software

[emilyanna07]

I will be interviewing for a cataloging position next week for public library. On the information sheet, it wanted candidates to be familiar with the program Innovative Millenium. The library I work at uses Polaris, and the academic library I am at for my internship uses Sirsi. There are some tutorials available online, but it's one thing to

Comments

[basket_star]

We use millennium! (but I don't do cataloguing)

Isn't one database pretty much like another once you've learnt to use it? It seems very specific of them to want the candidates to be familiar with millennium in particular.. would it probably be enough for a potential employee to have used ANY database programme and be confident in their ability to transfer the skills? I've not used any other programme, so I'm afraid I probably can't offer much in the way of useful comparison..

[emilyanna07]

Well, you can take what I say with a grain of salt, because I've done primarily cataloging on Sirsi (with a little adding/linking), and mostly circulation on Polaris (except linking/adding, but that's nowhere near as complicated as cataloging!), but I can see that there are some major differences between the two. For the adding materials aspect, I prefer Polaris by a LONG shot. It's a lot more straightforward and there are shortcuts that are pretty easy to remember. The interface is also easier to use, mostly because the icons are on top and drop down. But my experience with both software programs has been focused on one aspect, and I have over five years of experience with Polaris, compared to a few months with Sirsi.

[frenchroast]

I think in this case, you want to focus not so much on learning Millenium on your own, but rather that you (hopefully) quickly learned Polaris and Sirsi, and can apply the knowledge you already have and adapt quickly to a new system. Emphasize your willingness to learn, and also any other cataloguing-related skills you have. If you need training on only one thing but are solid on the other needed skills, that's going to be a good thing; they're probably not really expecting everyone to know everything, but someone who knows most of what's needed and just some training is going to be in a decent spot.

I wish I knew something about Millenium so I could be more helpful, but my library uses Voyager.

[ivonava]

This. I've worked and (and for) a number of library software products. They all do the same things, just in different ways. Emphasise your ability to learn quickly, and actually understand the product and you should be fine.

[cerisu]

I've done some light cataloging (i.e. copy cataloging/ updates) on both SirsiDynix's Horizon and Millennium, and I don't find the process significantly altered. Yes, the interface looks different (Horizon is more attractive, imho) and the keyboard shortcuts aren't the same, but MARC is MARC. My original experience was with Horizon, but I picked up Millennium (circ and cataloging) in less than a week. I think the more experience you have with various library software, the easier the transition gets. You may always have a favorite, though :)

[tesslibtech]

I used Millenium for cataloguing during my practicum in the spring...It was the first time I'd used the program and it was pretty easy to pick up. My supervisor gave me a quick tutorial and left me to it. At work, when I catalogue, I use Evergreen and in school we also used Library World. While there are always differences between the various ILSs, at the core, they're all the same and if you have experience with Polaris and Sirsi, I can't imagine you'd have a problem picking up Millenium...As others have said, your experience with various ILSs should be more than enough for any search committee.