Issue #11 - WorkFlows Function Alert - Filling Holds in a Timely Manner When Three Campuses Are Involved

Issue #11

Hello all,

This is a follow-up to the last blog that discussed the lag in filling holds and provided tips on expediting that process.

WorkFlows Function Alert - Filling Holds in a Timely Manner When Three Campuses Are Involved 

We have received more reports of items being sent back to their owning campus instead of being sent to the campus that the patron requested the item be sent to when they placed the item on hold.

This scenario is most likely to occur when there are 3 campuses involved:

• an owning campus
• an item drop-off campus
• and a hold pick-up campus

Here is an example scenario where an item has been returned to its owning campus instead of being sent to the requested hold pick-up campus:

A patron places a hold on an item that is currently checked out and chooses a pick-up campus that is not the item-owning campus; that item is returned to a campus other than its owning campus; circulation staff at the item drop-off campus do not see the "Item in Transit" hold alert instructing them to place the item in transit to the requested pickup campus; the item is placed in transit back to its owning campus and not to the location that the patron requested it be sent for pick-up.

This situation causes a significant lag in the time that the hold will be filled for the patron!

To avoid this situation, please look carefully at any WorkFlows pop-ups that appear when you are checking in items that have arrived in the daily mail and wait several seconds before moving on to process another item!

Items that have a hold on them will prompt an "Item Not Charged" pop-up when they are checked-in, but the "Item in Transit" message that appears shortly after the initial "Item Not Charged" pop-up can be easily overlooked if you move on to another transaction too quickly.

If this happens, then an item that should be placed in transit to the hold pick-up campus will be returned to its owning campus and additional time will be added on to when the hold will be filled.

Issue #10 - WorkFlows Function Alert - Tips for Filling Holds and Expediting Holds Delivery Between Campuses

Issue #10 

Hello, All! 

Another brief issue of the SirsiDynix Gazette that focuses on a specific WorkFlows process. This time, the focus is on filling holds and expediting holds delivery.

WorkFlows Function Alert 

Some circulation staff have reported noticing longer than usual delivery times for holds. Here are a few tips that can help expedite the process of holds delivery.

Verify the mail service times at your campus and plan to pull holds accordingly
Mail service times at many of the campuses have recently changed. Timing when you trap and retrieve holds with mail service times at your campus can help reduce the amount of time it takes for an item to be transferred to its designated "preferred pick-up" campus.

Check any "holdable items" that are received through inter-campus for a hold status, even if there is no hold slip included with the item
Hold-slips can be lost and items that are in-transit can be placed on hold in Enterprise. An item without a hold-slip that was being returned to its home campus may have had a hold placed on it during transit and the hold slip would not have been able to be placed inside that item.

Look carefully at any WorkFlows pop-ups that appear when you are checking in items that have arrived in the daily mail and wait several seconds before moving on to process another item

Items that have holds on them will prompt an "Item Not Charged" pop-up, but the "Item in Transit" message that appears shortly after the initial "Item Not Charged" pop-up can be easily overlooked if you move on to another transaction too quickly. If this happens, then an item that should be placed in transit to fill a hold could be mistakenly reshelved or mistakenly returned to its home campus.

Make sure that you have backup staff to fill holds on days when staff that process holds are absent and if possible, have a staff member pull holds in the morning and in the evening

This ensures that holds are pulled every day and that holds that are placed overnight night and during mid-day are filled in a timely manner.

Issue #9 - WorkFlows Function Alert - Manually Creating Bills for Overdue Fines on Lost Items

Issue #9

Hello, All! 

This issue of the SirsiDynix Gazette is a brief one. It's just a reminder to not manually create bills for overdue fines that have accrued on items that the patron claims to have lost.

WorkFlows Function Alert

Please do not manually create a bill for overdue fees on lost items!

WorkFlows will not subtract a manually created bill from the running tally of fines that it keeps on overdue items. This means that if the item is returned or the patron decides to pay for the lost item, then WorkFlows will create a bill for the full overdue amount plus any lost item fees. It will not subtract the amount that the patron paid if an overdue fee bill was manually created.

If a patron requests time to look for a potentially lost item, but they would like to immediately pay the overdue fees that have accrued on that item, then please explain that they cannot pay for overdue fees separate from a lost item fee.

Please consult with your Head Librarian or the Librarian on duty if the patron needs to have a hold lifted on their account for registration or other ACC related purposes.