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WebPac Implementation Team : Patron Initiated Features Subgroup

Patron Initiated Functions Report

Sub Committee Membership

  • Rebecca Lee (Chair)
  • Jennifer Merrill
  • Reed Lowrie
  • Jennifer Nelson

Part I  CHARGE

The subgroup will examine new functionality regarding patron initiated services that could be offered to the user in the WebOPAC.  After examining and evaluating the merits of the various system options, the group recommends the implementation of the following functions.

The subgroup examined the issues listed below.  Recommendations follow each entry and a more extensive discussion appears in Part II; technical details required to profile WebPAC to permit these patron initiated functions are detailed in Part III (Appendix).

  1. Intra-library document delivery ("Request Selected Item"), including the ability of patrons to place their own holds and recallsThough this does not yet work as flawlessly as hoped, it should be implemented immediately as profiled in the WWWOptions section of this report.  Work should continue after WebPAC implementation to refine and enhance this service as possible.

  2. Patrons view and edit their recordsThis function should be fully implemented.

  3. Patrons renew their own itemsThis function should be implemented, but implementation should be coordinated with staff training and the development of appropriate "Help" screens.

  4. Patrons submit their own ILL requests via WebPACNo action should be taken here, pending a decision on acquisition of an ILL/DD management system.  The web-based ILL request form should continue to be used for the present, with a link from the Webpac.

  5. Recommend "help screens" for these functions and suggest content for each screen Help screen sections are recommended in Part II.

Part II  PROPOSAL

Intra-library document delivery (Request Selected Item) including holds and recalls

The "Request Selected Item" functionality is now available through DCIS.  The patron uses the 'Get' command and is prompted for a pick-up location for the requested material.  The form is then sent to the Baker/Berry Document Delivery blitzmail account and processed by staff.  Only one item at a time may be requested.  Authentication is through the DND and the service is available only to Dartmouth faculty and staff.  This functionality will no longer be available when the BRS catalog becomes inaccessible.  The committee investigated WebPAC alternatives to this service.

The Innopac patron database will be substituted for the DND for requestor authentication.  Use of this database would permit some refinement in the categories of users permitted to submit document delivery requests (limiting the service to faculty, for example) but this is a policy decision to be made by others.  The patron database can provide the same level of authentication now provided by the DND.  In the case of materials from the Storage Library and the Matthews-Fuller Health Sciences Library which may be requested by all patrons and not just faculty and staff, the WebPAC could be designed to provide links to those more generic web request forms.  This is an awkward situation which may be remedied in the future.  The current iteration of the WebPAC does not offer the flexibility needed to replace the web forms with the catalog request feature.

The procedure for requesting items from within WebPAC differs from the current web form by permitting patrons to find the item they want (if an item record has been created for the material in Innopac) and click the “Request Selected Item” button to generate a paging slip at the owning library.   If a journal article is requested, the patron can specify the article needed (if the entire volume is not desired) provided there is a check-in record linked to the serial.  When the library has several copies of an item, the staff processing the request will be prompted to select the appropriate copy from those listed in the queue; if all copies are checked out, a bibliographic or “copy returned soonest” hold will be used to fulfill the request.  Should the patron request a copy which is not “holdable” (e.g., blocked by a particular material type, item type or location), the system will not permit the patron to place the hold.  In the case of multiple volumes, either monographic or serial, the system will prompt the patron to specify the volume or volumes desired.  Similar to the current request service, there is a prompt for the user to enter a pick-up location for the material, only in the WebPAC the patron cannot leave this field blank and must choose a valid pick-up location.

The fact that a significant portion of our collection has not yet had item records created in Innopac poses some problems when using the request feature.  To deal with this possibility, we have created a web form that is linked from above the “Special Instructions Box” on the request page which states that users should refer to this if the volume they want does not appear in the list of requestable items.   A snapshot of this screen is included below.

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If a patron knows to begin the catalog search from “View Patron Record” rather than going directly to “search the catalog,” multiple items may be requested without re-entering name/barcode/PIN after each request.  Patrons will need to be informed of this feature since it is not intuitive.

While the group recommends that the request feature be implemented at the outset, there are a number of issues which must be resolved before the system will perform as we had hoped.  Until the majority of our collection has records in Innopac, the request function will not work as seamlessly as it could. Additionally we might need to suggest system enhancements with Innovative.

View and edit patron records (patron initiated)

Currently the "View your circulation record" function is available through DCIS, which launches a telnet session into the character-based Innopac to provide patrons access to their record.  Fields accessible through the DCIS interface include checked out items, held items and fines.  Patrons are given a view of their record that looks like the following:

P10160103       Last Updated: 02-05-01  Created:  06-21-93  Revision: 2245
PATRN NAME: Lee,  Becca                               BARCODE: No Barcode
HB 6025                                               28 Pleasant  Street
                                                      Lyme, NH 03755
646-0525                                              603-795-9361

DESCRI:                    STAT C: STAFF              DEPT/A: LIBRARY
P TYPE:  Faculty/AP-I      EXP DATE:  06-06-2005      CUR CHKOUT: 36
MBLOCK: NO BLOCK  SET      CL RTRND: 2                MONEY OWED: $125.00
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────     
│C > Display CHECKED OUT items    M > MODIFY pin                               
│H > Display HELD items           Q > QUIT                                    
│F > Display FINES                                                           
│Choose one (C,H,F,M,Q)                                                        
└───────────────────────────────────────────── 

Patrons do not have access to notes or messages in their records nor do they have the ability to edit their records.

WebPAC can be profiled to permit patrons to view portions of their own records.  Buttons, rather than a standard html link, will be used to prompt the system to display specific information such as checked out items or bills.  The buttons are not cached by the browser so the link is no longer accessible when the session is terminated.

The patron information fields displayed when the patron views his/her record are fairly extensive and include the following:  patron name, classification, address (primary) , address2 (secondary), telephone (primary), telephone2 (secondary), barcode, email address.   Patrons will be allowed to modify various fields including address, telephone, email address and the circulation notice delivery method (e.g, by Hinman mail or email).

The patron info form is a two-framed display, a patron’s personal information and patron record summary appear consistently in the top frame while information such as lists of checked out items, bill and fines summaries, and outstanding holds appear in the lower frame.

The Circulation Roundtable discussed the advisability of permitting patrons to edit their own circulation record.  There was some concern that they would make trivial or inaccurate modifications but since the information is available elsewhere (from Guest Borrower registration cards or College databases) we did not feel the disadvantages outweighed the clear advantage to both patrons and the library.  We recommend that the "patron edit record" functionality be implemented.

Patron self-renew

This service is not currently available to patrons but the ability for patrons to renew their own items is one of the very attractive features offered by the move to WebPAC as the public catalog.

The system will permit renewal of renewable items (e.g., no other holds on the item, not overdue, and not having reached the maximum number of permitted renewals) by qualified patrons (e.g., those who don't owe too much money and have active library privileges).   In general the system works exactly as we would wish.  In the case of overdue items, it is not as flexible as library staff would be.  Items cannot be renewed if they are even one day overdue, and items which have edited rather than system-generated status changes ("lost and paid" or “claims returned” for example) will not block renewal.  This latter problem is a staff training issue and should be addressed in that fashion.

The patron receives messages if Innopac cannot fulfill their request.   The system denies requests and displays various denial messages under the following circumstances.  The messages listed below cannot be changed by the library.  We recommend this problem be addressed by developing informative and user-friendly help screens for these situations.  If a patron requests an item that is blocked in the Request Rule File (see appendix for a description of how this file works), they will receive the following message:

Sorry, request cannot be accepted.  This item is not requestable.

Innopac also verifies that an item is holdable (i.e., 'requestable') by checking an element in the loan rule that is invoked for the requesting patron.  The system displays the following message when the loan rule denies a request:

Sorry, circulation policy does not allow your request.

If the patron's record has a block, e.g., their registration has expired; the patron owes too much money or the patron has placed the maximum number of holds allowed, the system displays the following message:

Sorry, request refused.  Problem with your patron record.  Please see a librarian for assistance.

We recommend that the self-renew feature be implemented, but that implementation be coordinated with staff training and concurrent development of appropriate "Help" screens.

ILL requests

Electronic submission of ILL requests is now available to patrons through a web form.  Patrons enter their borrower information and paste or type the information about the requested item into the appropriate box on the web form.  This service will continue to be available when WebPAC replaces the current OPAC but we explored the possibility of including this Patron Initiated Service among those included in or expedited by the WebPAC.

Another group is investigating the purchase of an ILL/Document Delivery management system.  We recommend that the current web-based request system be maintained for ILL requests for the present but future consideration be given to integrating ILL functionality within the Patron Initiated Services of the WebPAC.

Identify needed "HELP" screens and draft or recommend content

Help screens will be required at several points.

  • Text that appears above the “SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS” input box when requesting an item has been customized to ask the patron to use the “Request Form” if the journal volume they are requesting does not appear on the browse list.
  • From the View Your Record screen there is now a link to a page which outlines, in detail, information for patrons on accessing and modifying their record as well as information on renewing items checked out on their account.
  • While not actually a help screen, some attention should be given to the text box that displays an item’s status.  Currently the due date is displayed but, given the long loan periods to faculty, some note should be made to encourage the patron to recall the item.  Since recalls are linked to holds and only faculty and staff will be able to place holds using WebPAC, it will be important that students and other patrons be encouraged to recall items.  Perhaps a web recall form could be developed which would not offer the option of selecting pickup location.