[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] ***SPAM*** Re: Homebound

[Melissa Lowenberg]

Hi EGers,
For our legacy ILS we built something in-house so that Outreach staff could record preferences for a homebound patron (subjects, authors etc). We could run a suggest list so staff could place holds for these patrons. We also maintained a Has Had list so we knew what these patrons had borrowed. Unlike other responses to this thread, our experience is that these patrons are willing to re-read books especially if they are heavy borrowers and have been on the service many years. They just don't want to read what they had a couple of months ago.

Once we joined Sitka, we needed to rewrite our Homebound project. It's report based now in and we do not write directly to Evergreen. These patrons are a separate patron type and it includes our Visually Impaired patrons which have access to a restricted mp3 & audio book collection. We do not charge fines for these patrons as we service them directly by home delivery or mailout. 

Our workaround isn't really elegant but it's still a big improvement over excel spreadsheets, little 3X5 recipe cards or notebooks, as I've seen other libraries maintain. We would be really happy to see a homebound module in Evergreen. We also think suggested reads is a feature that all patrons might like. 

If you want more specific technical details about our workaround, I can put you in touch with our staff. 
Happy Friday,
Melissa

 
Melissa Lowenberg, Supervisor of Support Services 
 
Thompson-Nicola Regional District Library System
#300-465 Victoria Street
Kamloops, BC, V2C 2A9
 
Tel. 250-374-8866
Fax 250-374-8355
 
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