Leap has made great strides when it comes to cataloging and acquisitions, and it's been a while since we last checked in on how libraries are working within Leap to deal with their collections. So join us and bring your questions, knowledge, workflows, and solutions! more info...
MARC, RDA, Z39.50, NCIP and more. The world of cataloging can be a little confusing. But it doesn't have to be, and you can get by with a little help from your friends! Join us for a lively discussion of all the workflows, solutions, and ideas to solve those questions and conundrums you've run into while cataloging in Sierra! more info...
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).
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!
The Rocky Mountain Innovative Users Group (RMIUG) is back for 2026! Join us on Thursday, October 8 at The Space by Arapahoe Libraries in Englewood, CO for a full day of learning, idea sharing, and connecting with fellow Innovative users from across the region.
RMIUG has always been a great place to learn from one another, whether you're deep in a cool project, you finally solved that tricky Sierra problem, or you built a report or integration your colleagues would love to steal. Sierra and Polaris users are both welcome!
ð Registration is open now (register here). Registration and communications are being handled by the RMIUG organizers.
ð¤ Call for Program Proposals is coming later this week. If you've ever thought about presenting at a future IUG Conference, consider RMIUG your chance to test-drive the idea in front of a friendly audience, gather feedback, and build some confidence. A lot of great IUG sessions started life as regional conversations!
ð New this year: with the generous support of Clarivate, a limited run of commemorative RMIUG t-shirts will be available to in-person registered attendees (first-registered, first-served, while quantities last). Size selection is on the registration form.
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.
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!
The annual IUG Conference isn't just any conference... it's your conference! Come get a peek behind the scenes for Boston 2027 and let us know what you'd like to hear about at the conference! more info...
We're excited to share that our 2026 SeMI-IUG regional meeting is officially on the calendar!
Friday, October 16, 2026 (10:00 AM to 2:30 PM)
Baldwin Public Library
300 W. Merrill Street
Birmingham, MI 48009
Getting there and parking: a quick heads up that the nearby parking garage is only free for the first 2 hours, so plan on paying for the remainder of the day. We'd rather set expectations honestly up front than have folks surprised that morning! Carpooling with colleagues is very much encouraged, and we'll share full parking details and recommendations closer to the date.
Clarivate (III) will be joining us in the morning to present a brief product roadmap, walk through updates, and take your questions and concerns. We're also excited that Clarivate's newest Vega product owner is local to us here in Michigan and hoping to join in person, along with our local account rep and a customer implementer! After lunch we'll open the floor to the group for discussion, which is where these regionals really earn their keep.
The agenda is still taking shape, and we're building it from what you tell us. Based on the questionnaire responses so far, there's strong interest in Vega Discover, Polaris, Vega LX Starter, and Sierra, but cataloging and technical services workflows, migrations, integrations, staff training, bookable items (Library of Things!), and that one thing that's been quietly driving you up a wall since March are all fair game. And with the Michigan Library Association conference coming up just a couple of weeks later, this is a great low-stakes place to preview or practice an MLA presentation in front of a friendly crowd! Let us know what's on your mind when you register.
CALLING FOR PRESENTERS! If you have a workflow, project, migration story, or lesson learned 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. As a kickstart, Derek is happy to present his upcoming MLA talk, "AI as a Tool: Local Models & Real Library Workflows" (a look at running localized AI models against real library workflows). Consider this your invitation to bring yours too!
We're looking forward to bringing the Southeast Michigan community together in Birmingham!
Questions? Contact Derek Brown (IUG Steering Committee) at Derek.Brown@rhpl.org. And join us on Discord to stay connected between events!
Getting there and parking: Mid-Hudson has a free on-site lot, but it's a small one (roughly 35 spaces, and some of those go to staff). They own the lot, so once the lines are full they can tuck a few more cars in, but we'd rather set expectations honestly up front than have folks circling at 9:55. There's a public lot about a 2-3 block walk away (roughly a third of a mile) that makes a solid backup. Carpooling with colleagues is very much encouraged!
Staying overnight? Mid-Hudson has a rate arrangement with the Inn at Bellefield in nearby Hyde Park, which is directly across the street from the Culinary Institute of America (so, you know, dinner is handled).
Clarivate will be joining us in the morning to share product updates, walk through the roadmap, and take your questions. After lunch we'll open the floor to the group for discussion, which is where these regionals really earn their keep. We'll also carve out time to talk about the future of Northeastern IUG (how often we should gather, where we should meet, and what would make these days most useful to you).
Lunch will be provided (thank you, Clarivate!). We'll be gathering dietary restrictions through the registration form.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT? This year's agenda is still taking shape, and we're building it from what you tell us. Sierra, Polaris, the Vega suite, cataloging and technical services workflows, migrations, integrations, staffing, that one thing that's been quietly driving you up a wall since March: it's all fair game. Let us know when you register.
CALLING FOR PRESENTERS! If you have a workflow, project, migration story, or lesson learned 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.
And while we have your attention: IUG 2027 is heading to Boston, which is about as convenient as the annual conference is ever going to get for this crowd. Consider this your early nudge to start the budget conversation now :)
We're looking forward to bringing the Northeastern community together in Poughkeepsie!
Questions? Contact Jeremy Goldstein (Minuteman Library Network) at jgoldstein@minlib.net. And join us on Discord in the #iug_east to stay connected between events!
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:
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.