Circulation Services Subcommittee Minutes

July 9, 2024, at 9:30 am

Zoom session

Action Items:

The CSS recommends that libraries have the option to waive any fines/charges older than 01/01/2010 for patron records with their library as the home library.

The CSS recommends adding an Overflow Custom Item Status with the following parameters;

· Allow holds to be placed? Yes

· Allow items with this status to fill holds? Yes

· Auto clear status at Checkout? No (to take advantage of the capability to provide an alert at check in)

· Auto clear status at Check In? Yes

· Provide Alert at Check In? Yes

Present: Steev Baker (SUN), Jeff Kauffeld (MAD), Ronda Evenson (VER), Margie Navarre-Saaf (MAD), Emily Harkins (WAU), Kelly Heasty (MCF), Erica Kersten (PIN), Eddie Glade (STP), Tanya Bolchen (MID), Jennifer Foster (FCH), Robin Behringer (STO), Alyssa Diaz de Leon (REE), Andrew Branstad (MTH), Jeff Pond (MRO), Claire Parrish (MCM)

Absent: Autumn Baumann (POR)

Excused: Zach Ott (BAR), Alice Johnson (MOO)

Recorder: Michelle Karls (SCLS)

SCLS Staff Present: Heidi Oliversen, Cindy Weber

1. Call to Order at 9:32 am

a. Introduction of guests/visitors

i. None.

b. Changes/Additions to the Agenda

i. M. Navarre Saaf added 4e “Request to add an Overflow custom item status.”

c. Requests to address the Committee

i. None.

2. Approval of previous meeting minutes: May 14, 2024

a. Motion: The May meeting minutes were approved by consensus.

b. Discussion: none.

c. Vote: motion carried.

3. Action Items

a. None

4. Discussion

a. Option to waive Fines/charges older than 01/01/2010 – report discussions with clusters

i. We don’t have owning library information on fines/charges older than 1/1/2010.  In 2014 the ILS Committee approved the ability of the accepting library to retain payments from patrons for fines/charges with dates older than 01/01/2010.  Instead of receiving and retaining  payment, what about allowing libraries to choose to waive those charges because they are so old and there is no owning library information?  Those in favor: MTH, WAU SUN, MCM, MAD, MID, STP, REE, MCF, MRO, FCH.  A. Diaz de Leon suggest that libraries waiving fines should add a note indicating how much was waived with a date.  C. Weber can run a report of anyone with a balance over $100.  Patrons with a balance over this amount are not eligible for the annual purge of older charges.  After much discussion, A. Diaz de Leon proposed an option to allow libraries to waive fines older than 1/1/2010 based on the report for patrons with their library as a home library.  What about libraries who don’t have time to do this clean-up?  We will come up with a proposal.  Right now, we are unsure of what kind of workload it would be but perhaps ILS Staff could help with clean-up.  We are in favor of database clean-up. 

1. A. Diaz de Leon moved to create a new policy that libraries have the option to waive any fines/charges older than 01/01/2010 for patron records with their library as the home library.  M. Navarre Saaf seconded.

2. Discussion: (above)

3. Vote: motion carried.

b. PSTAT clean-up report and workflow testing reports.

i. Thanks to everyone who used Tim’s test run report to review and revise the PSTATs in patron records that were identified as “No Match”.  The feedback was very helpful!  It helped Tim (SCLS) and Lucas (MAD) to get some of the codes and areas updated in the Firefox extension.  The proposed timeline for the first full-database report and subsequent report is as follows:

1. In August 2024 T. Drexler will run the process and create a report that identifies all of the patron record PSTATs that contain a code that is a “No Match” against the U.S. Census Bureau database.

A. The extraction is limited to the following patron categories: AD,ADS,HOM,JU,LU,LUJ,NR,SR,FFO,ORG and will exclude records that have expired, have a “gone no address”, “lost card” or “debarred” flag or has a PSTAT of “X-INT”.

2. This “No Match” report will be posted on the SCLS Reports page, identifying patron records by their Borrower # along with the instructions for identifying when the address/code has been reviewed but not changed.

3. Subsequent reports will be run quarterly and only “No Match” records that have been added or modified since the last report will be extracted.

4. This report can be requested as an individual Custom Patron Information Request form but it cannot be run for any library as a monthly request. The script it goes through the entirety of the database and is very time consuming. 

c. RFID Format guidelines clean-up: any further input?

i. H. Oliversen displayed the revised guidelines (Thank you Emily and Erica!) and reviewed the changes.  These do not need to go to the ILS Committee for approval.  The repeating instructions and “fluff” were removed.  H. Oliversen will accept the suggested changes to this document and add a revision date.  She will post the revised policy, and these updated guidelines on appropriate webpages, and announce via email. 

d. Local Holds survey results

i. H. Oliversen reviewed the survey results.  We did receive several no responses.  Some stated that creating and converting the Local Hold/Use items is very time consuming for their staff.  Others shared that they feel that this process is undermining the system-wide resource sharing that we’ve been working under for many years.  Some functionality changes were listed as making the option to allow all new materials to be eligible for Local Holds/Use, but time and attention on the ILS Evaluation project means that no new development will be requested until a decision is made.  There were enough “No” responses to indicate that opening the LH parameters to all new materials would not be something that all of the libraries would agree upon.  A. Diaz de Leon proposed that REE would like at least one local circulation before it goes out to other libraries and doesn’t come back for a while and sometimes damaged.  Would that make more libraries be interested in being involved?  Or limiting the LH parameters to 30 days instead of 60?  A discussion about using the Display status for new materials, with only one checkout limiting the item to the owning library, instead of Local Holds, was mentioned as a time-reducing option but would have to be investigated further before seeing if this is a viable option.  The CSS member agree that there is not enough consensus to agree to expand local holds to all formats at this time.  Individual requests for adding formats to Local Holds should continue to come to the CSS who will discuss them on a case by case basis. 

e. Request to add an overflow custom item status

i. This request came from MAD.  M. Navarre Saaf shared that sometimes they have situations when their shelves are too full, usually during certain times of the year (i.e. Holiday books).  They would like “Overflow” as a custom item status.  They would recommend to allow holds to be placed on these items and allow items with the status to fill holds.  They recommend not having a status auto-clear at checkout, but recommend clearing the status at checkin after providing an Alert to the staff person.  The Shelving Location cannot create an alert for staff.  Staff can then decide if they have room on their shelves for the item or to re-add the status to the item to be re-shelved in Overflow.  Libraries would not be required to use this status, but some may find it useful.  This would be very helpful for MAD and their branches.  Other members agreed that they would find this useful in their libraries.

1. M. Navarre Saaf made a motion to add an Overflow Custom Item Status with the following parameters:

· Allow holds to be placed? Yes

· Allow items with this status to fill holds? Yes

· Auto clear status at Checkout? No (to take advantage of the capability to provide an alert at check in)

· Auto clear status at Check In? Yes

· Provide Alert at Check In? Yes

2.  J. Pond seconded.

3. Discussion: (above)

4. Vote: motion carried.

5. Plan for the Next meeting:  September 10, 2024, at 9:30 am via Zoom session

6. Adjournment at 11:13 am.

For more information about the Circulation Services Subcommittee, contact Heidi Oliversen.

SCLS staff are available to attend cluster meetings to share information and answer questions pertaining to this committee meeting and other departmental projects.

Circulation Services Subcommittee/Minutes/07-2024