Tired of sending emails that look like ransom notes to your patrons? Complete this form to get LX Starter, which modernizes your email communications and sends visually appealing notifications to your patrons.

What is LX Starter?  
LX Starter is a modern approach to circulation and account-related email communications. Designed to work in conjunction with both the Sierra and Polaris ILS, LX Starter’s communication suite provides library staff with an intuitive, web-based interface that empowers them to design and send automated circulation notices.  

LX Starter’s visual email editor grants libraries the ability to add custom branding, free stock photography, and automated cover art for items in the collection directly to circulation email notices. Libraries can schedule messages and track engagement metrics to view the number of emails delivered, opened, and clicked on.

What to Expect  
We will use this information to begin contacting eligible library systems with more information regarding the LX Starter onboarding process. Please include your library system's main point of contact. This person will serve as our main contact with you throughout the LX Starter implementation process.

Libraries need to be running Polaris 7.3 or higher, or Sierra 5.6 or higher to use LX Starter. However, we recommend the current versions of Polaris 7.4 and Sierra 6.0 for optimal experiences. If your library has not yet upgraded to these versions, you will still need to follow your ILS’s standard process to schedule your upgrade. Once you have upgraded the ILS, your LX Starter implementation will continue. 

Common questions  

- Do we need to purchase a Vega Library Experience module to receive the LX Starter Package? No. LX Starter will be available for all Sierra and Polaris libraries at no additional cost as part of your subscription and maintenance package.
- Do we need to purchase Syndetics Unbound to use LX Starter? No. Syndetics Unbound cover art will be included for any library using LX Starter.
- What is required to run LX Starter? Libraries must be running Polaris 7.3 or higher, or Sierra 5.6 or higher. Additional considerations, such as consortia status or sharing your ILS with another single-institution library, impacts library eligibility at this time.
- Can libraries customize the notices for their library? Yes, libraries can choose the Sender Name and From Email Address for their notices. In addition, they can add their logo, branded colors, and custom images. Libraries can also personalize their notices by using merge tags to include the first name of the patron and other patron account details.
- Who is eligible for LX Starter Now? All single institution libraries (non-consortia) worldwide, that are on Sierra 5.6 or higher, or Polaris 7.3 or higher, are currently eligible for LX Starter.
- Does LX Starter support multi-language notices? Yes, LX Starter supports multi-language notifications and emails.
- When will LX Starter gain support for consortia libraries? While we currently are implementing for non-consortia and single-institution libraries worldwide, we plan to make LX Starter available to consortia libraries in the near future. Given the complexities of consortia and shared systems, we have been carefully building support for those libraries. We will reach out once those libraries are ready to get started. In the meantime, please check our product roadmap to stay in the loop on this progress: https://portal.productboard.com/iii/15-vega-product-portal/tabs/68-lx-starter
- Is LX Starter available for non-US/international libraries? Yes, LX Starter is now being implemented internationally for all single-institution libraries.
- Can you continue to send some notice types from the ILS and some of your notice types send through LX Starter? Yes, the initial release of LX Starter will include the most used notices but not all notices from the ILS. Libraries will have the ability to edit notices in LX Starter, and still manage all the remaining notices in the ILS as they already do. Additional supported notice types will be added to LX Starter in future updates.