Home Location vs. Current Location

Now that we have talked about a record, let's talk about the details. A record describes a certain material, but we may buy many copies of that book or CD or whatever. These are called items. Each item is given a Home Location, an Item Category 1 and 2, an Item Type, and so on. Today, we'll talk about Locations.

Each item has a "Home Location". This can be something like FICTION, NONFICTION, POPULAR, REFERENCE, etc. The Central library has many unique Home Locations such as HUM_FIC (which stands for Humanities Fiction and is used instead of FICTION), or C_EASY_FIC (which stands for Children's Easy Fiction and is used instead of EASY_FIC).

This is similar but different to an item's "Current Location". If the Current Location is the same as the Home Location, then the item should be on the shelf. But the Current Location can also be CHECKEDOUT, DISCARD, MISSING, INTRANSIT, LOST-ASSUM, LOST-CLAIM, etc.

In WorkFlows, the Home Location and the Current Location can be seen on the Call Number/Item tab. The "item tree" displays the Current Location. The box on the right will show the Home Location as well as the Current Location.

On the Online Public Catalog, the Current Location can be seen by clicking on a title that displays in your results. The ensuing screen will display a list that is similar to the "item tree" that appears on the left side of the Call Number/Item tab in WorkFlows. This lists the Current Location only. The Home Location cannot be seen unless the Current Location is the Home Location. Also, this list does not show items that have a Current Location of MISSING, DISCARD, LOST-ASSUM, LOST-CLAIM, etc. These are "shadowed".

Online Renewals

When customers access their account online, they have the option to renew their items. However, the list of items is not limited to those items which CAN be renewed. It simply lists all of their items they have checked out.

If a customer selects all items and renews, they receive a list of items that did renew followed by a list of items that did NOT renew. A problem occurs when customers do not examine this list and assume that all items were renewed. Fines continue to accumulate on the items that were not renewed, and the customer is not happy when they find this out the next time they try to check something out.

Not helping this matter was the brief message a customer received when they renewed items. It stated, "(x) items were renewed." A couple of weeks ago, I changed it to "(x) items were renewed. Please scroll down to see is some items were not renewed."

I also changed the message that appears below an item if that item could not be renewed. It used to state, "renewal failed". It now states,"Renewal failed. 1) Either item already renewed once; 2) Item is a Popular Book or New DVD and cannot be renewed; 3) Or another customer has a hold on the item."

I also added a bullet to the online help for "Renewing Items". It now states:

To renew online, follow these steps:

• Log in to your account.
• In the My Account area, click Renew My Materials.
• Select the check box by items to renew, or mark Select All.
• Click Renew Selected Items.
• You will then receive a list of the items that successfully renewed followed by a list of items that could not be renewed. Please review this list carefully.

I have also submitted an enhancement request to SirsiDynix that could hopefully address this issue in future upgrades. Other library systems have stated that their customers report the same experience. One way would be to possibly limit the list of items that the customer sees prior to selecting items to renew. This list would be limited to only those items that can be renewed. Or, perhaps a simpler way would be to reverse the renewal results so that all of the items that failed to renew are listed first.

What is the Catalog?

Part I in a series on basic searching...

Knowing what the catalog is will help you search that catalog. In simple terms, the catalog is a collection of records that describe all of the material we have in the library. Each record has numerous fields which house certain types of information. What are the three main types of information libraries collect? Anyone?

Answer: Author, Title, and Subject.

There are other fields which store information such as call number, publisher, etc. Another useful field is the Contents field which stores information such as song titles on CDs or music scores, short story titles in short story collections, and such. Some records even have a Summary field which provides a brief description of the contents of the material.

When searching in WorkFlows, these fields can be viewed by selecting the Description tab that appears once you have your results. On the online catalog, these fields can be seen by clicking on a title in a results list. Then, click on Catalog Record which appears in a column on the right side of the page.

Where Am I? Or, The Importance of the USER ID When Logging into WorkFlows

The process of logging into WorkFlows is trickier than you might expect. You should always make sure that you log in with the User ID and PIN of the location that you are currently located. Many of us work in multiple locations and almost all of us help out at Central on Sundays. And, for example, if you log in using the Randolph User ID and PIN when you are actually at Highland, then WorkFlows thinks you are at Randolph.

What are the implications of this? If you check out any books, then stats are assigned to Randolph and not Highland. If you place a book on hold to be picked up at Highland, the item is placed intransit to Highland from Randolph even though the book is already at Highland. If you discharge books that belong to Highland and reshelve, the items are still intransit from Randolph to Highland. Basically, all sorts of chaos ensues.

And you thought remembering the cryptic 4 digit PIN was the hard part!

For more information on logging into WorkFlows, visit the WorkFlows wiki and click on Logging In.

OPAC Enhancement: No Results???? Is That All I Get?

Previously, if you performed a search on our online public access catalog (or OPAC) and your search retrieved no results, you received the message "No results". However, digging around the configuration files of our OPAC, I found the source of this message and altered it. Now, if you perform a search and retrieve no results, you receive this message:

No Results. Please 1) check your spelling above; 2) resubmit your search as a Browse Search below; or 3) feel free to contact us for assistance in searching our catalog.

The third suggestion is a link to our contact page.

The PrtSc Key (or Print Screen)

Here is a link to some helpful instructions regarding the PrtSc key on your keyboard. You can use this to create a screen shot. Screen shots are great for notating odd error messages that may appear on your screen. That way, when you report the problem, you don't have to say something like, "An error message came up that said something about referencing a control issue or siphoning off a cable gear... what does that mean?"

Basic Mail Merge Assistance

By staff suggestion, I have created a page on the Technical Trainer wiki devoted to the basics of mail merging letters and envelopes.

Phishing

I just received this email:

"As a Firstbanks customer, your privacy and security always come first. We have been dedicated to customer safety and protection, and our mission remains as strong as ever.

We inform you that your Firstbanks Internet banking account is about to expire. It is strongly recommended to update it immediately. Update form is located here.

However, failure to confirm your records may result in account suspension. This is an automated message. Please, do not reply.

Sincerely,

Firstbanks administration"

This email is an example of phishing. From Wikipedia, "phishing is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication."

Unfortunately, there are enough people in this world that would see this type of email, get worried because they do not want an account suspension, and follow the link and enter their bank username, password, etc.

More About Online Job Applications

Robert from Randolph commented on the Job Application post from May 5. I was adding a follow-up comment when I realized that it would be better to create another post.

Robert's comment:

"I've noticed an increasing number of patrons who want to fill out an online job application, but their computer skills are often minimal at best. I'm wondering if we could offer a computer class at Central once a month that would help people with the online job application process?"

First, I appreciate the comment and would like to see more from everyone.

We offered a class called Job Searching on the Web. We set up monthly classes, recruited trainers, distributed flyers, and we could only get one or two people in a class (and canceled others due to lack of registration). And the few people that did attend already had the skills necessary to fill out an application. Their questions were more focused on the entire job searching process (not necessarily technically-related). Meanwhile, we have people banging the door down in order to register for our existing classes. Therefore, I removed the class from the rotation so that we could continue to focus on the existing classes.

Why did this class fail? Unfortunately, the online job application is one of those customer needs that is immediate and fleeting. Also, as the previous post pointed out, if someone cannot fill out a job application, then it suggests a larger lack of computer skills that needs to be addressed appropriately.

The online job application requires basic computer knowledge (filling out text boxes, using drop-down menus, etc.), basic internet skills (entering a URL, following links, not getting overwhelmed by the Web environment, etc.), as well as Email skills. All of these skills are addressed in our existing classes. If a customer went through our entire class program, I have no doubt that they would be able to fill out an online job application. But one class will not successfully address the issue at hand.

I believe the online job application is the single most important battleground inside the Digital Divide, which exists partly due to lack of desire to cross the divide. Nothing else has continually pushed unwilling participants into the online world. As stated in the previous post, I think that some companies use it as an unofficial screening process. If you do not know how to fill out an online job application, then they probably do not want to interview you. If that is not the case, then these companies will need to find out ways to simplify their online job application process so that first time computer users have equal access.

Databases Special Access

A while ago, a staff member suggested the creation of a list of databases with special access features. As you know, most of our databases include remote access with the username m* and password e*. (These must be in lowercase letters. If you do not know what m* or e* stands for, just ask a fellow co-worker. They will know.) And many allow for unlimited log-ins.

However, some do not allow for remote access, some do not use m*/e*, and some only allow for a limited number of log-ins. Here is a list of those that do not have remote access, or do not use m*/e*, or have limited log-ins. This can also be found on the Technical Trainer page on the MPLIC-Wiki under Databases Special Access.