[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Auto Renew Feature

Thu Nov 21 09:58:08 EST 2019

Stuart,

This concise description of the behavior in your system is very helpful and a good framework for communicating with both staff and patrons.

Ruth Frasur
Evergreen Support and Development Administrator
Indiana State Library
140 N Senate Ave
Indianapolis, IN  46204
(317) 460-7556

________________________________
From: Open-ils-general <open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org> on behalf of Forrest, Stuart <sforrest at bcgov.net>
Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2019 9:44 AM
To: Evergreen Discussion Group <open-ils-general at list.georgialibraries.org>
Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Auto Renew Feature

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Hi

We are a library system that is part of a consortium (SCLENDS) and at the moment the only system that is using auto-renewal and this is what we have found so far.

1.               The three-day notice will still go out reminding patrons there books are due. (Our patrons see this as just a reminder)

2.               Auto-renewal happens 1 day before the books are due and the appropriate auto-renewal notice goes out then.

3.               An item won’t auto-renew if one of the following is true.

a.               The item is required for a hold

b.               Patrons' account has expired while they had the item checked out

c.                Fines have reached the maximum allowed

d.               Maximum auto-renewals have been reached.

4.               The auto-renewal notice will give a reason if the process failed referencing those case for example mentioned above.

5.               Let's say you pick a start date of 1st of December then anything that is checked out before this date will NOT auto-renew. Anything checked out on or after this date WILL. Eventually, of course, all items will auto-renew, we worked out that should take about 9 weeks from the start date.

6.               We decided to have the same amount of auto-renewals as hard renewals to avoid less confusion for the patrons.

7.               If you have any items that checkout for less than 8 hours and have 0 renewals this can confusing, but Equinox found a workaround for us.

8.               If a patron from say Beaufort (BCL) comes to Calhoun and checks out a book at one of your libraries, that book will auto-renew also. On the other hand, if you transit an item to an SCLENDS member who is not doing auto-renewals that item will not auto-renew.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Stuart

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Stuart Forrest, Library IT Manager/Analyst Beaufort County Library System

311 Scott Street, Beaufort, SC 29902

843 255 6450

sforrest at bcgov.net

beaufortcountylibrary.org

From: Open-ils-general <open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org> On Behalf Of Diane Disbro
Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2019 9:39 AM
To: Evergreen Discussion Group <open-ils-general at list.georgialibraries.org>
Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Auto Renew Feature

[EXTERNAL EMAIL] Please report any suspicious attachments, links, or requests for sensitive information to the Beaufort County IT Division at helpdesk at bcgov.net<mailto:helpdesk at bcgov.net> or to 843-255-7000.

I really appreciate this discussion! I want anecdotal information to share with my administration as we consider auto renewal.

Thank you.

Diane Disbro

Pronouns: she/her

Branch Manager/Circulation Coordinator

Union Branch

Scenic Regional Library

251 Union Plaza Drive

Union, MO     63084

(636) 583-3224

ddisbro at scenicregional.org<mailto:ddisbro at scenicregional.org>

[Image result for librarians rock]

On Tue, Nov 19, 2019 at 1:57 PM Geoff Sams <GSams at roanoketexas.com<mailto:GSams at roanoketexas.com>> wrote:

I would like to add that if you currently send out pre-due notices that it’s probably ideal to stop those as the auto-renew notifications serve the same purpose in general.  Jordan touched on that briefly there, but it was something we dealt with as well and I wanted to state it outright since it could be overlooked.

Thanks,

Geoff Sams

Library Manager

Roanoke Public Library

817-491-2691

From: Open-ils-general <open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org<mailto:open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org>> On Behalf Of Elizabeth Davis
Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2019 11:37 AM
To: Evergreen Discussion Group <open-ils-general at list.georgialibraries.org<mailto:open-ils-general at list.georgialibraries.org>>
Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Auto Renew Feature

Thank you both.  This has given us more to talk about and consider.

Elizabeth

From: Open-ils-general [mailto:open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Aubrey Area Library
Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2019 12:29 PM
To: Evergreen Discussion Group <open-ils-general at list.georgialibraries.org<mailto:open-ils-general at list.georgialibraries.org>>
Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Auto Renew Feature

We also implemented auto renew in late February this year (we are also the other library Geoff mentioned). It was a little rocky at first, being the test library for implementation, but once we worked out the kinks it has been smooth sailing.

Overall patrons have been very happy with it though we did have one patron that did not like the fact that the items renewed before their actual due date. Yes, we are also the library Geoff mentioned whose items auto renew before their due date. Thankfully it was resolved after speaking with the patron and explaining renewals, how auto renewal works etc. I have started looking at changes to this as I would prefer for the items to renew on their due date. The setup is what it is due to how courtesy notices are set up.

Geoff mentioned the issues with generating notices.

For patrons with no email/sms; we tend to just explain to patrons about how auto renewal works if they ask about it. After a few times it sinks in and they come to expect it. We do not require email address so, personally, I look at it as if a patron does not want notifications from the library that is their choice. Can't force it on them.

We had already taken measures years ago to reduce fines (80% reduction!!!!) so the impact that auto renewal has had is minuscule but as it was mention if fines are a source of revenue auto renewal may not be a good fit.

I would echo Geoffs recommendations for implementation. It was something that I overlooked and has been a thorn in my side since. Not only to give patrons time to return items but also so you o not have a mess of notices like we do. Simplicity.

Thanks,

Jordan Woodard

Aubrey Area Library

On Mon, Nov 18, 2019 at 3:56 PM Geoff Sams <GSams at roanoketexas.com<mailto:GSams at roanoketexas.com>> wrote:

We implemented auto renew back in March this year and things have gone fairly smoothly with the implementation for my library.

Generally, the patrons have been happy about it.  We did have one complaint that boiled down to a patron simply not wanting to be notified at all, which was an interesting one for me, but that was certainly possible to fix for us.

The only rocky start part was getting our notices to generate properly.  The stock notice wording was a little too generic, so we made changes that took a bit of work to get implemented properly.

We don’t really have the email/sms issue, so I’m not sure what the best course of action would be for that to be completely honest.  I have some ideas, but I’m not sure if any of them would be viable over the long run.

This has drastically reduced fines here, for the moment.  It’s not a forever renewal process, so I do still see fines, but it has generally decreased fines across the board.  We don’t rely on fine income for operation here, so this isn’t a giant issue for us, but if you do rely on fine income I’d probably recommend against implementing such a process.  With that said, my staff spend a lot less time dealing with fine related issues, and I believe it’s enough to have saved money in general.

For implementation, I’d recommend one of two options for the sake of making things reasonable.  Either set the renewal to happen a few days before the due date so that patrons have time to return materials that are not renewed, or set the renewal on the due date but add a multi-day grace period for the same reason.  We renew on the due date and give patrons 3 grace days to return the item to avoid fines.  Another library in my consortium renews the item 3 days before the due date instead.  Both work, but I think the important factor is allowing patrons the time to return items.

Thanks,

Geoff Sams

Library Manager

Roanoke Public Library

817-491-2691

From: Open-ils-general <open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org<mailto:open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org>> On Behalf Of Elizabeth Davis
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2019 12:09 PM
To: open-ils-general at list.georgialibraries.org<mailto:open-ils-general at list.georgialibraries.org>
Subject: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Auto Renew Feature

Hello Everyone,

For those of you who are using the Auto Renew feature, how is it going? What are the general impressions from patrons? Was it a rocky start?   We have some concerns about how staff deal with patrons who do not have email or sms notification capabilities. How did you deal with this aspect?  Any unexpected financial impacts in terms of fine revenue? What are your suggestions for those interested in implementing it?

Thank you,

Elizabeth Davis

Head of Digital Services

Scranton Public Library

500 Vine Street

Scranton, PA 18509

Office 570-348-3000 ext. 3050

Cell 570-795-4332

edavis at albright.org<mailto:edavis at albright.org>

pronouns: she/her/hers

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Thank You, The Library Staff

226 Countryside Dr., Aubrey, TX 76227

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