- Can user accounts be automatically deleted after a set amount of time?
Absolutely. Public patron accounts are routinely purged after 3 years of inactivity. As of 12-22-2018, 33,162 accounts were identified as inactive since 01/01/2015. These accounts were purged from the system. 1,461 patron records could not be removed because these accounts had linked charges, holds, requests or bills. Here is a tally of inactive accounts which could not be purged by library:
29_PALMS: 17
ALBANY: 69
BARSTOW: 202
BEAUFORT: 5
BUTLER: 340
CHERRY_PNT: 404
JOHNSON: 1
KANEOHE: 33
LEJEUNE: 43
NEW_RIVER: 9
PARRIS_ISL: 22
PENDLETON: 302
SAN_DIEGO: 15
- Can we automatically set different due dates for items that have different circulation time frames?
Due dates are based on the item type policies defined in the system which are applicable to all MCCS libraries. Due dates can be customized locally either by using the "Special Due Date" helper or the "Modify Due Dates" wizard from the special group of wizards.
- Is there a family card? If a sponsor does not have an existing library card account, but a spouse comes in wanting their own library card…what is the best way to address this in workflows? I don’t want to issue an actual card to the sponsor if they are not present, but I want to be able to create a group account so that they are linked. I tinkered with using the sponsor’s last name plus the last 4 digits of their phone number as the group ID, so that if the sponsor eventually came in to get their own card, they would already be in the system; however, I’m wondering if there is a better solution.
Yes. Family Card is commonly referred to as "User Groups" in Symphony. This feature gives your library the ability to link user records for circulation purposes. The functionality will allow libraries to set up user groups and allow users to have different levels of access within the group. When groups are set up, library staff will be able to determine if the group members are linked together for delinquencies. If members are linked for delinquency, then the entire group will inherit the worse case delinquency. Library staff will also be able to determine if group members can view charges, holds, and bills for members within the same group or if members can check out other members’ hold items. A group member may also be designated as the notice master for notice reports so that notices for all group members are sent to that user. Symphony can also be configured to allow the parents to see what their children have checked out.
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What is the best way to circulate/catalog magazines?
The same as any other items unless these items are ephemeral in which case it would be better to use the Ephemeral Checkout wizard. This wizard is used to check out transient items to a user. Libraries may have items that they want to circulate, but do not want to track for overdue notices. Impermanent materials may include items such as donated paperbacks, romance novels or pamphlets. The ephemeral wizard checks out a number of copies to an item ID created for a type of impermanent materials. For example, you could use the item ID of MAGAZINES for continuing materials. When a patron wants to check out 7 magazines, you can use the Ephemeral Checkout wizard and the MAGAZINES item ID to check out the items.
The Ephemeral Checkout wizard checks an item out and then immediately discharges it. The wizard repeats the charge and discharge sequence for every item presented for check out. In the previous example, the Ephemeral Checkout wizard would repeat the charge and discharge sequence for all 7 magazines in one transaction.
Checkout transactions are recorded for statistical reports and checkout data, but they are not used for generating late notices. If you display an item’s record, checkouts done with the Ephemeral Checkout wizard do not display in the list of current checkouts, but they are counted in the total number of charges for the item.
- How do we use the claims return function? Does it remove the item from the patron’s account? Do we run a claims return report to search for those items?
The User Claims Returned wizard marks an item that a patron claims to have returned. The item remains charged to the user until it is discharged. The claims returned value in the user record does not change when an item the user claims to have returned is marked as MISSING or LOST. When the item is cleared from the user’s record, the Claims Returned value remains the same because it shows the history of claims for the user. Beware of repeat offenders! As of 12/18, Symphony does not have any claims-returned-repeat offenders :-)
WorkFlows does not have a special report to identify items users claim to have returned. However, the "List Charges" or "List Users with Charges" reports can be customized by selecting a designated range or "ANY" for the "Date Claims Returned" field from the charge selection tab, or a ">0" as the "Number of Claims Returned" from the user selection tab. If a user has existing claims returned, adjustments need to be made in your overdue notices to exclude these users.
Here are the claims returned by library as of 12/23/2018:
29 PALMS: 1
BARSTOW: 13
BUTLER: 101
CHERRY POINT: 20
IWAKUNI: 6
KANEOHE: 28
MIRAMAR: 4
NEW RIVER: 1
PENDLETON: 7
SAN DIEGO: 16
As long as the claims returned counter is higher than 0, an alert will display in the patron record. If you do not want the alert to display, you will need to change the counter to 0.
- Take off limits for certain items?
This can be achieved by an override. Item checkout limits are based on a system policy which is globally applicable to all MCCS libraries.
- Is there a way to group catalog/bulk catalog new items?
Yes. This requires using the "bibload" report. We will be covering this procedure when we cover cataloging/reports.
- How do we run reports?
Consult this manual. Reports will be covered during our training.
- Can we send automatic emails for holds, overdue, missing items etc.?
Absolutely.
- Does an item automatically show when there is a hold on it?
- Is there a way to extend due dates when the library is closed?
This should be automatically handled in Symphony based on regular federal holidays. Here are the dates currently defined as closed dates for 2019:
2/25/2018, 01/01/2019, 01/21/2019, 02/18/2019, 05/27/2019, 07/04/2019, 09/02/2019, 10/14/2019, 11/11/2019, 11/29/2019, 12/25/2019 and 01/01/2020
Let your system administrator know if you would like to specify additional dates specific to your library.
- After a patron has registered an account with us, can we send an automatic welcome email with a link to our website showing how to navigate the site?
This can be implemented by using the report module. Here is a good example used by Hawaii:
Welcome to the library!
We at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii Library are glad you have decided to join our growing community. Did you know that you can borrow books, movies, board and video games, audiobooks, and CDs from the library? We also have telescopes, robots, GoPros, and sewing machines available. For a full list of the items we circulate, visit us again! We also have computers, wifi, a copier, fax, and scanner for you to use.
For a list of upcoming library programs and to access our online catalog, check our webpage: http://mccshawaii.com/library.
To renew items online, visit the library catalog and sign in with your user ID and PIN. Your user ID is the number on the back of your library card, and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number. You may also want to download the Bookmyne app to manage your account on your smartphone.
We're so glad you're here!
--The Kaneohe Bay Library team
- What can we auto set up?
Almost anything
- Can patrons place a hold and suggest items for purchase through our website?
- Can we print a list of discharged items for a patron?
"Print Reshelving Slips" (Discharging > Properties > Behavior) is probably the best approach. A List of discharges can also be printed when items are returned by printing the screen. As for charged items, you can use the checkout tab under display user , click on "File" then "Print Screen." You can also email the list of checkouts by using the "Email All Checkouts Receipt" from the Checkout Wizard. Otherwise, a report can be customized for this purpose which can then be either emailed or printed.
- What a patron can and cannot do?
A patron can review personal information, change pin, set preferences, add lists, SMS notifications, view group members, review checkouts and checkout history, renew items, place/edit holds, submit/review requests and email/text/save/print records. All of these options can be customized in the Enterprise PAC for each library. You should have a say in what the user can or cannot do :-)
- Can we print a hold slip with the patron’s name who requested the item?
WorkFlows can be configured to customize hold slips. In addition to printing names, the following fields can be printed as well:
Author
Call number
Hold comment
Current time
Email
Hold expires
Item ID
Hold level
Phone number
Pickup library
Hold placed
Hold range
Title
User ID
Hold slips can be enabled from the behavior properties of the following wizards:
Discharge/Checkin
Check Item Status Wizard
Remove Item Hold Wizard
Remove User Hold Wizard
Onshelf Items
Trap Holds
Receive Transit
Pending Transits
- Can there be a standard Sirsi Receipt Setting?
This can be defined in the "Print Date Due Slips" or "Print Charge Receipts" properties under the behavior tab. If you don't have access to this option, please logon with your SOLOMON account to configure this functionality. See detailed instructions here.
- Can/how do we use WorkFlows offline?
- Can we run a report at the end of the month for the amount of new books being processed?
- When the monthly circ statistics report is emailed, can the text code be left out at the beginning?
The report log information can be stripped. It is simply a matter of disabling the log option in the "Report Session" defaults. However, please note that the log portion can be crucial and, in some cases, it is the essence of the report (e.g. count reports).
- How about MARC metadata for ebooks? We have noticed that sometimes LCCN information is included as the title control number. How will this affect RDA Data?
MARC metadata for ebooks should be handled the same way as for print materials. The LCCN inclusion as the title control number is a function of the key matching rule in the bibload report which is set to ils (i.e. ISBN [020], LCCN [010] and ISSN [022]).
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MARC records for ebooks and printed materials may not be the best match for the item we need to catalog. How should we handle the metadata if it includes ISBN information for both ebook and print materials?
MARC records have distinct ISBN entries for print and non-print items. While it is advisable to load records to the catalog in order to provide potential access points to the user, print and non-print records should be kept separate. If a different format is used, the metadata should be edited as necessary. Other unique fields can be used to identify the item for matching such as the LCCN or OCLC number. OCLC's WorldCat is an excellent resource to use if the title is not available in SkyRiver, BLUEcloud or the Library of Congress. We will explore other tools to load MARC records to the catalog.
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Do we need to fix UNAUTHORIZED entries? Sometime the system adds the next line automatically when we add the subject heading. Is this something we are able to fix?
UNAUTHORIZED headings are simply a warning flag in the catalog to alert the cataloger of entries which have not been added to the authority file. This can be fixed and the procedure will be explained during our ILS training.
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How many years do we have to wait before removing items in the LOST/MISSING location?
Preferably after a couple of years. Depending on the circulation history, you may want to replace the titles in question. To identify lost/missing items, you may want to run the custom shelflist (mccs2excel) report using the current LOST/MISSING location to limit your results. Here are some statistics on LOST/MISSING items.
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How do holds work? Is there a way in the PAC to limit holds to items in circulation? We would like to know the established procedures to determine when users can place holds on shelved items.
We will cover holds during our ILS training. A certain set of policies will need to be set up in order to limit holds to items in circulation or on the shelves.
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How frequently do other libraries check the on-shelf items report/wizard?
Depending on the size of your collection, you may want to run this report at least once a day. Preferably, when the library opens its doors early in the morning.
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Are there any procedures in place to address situations where holds are inadvertently placed on items belonging to a different library in the system? Is it OK to ignore/delete the hold record?
To avoid this problem in the future, "library" needs to be set up as the range (or group if the library belongs to a group of libraries) in the "Place Hold" wizard default properties. The library where the hold has originated needs to be notified to determine if this is a mistake or a valid hold request. If the former, the hold can be deleted.
This should not be a problem In the Enterprise PAC because holds are limited to the user's own library, unless a different library is selected by the user.
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Is it possible to suppress old user IDs where the last 4 SSN digits are included?
The 4-digit SSN information has been totally purged from the system in order to comply with DoD PII policies. However, old user IDs can be managed by enabling the User ID Manager Helper in the wizard properties. This helper is used to manage multiple user IDs and can handle up to 100 active/inactive IDs. You can add or delete IDs, set IDs as active or inactive, and specify the Primary User ID.
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Is it possible to search by home location in the Enterprise PAC?
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How can we shelve by the same author if the titles are categorized by genre?
For example: books by Stephen, King
Title: The Shining Call#: N King 1st ed.
Title: Salem's Lot Call#: Horror Kng s. 1990
Title: Different Seasons Call#: SC King
This will depend on the library's own established procedures. Shelving by author when genre classification is used will be discussed with the group and best-practice methods will be recommended.
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The scanner added our prefix automatically when scanning an ISBN
This must be a configuration issue. You will need to reconfigure your scanner using the configuration sheets available here: https://mccs.libguides.com/resources/scanners or contact you system administrator for special assistance.
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Is it possible to customize the user registration fields so that we are only including the necessary fields? Staff is inconsistently inputting data and I’d like to make this easier on them, if possible.
This is possible either at the system level or by customizing the wizard properties. The procedure will be explained during our ILS Training.
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Is it possible to have an online library card registration option on the website that links to Workflows?
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Our library cards were printed with a barcode that begins with a 4-digit prefix; when you scan a patron card, the scanners add in an additional prefix. As long as you save the user ID with the double prefix, workflows will retain it as an active ID…so when the patron comes back later to check materials out, you can scan it and find their account. However, if you replace an old library account with the new card #, or neglect to save the number with the double 0170, workflows will only retain the new ID which means when you scan the card next time, the patron’s account won’t be found since it is registering the double-prefixed ID from the scanner. Any suggestions?
This is a scanner configuration issue. Contact you System Administrator for a new configuration sheet. Please do not use an additional prefix as the patron's user ID as this will prevent users from accessing their accounts online. See related question # 32 above.
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It appears we have some older item locations (DVD room, etc.) that are part of some cataloging records, and this appears to have an impact on whether or not an item can be checked out? Can you clarify why this would be and how we can change these?
Checkouts are not affected by location but rather by item type as they are defined in the system circulation map policies. I suspect this is an issue due to some new item type policies recently added in Symphony which do not have a matching circulation rule.
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Is it possible to add On Order records to workflows? We would like to be able to place patron holds on items that we are ordering due to patron requests, and currently, we have to wait to actually receive the item, then go back and track who had requested it, before we can actually place a hold on it for them. If it is a popular item, then we have to track the order of the requests as well to ensure that everyone gets their correct place in line. It would be much easier if we could add temporary cataloging records in that we could place holds on…
Symphony supports an ON-ORDER location policy which can be used for this purpose. The Acquisitions Module is designed from the ground up to support this capability.
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I’d like to have access to all the reports that are currently in use by staff, please…including long overdues, etc. I want to better manage and follow up on assigned tasks.
This can be arranged by cloning the active reports used by library staff. However, it is not advisable to have multiple overdue notices unless certain flags are disabled in these reports. A better approach is to create a generic account which can be accessed by all staff members or have these reports emailed to the Head Librarian.
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I’d also like to have all staff have the same amount of access to workflows. I understand that it is not a good idea if staff haven’t been trained on the various modules, but having different levels of access is impacting staff’s ability to cross-train, learn, and accomplish more tasks with the collection. I think this will help us be more efficient and less siloed too.
It is certainly possible to have everyone have the same access level. But it is not recommended because the accountability burden will fall on the Head Librarian in case of data damage, corruption or loss.
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Is there a reason why we don’t use workflows for ILL, and/or is it possible to do so? I’d like to simplify the process and make it more efficient.
WorkFlows can be used to manage ILLs. See ILL and the Requests Module instructions, both of which will be covered in our ILS training.
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Would it be possible to add a “Status” drop-down to the new user registration on the Enterprise page, so that libraries that do family accounts can tell an authorized patron from a dependent? I think the easiest thing to do would probably be pull options from the Status drop-down – it might be slightly inconvenient if the library uses a different system (STF vs OFF/ENL, etc), but we’re still having to manually fill that policy anyway, and being able to just a run a report for detecting all “DEP” added in the last week would probably be extremely useful for libraries that use family accounts rather than individual accounts.
Status cannot be defined in the the registration form at this stage. It is probably not user-friendly to have all the user status list in the form as a drop-down option, in addition to all the required fields. Users may not be familiar with all the codes we use and may select the wrong status. However, there are two alternatives:
a. We can load a default status value if necessary. This will be achieved by running a script after the online registration.
b. We can develop our own user registration form where we can specify all the fields we want new users to fill out. This will give us more flexibility. Then we can load the new patron information programmatically.
As for dependents, it is better to use the user group feature. The other option is that we can still define 6 additional demographic fields in the user record. So if we need to add another field to identify dependents versus non-dependents and avoid any confusion with the rest of the user status codes, we sure can.
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Am I correct in assuming that all patrons registered through Enterprise will be on the WEBPUB profile name? Is it possible to change the profile after the patron is properly entered in the system? Do you recommend that I ask the staff to do so? If I change the profile, does that automatically change the Primary address, or do I need to do that manually?
You can certainly run a report to capture new users registered with a WEBPUB status. The choice is really yours whether you want to change this status or not. Users with WEBPUB have the same charge/hold limits as public users ( i.e. public profiles such as BEAPUB, CHEPUB, LEJPUB, MIRPUB, PENPUB, etc). All addresses are set to address #1 as the primary address. However, if we need to implement some kind of routine to change this after the online registration, it should be feasible.
As of 01/07/19, here is the total number of WEBPUB accounts by library:
29_PALMS: 29
ALBANY: 6
BEAUFORT: 9
BUTLER: 245
CAMP_SMITH: 5
CHERRY_PNT: 33
IWAKUNI: 13
JOHNSON: 2
KANEOHE: 35
LEJEUNE: 108
MIRAMAR: 18
NEW_RIVER: 5
PARRIS_ISL: 1
PENDLETON: 82
SAN_DIEGO: 22
YUMA: 9
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Would be possible to display MCRD SAN DIEGO on item records in Enterprise; apparently we get a lot of people who find a book in their collection on Enterprise and assume it’s ours.
This has already been implemented. San Diego items are now labeled as MCRD SAN_DIEGO. Note that this is only applicable to the Miramar PAC profile.
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Would it be possible to create a patron equivalent of the discard status we have for our library materials?
It is the USMC policy is to purge inactive users after 3 years of inactivity. We can run a scheduled report to get a count of users removed from the system. Users with linked checkouts, holds, requests, are not removed during this process because their accounts need to be cleared first. The report will list accounts ineligible for removal.
Removing users not as crucial as withdrawn/discarded items since having more patrons in the system does not hurt anything at all. This is a matter to be discussed with the rest of the USMC librarians to review/implement a system-wide policy.
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What’s the story with the Charge History rule in the patron records? Does that have to do with the Enterprise settings for tracking prior checkouts? Is it only applicable to Enterprise, or is it something that one can work with in Sirsi as well?
The charge history is a feature which has just been implemented recently. This feature will be discussed with the librarians to find out if we need it at all. It is meant to help users track their previous checkouts. The PAC will not render previous charges before the implementation but only items checked out after turning on this feature. Note that this feature is based on an opt-in policy which your staff can override at will. The default is set to hide old charges for the time being.
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Would it be possible to have the online registration update the address fields based on the receiving library’s default primary address, or is that not an option because of the WEBPUB profile? We (and MCRD, and possibly others) use the ADDRESS1 fields for work information rather than personal; if we could get it to feed to the primary addresses, it would save a certain amount of copy-pasting.
The WEBPUB profile has nothing to do with the default address when users register online. We can only specify one address in the user online registration configuration. At this point, it is set to address #1. But it could be address #2 or #3. Obviously, this can be changed after the fact by running some kind of script to transform the patron record if necessary. Since this is a system-wide policy, we need to discuss feasibility with the rest of the USMC libraries.
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How do I merge duplicate titles in WorkFlows?
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We have some concerns in relation to how items are shown in the Enterprise PAC. For example, the title "Origin" by Dan Brown.
When we look up this item on the PAC it shows four items. When we look at the titles there is no way to know what type of item it is.
The actual records in Workflows usually show in the title field what type of item it is, i.e. sound recording, electronic resource. The PAC doesn't show this aspect. I noticed in the Title Field (245) that the type is listed as a subfield h. I think the PAC would be more patron friendly if this subfield could be listed when an item is looked up. So if I look up "Origin" by Dan Brown, the title displays "Origin [sound recording]". Right now if we were to look up "Origin" by Dan Brown, we get four items, but without any clarification of the format. Patrons will see four titles that virtually look the same. Therefore, having the 245 subfield h [format] displayed would make finding material easier for the patron, which should always be our goal.
Format information is implemented in the the Enterprise PAC. Here is an example for the title Origin:
Note the format icons. Hovering over the icon, displays detailed information. The h subfield (General Material Designation/GMD) in the 245 title MARC tag is being phased out by most libraries these days because of its inconsistency, awkwardness and bias toward print material. In fact, it is superseded in RDA (Resource Description and Access) in favor of three new fields (content, carrier and media types).
The format icon has been placed after the title and author information for better visibility subject to the group's approval of course :-)
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Some of the libraries are attaching their actual book Call Numbers to the electronic resource or E-book MARC records. Supposedly, this is because the ISBN for the printed book occurs in the MARC record for the E-book or that the printed book ISBN is the Title Ctrl #. Is this the way we want to go with our cataloging records? I think our patrons would be better served seeing individual records for each item by type. Do we want our printed books and E-book records listed on the same record? It's confusing when looking on the PAC from a patron and staff point of view, because there are several actual printed books that when first looking at the listing in the PAC the Call Number is E-Book.
Ultimately, the four titles listed under "Origin" by Dan Brown should be listed and look something like this in the PAC:
Origin (electronic resource - audio)
Origin (electronic resource- book)
Origin: a novel (book)
Origin (sound recording or audiobook)
It might be beneficial to have Titles that are DVD's state (dvd), Blu-ray's state (blu-ray) and audio CD's that are music state (music) or something similar in the Title Field. Just so we are all consistent and doing the same thing.
It seems that there isn't really a standard within the cataloging at out Marine Corps libraries and perhaps this coming meeting might be a good time to address how we all want our records to look and be displayed within WorkFlows and the PAC. Which coincides with our suggestion of having a Cataloging Committee - which we should discuss at Cherry Point.
This is a recent issue which is becoming more critical as the USMC is acquiring and loading more electronic records. A consensus needs to be reached amongst all the libraries as to how this should be handled in the catalog to ensure consistency and adherence to established standards.
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