I'd also like to add a +1 to this conversation.
On Thu, Nov 7, 2013 at 9:42 AM, Kate Butler <katebut...@rodgerslibrary.org>wrote: > We heard about this possible development at the Evergreen roundtable at > NELA and were very excited -- this is, hands down, our number one staff > complaint of ‘something that makes us think longingly of our old system’. > > > > Right now, our library handles the permission issues totally offline: > Patron A signs a form giving Patron B permission to pick up holds and we > put a note on their account. Our previous ILS always asked if you wanted > to cancel a hold when you checked out something from the hold shelf to a > different person, so remembering to do it separately has been a big problem > here. > > > > Kate Butler > > Technology Librarian > > Rodgers Memorial Library (Hudson, NH) > > http://www.rodgerslibrary.org/ > > > > *From:* open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org [mailto: > open-ils-general-boun...@list.georgialibraries.org] *On Behalf Of *Kathy > Lussier > *Sent:* Thursday, November 07, 2013 12:41 AM > > *To:* Evergreen General Discussion List > *Subject:* [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Checking out holds to an alternate patron > > > > Hi all, > > > One big issue for our libraries has been the workflow in checking out > items when the patron sends a family member or another person to pick up a > hold on their behalf. We've been exploring different possibilities for > development to improve this workflow. > > There are various ways our libraries handle this situation, but the > following is a likely workflow: > > - A patron goes to the library and picks up their spouse's hold. They > might pick it up from a self-service holds shelf or, if the holds shelf is > behind the desk, they will ask staff for the item. > > - We have some libraries that use notes to verify who is allowed to pick > up holds. In other libraries, particularly the smaller ones, staff may know > by sight who is allowed to pick up a patron's holds. Libraries also have > different policies on whether the hold should be checked out to the person > who has picked up the hold or the person who originally placed the hold. > > - For those libraries that check out the item to the person who is picking > up the hold, when they perform the checkout, they receive the message > saying that the item is on hold for somebody else. Staff who have > permission can then override that message and continue with the checkout. > > - The hold for the original patron remains, and there is no easy way to > cancel that hold from this screen. Instead, staff need to retrieve the > record for the original patron to cancel the hold. If they don't follow > this last step, the hold remains on the patron's account and gets filled > again. > > Circ staff who have the right permissions have the ability to perform the > checkout and cancel the original hold so that the transaction can be > completed. However, it takes several steps, particularly when it comes to > the hold cancellation. > > MassLNC is considering a development project that would leverage a friends > infrastructure already built into Evergreen that would allow us to easily > manage who can pick up whose holds and automate the process a bit. If we > decide to move forward with this project, I know I'll be sharing more > information on this list as we work through some of the implementation > details. > > However, we also recognize that, even if we provide a means for patrons to > identify who can pick up their holds, there will continue to be situations > where friends/family who have not yet been linked to a patron's account > will be sent to the library to pick up someone's holds. In those > situations, we still would like an easier way to handle the checkout. > > Here are our thoughts for improving the workflow: > > - If an item from the hold shelf is checked out to another patron, staff > receive a prompt saying that the item is on hold for somebody else. This > alert should display the name of the person for whom the item is on hold. > - This prompt should provide three options: an option to cancel the > checkout; to proceed with the checkout and remove the original patron from > the holds queue; or to proceed with the checkout but leave the original > patron in the holds queue. > - The system should continue to use the same permissions it does today to > determine if staff is authorized to proceed with the checkout by overriding > the alert or authorized to cancel the hold. > > We aren't looking to give staff the ability to do anything they can't > already do. We're basically trying to remove some of the steps required to > complete the transaction. > > Before moving further on this project, I wanted to throw the idea out to > the community to see if others would view this additional option on the > prompt as an acceptable workflow improvement. > > Thanks! > Kathy > > > -- > > Kathy Lussier > > Project Coordinator > > Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative > > (508) 343-0128 > > kluss...@masslnc.org > > Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier > > -- Ruth Frasur Director of the Historic(ally Awesome) Hagerstown - Jefferson Township Library 10 W. College Street in Hagerstown, Indiana (47346) p (765) 489-5632; f (765) 489-5808 Our Kickin' Website <http://hagerstownlibrary.org> Our Rockin' Facebook Page <http://facebook.com/hjtplibrary> and Stuff I'm Reading<http://pinterest.com/hjtplibrary/ruth-reads/>
