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How-to guide: Tips and problem-solving |
| Owning Site: | Paging slips & Paging | Cancel | Institution checkout | Recall |
| Borrowing Site: | Checkin | Hold shelf | At the Circ Desk | |
| More | Who can use SB? | What can be requested? | Problem-solving and Misc. |
There's a lot in this document! You may also want to use "find" or Edit-Find, or see the Table of Contents to look for your topic.
| Definitions | Steps in processing a Summit borrowing request |
| Borrowing Site = Patron site | Process request: print paging slips, retrieve item |
| Owning Site = Item Site | Institution checkout: checkout at Owning Site, to Borrowing Site (Institution loan rule) |
| Summit Borrowing = INN-Reach = IR | Institution checkin: item received at Borrowing Site, from Owning Site |
| Patron checkout: Checkout to patron (Patron loan rule) | |
| Patron checkin: Checkin from patron | |
| Institution checkin: final checkin, at Owning Site, the item is received from Borrowing Site |
These tips are taken from consortium policies approved by the Alliance Council, or from Summit Borrowing Committee agreements and discussion. They are intended to provide general information only. Each Alliance institution may have more detailed policies and procedures. Staff should also check local manuals, talk with the Institution Rep. to SBC, and review additional Alliance documentation on the web for more in-depth information.
System messages
During the patron request process the system consults local and central tables and the patron record at the home institution to determine (a) whether the patron is eligible to request, and (b) whether there is an item available to request. If a request cannot be processed, the system message varies depending on the circumstances.
Options for printing paging slips ...
When printing paging slips, there are options to print
- all locations, or
- only certain locations, or
- from the terminal served table.
Some libraries centralize printing, others print at more than one location. Certain routines might be performed at one workstation only, or by one LOGIN only - allowing different people at different places to do it.
To print paging slips at various places (e.g. branch libraries) use the "terminal served" table. You can chain together groups of locations by specifying a _group_ of terminals or ports. Think about the impacts for checkin at other locations. If the option to print by "terminal" doesn't work for your procedures, consider setting up separate LOGINs.
Sorting . Tip: Remember that there are many sorting options available before printing to make the retrieval more efficient. One popular option is to sort by DUE DATE (to group together the items that you won't find in the stacks because they are checked out) and then by item LOCATION, item CALL NUMBER, then bib. CALL NUMBER (to place the slips in order of how you'll be pulling items from the stacks) (see section below on Items with Due Date)
Paging Slips file: nothing -- or not much -- in it
If you ever feel that the number of paging slips you have in the paging slip file is less than what you'd expect ... for more than one day ...
First, take into consideration holidays, term breaks at other institutions, etc.
Then, if you still think something is wrong, call III. Don't let the situation go on too long or you'll find a nasty surprise. It doesn't take too many days of being hung before you've got dozens and dozens of backlogged requests to fill!
For more information, see When the INN-Reach circ program is stuck.
Printing problem, and Paging Slips file is lost
Problem with printer, and didn’t notice it before clearing the file: So is the file really lost? If you catch the problem before clearing the file, the file is still there - just print it again. (It may already have more items in it.)
If the file has been cleared, Innovative Interfaces has no way to re-compile it. But the requests are not lost, just the file or list of new requests that is used to print the paging slips. There are a couple of ways to reconstruct the information for what was requested:
Items with Due Date: Since implementing "Smart holds" the system does not allow requests for items with a Due Date greater than 14 days. Best advice: set aside the paging slip and wait for the item to come back. Then it's available to check out to the requesting institution.
NOS : Not on Shelf
I can't find a book on the shelf for a Summit request. What should I do?
Follow local procedures to initiate a formal search for the item.
If your institution owns a another copy (attached to the same bibliographic record - must be another copy of the very same edition), transfer the Summit request via "Display and alter hold queue" to the other copy.
If you do not own another copy, follow local procedures to make the item unavailable until it is found or until it is withdrawn from the catalog (most sites change the status code to "m" for "missing"). Cancel the request using regular Circulation "Display and alter Hold Queue" menu. It will be processed as a Cancel with Re-Request: Summit will search for another copy of the item; if it finds one, it transfers the hold to that copy; if not, it sends the patron a "cancel hold" message.
I think the item shouldn’t be loaned because … it's popular, in demand, needed for reserve, etc.
I have a paging slip for a book from the general stacks, but I know this book is really popular and will be asked for lots by my patrons. I am reluctant to let it go out on Summit when I know demand here will be pretty big for it, and besides, I have a hunch that somebody is going to want this on reserve next week. What should I do?
The Alliance consortium policy states that we all will lend, at the minimum, all monographs from our generally circulating collections.
If the item is a generally circulating monograph that you'd check out to your own faculty, staff, or students, then you should lend it via Summit, regardless of how popular it is locally. Local patrons may place holds on it. Remember, other members will do the same for you. If you think the item could be requested for reserve but you have not yet received the request, you would still lend it to your own patrons, and therefore, you should also lend it via Summit.
In a few circumstances, the item requested can't be loaned for the Summit request, such as
needs to be mended
supposed to be in Reference
it's a rare book
on a list to go on Reserve
too fragile to send
not supposed to circulate outside the building
In all cases, you will need to deal with the situation and (a) supply another copy, or (b) cancel and transfer the request so Summit will look for another available copy.
1. Non-circulating item (doesn't circulate anywhere, or doesn't circulate off-campus for Summit Borrowing):
2. Damaged item:
(Note: If you would lend this item to a patron standing at the Circ Desk, you probably should lend it via Summit and repair it upon its return. If you would mend it beforeyou would circulate it to your own patron, then you may cancel the Summit request while you mend your copy.)
Cancel request and transfer to another copy (cancel with re-request)
The system expects that within 3 days you should have paged the book and checked it out to off-campus, or canceled the request. To cancel: remember to use the regular, local Circulation "Display and alter hold Queue" function, Cancel Hold which will Re-Request the item from another Alliance library. Unless you have direct confirmation from the patron that the item is no longer needed, do not use the INN-Reach method " DISPLAY and alter a hold queue--Cancel, no re-request"). See complete instructions for canceling a request.
We need our copy of a book back to place on Reserve - How do I get it back from a Summit patron?
Member library staff may manually recall the book (i.e. not using a system feature). Place a hold on the book for an in-house patron record named "Reserve" so that this patron record will be next in line for the item, and so that other holds or recalls will be second, third, etc., in the hold queue (re-sequence the hold queue so that "reserve" is first in line; when the item is placed on reserve, the rest of the patrons should receive some kind of "drop hold” notice explaining it's on reserve.
If the item is already due within 7 days, just wait for its return.
If the item is due 8 days or more in the future, the Owning Site should email or phone the Borrowing (patron's) site liaison, asking the liaison to contact the patron. If emailing, use as a subject line: Urgent-Reserve. Include: Title, Call no., Barcode, Patron record no., Due date. Recipient should reply and indicate they're working on it. Follow up by telephone if haven't had a reply within a day.
Patron's site liaison contacts the patron and informs him/her that the item is wanted for reserve at the owning library, and it's due within seven days, and recall fines of $2/day will accrue after that time.
It's an important courtesy to keep the item's site liaison informed of your progress in getting the item back for reserve.
(See the Alliance consortium policy on this topic)
We need our copy of a book for a V.I.P. at our institution. How do I get it back?
Items are not recalled for individual patron needs (See the Alliance consortium policy on this topic), so:
System message: Item has not been requested. On rare occasion, when trying to check out the item to off campus (another Alliance library), the system will indicate the item has not been requested. "III may have to clean up the item record." [L.Murdoch, III, 7-16-97]
Received damaged: loose pages, etc.
I just got a book from another library and pages are loose. What do I do?
Write a note on the bookband "Noted that (condition - such as loose pages, torn binding, stained cover, etc.) on receipt at [institution]. [date, staff name]"
Institution checkin: when I scan in the barcode, it says the item record is busy.
The most common way to deal with this problem is to just wait. Sometimes it takes awhile for the transaction to work its way through the system. It is rare that the patron record is actually “busy” and in need of freeing. (At the patron site, there is no "item record", just a "virtual record" - which is temporary item information attached to the patron record. Check your patron's record; getting that free should do the trick.)
No paging slip in the item
… the paging slip is lost so I can't even look in my patron's record. What now? … How can I find out who requested it?
In the case of the book without a paging slip,
Several possibilities:
Barcode not found in record (“pull the barcode”)
... I see the request is listed in the patron record. Now what? How can I get that barcode number added so that I can check out this item to my patron?
When you check in a book (received from the Owning Site) and there is a message that says the barcode was not found, go into the patron record and see if there is a virtual item record for the book. If there is, the Owning Site probably did not do the Institution Checkout before sending the item to you. This is when you pull the barcode through the system, from the Owning Site to Borrowing Site.
Use the menu option I > Insert off-campus barcode . Then key the line number of the item to be "pulled", and key in barcode number exactly as it appears on the item. (MilCirc: from patron record, select the title, click the right mouse button to select option to insert barcode.) Now you've pulled the item's barcode over from the owning library and it's added to the virtual item record (in the patron record); continue with normal procedures.
Can't see the Request ; nothing in Patron record to indicate the item was requested. Incomplete Request. System reports “no off-campus hold”
When checking in items borrowed (received) from other Alliance sites, after entering the barcode number of the item, the system responds "no off campus requests for the item." The item has a paging slip, but patron record has no information about the Request.
Possible reasons:
-The request was canceled at the Owning Site after the paging slip had been printed. For example, staff did not find the item, set the status to missing and canceled the hold. Then they find the item and send it to Borrowing Site with the paging slip in it. If Owning Site notices the lack of a hold, they can contact the Borrowing Site and ask if they’d like to re-request for their patron. If not, after receiving the item, the Borrowing Site can re-request for their patron and then pull the barcode through.
-Owning Site didn't checkout the item (using INN-Reach check out).
-The INN-Reach circ program will sometimes get stuck; from that moment on, new requests and updates are stuck in a file and not posted to the patron and item records. See When the INN-Reach circ program is stuck for information.
The Circ Liaisons at the Borrowing and Lending site can work together to fix this, preferably real-time on the telephone, e-mail as a second method. The Patron site will keep the item while the circ liaisons at both sites take steps to force the record to go through a checkin, to clear the evidence of the original Request, and then re-request and process it again.
1. Have the item and paging slip in hand.
2. Patron site: Check the patron record, make a note of the patron name and university identifier (barcode or SSN).
3. Item site: Check in the item as if it had been returned to Owning Site. Review item record at Owning Site and Summit to be sure the Request is removed from the item record and the status has returned to "-" for available.
4. Patron site: On behalf of the patron, submit the Request. To assure that Summit will request the correct item, do not Request via Summit; instead, use the local Circ module, and select the option to << Search SUMMIT central catalog (no auto selection).
5. Item site: Check out item to Patron site.
Record .i ####### does not exist
We believe this happens when part of the patron record information was lacking so the request couldn't be completed, in other words a "broken hold." Call III and ask them to fix it, as a service commitment call.
Checkin from Owning Site: try keying two b's before you wand in the barcode. Some sites’ barcodes require the single b before the barcode, but there are a few that require two characters: bb.
Checkout to the patron: another trick is to access the patron record in checkout, do "- +", and press the line number of the item in question. That automatically checks the item out to the patron without having to scan the barcode. (That's why you wouldn't want to use that trick when you're just trying to check it in from the Owning Site.)
Checkin from the patron: the bb trick might work.
During the Checkin, a different patron name from the paging slip name may appear on the screen. One possible cause: two requests from the same Borrowing Site for the same book, and Owning Site sent the wrong paging slip with the item. III may need to remove an old request that should have been cancelled (or checked in). [L.Murdoch, III, 7-16-97]
Problem: Item received at Borrowing or PUA site, and the Barcode visible on the item doesn't match the barcode in record (Summit Borrowing transaction).
Sometimes this happens with multi-part materials (multiple volume books, videotape sets, etc.) The label on the outside may say part 1, but the actual content (disk, tape, booklet) may be a different part.
To check out the item to the patron: Do NOT change the barcode in the virtual item record. Use the barcode already in the record from the Summit Borrowing transaction. In other words, use the system-supplied barcode to check out the item.
Add a note to bookband or label to check in item with that barcode#, and send note to Owning Site that there's a problem with the identification of the item, VOL field, and barcode.
The Bottom Line: don't change the barcode! Leave it to the Owning Site to straighten out the problem after the item has been all the way through the checkouts and checkins and returned to Owning Site.
Material may remain on the hold shelf up to 7 days (calendar days) for a regular loan, 2 days for a short loan.
Why aren't my Summit books appearing on my Clear the Hold Shelf report?
How am I supposed to know when they should be removed from my hold shelf?
The Clear Hold Shelf Report: Summit holds are not the same as local holds, and are not included in the local "Clear the Hold Shelf" report. (There are other differences between a Summit hold and a local hold: local holds use a status ! for "on hold shelf", and causes a message in the patron record to display "Items ready for pickup on the hold shelf"; Summit software is different.)
To find out what books have been sitting on the hold shelf for longer than 7 days run the INN-Reach Hold Shelf Report (Additional Circ Functions/INN-Reach functions/INN-Reach Hold shelf report). This report lists INN-Reach items that have been on the holdshelf too long according to the TIME TO PICKUP element of the loan rule. Once the titles have been identified that need to be returned, you'll need to clear the item from the hold shelf so that the status gets updated.
(The Received Too Long report will also show items on the Hold Shelf, but libraries’ experience indicates the report is “less exact” for clearing the hold shelf than the Hold Shelf report which lists items where the Hold Shelf time has expired.)
Clear Item from Hold Shelf - Return unwanted item
The patron must not want the book - it's been on the hold shelf more than 7 days. Do I just send it back now?
Sometimes the requesting patron does not pick up an item, and library staff return it to the Owning Site without item being checked out to the patron. Use the feature to "clear the hold shelf" so that the status of the item is updated up through the final checkin at the Owning Site.
See Return Unwanted, including Alliance instructions, and historical information such as III documentation, the March 2000 Survey on unclaimed requests, and 2006 statistics.
A patron wants to check out an item that already has an Summit request. What do I do?
Alliance consortium policy indicates that the patron with the item in hand has priority.
Institutions may:
Check your local procedures to see which your institution prefers.
Patrons: Patrons may request renewals online through their library record. During the few minutes it takes to check the entire system, they will see a "pending" message on their record. It is a good idea for them to look at their record later to confirm that the renewal was completed. Renewal requests will occasionally get "stuck." Call Innovative Interfaces Inc. to fix each occurrence.
Staff: In certain circumstances, staff can renew an item for a patron. Renewing for the patron is not possible for Pickup Anywhere (PUA), since staff at the PUA site has no access to either the Owning Site item record or Borrowing Site patron record.
Check for local hold. Consortium agreement: system is set to check for local holds before allowing renewal. Special case: INN-Reach checks for holds on the item that is checked out. It will not see a hold where the hold is placed on the bib. record ("title-level hold"). Some local sites are set to allow Title-level holds, and a local patron with a hold may have to wait for the Summit patron's renewal period.
Repeated checkout: Although it is technically possible to check out an item to a patron -- again -- after it has been checked in, this "fluke" in the way the system operates should not be used. It is not an approved method to achieve a renewal or extension of a loan period, and would undercut consortium agreements for length of loan period, renewals, etc.
The Due Date for the patron is not the same as the Due Date in Summit, the central catalog. Here’s why:
The item is checked out from the Owning Site on the Institution Loan Rule, which includes the loan period to the patron plus transit time to and from the borrowing or pickup and return site, and time on hold shelf. The item is checked out to the patron on the Patron Loan Rule (21 days regular, 3 days short). See chart describing Institution and Patron loan periods.
Typically, the due date for the patron is several days before the due date showing in the central catalog and at the Owning Site. It is possible, though not desirable, for the patron 21-day loan rule to assign a due date after the due date assigned at the time of Institution Checkout (at Owning Site), if the item was in transit for several days, and/or remained on the hold shelf for more than 7 days.
The Due Date will show up in three systems: Owning (item) site, using Institution loan rule; Summit central catalog: the Due date received from the Owning Site using the Institution Loan Rule; and Borrowing (patron) site, using Patron loan rule.
Can’t checkout item to patron. Looks like patron’s record expired after the item was requested.
The system will prevent a routine patron checkout when the patron’s record has expired. Message “patron record expired” will appear in Status bar at bottom of Millennium client. Right click on title, view record to see patron expiration date. Before overriding this feature, you may want to first confirm--from the patron’s home institution--that the patron should still be allowed to borrow materials.
What are all these dots in the patron record (under checkout, "-+") where the titles of the Summit requests are supposed to be? Why can't I see all the Summit requests my patron made?
Probable cause: the "virtual item records" -- temporary item field information from Summit -- were not protected when patron record was overlayed. Perhaps you just did a patron record upload and the virtual item field in your patron records were not "protected" by III. Local set-up needs to recognize the union circ data. If you suspect a problem like this, contact III and tell them:
(a) You are an INN-Reach site, (b) you want to be sure that III has protected the field in your patron records that hold the virtual item records ("4 field"), and (c) you want to double check that all the other fields that you usually want protected are still protected.
A patron is asking what happened to her request - she put in an Summit Request a while ago, and she wonders where her book is. What do I do?
In CHECKOUT, view the patron's record. Use " - + " and review the Summit portion. Look for the title in the list of items. Check the status. Here's how you can advise the patron when the status is:
1. it was on the Hold Shelf 7 days without patron coming in to check it out, so staff returned it to Owning Site
2. patron record indicates that it was checked out and already returned; maybe she's thinking of a different title?
Also, refer to the chart of circ transactions and resulting status codes.
If you cannot find the title in the patron's record, here are some possibilities:
Depending on the information you get from the patron's record, you may need to ask your circ liaison to contact the Owning Site to answer questions. If so, make a copy of the patron record for your liaison to use, and tell the patron the library will contact him/her with answers soon.
The patron wants to know how he'll be notified that a Summit book is here and ready for him.
Consult your local procedures. Some Alliance institutions mail notices, some require patrons to check ("VIEW") their patron records in the local OPAC.
"Claims Returned" should be used only for local circulation, and never for Summit Borrowing and INN-Reach circulation.
Reasons for not using claims returned in Summit Borrowing
Background: using Claims Returned removes the item from the patron's list of checked out items, and adds a note to both the item record and patron record. The item status changes to "z"
Situation: Item returned from the borrowing site, bookband still intact, it looks like a normal return of an item loaned through Summit Borrowing. Wand in the barcode and system message appears: Item Not Checked Out.
III explains that on rare occasions an item that is checked out will not be recognized as checked out when it comes back to the Owning Site. Here's what happens and how to fix it
In a normal checkout to another Alliance institution ...
In this abnormal situation,
The item continues to be processed as usual when it arrives at the Borrowing Site, checked out to patron, and checked in again, and returned to Owning Site (OS). But when it arrives at the OS, the OS gets the message "Item not checked out."
Solution:
Same patron name is staying on the screen [screen not refreshed after local item checkin]
Situation: Checking in lots of returned items. First I checked in one of our own books checked out to our own patron, Jamie Dough (a “local checkin”). Then I started checking in our books returned from some other Alliance libraries (an “Alliance checkin”). The check-in screen shows the barcode for the Alliance book back from the other library, but in the name field, it’s still Jamie Dough for the previous local checkin – and it stays that way for every Summit checkin! Why? Did the book I checked in from Jamie really get checked in? Did the books I checked in from those other Alliance libraries really get checked in?
please check … has this been fixed in one of the enhancements since the procedures were first written? III explains that the screen is not refreshing itself all the way. When you check in an item checked that was checked out on an institution loan rule (the books you loan to Alliance libraries are checked out to the patron's institution), there's no "patron name" to show up on the screen. The screen has nothing to write over the last name that was in that field, so that name stays there until a new name comes along. Don't worry: the book really did get checked in from Ms. or Mr. Dough, and they also got checked in from those other institutions. If you want proof, go into the item record and see if you see evidence that it's still checked out: look at the LPATRON field, the due date, or the loan rule # fields.
The screen shows:
04-03-97: requested by .p10051909@9wil0 Checkin item? (y/n)and I say “yes” then the system tells me the item isn't checked out. I look at Holds Management, Display and Alter, and I see:
CALL #: TD224.O3 H4 LOC: KNIGHT I TYPE: Monograph OPACMSG: Checked out on 04-04-97 10:37 TO Moe, Joe at Willamette U. DUE ON 05-04-97
Summit may or may not have a due date.
Patrons visiting from other member institutions
A student who is enrolled at another Alliance institution is here wanting to check out our books. What do I do?
The Alliance consortium has a Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement. As long as the student is currently enrolled in an Alliance library and eligible for reciprocal borrowing, you should provide on-site borrowing privileges to her.
Consult your local procedures for doing this. Use the automated Visiting Patron feature in the location Circulation module to verify the patron in the home library system and check out materials, depending on your local policies.
Tell the patron that she is allowed to return items to any other Alliance library, whether they are borrowed via INN-Reach or on-site lending.
For details see Visiting Patron documentation.
Owning and Pickup Anywhere sites should require appropriate identification (ID) for patrons picking up materials requested through Summit. The burden is on the patron's home institution to provide an ID card. Or, the home institution may provide instructions so the patron can provide proof of eligibility to use Summit Borrowing: for example, some other government supplied photo ID, and institution or library ID number and authentication such as PIN. See Visiting Other Alliance libraries.
This student says s/he lives in my town, but is enrolled in an Alliance institution in a different city, and wants to get Alliance books from her own library. Since she's enrolled in that institution, she can't do that, can she?
When/If “Same Site Requesting” (or Request at own site) is enabled by an institution, patrons will be able to request materials from their home institution and select from the complete list of pickup locations set up by each of the member institutions.
When an INN-Reach visiting patron barcode or patron record is a problem: (a) direct patron to call home library to work out the problem, or (b) call patron’s home library to fix problem and/or to confirm their status and record expiration date. Summit Borrowing Committee-Steering Team (2-6-04) suggests that staff avoid being an intermediary in conversations at the circ desk between the patron and home library, and instead advise the patron to work out ID and authorization problems with the home library separately and then return to the circ desk. Still, it’s up to the individual library to decide how to handle the situation.
Student not currently enrolled
I have a student who is not enrolled this semester, but is finishing up an incomplete from last semester. Can he borrow through Summit?
Our copy isn't available. Can we request one through Summit?
Our library has a non-circulating copy and another library has a circulating copy that is already checked out. Can my patron make a Summit request?
Yes, your patron can request a copy through Summit Borrowing as long as your copy is not available, and another Summit copy is eligible for Summit loan. If all Alliance- circulating copies are checked out, your patron can place a hold on the item, even if you own it.
Please note that Summit does not place recalls on items. It is up to each library whether they will manually shorten the due date on a checked-out item to accommodate a Summit request or cancel the request (cancel with re-request). If the latter, and there are no other copies available, the patron will be referred to interlibrary loan.
More info on what Alliance members loan through Summit Borrowing: policy; list of circulating item types.
Our faculty member wants to put an Alliance book on reserve for a class. The book is only needed for two weeks; can we put it on reserve?
No. Alliance materials cannot be used for Reserve. This policy follows national guidelines set for interlibrary loan.
Advice from Borrowing Committee: Look for other alternatives, for example: Does your library have a copy that is checked out to somebody else or to Alliance? If another Alliance library has your copy, see section on Recall.
For policy issues (who can borrow, what can be loaned, etc.) contact your institution's Summit Borrowing contact
For daily problem-solving (individual records, items, etc.) consult with your institution’s Circulation Liaison. Your Circ Liaison will contact the Circulation Liaison at the other member library.
What are these reports, and am I supposed to be doing something with them?
For information about Paged Too Long, Institutional Overdues, Requested Too Long, In transit Too Long, Received Too Long, On Hold Shelf Too Long, and Returned Too Long, see Too Long reports explanation and tips.
When an item might have gone astray -- sent or delivered to the wrong place and you don't know which member site might have received it -- you may be sending a message to the summit-circ email list. When sending an email message to the list to locate items In Transit Too Long, Returned Too Long, etc., it's important to maintain patron confidentiality. See the Patron Confidentiality agreement.
Since the Alliance goal is to deliver items within 2 working days, we can't dally - we need to retrieve and send the items, or cancel the request so that Summit can look for another available copy or inform the patron that it isn't available. We need to be as prompt about canceling a request that's can't be filled as we are in banding, bagging and shipping the item. The requesting patrons start asking their library staff where the item is (since our goal of 48 hour delivery time is publicly stated), and staff there are checking Summit and/or contacting you. If the status is still "Summit paged", you can probably expect a call from their liaison. This takes more time than just updating the status or IType; so to save time for both institutions, we all need to be very prompt about canceling requests if we cannot honor them.
Run the Paged Too Long report at least twice a week. Local procedures call for printing paging slips at least once a day (M-F), and paging the items and shipping them by the next courier pick-up. It should be rare to have items listed in the PTL report. If you frequently find several titles on this report, review your work flow to see if there's been a change (schedules and procedures are out of synch; not processing items not found on shelf; etc.).
Trouble with "half-done" transactions? Summit Borrowing request doesn't show at the Owning Site?
The item appears on the Requested Too Long report, but Summit may say "Available" or show the hold, and the Owning Site doesn't have the request (i.e. no paging slip). The record is “stuck” and the only solution is to call III to fix it. Often called a “half-done” or incomplete transaction.
From time to time we hear from a member library about requests not being posted at the Owning Site. The Borrowing Site sees the request on their "Requested Too Long" list, and the request is registered in Summit, but there's nothing at the Owning Site (paging file; item record).
The record is “stuck” and the only solution is to call III to fix it. Often called a “half-done” or incomplete transaction.
Here's one explanation and recommendation from III (July 2006) to reduce the number of stuck, or incomplete transactions: Sometimes III finds in these situations that the record is "busy." The following process might help "if pre busy records is the problem" -
Implement the Millennium 2005 Enhancement " Overnight Freeing of Busy Records"
See Page # 105471 of the Millennium 2005 Guide. You can order setup via CSDirect, Service Commitment webpage.
There are several situations where the item is returned to the Owning Site, and the system can't seem to clear itself out......
The patron has returned the item, but
1. Summit still has a due date, and the patron's record still lists the item status as " Summit returned".
The patron record shows "Summit Returned" and Summit still has a due date … and they are printed on the "Returned too Long" report.
Wait until this appears on your "Returned too Long" report. We won't bother the owning library yet; the item might still be in transit.
2. Summit status is "available".
for example: the Borrowing site’s patron (or the "Returned too Long" report) says this book has been returned. The patron record shows " Summit returned" and in Summit the status is "available". This means that the Owning Site got the book and checked it in. So why hasn't the entry evaporated from my patron's record, and what should I do?
If the status in Summit is available, then the item must have been received at the Owning Site and checked in - causing the owning system and Summit to be cleared; somehow the transaction didn't get finished back at the patron site. It's okay to delete the item from the patron record.
What's the menu option "T > Send barcode TRANSACTION" for? I found it under "HOLDs management", then "DISPLAY and alter hold queue".
When the borrowing module was first created, the option to “pull” a barcode wasn't available. The borrowing site had to contact the Owning Site and ask them to push the barcode through. Now that a Borrowing Site can “pull” a barcode, nobody uses the push feature anymore.
Item IType and Patron PType codes
All local item type (IType) codes and patron type (PType) codes are mapped to Summit central IType and PType codes. Any changes, deletions, and additions need to be coordinated with the consortium office before making the changes in local tables and records.
Each INN-Reach request is “filtered.” The local IType code is compared to the central IType table to determine whether the item can be requested through INN-Reach. Similarly, the local PType code is compared to the central PType table to determine whether the patron is eligible to request through INN-Reach.
Local sites may have dozens of different item and patron type codes, each mapping to just a handful of general central item and patron codes. For example, A local site may have 5 different kinds of faculty PTypes, all of which map to one general Summit faculty PType, and over 20 separate ITypes for special materials that will not circulate via Summit Borrowing, all of which map to a single central PType code meaning "not requestable,” or non-circ, via INN-Reach.
ICode2 (Item suppression and contribution) codes
ICode2 determines whether the item record is sent to Summit, and if so, whether it is displayed or suppressed from public view. See Contribution and Display Codes in Item, Checkin and Order records.
Item Status codes
Summit uses status codes to determine whether the item is available for Summit Borrowing (available separate from determining eligibility). All status codes, local and central, are coordinated through the consortium office. For more information see Item Status Codes
My patron just told me that he lost his Alliance book: it was last seen on a bus to Vegas. What do I do?
No official procedures or agreements. Suggested way to handle it:
1. Tell the patron:
thanks for reporting it;
the book will stay in his record past the due date so we can use system-generated notices for billing, etc.;
depending on local policy, if the item is reported lost before it was due he won't get overdue fines on it.
Then explain your local billing procedures.
2. Do not attempt to check in the item.
3. Tell your circ liaison about it.
4. Borrowing Site circ liaison will contact the Owning Site circ liaison.
5. Owning Site staff will:
6. Borrowing Site staff will:
A replacement copy may be supplied in lieu of paying Replacement Charge, on an individual, case-by-case basis, and only with explicit approval of the Owning Site.
Discussion: Patrons are charged for items lost or irreparably damaged. Alliance has adopted a standard replacement charge, and a standard administrative fee. For individual cases, including hardship or difficulty in replacing the item, the Borrowing Site may contact the Owning Site to request permission for the patron to supply a replacement copy rather than pay the charge. Accepting a replacement copy is at the Owning Site's discretion. Members' policies on accepting replacements
An item that is attached to more than one bibliographic record is referred to as a "bound with" or "bound together". Example of “bound-together”: 4 numbers of a monograph series, each with a separate title (unlike regular issues of a typical journal or serial) -- have been bound together into a single physical item.
If the item is requestable (IType maps to circulating IType, and status allows it) the following results:
1. Paging slip at item site lists the title of the bibliographic record that the item record was first attached to. Example: 1 item record attached to 4 separate bib records. If the item record was originally attached to the 4th bib record and not to the other three bib record, the title from the 4th bib record will be listed on the paging slip.
2. Patron record will list the actual title the patron requested as the "hold" and as the "item checked out" once it is checked out
3. If the patron site prints hold pickup notices (as opposed to using the paging slip sent from the item site), the title listed will be the actual title requested and not the title from the bib record the item record was first attached to.
Note that there is only one physical item to check in and check out.
Situation: Patron at Site A requests an item that isowned by Site A (and Site A allows Same Site Requesting in local system and for Summit Borrowing). Therefore, the Patron Site is also the Owning Site. This makes it a Same Site Request, or SSR. The patron requests to pickup the item at Site Y, so it’s also “PUA”. Some observations:
Request and paging slip at Site A. The paging slip will be a Pickup Anywhere paging slip. The request will be converted to a local circ transaction (since the Patron and Owning site are the same).
Pickup notice at Site A. Caution: Uses local pickup notice text, not INN-Reach text. : # days on hold shelf will be the local policy, which may not be the same as Summit (7 days). PUA site may pull item from hold shelf and return it before the deadline on the pickup notice.
Checkout (1 st) at Site A. When the site does the first checkout, it’s not a checkout to patron (local circ) nor is it an Institution checkout (INN-Reach). Loan rule # will be local. The item status will be in transit, example item record message:
29 MESSAGE Mon Jan 31 2005 03:22PM: IN TRANSIT from milcirc to 7ore1
Received at Site Y, the PUA site. Item status changed to <!>
Checkout (2 nd, to patron) at Y. Due Date assigned from Alliance patron loan rule.
Checkin from patron at Site Y. example item record message:
29 MESSAGE Mon Jan 31 2005 03:30PM: IN TRANSIT from terminal 0 to mnstk
Situation: while in the vicinity of Library E, patron from Library A stops in at Library E and returns an item owned by Library C. The patron may return the item to any member library regardless of the pickup location (whether it was picked up at patron’s institution, or some other Pickup Anywhere location).
Receiving library notes the date returned and sends the item to the Owning Site in a courier bag along with other Summit Borrowing items. There is no automated checkin feature available for this unrelated site. Until it’s checked in at the Owning Site, the item will have the status “off campus” at Owing Site, and checked out to patron with Due Date for Borrowing Site. See Return item using Green Flag.
Situation: Patron returns the item without a bookband or booklabel.
To make it easier for staff at your library and the next one to know it’s a return and get it routed correctly: apply one of your own bookbands or labels, and cross out FROM and write in the name of the Owning Site. Remember to mark through the bookband just as you do other returns.
updated: November 7, 2007
