Aleph Circulation Loans & Returns Version 19

Loans

Loans Patron Information Loans or Blocks Cash Payment Information Nodes

Loans To loan an item, go to the loan tab.

Loans Enter the patron’s ID number in the patron bar. Either wand the barcode, or type the number and press enter or click .

Loans The system will perform a number of patron checks when retrieving the patron record. If the patron is blocked for any reason, the Blocks tab (tab 2) will be active in the lower pane. If not, the cursor will move to the item bar.

Loans If the patron is not blocked, the item bar will become active. Wand the item barcode, or type the number and press enter or click .

Loans The charged item is displayed in the lower pane. Continue to enter item barcodes until all items are loaned.

Loans When you’ve finished with the transaction, clicking will remove the patron record from the screen.

Loans When loaning an item, the system checks both the patron and the item to verify that the loan can take place.

Loans The system checks that the patron: Has the right to borrow the item Has a registration that has not expired Has no delinquency codes Has not exceeded his overdue items or fines limits Has not reached the limit of items that may be checked out The system also checks that the item: May be borrowed Has no hold requests

Loans Any problem with the loan will be listed in the lower pane under the Blocks tab.

Loans If you have override privileges, you may be able to perform the loan by clicking . The button will not be active if no override privileges exist. Clicking will cancel the loan transaction.

Loans Table setup decides which problems, and at what severity, will prevent a patron from taking out a loan. Tab31 determines patron borrowing and renewal permissions, as well as cash limits Tab16 determines patron limits for the amount of material borrowed Tab_block_circ determines limits for number of overdues and fines Tab15.eng determines item lending and renewals permissions

Loans Within the Loan/Blocks area, loan receipts can be printed, due dates can be changed, and loan notes can be added.

Loans After selecting , a new window appears on the screen displaying the receipt.

Loans After selecting , a dialog box appears prompting you to change the due date of the loan. This will be discussed further in the next section (Due Dates).

Loans After selecting , a dialog box appears prompting you to enter up to two notes. These notes will display when the item is returned.

Loans A workstation’s loan history can be viewed by selecting the history node in the navigation pane. Up to 300 transactions will display. The history is per current workstation only.

Loans Some loan options may be customized per workstation. To set up these options, on the menu bar go to Aleph | Options | Set Up Loan Options.

Loans A dialog box appears allowing you to determine certain loan options for the workstation.

Loans Set Up Loan Options: Display Circulation Note: if checked, the circulation note field from the item record will be displayed when loaned Display “Item(s) on Hold for This Patron” Message: if checked, a message will be displayed if the patron has an item on hold awaiting him Display “Item is Requested” Message: if checked, a message will be displayed if the loaned item has been requested by another patron Patron Verification Required: if checked, it will be necessary to input the patron’s verification code in order to loan items Display Process Status: if checked, the item’s process status will be displayed when item is loaned

Loans Set Up Loan Options (cont.): Override Button as Default: if checked, the Override and Cancel Loan buttons will be highlighted by default if the patron does not have the permission to borrow the item Create return receipt on automatically return: if tab100 setting ‘RETURN-DURING-LOAN’ is set to Y and is invoked, a return receipt will automatically print Loan Receipt Printing: you can determine whether or not the system will automatically print loan receipts. If you wish to have the system automatically print receipts, you can choose whether they should be printed after each loan transaction or only at the end of a session with a patron.

Due Dates

Due Dates Due Date Calculation The actual due date is based on tab16, which contains Different combinations of patrons and items. - Patron status x can take item status y for 3 days, but patron status z can take item status y for 15 days Two sets of due date/hour are defined there: For regular, non-requested items For requests or on-hold items

Due Dates You may change the due dates for: A specific patron/item combination All current loans A specific loan

Due Dates The system calculates due dates daily for each combination of item/patron status (optionally taking into account days the library is closed) based on tab16 settings. The daily results of this calculation may be viewed under the Active Due Dates node in the Loan tab of the navigation pane. Be sure to select the appropriate sublibrary from the drop-down menu.

Due Dates All due date combinations for the current day/time are displayed. If the requested date/hour columns are blank, the regular date and hour calculations are being used for on-hold items.

Due Dates OF SPECIAL NOTE Any changes made using the active due date node are in effect for the current day only. Any permanent changes that are required should be made in tab16.

Due Dates You may override any calculation using the lower pane. Select the line from the upper pane, and make any desired changes in the lower pane. Click to save the changes. This change will be in effect for the remainder of the loans conducted during the day – it is not retroactive and will not change loans transacted before the alteration was made.

Due Dates To change due dates for all current loans, on the menu bar Select Aleph | Dates | Change Due Dates of Current Loans. PLEASE EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION IN UTILIZING THIS FEATURE!

Due Dates A dialog box appears that allows you select item sublibrary, item status and the dates you wish to change. Click to submit the change.

Due Dates Due dates can also be changed for individual items. This can be done at the time of loan, or later via the patron node. At the time of loan, in the lower pane select . A dialog box will appear which will prompt you to enter a new due date.

Due Dates In the Loans node of the patron tab, there is also an option to select . A dialog box appears and the date of the loan can be changed.

Due Dates Renewals Loans may be renewed: - by the librarian in the Circulation module or - by the patron in the Web OPAC System checks will be conducted to be sure the patron and item are eligible for the renewal process.

Due Dates During the renewal process, the system checks that the patron: Has renewal permission Has not exceeded his maximum number of renewals Has an expiration date that is later than the new due date Has not been blocked from loans/renewals Has not exceeded his cash limit The system checks that the item: May be renewed Has no hold requests Is not overdue

Due Dates Renewals in the Circulation module can be made through the patron’s loan list in the patron tab.

Due Dates When selecting and renewing one item, the system will consult the due date table and fill in the due date and hour appropriately. Click to renew the item.

Due Dates When selecting and using the Ctrl key to select more than one item or when selecting , the system will display a dialog box with the due date and hour as zeros. Enter the appropriate values, and click to renew the items to the same date. Alternatively, leave the fields blank, and the system will consult tab16 and retrieve appropriate due dates for each item.

Due Dates If the system finds a problem with the renewal of any loans, a window will pop up with the reason. Depending on setup, it may be possible to override the error. Each issue will prompt it’s own pop-up box.

Due Dates After the renewal, those items that encountered a problem will display in gray in the upper pane, and a summary of the renew log will display in the lower pane.

Due Dates A second method of renewing items through Circulation is on the menu bar -- select Circulation | Renew Loan by barcode. The system will prompt you for the barcode of the item you wish to renew.

Due Dates After entering the barcode you will receive a second screen displaying item and patron information, as well as the renew date. You are able to alter the date if you wish. Click to renew the item.

Due Dates Lastly, patrons can renew their own loans if they have login access to their account on the Web OPAC through the “My Account” option. These renewals are subject to the same checks as described earlier.

Returns

Returns Patron Information Item Information Cash Payment Information Nodes

Returns To return an item, go to the return tab.

Returns Enter the item barcode in the item bar and press enter or click .

Returns The return transaction will be complete when the returned item details display in the lower pane.

Returns The session with the current patron ends either when an item barcode returned by another patron is entered or when is clicked in the lower pane.

Returns The system enters the current date and time for each return. To globally override them, click in the lower pane. This action should be performed BEFORE the actual return.

Returns Enter the override date and time in the dialog box, and click . Return books as per usual, using the item bar.

Returns The override will be in place until you click in the lower pane. If the clear override button is not clicked, the option will expire automatically after a preset period.

Returns To view the workstation’s return history, click on the history node in the navigation pane. Up to 300 transactions will display. The return history is per current workstation only.

Returns Some return options may be customized per workstation. To set up these options, on the menu bar go to Aleph | Options | Set Up Return Options.

Returns A dialog box appears allowing you to determine certain return options for the workstation.

Returns Set Up Return Options: Print Return Receipt: if checked, the system will print a receipt for each return transaction. Print Return Receipt - Transfer: if checked, the system will print a receipt for each return transaction even if the item will be transferred to another sublibrary. Display List of Hold Requests: if checked, the system will display the list of hold requests for the returned item. Print Photocopy Request Slips Automatically upon Return Display “Item is not on loan” Message: if checked, you will be notified of the return of an item that the system has no record of having been checked out.

Returns Set Up Return Options (cont.): Display Circulation Note: if checked, the circulation note that was entered in the item record will be displayed when a patron returns the item. Display Item Process Status: if checked, the item’s process status will be displayed. Late Return Message No Message Per Each Loan At the End of Session with Current Patron (F4)