Wednesday Hint 3/25/09

How much does it cost?

If a patron has lost an item or knows it is damaged, they may ask you how much it costs.

If the item has not yet billed, please do not disclose a cost. Inform the patron that our billing clerk will determine the current replacement cost; all prices need to be verified.

If the item has been billed, it will be listed under Fines as REPLACEMENT or LOST. You can give them that billed amount. (If they didn’t receive a bill, you may want to check their address and email address.)

If the item has been billed, another option, if the item is owned by APL, is for the patron to purchase an exact, new replacement. Provide the patron with a standard book or music number to facilitate this. (It is important, in this case as well, to wait until the item has billed to provide the patron with an idea of how much a new replacement will cost. A standard book number may not tell you if a book was hardcover or paperback or trade paperback, but the cost will be very revealing.)

If the item is owned by another library, offer to call the owning library to see if replacing the item is an option. We will get back to the patron with the owning library’s reply.

Wednesday Hint 3/18/09

Claim Returned Again

You should know that we no longer search the shelves for items before we bill them.

If a patron gets an overdue notice, by mail or email, that is their chance to let us know that they believe they returned an item. We’ll look for that item that has been claim returned, and we’ll look for it again before it bills.

And remember you can make any APL item claim returned. It doesn’t matter if it is not due yet, if it is overdue, if it is billed, if the patron claims to never have checked it out, if it was checked out at another library, or if it is already set to claim returned. Making it claim returned puts it on a list for us to check the shelves for it. And we’ll check them again and again, each time you make it claim returned.

Please do not make items owned by other libraries claim returned.

Use it whenever there is a question about something being returned or when the patron claims to never have initially checked it out. We don’t even care if it was checked out at another library.

It is important to remember to select the item, choose Claim Returned, and then choose the THIRD OPTION. That keeps the item in the overdue and billing notice cycle, and it doesn’t affect anything to do it or do it over again. But it does force us to look for it, and that is what we want.

You can renew it, before setting it to claim returned. But don’t override the maximum number of renewals.

(If you realize that you chose the wrong option, please tell a supervisor so that we can correct it.)

Wednesday Hint 2/18/09

Here's a Wednesday circ desk hint!

If you make an exception for a patron -- doesn't matter if it's about fines, picking up holds, whatever -- make a note in their account that you did so. Remember to include your initials, APL, and the date.

And, yes, you have the power to make exceptions, especially in these hard economic times for patrons telling you about being down on their luck, being in the hospital, etc. Just a few rules apply:

• Fines are negotiable; bills are not.
• Billed items paid for through the city (TRIP -- tax refund interrupt process) are nonrefundable.
• Promising to waive fines if other billed items are brought back . . . . priceless.
  

Wednesday Hint 1/28/09

Hint suggested by Joann Jacobson. Thanks, Joann!

When you check in an item that is not on file, you put it in Pat B's area so that she can add it to a database of not on file items. The reason we do this is that later on the patron will come in and argue with us about having returned that item. And we can't tell if he did or not, because it was not on file and didn't check in off his card. So, we rely on Pat's database.

So, here's the hint: if there is anything in the item, leave it there.

The mail and old checkout slips that are left in the item might have clues for Pat B to track down who the patron was so that she can get the item off his card.

Wednesday Hint 12/17/08

Double date-due slips

Sometimes we give a patron two or more date-due slips after they check out.

We’ll do this any time they ask, of course, but we should offer this to our Walking Books volunteers, someone using an institution card, or anyone who mentions they are checking things out for someone else.

Instead of pressing F12 to close and print a slip, press F11 twice or as many times as the number of slips you want to print.

Wednesday Hint 12/10/08

The hint for today is a suggestion for what to do when a patron is asking for his hold.

Tell him that you will go get it, and that he should remain at the desk and keep on eye on where you get the hold.

When you return, tell him that patrons pick up their own holds, his holds will be in the same vicinity as you found it now, and then show him the hold receipt when you explain the code we use for shelving them.

1. It's nice to give them an idea of where they should go to find their holds.
2. It's better if they stay at the desk so that they don't lose their place in line.
3. It's good to explain the code with the slip in front of them, because otherwise that explanation gets past their attention span.

Wednesday Morning Hint 12/3/08

Items Going to and Coming from other Libraries

Please be sure to check things thoroughly, if they are going to other libraries to go back home or fill a hold. Normally, we simply check to make sure an item has all the right parts, when we check it in or out. But if the item is going to another library for any reason, make sure it has all the right parts and make sure that none of the parts is damaged.

Also, please check items thoroughly when they are coming from other libraries to come back home. If an APL item is coming back here and is not filling a hold, and it is missing parts or clearly damaged, please DO NOT check it in. And please DO NOT put it in Brian’s problem basket. Put a yellow routing slip on it, and put it back on Sally’s shelves to go back to the library that sent it here. [You can tell who sent it here by using the Search/Holds screen to search by barcode, scanning the item, and reading the Message field that begins with “intransit from “.] Write a quick note on the yellow slip to explain why you’re routing it back. If you’re really busy, batch this task with other tasks that need a little extra time, i.e. setting things to repair status, etc.

If you accidentally checked the APL item in and then noticed it was missing parts or damaged, or if such an item is coming here to fill a hold, give it to Melody. Explain things to Melody. If she’s not around, leave her a note. She’s got a procedure to follow to get the item back to the library that sent it here and to re-open the hold for our patron.