[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] floating collections

[Josh Stompro]

Hello Ruth, we have used floating for 90% of our materials for 5+ years now and I don’t think we would ever go back.

We have delivery tubs that we label with “Collection Management”.  If a branch staff member finds that they have too many items in a category, or that they have duplicates, they just place the items in the collection management tub.  It gets sent to our Regional Office where someone goes through it and weeds or reassigns the copy to a different branch.  We have lots of small branches, and a few larger branches.  We usually have lots of extra space at our larger branches, and our smaller branches have less shelf space so they need to send things in more often.

The items do indeed just sit in the box showing that they are available at the original branch.  Sometimes holds target them and the branch staff just mark them missing.  When they get processed and sent to a new branch they get found again.

I do wish that Evergreen had a “Send To” feature for items.  For just moving items around, but allowing the system to keep track of the movement.  Maybe something like a new hold type of “Send to” where the hold gets canceled when the item arrives. https://bugs.launchpad.net/evergreen/+bug/1743007

I can give you the contact info for the staff member that directly handles the process if you would like to ask them more questions.

Doug Kyle at Grand Rapids Public Library Michigan created a feature called smart float, that automates the process of seeing if there are too many items or duplicate items when floating.  I think they have been using it since early 2014.  There is an open wishlist bug about it at https://bugs.launchpad.net/evergreen/+bug/1305964.

Josh Stompro - LARL IT Director

From: Open-ils-general [mailto:open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Diane Disbro
Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2018 3:16 PM
To: Evergreen Discussion Group <open-ils-general at list.georgialibraries.org>
Cc: Ruth Lord <rlord at scenicregional.org>
Subject: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] floating collections

Good afternoon -

Our library district is going to begin floating its collection. Can someone who already floats tell me the procedure you follow for moving materials from one branch to another when one branch gets too full? We could just put 100 items in a box and send it to the other branch but there will be a couple of days when the catalog shows the items as available in the original branch when they aren't.

Also, how do your branches communicate about items needed and items that need to be gotten rid of?

Thank you.
Diane Disbro
Branch Manager/Circulation Coordinator
Union Branch
Scenic Regional Library
308 Hawthorne Drive
Union, MO     63084
(636) 583-3224
ddisbro at scenicregional.org<mailto:ddisbro at scenicregional.org>
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