After release of the Front Desk Service Manual, of course we started discussing a Reader Advisor's version.
This manual is not meant to cover every screen or function in KLAS, and the Intro to KLAS Manual will still be maintained for a more in-depth, screen-by-screen approach. Instead, this manual aims to cover some of the most common workflows and tasks for Reader Advisors, as well as providing a reference for some common terms and functions used throughout KLAS.
We've put a lot of thought and discussion into what to cover, as well as what not to cover. Each topic should be something that is likely to be permitted for even newer RAs, at least somewhat consistent across libraries, and reasonable to explain in only a page or two. For example, we considered a How to Add a New Patron section, but that process is so heavily dependent on individual library policies that we decided to omit it. However, many of the component tasks of setting up a new patron, such as adding Preferences and a Service Queue, are covered.
We also made every effort to make the document accessible for AT users, though the AT Reference Guide may still be helpful to provide additional screen context and description.
A few tips for using this manual:
- If printing, I recommend printing the first page single-sided, and then the rest of the document double-sided for the best formatting.
- If annotating the file to add local policies, consider using Word's comments feature which will maintain the pagination, plus make your comments stand out for easy identification.
- If using the manual in Word, turn on an interactive index by selecting the View ribbon, then marking the Navigation Pane checkbox. In the document itself Ctrl-Click any section or page reference to jump to that section.
- If using the manual in a PDF reader, the interactive index and hyperlinked references should be available by default (depending on the program used).
I hope this will be a helpful document for training new staff, or for existing users to fill in some gaps!
