Innovative Users Group Calendar RSS Feed

Jul 16, 2026: IUG Forum: Resource Sharing (ILL, INN-Reach, Rapido, etc)

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 08:46 -0400

IUG Forum: Resource Sharing (ILL, INN-Reach, Rapido, etc)

Sharing is caring but it's not always easy. You've got the alphabet soup full of OCLC, ILL, and NCIP. And then you need to figure out how INN-Reach works, or Rapido, or WorldSearch, or... The list goes on. But hey, we're here for you! Join us on Zoom and bring your questions, your workflows, and your knowledge about resource sharing! Sharing is caring, but so is helping each other out!

Aug 20, 2026: IUG Forum: Third Party Vendors

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 08:52 -0400

Wouldn't it be great if all those third party vendors worked the same way? You'd be able to set up and manage OverDrive the same way you do Hoopla, or Kanopy, or CloudLibrary? Sadly, that's not the case. All of these companies do things differently not just between Polaris and Sierra but also between different libraries using the same ILS. So until they get that all figured out*, we'd love to see you join us on Zoom to discuss and help each other out with whatever third party ailment afflicts you. Or hey, maybe you came up with a stellar workflow to manage a given service! We'd like to hear about that too!

*This will never happen.

Oct 6, 2026: Ontario IUG Regional

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 10:23 -0400

Hello Ontario IUG Members!

We're excited to share that our 2026 Ontario IUG regional meeting date is officially locked in! Tuesday, October 6 was the clear winner in the questionnaire (every respondent said it worked for them, so we're off to a great start).

Tuesday, October 6, 2026 (10:00 AM to 4:00 PM)

Kitchener Public Library - Central Library
85 Queen Street N
Kitchener, ON

Parking Information:
Underground: Civic District Parking Garage
• Entrance beside the library at 83 Queen St N
• Stairwell and elevator access to the library from the first level
• $17.40 daily maximum

Surface: Centre in the Square Lot 19B
• 101 Queen St N (corner of Queen St and Ahrens St), directly across from the library
• $13.95 daily maximum (Pay & Display or via the Passport Parking app)

Clarivate will be joining us to share product updates, present a brief roadmap, answer questions, and support this continued regional collaboration. We'll also set aside time to talk through plans for future Ontario IUG meetups (how often we should gather, which topics matter most, and how to keep the momentum going).

Based on what's already come in from the questionnaire, the agenda is starting to take shape around topics like:

• Vega Discover (by far the most requested topic!)
• Vega LX Starter (deployment, management, and troubleshooting)
• Polaris and Sierra workflows
• The broader Vega suite (Analyze, Mobile, Promote, Interact, Program, WebBuilder)
• Staff training practices and show-and-tell
• Card authentication and virtual/digital card creation
• Local AI in library services (Rochester Hills Public Library will share their thinking and workflows for running AI locally at the library, and we'd love to hear from others in the room about their own methods, adoption, and deployment)
• Polaris Cloud migration (we'd love to hear from a library that's already made the jump, with real pros, cons, and lessons learned)

A few specific concerns have also come in that we'll be bringing to the Clarivate team ahead of the day, including questions around Vega analytics and statistics tracking, the Vega account portal rollout, and accessibility improvements.

CALLING FOR PRESENTERS! If you have a workflow, project, migration story, or lesson learned that you'd like to share with the group (short or long, formal or informal, five minutes or thirty), we'd love to hear about it. User-led sessions are the heart of these regionals, and we've got room on the agenda. Just let us know when you register.

Please take a moment to register so we know to expect you. The form is quick, and it's where you can note any dietary restrictions (Clarivate is providing refreshments and lunch), add questions for the Clarivate team, or share a topic or presentation idea.

Already submitted something in the earlier questionnaire? It's locked in, so this is just about confirming your spot and adding anything new. We'll reach out closer to the event about dietary restrictions so we can plan the food accordingly.

We're excited to bring the Ontario community together in Kitchener!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Derek Brown (IUG Steering Committee) at Derek.Brown@rhpl.org. And join us over at the #ontario channel on Discord to stay connected between events!

Oct 9, 2026: OH-IUG Regional Conference

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 08:53 -0400

Save the Date: OH-IUG Regional Event

Join us for the OH-IUG Regional Event, taking place at the beautiful Columbus Metropolitan Library Main Branch on Friday, October 9th, 2026.

Stay tuned! A full agenda and specific event times will be announced soon.

Oct 15, 2026: BC-IUG Regional

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 10:59 -0400

Hello British Columbia IUG Members!

We're excited to share that our 2026 BC-IUG regional meeting date is officially locked in! Thursday, October 15 came through as one of the strongest fits for the group in the questionnaire.

Thursday, October 15, 2026 (10:00 AM to 4:00 PM)

North Vancouver District Public Library - Lynn Valley Branch (Located in the Learning Lab)
1277 Lynn Valley Road
North Vancouver, BC V7J 0A2

Getting there: The Lynn Valley Branch is easily accessible by public transit and has ample on-site parking.

NVDPL has kindly offered to give attendees a tour of their main branch and their StoryLab (a maker-space featuring 3D printers, an audio booth, and a recording studio with green screen). A fantastic way to wrap up the day!

Clarivate will be joining us to share product updates, present a brief roadmap, answer questions, and support this continued regional collaboration. We'll also set aside time to talk through plans for future BC-IUG meetups (how often we should gather, which topics matter most, and how to keep the momentum going across Western Canada).

Based on what's already come in from the questionnaire, the agenda is starting to take shape around topics like:
* Sierra (by far the most requested topic!) covering best practices, PostgreSQL patches and upgrades, Red Hat/Oracle Linux migration, and quick tips
* Polaris workflows and best practices
* Vega LX Starter (deployment, management, and troubleshooting)
* Vega Mobile
* The broader Vega suite (Analyze, Discover, Interact, Program, Promote)
* Cataloging and technical services workflows
* Weeding, acquisitions, and maintenance workflows
* Serving communities outside the library walls (what services are you offering, are you circulating materials to these groups?)

A few specific concerns have also come in that we'll be bringing to the Clarivate team ahead of the day, including questions around the timeline for AI integrations in Sierra discovery and workflow, end-of-life and end-of-support planning for Sierra, the true cost of cloud migration, the Year 2038 problem as it relates to Sierra, and account management support around in-place Red Hat license upgrades.

CALLING FOR PRESENTERS! If you have a workflow, project, migration story, or lesson learned that you'd like to share with the group (short or long, formal or informal, five minutes or thirty), we'd love to hear about it. User-led sessions are the heart of these regionals, and we've got room on the agenda. Just let us know when you register.

Please take a moment to register so we know to expect you. The form is quick, and it's where you can note any dietary restrictions (Clarivate is providing refreshments and lunch), add questions for the Clarivate team, or share a topic or presentation idea.

Already submitted something in the earlier questionnaire? It's locked in, so this is just about confirming your spot and adding anything new. We'll reach out closer to the event about dietary restrictions so we can plan the food accordingly.

We're excited to bring the BC community together in North Vancouver!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Derek Brown (IUG Steering Committee) at Derek.Brown@rhpl.org. And join us over at the #bciug channel on Discord to stay connected between events!

Oct 20, 2026: St Louis Metro / Southern Illinois Regional

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 11:01 -0400

Hello St. Louis Metro and Southern Illinois IUG Members!

We're excited to share that a new St. Louis Metro / Southern Illinois Innovative Users Group regional is officially getting started, and we'd love for you to be part of it!

We have a date and a place! Our first regional meeting will be held:

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

St. Louis Public Library - Central Library

1301 Olive St

St. Louis, MO 63103

Clarivate will be joining us to share product updates, present a brief roadmap, answer questions, and support this new effort in regional collaboration. We'll also set aside time to talk through plans for future meetups (how often we should gather, which topics matter most, and how to keep the momentum going).

Based on what's already come in, the agenda is starting to take shape around topics like:

• Polaris reporting and data (series gap reports, circulation and notice reports, collection age, and more)
• Polaris development and roadmap (the Serials module, custom development requests)
• Integrations and ordering (EDI for EBSCO and other vendors, EDI ordering through Ingram on LEAP, ILL to OCLC)
• Vega Discover (the rollup display of common titles and cataloging)
• Record cleanup and LEAP workflow tips
• Peer swaps (training show-and-tell, technology support programs, data tracking, and how other libraries handle hosting)

One member has also offered to share a short update on Illinois HB5236 (the Digital Library Protection Act around e-book pricing equity).

Please take a moment to register so we know to expect you. The form is quick, and it's where you can note any dietary restrictions (Clarivate is providing refreshments and lunch), add questions for the Clarivate team, or share a topic or presentation idea. Already submitted something in the earlier questionnaire? It's locked in, so this is just about confirming your spot and adding anything new.

We'll reach out closer to the event about dietary restrictions so we can plan the food accordingly.

We're excited to get this group off the ground!