Guidelines & Procedures

Each year, member library boards are required to fill out the Public Library Survey and Annual Report as part of the annual grant application process for provincial funding. If you require assistance with your library's Annual Report, Library Services Consultants are happy to help but the process is fairly straightforward. An email will also be sent to library staff at the beginning of each year, to provide required reports and providing additional information on completing the annual report. 

Here is what you'll need:

1.  PLSB's Annual Report Reference Key (PDF) gives you details as to what each field means and what you should report. 
2. PLSB's Guide to LibPAS (PDF) provides instructions on using LibPAS to enter the information.
3. Previous year statistics (found in the Common Drive in the Statistics folder): Marigold supplies some of these statistics for you. You will have recorded the rest throughout the year.
4. Annual Report - Custom report: Each library can print the statistics for circulation, cardholders and library holdings in Polaris using Custom Reports – Annual Report - Updated November 2022. Select year 2022 from the dropdown menu. This contains all the information you'll need to answer circulation related fields. Want the details behind what is counted? See the Annual Report - Custom report breakdown. Marigold has generated the report for each library and has saved them to the Common Drive under Statistics > 2022 Statistics > Annual Reports 2022.

Here are some answers to common questions about what to report:

• Circulation > Direct Circulations > Virtual: Marigold will provide the statistics for Flipster, hoopla, and OverDrive.  You will need to add up the figures for this section.
• Electronic Performance Measures > Public Wi-Fi Sessions > Number of Wi-Fi sessions: Report the figure for your library from the Aruba Wireless Report that is emailed to you monthly by Marigold.  
• Information Services & Use > Library Use > Virtual visits: Please use information that was shared by Kim Visser regarding website visits for your library in Annual Report email.
• Information Services & Use > Library Use > In person visits: Conduct a manual weekly count of items that are used, but not checked out in your library, and multiply the number by 50.

Questions? Contact your Library Services Consultant.

These guidelines facilitate the processing of conversion materials sent to Marigold HQ and expedite the return of items to your library. Please note the criteria for acceptable and unacceptable items.

These documents provide consistency and meet the needs of all TRAC member libraries. Please contact your Library Services Consultant with questions.

Procedure for Lost Materials (Marigold)

Lost Items Invoice Letter (TRAC/Marigold)

Lost Items Spreadsheet (TRAC/Marigold)

Claimed to Lost Procedure

ME Libraries allows patrons from any participating Alberta public library join other libraries across Alberta and borrow materials using ONE library card.

ME Libraries Staff Guide

This procedure details how to add notes (public, non-public, physical condition, and free-text) to an item record.

There are several tasks available to run through the Utilities menu of Polaris deemed to be required, recommended, or useful to Marigold member libraries.

Polaris Tasks

If patrons are unable to locate desired materials through TRAC, they can search for and place holds on library materials at any participating Alberta Public or Academic Library using the Relais Interlibrary Loan service.

Relais D2D (public-facing) 

Relais (staff site)

*Relais Procedures Manual available in your Marigold Manual binder or the Common Drive.

Refer to this document when replacing a patron's TRAC library card (does not apply to new patrons).

SimplyReports is a program which gathers data from Polaris allowing library staff to create custom reports on patrons, holds, and items. SimplyReports provides more in-depth reporting options than are available through the reports section in desktop Polaris.

SimplyReports Quickstart Guide

Items that have been in-transit or transferred for over two months can be manually converted to missing.

Switching In-Transit and Transferred Materials to Missing (TRAC)

This document is reviewed annually by the TRAC Advisory Council and the TRAC Directors. It contains guidelines for:

• resource sharing
• damaged and lost materials payments
• missing and in-transit items
• contacting patrons

Questions about the TRAC Operational Guidelines? Contact your Library Services Consultant.

Volume control provides patrons and staff the option to place hold requests on a single issue of a magazine, single volume of a multipart book, or single disc of a multipart audiovisual item.