Union List Circulation / OPAC Training Manual To get to the PrairieCat Encore catalog for searching, go to: http://search.prairiecat.info Revised October 27, 2015 1
Table of Contents Searching in Encore (OPAC)... 5 Facets... 6 Related Searches... 7 Advanced Search... 7 Book Cart... 8 Detailed Record... 10 Novelist Select Content... 11 Languages... 11 My Account... 12 Edit Account... 12 Edit Pin... 13 Messages... 13 Checkouts... 13 Fines/Fees... 13 Holds... 14 Reading History... 14 ILL... 14 My Lists... 14 Additional Information... 15 Sierra Circulation Overview (staff client)... 16 Log In... 16 Sierra Circulation Window... 16 Search for your ILL patron record... 16 Holds... 17 2
Place Bibliographic (Title) level holds - Copy returned soonest... 18 Placing a hold from the Check Out (Circulation Desk) mode:... 18 Placing a bibliographic level hold from Search/Holds mode... 21 Placing multiple holds on the same title (e.g., book club holds)... 22 Place Multi-Volume level holds - Copy returned soonest... 24 Placing a hold on a multi-volume title (TV series, magazines, etc) in Search/Holds... 24 Placing a hold on a multi-volume title (TV series, magazines, etc) starting from the patron record. 26 Place Item level Holds... 29 Placing an item-level hold from Check Out (Circulation Desk) mode:... 29 Placing an item-level hold from Search/Holds mode:... 30 Modify Holds... 30 Cancelling Holds... 30 Viewing Cancelled Holds... 31 Checkin... 31 Regular Check In of Items with Holds (Not from a Paging List)... 31 Check-in Without Filling the Hold... 32 Check in without Patron Present... 32 Check Out... 33 Check Out Tab... 33 Checked-Out Items Tab... 34 Renew Material... 34 Renew with Patron... 34 Renew without Patron... 34 Paging (Pick List) [Lending materials from your library]... 34 Check in items with holds to fill a Paging List request... 35 3
Procedures for Union List, ILL Barcode and SHARE libraries:... 36 Procedures if Unable to Locate an Item on Your Paging List... 40 4
Searching in Encore (OPAC) Encore uses a single search box to allow users to search. Once you conduct a search, you will see a list of brief results which is default sorted by relevance. The search results can be sorted in three ways: relevance, title, and date (note: date is the date the record was added to PrairieCat, not the publication date). A brief result record includes the title, author and brief publication information. You can click on see all to see a list of the libraries that have that item. On the left of the brief result, you see cover art, if available, as well a graphic of the format of the item. There is also a Request It button to place a hold. When you hover over a brief result, additional actions include adding the result to a book cart, emailing the result, or adding a personal tag. 5
Facets Facets are located on the left hand side of the screen. Encore works like an inverted pyramid. It allows the searcher to drill down from broad topics and eliminate items that are not relevant. It does this with the use of facets which allow the searcher to drill down in the results. Multiple facets can be used at the same time to help refine the results. All facet choices are arranged by frequency in the search results, with a number in parentheses that indicates the matching results. Here is a list of the facets available in Encore: Availability- shows whether an item currently has the status of Available. This allows the searcher to only see items that are (hopefully) on shelf at that given moment. If the user is looking for only online materials, the results can be limited to that as well. Format- Choose the format you are looking for and click it. Now you will only see the search results for that format! Libraries-Use this facet to select a specific library to search. Found In- This facet allows searchers to see where the search term was found and drill down. For instance, a search for J.K. Rowling might mean someone is looking for a biography or for Harry Potter. Select results where Rowling is the author to find the Harry Potter works, or select results where Rowling is the subject to find works about J.K. Rowling. Language-Looking for a foreign language book? Pick the language you are looking for to easily find titles. Tag- Pulled from the subject field, this shows subjects pulled from the records in your search results. Refine your search results by selecting the subject that most closely matches what you are looking for. Publish Date-Looking for an item from a specific date? Use this facet to limit by publication date. Place-The setting of the book. Use this to find mysteries set in England, for instance. 6
Related Searches In addition to the facets, Encore also supplies suggestions for additional searches in the form of Established Terms and Additional Suggestions. These terms are pulled from the authority record and subject headings. Advanced Search In Advanced Search, you can use boolean operators to execute a search. Add as many as you like by clicking on Add, Or, and Not. Then, further specify your search by selecting Format, Collection, Location, Language, and Year Published. You can add additional formats, collections, locations, and languages. 7
Book Cart To create a cart, click on the shopping basket under Additional actions. You do not have to be logged in to add items to the book cart. The link at the top of the screen now indicates how many items you have in your book cart. The brief record also indicates the item is in your book cart. Click on My Book Cart to see a list of the titles you have saved. Once you have added items to your book cart, you can do several things: Request all the items in your cart at once. You can choose your pick-up location as well as set a date you need the items by. 8
Remove items Save to a list in My Account that can be accessed later. You can either add items to an existing list, or create a new list. You can name the new list and give it a description. It is then stored in My Account. Add a community tag Email the list to someone You can also mouse over an item and see the same options displayed to the right. 9
Detailed Record By clicking on the title of a result or the cover art, it will bring up a detailed record with more information. You can see the full list of items in PrairieCat with current status. You can scroll down to see more bibliographic details including (when available in the record) a summary, series information, audience and study program information, genre. You can add titles to your book cart, email them, tag them or request them from this screen as well. Tags are moderated and will not post to the public catalog until they have been approved, and only then if at least 200 have used the same tag. Some records have a Google Preview button which allows the user to see a preview of the title in Google Books. On the right, you can click on the next or previous result as well as see a selection of the most popular searches for the search. Click on the cover art from this screen to go into the enriched content from Syndetics that PrairieCat subscribes to, which includes a summary and professional reviews. Use the Back button on the enriched content screen to go back to Encore. 10
Novelist Select Content Scroll down on the detailed record screen and under the heading You Might Also Like may be content from Novelist Select, a reader s advisory product that PrairieCat also subscribes to. Novelist Select can provide series information, similar series, authors or titles, as well as a link to reader reviews in Goodreads. Languages In Encore, you can display the OPAC in one of three languages: English ( this is the default) Spanish 11
Polish To choose a different language, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the Language Settings. Once the screen refreshes, the OPAC will show in that language: Some items will not change language. However, it does change most of the command terminology which will make it much easier for patrons that speak a foreign language to use. My Account Edit Account Patrons have the option of modifying their personal information. They are not allowed to modify all personal information, but can add an ALT ID (like a user ID for logging in), or can add or change their email address and phone numbers. It is in Edit Account that a patron can also opt in to receive notices via SMS/Texting. They must have a Mobile Phone Number to opt in to SMS/Texting. 12
Edit Pin Patrons have the option of changing their PIN themselves. If they change it, and then can t remember it in the future to login, library staff can change their PIN back to the last four digits of their barcode in Sierra. Messages If library staff adds a Web Message field to a patron s record, that message will appear in the user s account. This can be used if the patron needs to contact the library to update their information, or any other brief information to share with the patron. The Web Message must be deleted in the patron s record in Sierra for the message to go away. Checkouts Patrons can see a list of items they currently have checked out which includes title, author, barcode, date due and call number. The list can be sorted by due date. Patrons can renew items from this screen as well. They can renew all items or select items. They will be asked to confirm if they want to renew the item. Once the item has been renewed, it will show on the screen how many times they have renewed the item and whether the item is overdue. Fines/Fees With ecommerce, patrons can choose to pay fines and bills in My Account. The payment is deposited in the PrairieCat bank account, and checks are issued to member libraries quarterly. The minimum transaction for ecommerce is $1.00. 13
Fines and bills are paid to the owning library of the item. A monthly report of ecommerce transactions is provided on the PrairieCat support website. Holds In My Account, you can view the items you have on hold as well as cancel holds (if they are not In Transit), freeze holds and see the status of your holds. Reading History Patrons have the option to keep a history of any items they have previously checked out. In order to do this, the patron must opt in. They also can opt out at any time, but their reading history will be lost when they opt out. Staff are not able to see reading history in Sierra and can do so only if a patron shares their My Account login. ILL If a patron s library uses the ILL Module in Sierra, their pending ILL requests from outside of PrairieCat will show in My Account. Once an ILL item is received and checked out to the patron, the ILL moves to the Checkouts list in My Account. If the patron s home library does not use the ILL Module, there will be no information under the ILL link. My Lists When you are logged in and create a book cart, it allows you to save a list in My Account. Patrons can then manipulate the list in My Account. The list can be: Exported to email, computer or an HTML page. You can choose to have either a full display, brief display, pro-cite, MARC record, or End-Note Move marked items to a different list Change the list name Delete the list or individual titles on a list 14
Additional Information You can see recently looked at items at the bottom of the screen Change your language to Polish or Spanish at the bottom of the screen Recent searches are also listed at the bottom of the screen An exclamation point will appear when you are logged in to tell you that there is an alert for your account Persistent URLs are available for all searches 15
Sierra Circulation Overview (staff client) Sierra Circulation allows staff to do the following: check out items, check in items, search all patrons, place holds, and manage holds. Log In Double click on the Sierra icon on your computer s desktop. When the Login and Password dialog box appears, enter your Sierra login name and password. Your assigned login and password determine the privileges and functions you can perform in Sierra. Click the OK button or press the <Enter> key twice. This connects you to the server and loads the Sierra Circulation software. Sierra Circulation Window Once logged into Sierra, the circulation window opens. The right side dropdown box lists the various functions assigned to the login. Search for your ILL patron record 1. Go to Check Out (Circulation Desk) function 16
2. Type or Scan your ILL patron barcode into the query box in the upper left-hand portion of the screen. 3. After typing your search term, press the <Enter> key or click the Search button. If necessary, select the appropriate index from the drop down list of Name, Barcode, or Record number. Type the appropriate data into the query box and press the <Enter> key (or click the Search button) Holds Holds may be added to a Patron s account from their patron record holds tab within the Check Out (Circulation Desk) function in Sierra. Or holds may be placed in the Search/Holds function. It is also possible to cancel or modify existing holds in both places. In Search/Holds, the number of holds already on a title displays from the Holds/Bookings tab summary, in the last column to the right on the Holds/Bookings tab. If the patron already has a bibliographic-level hold on this title, the system will alert staff and they will need to override to place the hold. There are three types of holds: Bibliographic level holds, which are also called Title level or Copy Returned Soonest holds. The first copy checked back in will be selected to satisfy 17
the hold. This is the level of hold that should be used normally for all patron holds with the exception of multi-volume materials (e.g., magazines, multi-disc DVDs). Volume-level holds, where there is the additional step of indicating which specific volume you want to borrow, i.e., the May 2013 Time magazine, or the 5 th season of The Big Bang Theory. This is the level of hold that must be used for patron holds for any records where volumes are attached. Item level holds is the last type. For item level holds, only a specific copy will satisfy the hold. This level of hold should only be used when you want to retrieve a specific copy, such as to have it returned to technical services for repair. Holds can be placed on: A title, volume or item that is checked out A title, volume or item that is not checked out A bibliographic record with an attached On Order record Holds cannot be placed on: An item currently checked out to this patron (unless a staff override is used) An item with status o ( library use only ) An item pointing to a non-circulating loan rule An item pointing to a no holds allowed loan rule Place Bibliographic (Title) level holds - Copy returned soonest It is possible to place a bibliographic-level hold from Check Out (Circulation Desk) mode or from Search/Holds mode on the navigation bar. Placing a hold from the Check Out (Circulation Desk) mode: 1. Select the Check Out (Circulation Desk) function. 2. Retrieve the Patron record using any method. 3. Click the Holds tab 4. Click the Add Holds button 5. A browse window pops open; retrieve the desired Bibliographic record by performing a search, using an appropriate index (author, title, subject) for searching. 18
6. If your search retrieves a results list of titles, select the bibliographic record for your desired item by highlighting the appropriate results line, then clicking Select. Or double click on the wanted item. If there is a direct hit for a title, the Bib record automatically displays. 7. From the Summary tab list of attached Item records, click the Hold Copy Returned Soonest button. You do not need to highlight or select an item first. Type in or select the desired hold parameters: No. of Holds: can be between 1 and 99 (defaults to 1). This can be used to place multiple holds on the same title such as for a book club. Note: if you are placing multiple holds, you want to be sure that any available copies at your library are checked out first, or you will receive multiple requests on your next paging list. Pickup Location: should default to the home location of the login. Can be changed as desired. Limit to Location: PrairieCat does not use this function. Not Wanted Before: this date suspends the hold so that it is not filled until after that date. This can be used if someone tells you they will be out of town and the hold will not be processed until after a certain date. 19
The Not Wanted Before date can be up to 180 days from the date the hold was placed. If the hold was placed more than 180 days before the current date, the Not Wanted Before date cannot be modified. If an item that fills this hold is on the holdshelf, the system does not enable you to modify the Not Wanted Before date. If you enter a Not Wanted Before date in the future for a hold that is already in the paging process, the system does not take the date modification into account and continues to page for the item Not Wanted After: this date automatically fills in with a date of one year from when the hold is placed, but that date can be adjusted. When this date is reached, the hold automatically expires. If an item that fills this hold is on the holdshelf, the system does not enable you to modify the Not Wanted After date. The system does not enable you to set a Not Wanted After date that falls before the hold's Not Wanted Before date. Hold Note: can be used to fill in supplementary information which can display on a hold pick-up slip. If there are available copies of the title in PrairieCat, you should next get this dialog box regarding Title Paging Options. You should ALWAYS choose Page for Title. You will not get this box if there are no available copies in PrairieCat. An example is if all copies are currently checked out. 20
Placing a bibliographic level hold from Search/Holds mode 1. Go to Search/Holds mode on the Function box on the right side of the screen. 2. Retrieve the Bibliographic record by searching an appropriate index (author, title, subject) for searching. 3. If your search retrieves a results list of titles, select the bibliographic record for your desired item by highlighting the appropriate results line, then clicking Select. Or double click on the wanted item. If there is a direct hit for a title, the Bib record automatically displays. 4. From the Summary tab list of Item records, click the button for Hold Copy Returned Soonest. 5. Retrieve the desired Patron record by using the Add Patron button and searching for the patron 6. Type in the desired hold values for pickup location and not wanted after date and click OK Note: If no item records for this title are eligible for hold placement (for example, they all contain a status of Library Use Only ), the system will display a message: The PrairieCat policy is that staff should NEVER override this message. Note: When viewing a bibliographic record, the number of holds already on a particular title displays on the summary tab on the left. Click on the Bib-Level Hold tab to display the current holds. 21
Placing multiple holds on the same title (e.g., book club holds) The process for placing multiple holds on the same bibliographic title is the same, except that you indicate how many copies of the title you need. Once you have clicked on the Hold Copy Returned Soonest button, you should get the following dialog box, and your cursor will be in the No. of Hold box which is defaulted to 1. You can order up to 99 copies of the same title by simply entering the needed number in this box. Note: Please remember that if you are placing multiple holds (for instance, for a book club), and your library owns a copy on this record, you should be sure that your library s copy is checked out before you place multiple holds. Otherwise, you will get multiple hold requests on your next paging list for this title. 22
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Place Multi-Volume level holds - Copy returned soonest Placing a hold on a multi-volume title (TV series, magazines, etc) in Search/Holds To place a hold on a multi-volume title, you need to add the step of selecting the desired volume. First, search the title in Search/Holds. On the Summary screen, select the desired volume by clicking on the appropriate line. The check mark will appear by the volume you have selected. Then, click on the Volume-Level Holds tab. Then, click on the Add Patron button: Search the patron by name, barcode, etc: 24
Then complete the hold details in the Place a Volume-Level Hold dialogue box and press OK: and select Page for title: You should now see your Volume-Level hold in the record: 25
Placing a hold on a multi-volume title (TV series, magazines, etc) starting from the patron record To place a hold on a multi-volume title, you need to add the step of selecting the desired volume. First, search the patron record in Checkout (Circulation Desk). Click on the Holds tab and then select Add Hold Search for the title that the patron is requesting. Once you have selected a record, the summary screen will display. For a multi-volume record, you may be on the summary screen which displays the available volumes: Next, pull down the View menu to switch the View to Holds/Bookings and this screen will display: 26
From this screen, it is important that you make sure the correct volume is selected (highlighted). Do not select an item! Click on the volume record for the specific part that you want to request. Please note that volume records have a j in front of the record number, while an item has an i in front. Again, do not select an item! You will know that you have erroneously selected an item if the Hold Selected Item button becomes available. In the example above, there is only volume to choose. However, when searching a magazine or any multi-volume work with more volumes, it is important to be sure the correct volume is selected. When you first display the Holds/Booking screen for a multi-volume item, the first volume on the list will be highlighted, so you need to consciously scroll down and choose the volume you want. Here s an example of the screen from a magazine with a specific volume further down the list selected/highlighted: 27
Next, click on the Hold Selected Volume button. Then, complete the rest of the holds process as normal, indicating pickup point and selecting Page for Title when prompted: 28
When the hold has been completed, and you are back in the patron s record, you can see the difference in a properly placed Volume Level hold versus a Title Level hold. There is an example below of a DVD as well as a magazine. The volume information displays in the Barcode field, instead of just Copy RTD Soonest: Place Item level Holds For item level holds, only the specific copy will satisfy the hold. This level of hold should only be used when you want to retrieve a specific copy, such as to have it returned to technical services for repair. Item level holds should also only be placed on your library s materials for this purpose, not on other libraries materials. PrairieCat does not run Item Paging Lists, so you should never place an item-level hold for a regular patron hold. It is possible to place an item-level hold from Check Out (Circulation Desk) mode or Search/Holds mode. Placing an item-level hold from Check Out (Circulation Desk) mode: 1. Retrieve the patron record using any method. 2. Click the Holds tab in the patron s record 3. Click the Add Holds button 4. Retrieve the desired bibliographic record using an appropriate search index. 5. From the Summary tab of attached Item records, select the desired Item record by highlighting the line, and click the Hold Selected Item button. 29
6. Type in the desired hold parameters and click OK Placing an item-level hold from Search/Holds mode: 1. Go to Search/Holds mode on the navigation bar on the left side of the display. 2. Retrieve the bibliographic record, using any appropriate search index. 3. From the Summary tab of attached Item records, select the desired Item record by highlighting the appropriate summary line of the Item record and click the Hold Selected Item button. 4. Retrieve the desired Patron record using the Add Patron button 5. Type in the desired hold parameters and click OK Modify Holds The hold parameters (for example: not-wanted-before or after dates, hold note, pickup location, etc.) can be changed by staff members, except the pickup location cannot be changed once an item is in-transit to fill the hold. Holds can be modified from Check Out - Circulation Desk mode and Search/Holds mode. The procedure is the same in both modes: 1. Retrieve the Patron record (Check Out Circulation Desk mode) or Bibliographic and Item record (Search/Holds mode) 2. Select the appropriate Holds tab. 3. Highlight the line or lines of the hold(s) to be modified. 4. Click the Modify Holds button to modify the required field of pickup location, the optional not-wanted-before date, the optional not-wanted-after date and the optional hold note. The Pickup Location is required. Other values are optional. Cancelling Holds Holds may be cancelled from Check Out (Circulation Desk) mode and Search/Holds mode on the navigation bar. The procedure is the same in both modes: 1. Retrieve the Patron record (Check Out - Circulation Desk mode) or Bibliographic/Item record (Search/Holds mode) 2. Select the appropriate Holds tab. 3. Highlight the line or lines of the hold(s) to be cancelled. 4. Click the Cancel Holds button to cancel all of the selected holds and to generate hold cancellation notices (if you have chosen to send notices for cancelled holds). 30
Viewing Cancelled Holds When staff cancels a hold, there is an option to create a notice confirming the hold has been cancelled. This notice can be printed or emailed to the patron, this is a local decision. 1. To view the patron s cancelled holds, to the patron s record 2. Choose the Holds tab, then choose the View Cancelled Holds button. 3. The screen displays a list of all holds cancelled on the patron record. This list can be printed. Checkin Regular Check In of Items with Holds (Not from a Paging List) If you checkin an item from delivery that has come to your library to fill a hold, or a patron returns an item which has a hold on the item, Sierra Circulation will present a message alerting the staff that there is a hold on the item. It is possible to print a slip or wrapper to insert in the item before it is placed on the Hold Shelf. At the exact moment an item which satisfies a hold is returned, the system sets the item status to On Holdshelf for patron pickup. If the item is on hold for another library, the item status will be changed to In Transit. See the In Transit section for more information. Depending on the library s notice settings, a hold pickup notice may be generated that night for the patron. 1. Select Check-in (No Patron) from the Function drop down box. 2. Scan the item s barcode. 3. A message should display that a hold exists for a patron. 4. Click on the Fulfill hold button. 5. If the hold is for a patron who wants to pick up the item at your library, a message displays with instructions to put the item on the hold shelf. If the item is for a patron at another library, a message displays with instructions to put the item in transit for delivery to the other library. 31
The same boxes will appear as with checking in for a hold from the Paging List, so staff should be sure to follow proper procedures as outlined above, depending on whether the hold is for your patron, a patron of another PrairieCat circulating library, a Union List member or an ILL Barcode or SHARE-Illinois library. Check-in Without Filling the Hold When checking in an item with a hold, the pop-up screen displays four options: Fulfill Hold; Check in, do not fulfill hold; Cancel hold; and Cancel. Usually, the Fulfill hold option is chosen. But if the item cannot be used to fill the hold because of damage, choose Check in, do not fulfill hold. Check the item out to your library s Damaged patron. This moves the hold to the next available item. Once the damaged item is repaired, check it in using Check-in (No Patron) to put the item back in circulation for holds, etc. Choosing Cancel hold terminates the hold. DO NOT CHOOSE Cancel hold Cancel ends the transaction, the item is not checked in and the hold remains outstanding. Note: Staff should not choose Check in, do not fulfill hold unless the item needs to be processed, mended or other technical services activities. The option is not to be used because the current patron wants to renew the item or because staff does not want to send the item to another library. Check in without Patron Present In the function dropdown box, choose Check In (No Patron) and begin scanning item barcodes. Should the item be needed to fill a hold/request, the screen will display the appropriate pop-up screen. 32
Check Out Check Out Tab 1. To check out an item, type or scan your ILL patron barcode. 2. A brief version of the Patron record displays in the upper part of the display screen. Along the record s left side are tabs with allowable actions: Check Out, Checked Out Items, Holds, Fines, Check In and Linked Patrons. 3. Scan or type the item barcode in the blank field in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. 4. After checking an item out to a patron, it is possible to override the systemselected Due Date. To override the system-selected Due Date, click on the Change Due Date button. (The staff member must be authorized to override due date via configuration of their login.) Select an appropriate due date from the calendar box presented and click the OK button. It is possible to retain the changed due date by selecting the checkbox at the bottom of the calendar display. 5. It is essential to close the Patron record to complete the checkout transaction and to move checked out items into the Checked-Out Items tab. Use <Alt> +Q or click the Close icon in the toolbar to close the patron s record. Closing a Patron record assures that the Patron record does not unnecessarily remain in use and also protects the privacy of patron information. Once the patron record is closed, the items move from Check Out to Checked Out Items. 33
Checked-Out Items Tab Click Checked Out Items tab on the left to display the Checked-Out Items. Several functions may be performed using the Checked-out Items tab, including Renewal, Mark Lost Item, and Change Due Date.. Renew Material Renew with Patron 1. Retrieve the Patron record and click on the Checked Out Items tab. 2. Select the item to be renewed from the displayed list by highlighting the appropriate line and then click the Renew button. Renew without Patron The Renew mode can be used to renew items without accessing a patron record: 8. Change the current mode to Renew (No Patron) in the function box 9. Two methods of renewing an item are possible: o o Search by Item record number, and then select the item to be renewed Scan or type in the barcode of the item to be renewed 10.Click the Close button Paging (Pick List) [Lending materials from your library] If a copy linked to a bibliographic record with a hold has a Status of AVAILABLE (meaning on the shelf and available to be checked-out) and is holdable, the system can generate a paging request to send to the owning library of the item. All of the paging requests for an individual library building are compiled on a Paging List. The Paging List is used for staff to retrieve the material, fill the hold in Sierra, and 34
place the item on the hold shelf for their library s patron, or put it in transit to another library for their patron s hold. Twice daily, the PrairieCat staff runs the paging (pick) list. This list is then emailed to each PrairieCat library to their Zimbra email account. It is PrairieCat policy that all PrairieCat libraries will process their paging list every day that the library is open, Monday through Friday. Libraries that are open on Saturday or Sunday can choose to process their paging list those days as well. It is optional for libraries to retrieve and process an additional paging list each day. After local staff pulls the items on the paging list, the items are checked in to trigger their holds. The process of checking in the item and filling a hold generates a hold pickup notice which can be phoned, emailed or texted to a patron, dependent on their notice preferences. There are several different messages that will be presented to staff at checkin depending on whether the hold is for a patron of a circulating PrairieCat library, or it is for a Union List library, or it is for an ILL Barcode or SHARE library. The procedures differ for ILL Barcode and Share libraries, so all staff should be familiar with these differences to follow proper procedures. Check in items with holds to fill a Paging List request 1. Select Check-in (No Patron) from the Function drop down box. 2. Scan the item s barcode. 3. A message should display that a hold exists for a patron. 4. Click on the Fulfill hold button. 5. If the hold is for a patron who wants to pick up the item at your library, a message displays with instructions to put the item on the hold shelf. If the item is for a patron at another library, a message displays with instructions to put the item in transit for delivery to the other library. 35
6. Repeat steps 2-5 until all the items pulled for the Paging list have been handled. Procedures for Union List, ILL Barcode and SHARE libraries: Union List PrairieCat members: when you checkin an item from the Paging List, and both the pickup point and the library name match (e.g. Annawan-Alba TL AAPG-8), this is a hold for a Union List member of PrairieCat. Proper procedures are to ONLY check the item in to fulfill the hold, then label and send the item on delivery. DO NOT CHECK THE ITEM OUT TO THE UNION LIST LIBRARY THEY WILL DO THAT WHEN IT ARRIVES AT THEIR LIBRARY. Note: the message to route the item also only has the library name and delivery code, identical to the routing message for a circulating member of PrairieCat: ILL Barcode or SHARE-Illinois Libraries: when you checkin an item that has a hold for an ILL Barcode or SHARE library, the first box indicates that it is an ILL Barcode or SHARE library, and gives the name of the library. If the item you are checking in belongs to your library, it also provides the patron barcode of the library account. If possible, it is useful to write down the barcode of the library, because this item will need to be checked out to that library. 36
Note: the message also includes either the RAILS delivery code (MRLY-11), or the correct ILDS delivery code (XEP). For holds from ILL Barcode or SHARE libraries, the proper procedure is to Fulfill the hold, acknowledge the transit message (examples below), and then CHECK THE ITEM OUT to the library. This is an important step because these are non- PrairieCat libraries that have no ability to check the item out when it arrives at their library. Failure to complete the process by checking the item out to them means that the hold transaction is not completed, and these items can go back and forth in delivery since the system doesn t realize the hold has been completely filled. In other words, you could be prompted to send the item again to fill the hold when it is returned from this library to your library. If you were not able to write down the library s barcode from the Fulfill Hold screen, you can find the ILL Barcode or SHARE library information from the Checkin screen. 1. First, right click on the item barcode and choose view this item. 37
2. In the item record, click on the Item Level Hold tab: 3. You can then click on the Patron Name, and right click to copy the patron s name: 38
4. Now change functions to Check Out (Circulation Desk). Click in the search box and type n, then <control> V to paste your copied patron name, and press <enter> or click on the Search button and paste the library name: The library s patron record will be retrieved, and you can check the item out to the library. 39
Note: Always also include the due date and your library s return RAILS four-character delivery code on the delivery label. Remember that these libraries are offline and do not have the ability to use Sierra to check the due date or your delivery code to route the material back properly. Procedures if Unable to Locate an Item on Your Paging List If the requested item cannot be located on your library shelf, the item status should be changed to missing. This will allow the page to move on to another library to fill the hold the next time the Paging List report is run. Note: if your library is the only library that owns an item, and your copy is missing, your responsibility is to contact the home library of the patron to let them know the hold will not be filled. For more assistance with PrairieCat circulation questions, please contact the following PrairieCat contract staff: Gail Lien, gail.lien@railslibraries.info, or 888-542-7257, ext. 4001 Ed Zanelli, ed.zanelli@railslibraries.info, or 888-542-7257, ext. 4194 John Slanicky, john.slanicky@railslibraries.info, or 888-542-7257, ext. 4195 Judy Hutchinson, judy.hutchinson@railslibraries.info, or 888-542-7257, ext. 4314 40