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.
Items Going to and Coming from other Libraries
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.
Germ warfare
This Wednesday’s hint is about taking care of yourself amid all of those patrons who are coughing and sniffling and telling you about how sick they are.
If a patron takes a card out of his mouth, or the baby’s mouth, and hands it to you, it is OK to ask him to lay it down on the counter, barcode up. If they are insulted, smile and say that you’re just trying to stay healthy.
It’s OK to point out to a mother that her child is licking the countertop. After that, it’s out of your hands.☺
There are antiseptic wipes on the back counter close to the cash register. Use them every now and then to wipe down your checkout area, your keyboard, the phone, etc.
There is a dispenser of antiseptic gel next to the lost and found area. Put some of that on your hands periodically while out on desk. And then wash your hands when you get off desk.
Take the time to do these things. You’re worth it.
What is Recall? At times it is necessary for library staff to place holds on items, rather than titles, in order to replace parts or sort out mixed up pieces, not often but it does happen. When you place an item hold, Millennium may ask you if you wish to RECALL the item. The answer to this question should always be no. The RECALL function in Millennium was meant for academic libraries that may need to retrieve items for professors or staff working on projects. In our system nobody should get preference over the next person, so the recall is not needed and, because it is not part of out normal procedures, using it creates confusion in other system libraries that have no idea what the intentions were. While we are talking about equal access for all patrons and staff, it should also be mentioned that we should never be altering the hold queue for items except in very limited circumstances. The main circumstance would be if you need to get the item back in order to make it usable to the next patron.
When someone tells you they are someone's guardian, that is enough. We do not need to see documentation. We believe them.
Please be sure to get the guardian's name, address, and phone number, as well as the patron's.
Claims Returned This is OWLSnet policy: Libraries may only use Lost or Claims Returned for their own items. If a library marks materials not owned by that library as Lost or Claims Returned, they may be responsible for reimbursing the owning library for the cost of the item. If a patron claims to have returned an item owned by another library, the patron or library staff should contact the owning library. To make an APL item claims returned, use the patron’s list of checked out items, highlight the item, and click on Claims Returned. Then choose option number 3, which is to leave items checked out (send overdue notices) and change status to claims returned. (If you accidentally choose another option, leave a note for a supervisor so that it can be fixed.) You can make it Claims Returned if it isn’t due yet, if it’s overdue, or if it’s billed—this doesn’t matter. Tell the patron that this process puts the title on a list for us to check the shelves. Then ask them to keep checking at home and in their car as well. We can’t notify them if it is found, primarily because if someone else finds and checks it out, it automatically comes off the card without a charge. They can check if the item is still on their account by using My Account in InfoSoup on the internet or at the circ desk when they come in. It is best to use this process, because the title is put on a list for us to check, but if the patron wants to renew it, go ahead. Don’t do both a renewal and a claims returned. Renew it and leave a note for Janet (or Janet’s backup) to check the shelves. Or check the shelves yourself – be sure to check its normal collection, a related collection, in sorting, in our collection of things with missing parts, and on the damaged shelf. Janet will put a note in the record after she checks the shelves. If you notice one of these notes, and then find that the item is no longer checked out on the card, please remove the note. If there is a note, the item is still not found, and the patron wants us to check again, repeat the claims returned process on the same item. That will put it back on Janet’s list so that she can check for it again. Janet does go back and check through her lists of these titles, mostly to remove the notes if they are no longer relevant, but repeating the process will make her look for it again sooner. If you are the one to find a claims returned on the shelf, check it in. Then make sure to waive the fines.
Millennium Shortcuts
F1 Circulation, checkout
F2 Checkin
F3 Search/Holds
F5 Last patron (must have accessed more than five patrons before this works)
F6 Circulation desk, checked out items
F7 Circulation desk, holds
Shift-F8 Circulation desk, fines
F9 Circulation desk, checkin
Fines paid doesn’t display current payment: wait a few seconds, then click on Fines paid again
Locked record: must exit record, then F5 for last patron
Patron account messages and notes
Whenever there is a message or a note in a patron’s account, read it to yourself. Do not read it aloud to the patron. The messages and notes are meant just for you.
1. If the message is about a Claims Returned, check to see if the item is still on the patron’s card. If not, delete the message. If so, speak to the patron about it.
2. If the message pertains to a missing-parts-or-pieces issue, check to see if the item is still on the account. If not, delete the message. If so, get the case and explain things.
3. If the message tells you that the card is in the lost-card box, ask to see ID and then give back the card. Then delete the message and remove the Manual stop.
4. If the message pertains to anything involving Reference, please ask them to speak with someone in reference.
5. If the message tells you to get a supervisor, get one.
Messages are for staff to communicate things to other staff. They either require some action or should be deleted. Notes, on the other hand, are meant to stay on the record for future reference.
6. If you add a note or message to a patron’s account, please make sure that it makes sense to anyone at any library. Do not use abbreviations. Always end them with your initials, the date, and APL.
Kathy Mitchell of CPL gave us this hint at the last AAC meeting.
When you check an item in or out that has a short loan message, Millennium gives you three options: yes, no, or Print this message.
We should always print the message. Put these messages up in the basket on Melody’s cart containing holds that need hold aliases. She will change the message fields in those records to No Message.
After printing the message, do what the message tells you: add a short loan sticker or take one off. Then select Yes to check it in or check it out and proceed as usual. Put the item wherever it should go next, not in a basket. This will make these items much easier to find!
If you find time to change the message yourself or find yourself helping out Melody, Gerri Moeller has done a screencast tutorial on how this is done. It can be found at http://www.owlsnet.info/circ/.
The screencast is passworded; the login and password are the same as for any OWLSnet passworded site. If you don’t know this, click on the little gold lock at the end of that line, login with your library card number, and you will get the login and password.
Switching DVD cases
When checking out, whenever you see a DVD case that is no longer holding the disc(s) firmly or has chew marks, etc., please switch it out with a new case. The sleeves are easy to remove and put into a new case.
There are extra DVD cases just to the left of the leftmost checkout station. Most are single-disc cases, but there are some doubles, too. If you can’t find them, please ask.
If we continue to keep disc in a case that doesn’t hold it firmly, it will move around in the case and get scratched.
Switch out cases from other libraries, too, if their sleeves remove as easily as ours do. (If this doesn’t seem possible, tape a note inside the case that you checked it out in that condition, and the page clerks will route it back to the owning library with a yellow routing slip noting the condition of the case before our patron got it.)
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