Circulation Committee Minutes – January 10, 2023

Members introduced themselves over Zoom.  The following was discussed.

Delete Patron Workflow

Permissions for deleting and purging patrons are the same. Purging removes statistics, deleting patrons does not. Deleting is preferred. To prepare a patron to be removed from the database, set the expiration to the current date, deselect active button (this was demonstrated by Allison), and clean record of all fines, checkouts and notes. Inactive patrons will be purged after 18 months. Even if someone has moved away or is deceased, it is important to give checkouts and lost books time to be resolved.

Duplicate records should be merged rather than deleting one.

Patron Registration and Email and Phone Fields

Phone number is required. Email address is not. To complete a registration for a patron without an email, in Patron Settings, deselect the Email notification option. Email notifications are going out anyway if there is an email address in the field. There will be an option for patrons to choose their notifications in the next upgrade.

Renewals and Items with Holds

Currently title holds stop renewals. There are settings that will allow renewals on items with title holds if there are a certain number of available (or recently returned) copies of the item. Lindsay will experiment with setting this up.  There is a link in the chat that explains Evergreen holds processing. (Link in chat: https://it.westchesterlibraries.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Evergreen-Holds-Process-3.pdf )

Item Clean-Up

Lost items will remain on the patron record until they are returned or made Lost and Paid. Lost items should not be deleted directly from the patron record, they should be returned, paid for, or (with permission from the owning library) forgiven. Once an item is made Lost and Paid it will stay in the catalog until removed by the owning library. Claims Returned items have the status “checked out.” To remove a Claimed Returned item from the patron record, check it in and mark it missing or deleted. Claimed Returned items should be dealt with by the owning library only.

Reports and Clean-Up

List and Count reports can be used to find items and patrons that need cleanup. Copy Status reports are one example. Put in a ticket to the Help Desk if you’re not sure which report will work for you.

Reminders 

Discussion/Q&A

  • Gerry Stump from ID cards unlimited passed away. Marie from OSS will send new vendor information upon request.
  • Circ modifiers: Always Retarget Local Holds and Retarget All Statuses should not be set for normal check-in and check-out. Use when new items are being added.
  • The more holds a title has, the more problems you may see at check-in.

Successes

Greenburgh is getting outdoor checkout lockers. More news about this next time.

 

Next meeting March 14. Nora will take minutes.

Respectfully submitted by Marge Perlin CHA