! Test a Polaris feature - Ask a fellow PUGster to demonstrate a procedure! (A workstation will also be available to check email.)
1:15 - 1:30		Break
1:30 - 2:45		Breakout sessions A Closer Look at the 3.3 PAC (Candy Zemon, Product Analyst) System Administrators Roundtable (Kellie Conner, Manager, Polaris Customer Operations)  Back by popular demand, this session for Polaris system administrators provides time to discuss how you've deployed and manage Polaris as well as interesting technologies and products you're using in conjunction with Polaris. "Town meeting" - Doing Business with Polaris Library Systems (Polaris Management Team) Do you have questions about Polaris' pricing policies and other business practices? Using a town meeting format, the Polaris management team will be on hand to answer your questions about the company.
2:45 - 3:15		Break
3:15 - 4:30		Breakout sessions We Listened: Where We Are, Where We're Going with Polaris Reporting (Brad Rogers, Director of Implementation Services; Eric Graham, Custom Services Developer)  Do you have full time techies to produce custom reports? Do you just dabble in SQL? Do you miss the good ol' days of GALAXY Report Writer? No matter what your level of expertise, there are exciting new tools coming your way! Join Polaris Library Systems staff for a presentation of our Polaris reporting strategy and a guided discussion of your needs and recommendations for the future of reporting in Polaris. Leaders in Libraries: What the Best Do Best! Session One of Three - Leading the Library (David Bendekovic, VP Marketing & Sales) presents a model of a fundamental system for leading and managing U.S. public libraries.  The "best of the best" in library and business leadership share their insights and strategies for success in this fast-moving, information-packed, interactive workshop.  What you can expect: Acquire new ideas, fresh thinking, and new perspectives form some of the best business and library leaders in the country! Identify your leadership orientation. Increase your capacity to lead and manage. Conduct a self-assessment of your library's practices in order to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. A Closer Look at the 3.3 Staff Client (Candy Zemon, Joanne Reid, John Barr, Product Analysts)
5:00 - 8:00		Vendor Reception at the hotel - Come meet Polaris partners.  Learn how they can enhance your Polaris installation, improve your customer service and make life easier for your staff.  Buffet dinner 5:30 - 7:30.  Door prizes throughout the night!
Friday, October 6, 2006
8:00 - 8:30		Day-Trip Registration / Continental Breakfast
8:30 - 9:30		PUG Business Meeting
9:30 - 10:45
		Administrator's Track Session Tech Gadgets - Patty Fonseca and Matt Naylor, Clark County Public Library Today's library users expect to get want what they want anytime, anywhere, in any way they want. High-tech gadgets make this more possible than ever, but also present a whole new set of challenges. Move beyond seeing these as high-tech toys to discover how to use them as tools to increase staff efficiency and promote library services.
		Workflow Track Session Postcards for Dummies - Sean Hill, Henderson Public Libraries  An overview of the Henderson Libraries' postcard notices project. In an attempt to save staff time and postage dollars, the Henderson Libraries decided to try integrating Polaris with Stamps.com to produce cost effective notice postcards. Come learn what they learned and see if this is something that could work for your library.
		Technology Track Session Get to Know the Top 5 Most Useful Polaris Tables - Becky Moren, Euless Public Library With a basic understanding of five Polaris tables, even a SQL novice can write queries like a pro.  If you haven't used SQL since SA training, or need a little refresher course in how to write a Select statement, this session is for you.  By using the tables CircItemRecords, ItemRecordDetails, BibliographicRecords, PatronRegistration, and Patrons, you can extract a lot of useful data from your system.
		HAVE A FEW MINUTES OF SPARE TIME? VISIT THE POLARIS KIOSK! Test a Polaris feature - Ask a fellow PUGster to demonstrate a procedure! The kiosk is a free-standing access station which will be available for you to search the PAC, place holds, check your account, pay fines, surf the net, search remote data bases.
10:45 - 11:00		Break
11:00 - 12:15
		Administrator's Track Session Leaders in Libraries: What the Best Do Best! Session Two of Three - Serving the Community (David Bendekovic, VP Marketing & Sales) presents a model of a fundamental system for leading and managing U.S. public libraries.  Developed at the Leadership Institute at Syracuse University, this workshop synthesizes current ideas and information about what common elements characterize successful public libraries.  What you can expect: Learn strategies and roles that work in communities where alternatives are so readily available. Develop a framework for your library's future growth and development. Conduct a self-assessment of your library's practices in order to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement.
		Workflow Track Session Facilitators Needed at each table - Contact mphillips@mclinc.org to volunteer! Been There, Done That!   Back by popular demand!  This is your chance to share your daily dilemmas with other Polaris customers who have volunteered to share their experience with you.  Bring those questions about Circulation, Serials, or just about anything and talk to someone who has Been There, Done That!
		Technology Track Session  Making it Simple to Pay Fines & Fees on the Web in Polaris  - Vicki Terbovich - Maricopa County, AZ  This presentation will describe the many ways customers can handle their library financial affairs with Polaris and in the Maricopa County Library District's branch libraries.  Fine and fee payment via the Web environment with Debit and Credit Cards will be showcased, along with other mechanisms for paying fines and fees in the Maricopa County Library District.
12:15  - 1:45
		Lunch with Keynote Speaker - Michael Stephens, Tametheweb.com  "Surveying the Library Technology Landscape"  Michael Stephens (BA, Indiana University, 1987; MLS, Indiana University,1995) will be an Instructor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University starting in August 2006.  Focusing on Libraries and Technology is his specialty.  In 2001, he published The Library Internet Trainer's Toolkit -- a series of technology training modules in CD-ROM.  In March 2005, he was named one of Library Journal's Movers and Shakers 2005.  In November 2005, he served as a Scholar at the Chicago Public Library's Scholar in Residence program with Jenny Levine and Stephen Abram.
2:00 - 3:15
		Administrator's Track Session The Big Picture: Toward Library 2.0. Training, Technology, & Planning -- Michael Stephens, Tametheweb.com
		Workflow Track Session Disaster Recovery Planning -- "Jump to the Chase" - Dana Hines, System Administrator, CLAN Need to do a Disaster Recovery Plan, but don't know where to start?  Dana Hines will share her experience in the development of a plan.  You will leave the session with a template of an actual plan(s) which can be tailored to fit your needs.
		Technology Track Session Getting what you need from Polaris Reports Part I - Microsoft SQL Report Services  Carolyn Vanderzanden, WCCLS Carolyn presents her Top 5 most used custom reports and talks about what was changed to make them appropriate for a larger/multiple library site.
3:15 - 3:30		Break
3:30 - 4:45
		Administrator's Track Session The User-Centric Library: What OCLC's User Perceptions Report Means for Public Libraries - Michael Stephens, Tametheweb.com
		Workflow Track Session Ins and Outs of Inventory - Mary Hedrick, Harrison Regional Library and Vince Messina, PLS Customer Account Manager Why do Libraries go for years without doing an Inventory? How can it be called Collection Development when no one knows what's really in the collection? Here's what one library has done with Polaris Inventory Manager and how it has improved life as we know it. A lighthearted and informative look at how Inventory has improved with technology.
		Technology Track Session Getting what you need from Polaris - Reports Part II Customizing your canned reports Dave Titus, PYLON Do you see a canned report or notice that's almost what you want but it's not quite there? This session will show how to customize a canned report or notice to your liking.
6:00 - 10:00		President's Reception - Club Polaris!  We're going back...waaaaay back.  Disco dominated!  Rock 'n Roll was righteous!  Hair was HUGE!  Wearing pink tinted glasses made everything grooooovy!   Time to celebrate the fifth anniversary of PUG and we are doing it with a HOUSE PARTY featuring board games from the past -- remember SORRY, OPERATION, DOMINOES, BACKGAMMON and others and groovin’ to sounds of the seventies.  Come and enjoy the food we use to EXIST on (diets on hold for the evening) them shimmy and shake it off on the dance floor.  Celebrate Good Times Come On!
Saturday, October 7, 2006
8:00 - 8:30		Day-Trip Registration / Continental Breakfast
8:30 - 9:30		PUG Business Meeting
9:30 - 10:45
		Administrator's Track Session Management Goes To The Movies - Lower Merion Library System staff Tired of looking at Donald Trump's hair? Tired of sports jargon, power boardroom strategies, and references to gut feelings and instincts? Try the alternative -- a discussion-based, interactive approach to key management concepts using specially selected motion pictures including: Apollo 13 (Technology Problem-solving), A Night to Remember (Disaster Planning), Master and Commander (Leadership), and others. Designed and "beta-tested" by the Lower Merion Library System, Management Goes to the Movies prompted this response from a participant: "Thanks a lot. You've ruined the movies for me; all I see now is work!" Join us anyway.
		Workflow Track Session Maryam Phillips, MCLINC, Facilitator Creative Solutions to Public Service Challenges -- New to Polaris?  Not new?  Bring your Top 5 public service issues to this session.  Share your solutions, or ask for guidance from other customers.  Take important policy, procedure and workflow information home with you to use throughout the year.
		Technology Track Session Backup Solutions -- Nima Khamooshi, Fayetteville Public Library.  Learn about best practices, and the strengths and limitations of different backup software tools.  Complements the Disaster Planning session offered on Thursday.
10:45 - 11:00		Break
11:00 - 12:15
		Administrator's Track Session Leaders in Libraries: What the Best Do Best! Session Three of Three - Serving the Community David Bendekovic, PLS VP Marketing & Sales presents a model of a fundamental system for leading and managing U.S. public libraries.  Hear candid insights, strategies and tactics used by top business and library leaders as they share their thoughts on how they expect to remain relevant in today's rapidly shifting landscape.  What you can expect: Learn how to deal with a changing competitive structure by effectively managing the brand your library holds in the community. Conduct a self-assessment of your library's practices in order to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement.
		Workflow Track Session AACR3: Resource Description and Access Candy Zemon, PLS Senior Product Strategist Hear what the fuss is about as AACR2 is displaced by RDA aka AACR3: cataloging rules just aren't what they used to be!
		Technology Track Session The Reports Roundtable Join us for a meeting with Polaris Library Systems Leadership to discuss report needs.  This interactive focus group will provide valuable feedback on the future development of reports in Polaris.
12:15 - 1:15		Lunch
1:15 - 1:30		Election Results Announced / Conference Wrap Up
Post-conference Training
1:30 - 3:30		PAC Customization Capabilities - Bryan Rubenau, PLS Senior Product Developer From adding your library's logo to making your online catalog look like the rest of your library's website, learn how to customize your PowerPAC. Topics include: * Customization options available in your current Polaris 3.2 release, along with the extended capabilities available in the upcoming Polaris 3.3 release. * Descriptions of the Polaris 3.3 SA profile options and demonstration of how, through the modification of style sheets, the navigation and overall look and feel of PowerPAC 3.3 can be dramatically altered. * Examples of several customized sites. * Review a list of best practices for customizations to ensure that future upgrades are as painless as possible.  While this is not a hands-on session, the presenter will create a new customized site so attendees can see step-by-step what's involved. Pre-requisite knowledge:  Familiarity with basic HTML, CSS, XML, and XSL is helpful. Intended audience:  System administrators or web developers Fee:  none
MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR PUG 2007! October 4 - 6, 2007 Wyndham Hotel, Syracuse NY