As we continue to answer questions and work with libraries to handle this challenging situation, I wanted to share some additional tips gleaned from our inbox and experiences working with your fellow users.
- Do I need to shut off Nightly?
- WebOPAC Notice
- Emailing your newsletter
- Record clean-up
If you have any other inquiries, please continue to contact Keystone Customer Support--we're still here to help!
Finally, because we know these are stressful times, make sure to check out the Off-Topic section of the forums to "meet" our Work-From-Home coworkers (formerly known as pets).
Tip 1:
Do I need to shut off Nightly while no one is in the library to handle circulation?
Short answer: Nope! The majority of Nightly circuation is generated by check-ins, so without any check-ins, the volume of assignments created drops steeply. It may find a few additional things over the next few days, but the number of assignments will continue to drop day by day until it has done all it can. Those assignments will then sit around until someone can come in and send them out, and that's fine! They don't expire and they don't interfere with downloads; though they might frustrate OPAC users who see the assigned Titles sitting on their Has Now lists that'll be it.
Tip 2:
WebOPAC Notice recommendations
Have you posted a notice on your OPAC yet? This is an easy avenue to get information out to patrons and those who order for them.
Something we saw one library include that we think is a great idea: Include the recommendation that patrons keep the books they currently have until you re-open! Not only will this keep them out of the pile of books awaiting your return, but even better, it will give them at least something to listen to in the meantime.
You can also let patrons know that local downloads (such as Shelf titles) along with BARD will remain available.
Need help posting the notice? Just send the full text with any formatting you want to , and we'll be happy to post it for you!
Tip 3:
Emailing your Newsletter
If you can't get to the office to physically mail a large print newsletter, you can at least email the contents to those subscribers who have an email in KLAS.
In KLAS 7.7, you can get a list of these patrons and their emails to export using this query:
- Patron - Main Status - Begins - a
- Subscription - KlasID - Equals - (your large print newsletter's KLAS ID, for example SER-NEW2)
- Subscription - End Date - Equals - ?
- Media - Pat Medium - Begins - L
- Media - CirMagStatus - Equals - a
- Address - EMail Addr - Is Between - 0 - ZZZZZZZZ
Version 7.6 does not have the ability to query on Subscription in the Patron module, so that one is a bit more complicated. If you are still on KLAS 7.7.6 and need a list of subscriber emails, let us know.
Tip 4:
Record clean-up recommendations
With circulation tasks unavailable, some staff may find themselves with extra time. If so: this is a great time to do some patron maintenance and catalog clean-up!
Patron module:
- Take a look at the Insufficient Requests Report to find patrons with as many or fewer requests as their NS Cutoff. You may need to contact these patrons to update their request list, or determine that they want to suspend their service. (Reports Menu -> Items and Titles -> Insufficient Requests)
- The Patrons Below Cutoff Report will find those patrons KLAS has been unable to serve, even after running Nightly a few times without check-ins. These patrons may need additional subject preferences or requests, or to have their older HasHads cleared out (for example, a patron who only reads Westerns). On the other hand, there may be something stopping them from getting service, such as no Reading Level or Language! (Reports Menu -> Service Provision -> Patrons Below Cutoff Report)
- The AutoSelect with No Subjects pre-defined Query is always good to check on now and then, to find patrons who either need to provide reading preferences or be switched to List-Only service. (Query Menu -> AutoSelect w/ No Subjects)
- And finally, the Batch Patron Status Review tool is the best way to find and review patrons who haven't been served in a long time, and Suspend them. Additionally, you can review patrons who have been Suspended for a long time and make them Withdrawn and purged.
Catalog module:
We have some Catalog clean-up tasks in the Are you Ready for Duplication? (And is your Catalog?) post.
Additionally, you can query for:
- Language - Not In - ENG,SPA (comma-separated list of all the languages your library has records for)
--to turn up any records with invalid language codes.
Anything else you want to check for? Need help with a strategy to fix something you've found? Let us know how we can help!
And that's it for this week's tips! Don't forget to check out the Off-Topic section of the forums to "meet" our Work-From-Home coworkers if you need a little stress-relief.
