Sierra Password Training 02.08.2023
Table of Contents
- 1 Password Training 02.08.2023
- 1.1 Training Recording
- 1.2 Q & A Section
- 1.2.1 Sierra
- 1.2.2 Pika Masquerade Mode
- 1.2.3 OverDrive
- 1.2.4 Prospector
- 1.2.5 Other Vendors
Password Training 02.08.2023
Training Recording
Q & A Section
Sierra
Q: What happens if you miss the step of entering 0 or deleting the reset field?
A: the number 0 or a missing password reset field is "Active" for the trigger setting. If you leave the date the patron will not be prompted to reset it in Pika.
Q: So we are changing it to that same base password every time?
A: Marmot advises that each library choose what they want to do for the base password. If you want temporary passwords to be "PleaseChange" every time that would be acceptable with the caveat that the patron actually changes it. This would be for a new patron record.
Q: Why does the password in the PIN field look longer than the password that was typed into the field?
A: The encryption of the field makes it look longer than it really is. It will put stars for the entire field even if you set a password that is 7 characters long.
Q: What should be in the Reset Password field if the patron has typed their own password into the field in Sierra and does not need to reset it in Pika?
A: The Reset Password field could have any message in that field that would make the password reset inactive. You could put in the message, “library staff helped the patron reset their password …” to make sure they are not prompted to reset their password in Pika.
Q: When/why would you use the forced reset after the initial password reset?
A: If the patron account has changed their default password in Pika they should be fine. If the patron leaves the default password in place, Marmot is going to randomize a password for them.
Q: So if a patron has not changed from the default password they will be forced to when randomization occurs? I can see some elderly patrons wanting to stick with the default.
A: Patrons will have a grace period from March 28 - July 31 to reset their default password. Once libraries close on the evening of July 31, Marmot staff will update any remaining default passwords with randomly generated passwords, effectively locking the patrons' accounts. Patrons will have to contact the library at that point for assistance resetting the password. If the elderly patron wants to have you set their password back to the default that is up to you. Marmot does not suggest using the default password because at that point the password has been publicized and would be easy for the hacker or anyone with knowledge of the patron to hack their account.
Q: When will the randomization of unchanged Sierra passwords occur?
A: The randomization will occur three months after the initial passwords have been implemented. The exact date in the timeline is July 31, 2023. Marmot will not go back and randomize passwords after the first randomization. Marmot is only doing the randomization once.
Q: Our Sierra accounts are last name, First name... did you say if they only have a 2 letter last name, they would get an error on their temp password? I thought you had said in the past, it would just skip the space and comma and pull the first letter of their first name.
A: Marmot decided to switch the algorithm so that it actually skipped the space. If the patron’s first name and last name combined are less than 3 characters those are going to be the ones that will be in the error report. If the patron’s last name and first name combined are greater than the character limit, those patrons will not have any issues with the part of the default password in the patron name field. It will read the patron name field from left to right and ignores spaces and ignores commas.
Q: To clarify, will the temp password be all lowercase and the updated password is case-sensitive?
A: The temporary password for the name field is all lowercase. The updated password is case-sensitive. We suggest a password that is alphanumeric with at least 6 characters or more. You can use spaces in the password.
Pika Masquerade Mode
Q: To clarify, the patron must have logged into their account at least once, but does not have to be logged into their account during the time that masquerade mode is in use?
A: Correct. The patron does not have to be logged in while you are masquerading as them.
Q: Where/how do you add Masquerade Mode to an account?
A: Marmot will enable masquerade mode for known staff ptypes as provided by your directors and Pika admin. When that is enabled, once you log in with that ptype that has those permissions then you will see that masquerade mode functionality in the account section.
Q: If the masquerade mode requires a patron to log in to PIKA at least once, is there a recommended course of action to help patrons place holds that never use PIKA?
A: Marmot is going to essentially log everyone in once. Logging in is a little different in Pika outside of setting a password. Marmot is going to make it so that patrons are logged in, meaning that Marmot has stored the patron barcode in a table that Pika uses to look up masquerade mode. Library staff should not need to worry about it in the sense that you have to log in as the patron, or that they need to log in ahead of you being able to masquerade as them. Marmot is doing a manual update of the Pika database once we have a set of passwords so that is not an issue for the patrons for masquerade mode. Marmot will send the libraries a list of any patrons who were not able to access their records, so library staff will have to log into those accounts manually.
OverDrive
Q: Will the password in Sierra remove any current holds that they have in Libby?
A: The Libby/OverDrive account will not be impacted by passwords other than for authentication verification. All holds and history will still be attached to the patron’s account.
Q: What happens in Libby/OverDrive if our libraries are part of a different consortium?
A: Nothing will change if your library uses a different shared OverDrive collection. Your patrons will continue to login in the same way.
Q: Will patrons only need to do that authentication in Libby one time?
A: Correct, patrons will only need to authenticate in Libby one time, unless they log out or change their password.
Prospector
Q: Will the welcome page have a prompt to let patrons know what their password might be? Aka first 3 of the last name and the last 4 of a phone number?
A: The Prospector welcome page will not have that information. Marmot plans to add banners in Pika to help your patrons to know the configuration for the default password.
Q: When can we expect to receive the Prospector override code?
A: Marmot is working on getting those codes out to each library using third-party software that will send the codes securely with access that will expire after a certain amount of time. Please open up a service request if you want your code now.
Q: So the Prospector override code will be required every time we or the patrons log into Prospector?
A: No. The override code is only required if you want to place holds on behalf of your patrons without knowing their Sierra password.
Other Vendors
Q: What is going to happen with Hoopla & Kanopy?
A: Hoopla and Kanopy do not authenticate in the same way as OverDrive or Prospector. They take the patron record and verify it and have the patron create an account in their system. All they are really doing is verifying that the patron has a library card with your library. You can reach out to your Hoopla and Kanopy reps to see if they have the password authentication that can be turned on for your library. Your patrons are logging in to Hoopla and Kanopy’s databases and not the Sierra database.