[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Checking out holds to an alternate patron

[Joe]

+1 from Germantown.  My staff would see Kathy's suggestion as a 
substantial improvement.

Thanks.

Joe

Joseph Knueven
Director
Germantown Public Library
51 N. Plum St.
Germantown, OH 45327
937-855-4001
knuevejo at oplin.org

On 11/7/2013 10:38 AM, jbryant at clarendoncountylibrary.com wrote:
> Something along this line would be a welcome addition in Clarendon.
>
> On 2013-11-06 22:41, Kathy Lussier wrote:
>> 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
>> klussier at masslnc.org
>> Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier [1]
>>
>>
>>
>> Links:
>> ------
>> [1] http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier
>