Allison introduced Krishna Horrigan who spoke for a few minutes about SBICS (Senior Benefits Individual Counseling Services). Prior to the Covid-19 lockdown there were 10 locations where seniors could walk in for assistance. Now they are doing it virtually, they realize that there are seniors who do not have access to a computer so they are looking for help in reaching out. For more info or to provide suggestions please contact Krishna at khorrigan@wlsmail.org.

Allison: Where are we at…?

ILL materials (outside the System) are being quarantined at WLS for 4 days, they suggest that each library do the same once materials are received. That will give the patron 3 days to pick up the item and should not affect the time allotted for the patron to borrow the item.

Check-in modifiers: It was originally advised to not leave check-in modifiers applied but to take them off after transactions have completed. That is no longer the case, however it is recommended that you try to limit the active modifiers. It is OK to Leave the “Auto Print,” “Retarget Local Holds,” ”Retarget All Statuses” on. It is important to turn OFF the “Clear Hold Shelf” after each use.

If any libraries need to close for COVID-19 or any reason please remember to add an event to your closed dates editor. Each time you must create an emergency closing so that the system will automatically recalculate due dates etc. It is recommended that you

  • set a start and end date – even if you are unsure of the actual end date!
  • overlap dates if needed, (eg: You are closing for a week to sanitize you would enter Start Date: October 1, 2020 End Date October 7, 2020…then you decide you need 2 weeks enter a new emergency close and have the dates overlap… Start date October 5, 2020 end date October 14, 2020.

It is also time to update holiday closings for the end of year holidays and start of 2021 in the Closed Dates Editor. If you will be closed on a day of the week, like every Sunday, email the help desk to request a change to your regular open hours.

2 new Circulation Modifiers a) WiFi HotSpots b) WLS Grant Devices (WLS Use ONLY).

Fine Free and Amnesty Mode don’t have to both be used if all your library items are currently fine free.

  • “Fine Free’ is applied when items are checked out so they will not incur fines, and patrons do not see fines accrue in their accounts.
  • “Amnesty Mode” is a checkin function so that fines (and any record of them) will be wiped out; patrons will see fines accrue in their accounts, so it’s good to tell them at checkout that they may see fines while the item is quarantined, but no worries! They won’t be charged!
  • In either case, if items go to Lost, the patron is billed.

Holdability: Whether or not something is holdable can depend on the Circ Mod, like Express, or on the Holdable flag in the item record. If you set it for an individual item, it overrides the holdability of the Circ Mod. It’s recommended that you use Item Holdings templates to change items, for instance from Express to Fiction, so that all the flags are correct. If you are putting things like toys away that aren’t currently available to patrons, you can change their status to Storage to keep them from being visible in the patron OPAC and make them nonholdable.

NOTE: Juvenile and Teen cards no longer automatically update and change to the older status at the proper age… it must be done manually. To find the accounts and update the profile in batch

    1. Open Patron Search
    2. Set the Profile Group to the group you want to change, eg. Juvenile.
    3. Set the Location to your library
    4. Enter the DOB Year
    5. Enter the DOB Month
    6. Search
      REMEMBER TO CLEAR FORM WHEN FINISHED
    7. Add the column DoB to your display.
    8. Select the patrons that you want to update and add them to a bucket.
    9. In User Buckets, find your bucket, select the users that you want to change, and  use Batch edit all users to name the edit and change the Main Group (Profile).

There are 3 new templates for reports: a) List Items Claims Returned by Owning Library, b) Count Patron Checkouts (shows # of patrons visiting per hour), c) List Items by Shelving Location, Circulation Modifier, and Date Created (to check that new Items are correctly linked).

Lindsay:

  1. The intraloan reports have been rewritten.
  2. Last Modified date is being worked on.
  3. Lindsay has direct access to Evergreen Database and can get information not available in reports, so if there is special data that you need it may be retrievable.
  4. Still setting up the process to purge inactive cards.
  5. Process for deleting patron accounts is to use buckets, we do not have the permission needed to Purge patrons because that will also delete all of the associated statistical information.

Allison:

Reviewed the Evergreen Redirect Project:

It is important that the Chrome window that is open for Evergreen only be used for Evergreen. In the open Evergreen window, you can open another window (go to 3 dots on right of page and click on “New Window”) so you can open your email, curbside pick-up and other functions. You will be able to toggle between the 2 windows. This will allow Evergreen to run at its most efficient. You can also open another window with the icon labeled USE THIS CHROME.

We have dubbed our new situation as the “Great Pause.”

Lost Notices… please try to run these weekly as they are deleted after a month.

Microsoft Teams is tied to your Active Directory log-in. Using it this way will enable you to make use of all the functions, including access to training and meeting videos, and other Office365 functionality. If you try to sign into Microsoft Online and can’t, contact the help desk or someone on the training team.

Q&A:

Allison asked for feedback from libraries on how they would handle a teacher that asked for a 2nd card to get virtual access for his/her classroom… Both Ossining and Mount Vernon said they are doing this on a limited basis. Much discussion followed. It was brought to everyone’s attention that the policy is One person-one card. The subject is being looked at by the Directors to see if policy may be changed / updated. There may also be an issue with copyright.

WLS is sponsoring a LinkedIn workshop for more info to follow 14 attendants max first come first served.

Chappaqua announced that Andrew Farber will be their new Director. Congratulations Andrew!

Scarsdale is set to reopen the end of November, they are cautiously optomistic!?

I-Tiva was down for a while. Is there any way to get those dates so that libraries that wish to do so may contact patrons that i-Tiva missed? Followup: To be on the safe side, you can contact patrons who would have gotten calls between September 17-24.

For patrons with expiring cards is there any way to get the info to the patron earlier? They should be getting it 3 weeks in advance. Lindsay will look into it.

Question about shrinking holds list…this is happening everywhere. As more libraries open for more hours and with more staff, holds are getting pulled more efficiently so lists going out are getting shorter.

When placing help desk requests please be as specific as possible: include patron Name/Card#/ item# & title in the text of your request. Remember that screenshots do not display on the Help tickets so wait until an IT person responds and asks for a screen shot ( but remember to get the screen shot when you can).

Little bit of discussion about ways to keep in touch more often.

Next meeting scheduled for November… date and time to be selected at a later date.

Everyone stay safe and stay sane… if at all possible.

 

Edward (Ned) Canora