Changing Hold Pickup Location

If a patron would like to change the library location where they will be picking up holds, this is a much simpler operation than it was in Dynix. In the Circulation module, go to the "Modify User Holds" wizard and look up the patron's account. Select the checkbox next to the hold they want to change, and then click on the 'Modify' button at the bottom of the screen. In the box that pops up, there are a number of different things you can change. To change where the hold is being picked up, select the new library from the drop-down menu. You can also suspend a hold if the patron is going away on vacation. Just select the appropriate dates in the Date Suspended and Date Unsuspended boxes using the little calendar gadget. We don't do Recall, so don't worry about those little buttons at the top.

Once you've made your changes, you will see the new pickup location listed along the item line (or the suspend/unsuspend dates, if you did that).

Lost Cards

If a patron has lost their library card, please DO NOT use the "User Lost Card" wizard. I know this seems counter-intuitive, but when you use this wizard, Unicorn completely duplicates the account, so you eventually end up with one user having multiple accounts and we don't want that.
So if someone loses their card and wants a replacement, go into "Modify User" and change their barcode there.

Finding the patron's billing history

To see what fines the patron has paid since the beginning of the Unicorn system (you have to log into Dynix to see anything paid prior to March 6, 2008), use the Display User wizard to look up the patron. At the bottom of the screen is a drop-down menu for Bills:
Select "Paid", and their fine history will appear on the screen.

PC Reservation

This is actually about the Internet terminal reservation system that we've installed at the PL, not Unicorn, but this is a good place to stick this information.
1. The staff computer in the back room (fclstaff, staff) is the brains of the system. This computer must be turned on, logged in, and have PC Reservation running before turning on any of the public access computers.
2. The public Internet terminals should log themselves into the system automatically when you power them up. If for some reason they don't connect to the 'brain', you'll see a message box with two options. The default is to search for a connection using port 1969. Click 'OK' and it should find a connection on 'Judith'. Go ahead and 'save the settings'.
3. If this doesn't work for some reason, choose the other option in the box, and hand enter in the IP address that it needs to connect to: 10.128.0.253
4. When giving the guest pass to tourists, please remind them to write down their PIN
5. To see a list of reservations, go to the Reservation Station window on the front desk terminal and click on the 'View Reservations' button. You can sort this list by appointment time by clicking on the grey bar at the top of the list (you could also sort by terminal).
6. To cancel a reservation, highlight the one you want to cancel, and click the 'Cancel Reservation' button at the top of the screen.
7. If something goes wrong with someone's reservation and you need to place another reservation for them, you can do this at the staff terminal. When you go to book their time, the system will tell you that they have already made a reservation that day, but it gives you the option to override.
8. If you need to quit out of the PC Reservation program that is running on any of the public internet terminals, just click on the white PC Reservation logo on the screen, then type Ctrl-Alt-F10. The password to exit out is k3tch.

Getting your monthly circulation statistics

This will tell you how to put together a basic report that tells you how many items (broken down by the type of item) you circulated in the last month.

• Go to the Reports module, and click on the Schedule New Reports wizard
  
• Click on the Administration tab and then click on the Transaction Statistics option. Then click the Setup & Schedule button at the bottom of the screen.
• 
  
• While in the Basic tab, rename the report so that it is specific to your library.
  
• Click on the Transaction statistics tab (right above), and for the Column option select "Total" and for the Row option select "Item Home Location"
  
• Click on Transaction Statistic Selection, and go down to the Item Home Location box. Using the gadget next to that box, select the home locations for the items that you want to track. Click on the locations in the 'List to choose from box' and then click the blue arrow in the center to move it into the 'List Selected' box. When you've picked out everything you want, click 'OK'. Then, in the Item Home Library box, select your library.
  
• Then Click on Transaction Selection tab. Choose your library. For Transaction date range, use the gadget to select a range of '30 days before' for the Start Date and 'Date this report will be run' for the End date. Click OK
  
• For the Command box, use the gadget to select these three commands: Charge Item Part B; Renew Item; and Renew User Part B.
  
• Now you can click on the Save as Template button at the bottom of your screen. Your report parameters are now saved, and you can either run the report now or schedule it to run on a regular basis.

Checking in newly-arrived magazines (PL only)

1. Click on the Serial Control tab at the top of the window and then click on the Check In wizard.

2. Search for the magazine. (Make sure you're in the correct title by checking the call number - this shows the holdings and you should see the other listings for the magazine.)

3. Click Check In Issues at the bottom of the screen.

4. If what you are holding in your hand matches the "Expected Issue" information given, click the "check in now" button at the bottom of the page and enter the barcode as directed.

5. If what you are holding in your hand does NOT match "Expected Issue" - see if you can find or create a matching listing by clicking "Different Issue" at the bottom of the screen. That will pop up new options.

• You may be able to simply choose another volume on the list and proceed with check in (it does pop up and extra window in case you want to write a note, but you can click ok and it will take you to the "enter item ID" window).
• You may combine issues, if it is a MAY/JUNE instead of just MAY, but please let Kelly know as the numeration may need to be adjusted.
• It may be a "special" issue - again if the numeration will be affected, please let Kelly know.
• There is also a "Modify" if part of the information is correct, but part isn't; that would be "fixable" in this window.
• If none of those work, or if that is all too much for you, please just pass the magazine to Kelly to deal with when she has time.

7. Once you do get the bar code in the record it will make you click ok twice (sometime scanning automatically clicks the first ok, sometimes not) and then your options will be - check in another issue of that same magazine, search for a new magazine or close - click what works best for you.

Double-checking patron status

When you are checking items out to a patron, there is a quick way to see what type of patron they are: Adult, Kids, Temp or UAS Distance. Since this can be helpful in making sure they are indeed the card holder (if the account says KIDS and the person in front of you is 40, that's a red flag), and also tell you what type of services they can receive (TEMP people can only check 4 things out, UASD cannot check books out from the PL), it's a good thing to keep an eye on.

Searching in iBistro

When you do searching in our new catalog, the ? is used to substitute for a character (i.e. 'wom?n' will search for women and woman).
If you want to truncate a search, you need to use the $ (i.e. using 'comput$' will come up with 'computers, computing, computation, etc.'). Using an * will also work to truncate.

Finding item information

Unicorn keeps track of a lot of information about an item, but you need to look under the Detailed Display in order to find it. When you do an Item Search and Display, highlight the title you are interested in and then click the Detailed Display button at the bottom of the screen, then click on the Call Number/Item tab. You will be able to find the following information:
Due date
Previous User
Accession # (for PL items)
Price
Click on the Checkouts tab to see who currently has the item checked out, or click on the Bills tab to see who owes money on the item. Since you cannot delete anything from the system that has bills associated with it, you will need to use this Bills tab when you are trying to do deletes. The Holds tab shows you the holds queue for that item.

Placing a hold

As requested, here's the process for placing a hold on an item. One good piece of news: you can place a hold on something that is checked in at your library without having to set the item to another status first. This is nice if someone calls in and asks you to pull something off the shelf for them.

1. Under the Holds toolbox, go to the Place Hold wizard (first on the list)
2. Using the User Search helper at the top of the screen, search for the patron (or they may already be showing as Current button next to the User ID box)
3. Using the Item Search helper at the top of the screen, search for the item (or it may already be showing as Current button next to the Item ID box)
4. The Pickup Location option is now highlighted. The default location is the library where the hold is being placed (workstation library), so check with the patron if it needs to be changed.
5. Click the Place Hold button at the bottom of the screen.

If the patron is going out of town, or wants to suspend their hold for any reason, you can alter the dates that the hold is active. Change the Date Suspended and Date Unsuspended using the little calendar gadgets, and they don't have to worry about their hold coming in and expiring while they are out of town (or whatever).

Translating Dynix into Unicorn

Here is a translation table to change the old Dynix status codes into the new Unicorn system (this is geared mostly towards the PL - the user accounts are PL accounts).

Setting things to Trace

Unicorn-speak for Trace items is Missing (not to be confused with Parts Missing or Missing Inventory). When you want to set something to Trace, you need to check it out to the appropriate Missing account. Go into Check Out, and search by name for Missing. Choose the account that fits your location, and check the item out to that account (you might have to do an Item Search using the little book helper button at the top of the screen to get the right barcode. You don't want to set the wrong copy of a title to Missing). When you want to go looking for your trace items (we used to have to run a report for this in Dynix), you just need to look up the user account and print off the list of checkouts.

Setting things to Lost

Under the Items toolbar, go down to Mark Items Lost wizard. You then have the option of searching by either title or patron. Searching by patron would be best, as it prevents you from setting the wrong copy of a particular title to Lost. Click the checkbox next to the title that you want to change, and then click on the Mark Item Lost button at the bottom of the screen. The item's CURRENT LOCATION is then changed from CHECKED OUT to LOST - CLAIM.

Temporary Patrons

Temp patron accounts are good for 6 months, require a $30 cash deposit (of which the patron will receive back $20 if they do not owe us money), and a picture ID. They get filled out much like regular patron accounts except:

1. Under the Basic Info tab, change the Profile Name from Adults to Temporary Patrons.

2. Under the Privilege tab, change the Expiration Date - using the little gadget - to a date 6 months in the future.

3. Under the Address tab, the Residence line is their year-round address. If they are from a foreign country, just fill in the name of the town and country (I'm not tracking down overdue fines for people living in Turkey). The Official ID line is for any photo ID. Passports are fine. Unlike regular accounts, General Delivery is fine for a mailing address.

4. After you are done, go to the Pay Bills wizard and look them up. Unicorn has probably added a $10 fee to their account (for the Deposit Card). If the fee is there, go ahead and pay it.

Registering New Users

This is really for the PL....

Click on User Registration and wand in the barcode. Type in the name (Last, First) - don't forget the @ symbol if they've signed the Internet Use Policy form. Go to the bottom of the screen and click on the Duplicate User button. If that name is already in the system, a pop-up window will show you the information. If there is no one else in the system with that name, the pop-up box will say "No Duplicate Users Found"

Go to the Privilege tab, and make sure the expiration date is in 2 years. Then go to the Demographics tab, and fill in the first 3 user categories (you'll know what to put in based on the default choices in each drop-down menu). Then go on to the Addresses tab, and fill in the information for Address 1 only. If they would like to put a permission note on their card, or if they are off-island and need 3 week video checkout, this information gets put in under the Extended Information tab as a note.

IF THIS IS A TEMPORARY PATRON, THERE ARE DIFFERENT PROCEDURES. SEE THE TEMPORARY PATRONS ENTRY.

Cleaning off the Holds shelf by hand

Until we've got something better figured out, here's the process.

1. Go the shelves and look at the note attached to each item. If the patron was contacted over 10 days ago, pull the item.
2. Check the item back in - Unicorn will tell you to send it to the owning library, or that it wasn't charged (so go ahead and reshelve it), or that it was already on hold for patron so-and-so. If it's on hold, write down the info and call the patron.
3. Under the Users toolbar, go to Modify User. Pull up the account of the person with the expired hold, and click on the Extended Info tab. Add a note that says "Hold Cancelled - title of hold - Msg machine date, initials." Click Modify User.
4. Move on to the next hold you are pulling from the shelf.

Good Luck!!

Deleting items

To delete an item from the system, go to the Cataloging module. Under the Titles toolbar, go to the Delete Title, Call Number, Item wizard. Search for the item you want to delete, and at the bottom of the screen you will see the Description. Click on the Call Number/Item tab next to that, and highlight what you want to delete (are you deleting one specific copy, or all the holdings for your library, or the entire title?). Once you have it highlighted, click on the little empty check box next to the item and then click on the Delete button at the bottom of the screen. It will double-check if you really want to do this.

If you are deleting only one individual copy, when you click on the checkbox, the boxes up the tree (holding and title) will get checked also. Don't worry, as long as you highlighted the correct level, it will only delete the individual copy, not the entire record. As of this posting, you cannot delete any item for which someone owes a fine. Unicorn will keep track of multiple unpaid overdue fines, and you will have to manually cancel all fines associated with the item before you can delete it.

Finding the current patron for an item

If you would like to find out who an item is currently checked out to, then look up the item using the Item Search and Display wizard. Click on the Call Number/Item tab, and highlight the particular item in question. Click on the Detailed Display button at the bottom of the screen, and then click on the Call Number/Item tab in the window that pops up. In the Item Info box, click on the Checkouts tab. It will tell you who has the item, and when it is due.

The item info box also has a Holds tab, and you can click on that to get a complete list of everyone who is on the holds list for a particular item.

Displaying patron information

It is possible to look up patron information (address, fines, holds and what they have checked out on their account) without moving from the Check Out window to the Display User window. After you have looked up their account, click on the little hominid figure with the yellow plus sign. It will pop up a window with lots of tabs, and you can see all sorts of info. You can't do anything with this information, but you can at least see it when you are in their account.

Claims Returned

If you need to set an item to Claims Returned, go to the Special toolbox, and click on the User Claims Returned wizard. Look up the person's account, and it will show you everything they have checked out. Find the item in question, and click on the corresponding little calendar gadget. This next step is very important:
Set the Claims Returned date for the same date as the due date. If the due date has already gone by, and you set the Claims Returned for the current day, Unicorn will slap fines on that person's account. These are fines not bills and therefore cannot be paid off the account. So be sure to change the Claimes Returned, and then click "Mark Items Claimed Returned" at the bottom of the screen, or it won't register with Unicorn

Searching for videos in iBistro

In order to find videos in iBistro, the patron must do a Power Search. The link is in the quick search box, under the library drop-down menu (this all shows up on the initial screen when you log in). Click on this, scroll down to the limiting options and select the Type drop-down menu. To find PL videos, you will need to scroll down to PL Media; school videos will be under KSD Media, and college videos under UAS Videos. Then can then enter their subject keyword, or title keyword, or author, or whatever. The search will then be limited to that particular material type. As far as the other limiting options go, Format is useless (it refers to cataloging format), Item Category 1 is determined by Sirsi and is not much help, Item Category 2 is what used to be the ISTATS in Dynix and is just used for statistical purposes at this point.

iBistro remembering patron barcodes

We have had a problem with our public catalog terminals remembering the barcodes of previous patrons and offering them up as options when the next person tries to log into their account on iBistro. The quick and easy fix for this is to turn off the 'Saved Form Information' in the browser. Here at the PL we are using Firefox, since we have heard anecdotal information that IE doesn't work well with iBistro. So in your browser window, go to Tools and then down to the bottom: Options. The pop-up box should show Privacy settings as the default, but if it doesn't you can click on the padlock on the left of the box. Click on Saved Form Information, and then make sure the checkbox next to "Save information I enter in web page forms and the Search Bar" is not checked. If you are using Internet Explorer, then go to Tools and then down to Internet Options. Click on the Content tab, and then at the bottom - under Personal Information click on AutoComplete. Make sure all the checkboxes are clear, and you can even clean out the form history if you would like.

Modify Due Dates

Special due dates for offroad patrons or for out-of-town patrons/faculty you can set the due date for the items *before* you actually check them out. In checkout find the patron first. Click on the little calendar button at the top of the screen. Next click on the gadget next to the special due date box. Click on the date you want the item(s) due. If it's only one item you can leave it at "for this checkout only". If you have more that one item click the button that says "for this user only." Then click OK at the bottom of the screen. Then wand barcodes as usual.

Tammy

Changing home location

In order to change the Home Location on an item, go into the Cataloging Module. Under the Items task box, select Global Item Modification. There will be the option to change a number of values. Go to the Home Location and select the location you want from the drop-down menu and start wanding in books!
CAUTION: this Home Location is where the book is supposed to be when it is not checked out to someone. So this is what to do if you want to put a book in Storage, Off-site Storage, and New. A patron will still be able to check these things out, but when they are returned the computer will let us know that they belong in a special location (storage, off-site, new shelves) and not the regular stacks.

Patron PINs

To find out what a patron's PIN is, go to the Circulation Module and click on Modify User. Under the Privilege tab, you will see the second box down is for the PIN. You can change it for the patron, but you will have to type in an Override code to get this to work. For the PL, the override code is the same one we always used to use. Once you've typed in the new PIN and the override, and you've hit Enter, you should see a pop-up box that says Record Updated. It then gives you the option to Make More Changes or Close.

Equipement use & Checking out paperback (good ole' Mr Paperback)

The procedure for tallying up the computer and equipment use at the end of the day, and checking out paperbacks, is basically the same. We do still have a Mr. Paperback account, as well as an Inhouse Computer Use, Video, Stereo and Typewriter. When someone comes up with stuff from the paperback rack to check out, go to the Ephemeral under the Special Tasks box. Look up Mr. Paperback, and in the Item ID box, scan the second barcode on the yellow laminated Mr. Paperback card we all know and love. Then enter the # of books in the "# copies" box, and click 'check item out to user' at the bottom of the screen. Same procedure for inhouse use - I recommend looking for the account by typing 'inhouse' in a name search. It'll pull up all four possibilities.

Printing info from patron accounts

There is a place to print the patron and items of concern very easily from the Display user screen. Locate the patron and then click on the print icon and this is the screen that pops up - attached document... Very nifty adds date and time too.

Karen

Checking in books that are on hold

When you check in a book and it says HOLDS under the Route To column,
click on the GLOSSARY/hyperlink under HOLDS and the patron's name and
phone number pop up. Pretty slick!

Caitlin

Finding Last Patron

When you are checking something in, if you would like to see who the patron was that had it checked out (this would be the old .b command in Dynix), you can do this by item searching.

1. Wand in the barcode as a normal check-in
2. At the top of the screen, click on the Item Search helper (the little book with the magnifying glass).
3. In the window that pops up, click on the Current Title (highlighted in blue)
4. In the right side of the box that appears, Previous User ID will be shown.
5. Highlight the barcode and click Ctrl+C (to copy)
6. Click Shift+F11 to pull up the Modify User window
7. Paste in the barcode (Ctrl+V), and you will see who had the item checked out.

Drop-down menus

When you use a drop-down menu (which Unicorn is full of), you don't actually have to click on the little arrow and scroll down through the huge list of options. You can just highlight the box and quickly type in what you want to go in there, and it will automatically find that option on the list. Clear as mud?

Checking out magazines

When you go to check out magazines - before we get our Serials Module up and running - you will want to check them out by Add Brief Title. This helper is at the top of the screen when you do checkout, and looks like an open book with a twinkle in its eye. Click on that and add:

1. Title, followed by Year and Date (in the box that says **Required Field**)
2. Change Item Type to PLGC in the drop-down menu
3. Change Home Location to PL Periodicals or Reading Room (if checking out Adult magazines) or PL Children's Magazine Rack (if checking out Annex magazines)
4. Wand in the barcode under Item ID

Changing item locations (changing statuses)

Because we don't have Item Status with Unicorn, items that are temporarily out of the stacks (Storage, Mending, Parts Missing) are in fact checked out to a user. That user just happens to be Storage, Mending or Parts Missing. This means that when you go to change the item from mending to stacks, you are actually checking the item back in. Therefore, Unicorn will tack on fines just as if Mending (or Storage or Parts Missing) were a real patron.
So when you move items back into availability, use the Fine Free Discharge option (in the Common Tasks box), so that those wacky non-patron accounts don't accrue a bunch of fines.

Expired Patron Due Dates

If you are checking out items to a patron, and their card is set to expire before the usual due date, Unicorn will set the items to be due on the patron expiration date (just like Dynix always did). When this happens

1. Check out all the items to the patron


2. Go into their account (Modify User) and under the Privilege tab, change the expiration date


3. Go into Modify Due Dates (in the Special tasks box), click on the current user button and you will see a list of everything they have checked out. Go in and change the dates to the correct one.