Book clubs

Book Clubs may not place multiple holds on bestsellers, nor can they place holds on every copy in the system. Additionally, they must follow the SAILS hold shelf policy of
returning items after seven days.

Damaged item arrives to fill a hold

Scenario: A patron requests a multi-part tape set, book, etc. When the pickup library receives the item, library staff notices it is too damaged for use. The item must be shipped back to the owning library and the patron’s hold reentered at the top of the hold queue for the next available copy.

1. The Pickup Library places a copy specific hold using the Owning Library’s Circ Patron. (Library Code plus circ) e.g. foxborocirc.
2. When placing the hold add a hold comment that the item is damaged. Be specific.
3. Check the item out to the Pickup Library’s Circ Patron. Override the hold but don’t
   cancel it. When the item is discharged it should go intransit to the Owning Library.
4. The Owning Library should then check the item out to Mending or Discard when it is received from delivery.

Missing items with holds

When processing your RHA you may need to set an item to MISSING. If that happens, you'll receive a daily report of holds that cannot be filled because the last copy has been set to missing, discard or lost. These reports are cumulative and holds will continue to appear on the report until you do something with them. How you wish to proceed will be up to each library. At a bare minimum the holds need to be cancelled.

You may want to see if there is another edition that can be used to fill the hold - we do find that sometimes patrons are not aware that there is another version on which there are more available copies. You may choose to wait to cancel holds on items set to lost in case the item is returned. And you do have the option of passing this on to the person in your library who handles ILL and Commonwealth Catalog so that a copy from another network can be requested to satisfy the person's request.

Place hold steps:

1. Click on the Place Hold Wizard
2. Enter the patron's barcode. If unknown, search using the User Search helper
3. Enter the item barcode. If unknown, search using the Item Search helper
4. The default pickup location is your library. This may be changed.
5. Select title level
6. Select system range
7. Click the "Place Hold" button.

View the holds manual for full details.

Clean Holds Shelf 

Available holds expire after a set number of days. This is usually 7 work days, depending on the library. When you make a hold available, WorkFlows enters a "pickup by" date into the hold record. If the patron does not pick up the item by that date, the hold is cancelled and then moved on to the next person in the queue or routed for transit or reshelving. The expired hold appears on the daily Clean Holds Shelf report.

If the clean holds shelf items aren’t handled properly it can generate a notice and a patron is notified in error that an item is available for pickup. If you are discharging or checking the item status, and you don’t select the option to put the item in transit it appears to be on the shelf in the system even when it is physically in-transit.

Always watch the screen and respond properly. You also need to double check your properties to make sure that the Display hold instructions and Display transit instructions are checked. This would need to be done in Discharge and Bookdrop.

SAILS runs notices nightly notifying patrons that their available hold has expired.

Manage Hold Shelf Wizard - with this one wizard, you can see and manage everything currently on your holds shelf.

Holds tips

» Blanket Holds Workaround - details on the problem and what you should do as a workaround.
» Expiration date - modifying
» Overriding holds at checkout
» Pickup date - modifying
» Pickup location
» Unsuspending holds - immediately
» Suspending holds
» Viewing available holds at checkout
» Viewing hold expiration date
» Viewing inactive holds

» Searching & Holds

• Moving from IS&D to place hold
• Recorded training
• Handout

Further information 

» RHA report
» Book clubs 
» Damaged item arrives to fill a hold
» Missing items with holds
» Aging Holds - holds older than 3 months that could potentially be unavailable or better moved on to a different title. These are not looking at holds that are on the last, unavailable copy of a title. You do need a login to BC Analytics.

Marking an item lost

If a patron reports they have lost an item don’t use the BILL A USER or PAY A BILL wizard. Instead use the MARK ITEM LOST wizard.

This wizard:
• Bills the patron for the replacement cost of the item.
• Gives the item a shadowed current location of LOST.
• And, if the patron is paying for the item at the same time you have the option to
accept payment.

» Missing pieces during checking 
» Viewing lost checkouts 

Marking an item missing 

If you are trying to find an item and can not, use the MARK ITEM MISSING wizard.
• You need to set the behavior properties for the wizard to use your Missing patron. This requires a TECH login.
• The item is given a current, shadowed location of MISSING.

Claimed returned

» Claimed Return Form - actual form
» Claimed Return Form - a "how to"

• Every library may decide whether or not to use claimed returned.
• You can manually decrement the counter on the privilege tab in the patron record when the items are returned.

Accepting payment for lost items belonging to another library

• Patrons pay for lost items at the library where they borrowed the material.
• Do not mark the bill as paid. You MUST record the payment amount, the date, item barcode, and your library's name in the notes field in the patron’s record.
• Checks should be forwarded to the owning library. Never send cash through the delivery.

» See a chart for the correct way to make out the check

Accepting payment for assumed lost items
If a patron is automatically billed for an item that was long overdue and now considered, assumed lost (LOST-ASSUMED), when they pay for the item, the inactive charge is removed from their record. The item still has the current location of LOST-ASSUMED and can be checked out to your discard patron. If you want a list of your items that are considered, assumed lost, please fill out our Workflows Request Form

Refunds - The system does not automatically refund a patron for a payment they made for a lost item. If you check in an item and get a message that it had been marked
lost, you can go to the BILLS TAB in the patron record to see if the patron had paid for the lost item. You can then follow your library's procedure to refund the payment to the patron.

Problem transactions 

» Viewing the Previous User

Blocked or barred - All libraries must honor a blocked or barred status on a patron. If one library barrs a patron, all SAILS libraries must honor that.

The system will automatically bill a patron for the overdue fee when the items are returned or if they are set to assumed lost.  Libraries must manually bill patrons for lost or damaged items, and for local barcode or library card replacement fees.

Bill a user steps:

1. Click on the Billing a User Wizard
2. Enter the patron's barcode. If unknown, search using the User Search helper
3. Enter the reason for the bill. Only use the Mark Item Lost wizard for lost items.
4. Enter the amount, item ID and payment type.
5. If they want to pay now, click the "Pay Now" button.
6. If paying later, click the "Bill User" button.

Bills tips

» Accepting payment
» Accepting payments for items belonging to another library
» Accepting partial payment
» Billing for lost items
» Billing at discharge - missing items
» Viewing bills on an item 
» Viewing bills on a discarded item
» Viewing paid bills

Quick patron registration steps:

1. Click on the User Display Wizard
2. Search the system by name to see if the person already has a card.
3. If the patron does not have a record in the database select the User Registration Wizard
4. There should be a default profile selected. Probably ADULT.
5. Scan in the new patron barcode
6. Click on each tab as you enter the data and complete the required files.  Do not press OK until the record is complete.

Note: Do not enter a space before the initial letter. Even though it doesn't display, sorting will be wrong.

• View the patron registration manual for full details.
• Library Card Application (from Lakeville)
• Portuguese Card Application (from New Bedford)

Searching tips 

» Patron Browse
» Entering & Searching by Phone Number

Special concerns 

» Custom policies - profiles 
» INHOUSE Patrons
» User profiles 
» User Cat 2

Printing patron information

» Printing a patron's checkouts
» Print select patron information

Notices

» Patron requests to stop receiving favorites & announcements 

Registering & Modifying tips

» Patron Record - 3 components
» User Group Manual
» Entering a patron's name
» Entering a patron's name - spaces issue
» Entering Suffixes into a Patron Name
» Entering 2 Email Addresses for a Patron
» How to properly format an email address
» Entering the birthdate 
» Deleting a Field in a Record
» Updating a Patron Record
» Updating a Temporary Patron Record
» Barring a Patron
» Saving charge history 

Removing patrons - Every week SAILS runs a report to remove patrons with the profile "WITHDRAWN and also who have a clear records. To set a patron to be deleted:

1. Use the modify user record
2. Update the patron's profile to "WITHDRAWN"

PINs - Our recommended practice is to set the PIN to the last 4 digits of patron's phone number. You will need to enter the override of SAILS to proceed.

Summer visitors - Register with their home library card. If they are MA residents, assign them a UCAT2 of MASS. If they are from out of state, UCAT2 is NOMASS.

Expiring cards - If you process a renewal or checkout, items will not check out beyond the date the card expires. The card must be renewed first before the system will allow the full checkout.

Alt IDs - If your patrons are complaining about having to enter their entire barcode, you can create an ALT ID for them that can be any combination of letters and numbers. The only 2 requirements are:

1. The ALT id must be unique 
2. Never, Never enter the Social Security number in the patron record

Patron Status -
OK - normal status for a patron.

DELINQUENT - when a patron has an overdue item or a fine. Updated at 11:30 p.m. daily before overdue notices are run. May place holds or renew items from e-catalog.

BLOCKED - when a public library patron has 7 items overdue OR owes $10 or more in fines/bills. Updated at 11:30 p.m. daily before overdue notices are run. May NOT place holds or renew items from e-catalog.

BARRED - applied & removed manually by library staff. May NOT place holds, renew or check out items.

Claims Returned form - use this form to let the owning library know their item has been set to Claims Returned.

Missing Intransit Notice - use this form to let the sending library know the item has not arrived at your library.

Error Reporting Form - the best way to send us all the needed information to fix a problem.

Problem Item Slip - you can use this customizable form for when you check in an item and you need to alert the library where the item is headed that there is something wrong with it. Maybe it has a part missing or damaged and the receiving library will know right away.

Unfillable Hold Notice - Starting 3/20 you began receiving a daily report of holds that cannot be filled because the last copy has been set to missing, discard or lost. These reports are cumulative and holds will continue to appear on the report until you do something with them. How you wish to proceed will be up to each library. At a bare minimum the holds need to be cancelled.

It is suggested that you see if there is another edition that can be used to fill the hold - we do find that sometimes patrons are not aware that there is another version on which there are more available copies. You may choose to wait to cancel holds on items set to lost in case the item is returned. And you do have the option of passing this on to the person in your library who handles ILL and Virtual Catalog so that a copy from another network can be requested to satisfy the person's request.

Several of you asked that the report be emailed to a specific person and we have done so. All reports will appear in your finished report list as well. This form that you have been using to notify libraries that your copy is not available to fill a hold was removed from the website on Monday, 3/23. This is a new procedure so if you have questions or problems don't hesitate to email support@sailsinc.org.