City News Briefs
PPL Joins Dirigo Libraries and Begins Catalog Upgrade
Portland, ME – Portland Public Library (PPL) announced a new partnership with the Maine State Library, the Law and Legislative Reference Library, and the Bangor Public Library, forming the Dirigo Libraries consortium. Patrons of member libraries will be able to access materials from all four libraries, with holds automatically pulling from the combined inventory to reduce wait times. Additionally, the user interface will undergo significant changes.
As part of the transition, PPL will upgrade its catalog system to Polaris, an integrated library system. This upgrade will streamline catalog searches, improve user account features, and offer expanded options for borrowing and accessing materials.
Service Disruptions – Catalog Offline for Up to 2 Weeks
To implement these upgrades, PPL will temporarily take the catalog offline. To minimize disruptions and ensure patrons continue to have access to essential resources:
- Final Transfer to Polaris: Beginning Monday, February 24th, the library’s current catalog system will be offline for approximately two weeks to facilitate the final data transfer to Polaris. During this period, patrons will still be able to borrow physical items from the library. However, PPL asks that materials not be returned until the transfer is complete. Please also note that shelf records and hold records will be temporarily unavailable during this time.
- Temporary Hiatus from MaineCat: PPL will pause participation in MaineCat starting Wednesday, March 5th, for approximately eleven weeks. During this period, PPL will collaborate with other local libraries to provide an alternative, manual system for interlibrary loans.
Once the transition is complete, library patrons will enjoy broader access to resources across the four member libraries.
For more information about the Dirigo Libraries consortium, the catalog upgrade, and what to expect during the transition, please visit https://www.portlandlibrary.com/ppl-joins-dirigo-libraries-consortium-and-prepares-for-systemwide-upgrade/.
