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Home > Minerva > Circulation > Between Minerva Sites

Requesting and Lending Between Minerva Sites

The procedure below must be followed in borrowing and lending among Minerva libraries. The process is simple in outline.  It is described first in brief, then again in greater detail. It reflects changes resulting from adoption of the Title Priority Paging functionality of the Release 2005 Millennium software.

Underlying policy is described on the Intra-Minerva Request Policy page. Procedures for lending and borrowing between a Minerva library and a MaineCat library outside of Minerva are described on the MaineCat Requesting Procedures page. Additional information can be found in the online manual beginning at section 105118.

Transactions In Brief

  1. The patron requests through the Minerva web OPAC at http://Minerva.maine.edu, or library staff place a Title Returned Soonest Hold and select "Page Title" when asked.
  2. The lending library prints a Title Paging List, retrieves a matching item, scans it in Check In to set it IN TRANSIT, ships the matching item.
  3. The borrowing library checks the item in, puts it on the holdshelf, notifies the patron, checks the item out to the patron. Upon return the library scans the item in Check In mode, chooses Set IN TRANSIT and Check In, ships the item back to lending library.
  4. The lending library checks in the item, concluding the transaction.

Transactions In Detail

1. Request is made

Patron places request in Minerva catalog.
... relies on system to select lending library (unless work is in multiple volumes).
... clicks Search MaineCat button to make request at the MaineCat Statewide Catalog level if Minerva lacks available copy.
... can cancel request from View Patron Info if lender has not already acted on request.
Minerva authenticates patron based on name and barcode, confirms there are no blocks on borrowing privileges and that patron is in good standing
... chooses owning library to receive page based on available items and loan rule logic, puts request in library's Title Paging List queue, leaves request as a bib-level hold.
Staff of borrowing library may request on behalf of patron using same procedure.
... may instead place a bib level hold ("Title Returned Soonest"), no location limit, from Millennium Circulation, selecting "Page for Title" when presented with the question of whether to page for the hold.

2. Owning library deals with request

Owning Library prints Title Paging List daily, either from Notices mode of Millennium or with the character-based menu sequence: C-A-N-P-L-P 
... retrieves matching from the shelf any copy of the paged title
... follows transfer/cancel procedure below if the item cannot be sent.
... responds by printing Transit Slip if system asks staff to send out an item at check in time (Paging Slips are not printed for item in circulation, or after a requested item has been returned) .

All Libraries print Hold Cancellation Notices regularly and notify requesting patrons of cancelled requests as necessary.

3. Owning library ships item

Owning library scans item in Check In mode. (Sounds odd at first... Think "Check This Item For Holds" and it seems more logical)
Minerva gives the choice: Fulfill hold | Checkin, do not fill hold | Cancel hold | Cancel.
Owning library normally selects "Fulfill Hold" (NEVER select "Cancel hold")
Minerva asks "Print Transit Slip?". (Say Yes)
... sets Status of the item to IN TRANSIT.
Owning library ships item to patron's library, enclosing Transit Slip.
If a copy to meet the request cannot be found... do nothing (except change the item Status to Missing). In 72 hrs the system will move the request to the next library with an Available item, or stop paging and leave a bib level hold if there are no Available copies. (For item level holds that cannot be filled, see Transferring and Canceling Item Level Holds)

4. Borrowing library receives item

Patron's library receives item, scans it in Check In mode.
Minerva says, "Item status is IN TRANSIT and has been cleared." (Click OK)
... says, "Put on holdshelf at Somewhere Library for Jane Doe. Pickup notice will be printed. Print slip to place in book?" ( Click Yes or No as you wish. Note that, unlike Transit Slip, the Hold Slip will contain patron name and phone #.)
Minerva says, "Item is not checked out, check in ignored." (Click OK)
Patron's library notifies patron that book is available. Possible methods: Print Pickup Notices daily. (Patrons with email addresses get them via email); call by phone based on Hold Slip or Paging Slip
Minerva sets Status of item automatically to ON HOLDSHELF.

5. Patron borrows item

Patron's library checks item out to patron. Loan period starts now.
Minerva OPAC shows due date in Status column.

6. Patron returns item

Patron uses item, returns the item to her/his library.
Overdue notices and bills are generated by the owning library.

7. Item returned to owning library

Patron's library scans item in Check In mode.
Minerva gives choice: Do NOT check-in | CHECK-IN. | Set STATUS to in transit;  do not check-in | Set status to in TRANSIT; check-in.
Patron's library selects the 4th option.
Minerva says "Item belongs at location Somewhere Library. Print transit slip?"
Patron's library says yes, places slip in item, ships it back to owning library.
Minerva sets Status of item to IN TRANSIT.

8. Item received by owning library

Owning library scans item in Check In
Minerva says is IN TRANSIT and has been cleared.
Owning library reshelves the item.

Transferring and Canceling Item Level Holds

With Title Priority Paging an item level hold is only created when owning library staff have the item in hand and are ready to put the item IN TRANSIT, except for instances where there are multiple volumes and the page must be done at the item level.

If an item requested on a Title Paging List cannot be found, however, you need do nothing (except change item Status to Missing). The system will automatically re-page the item from another location with an Available copy after 72 hrs. If there are no Available copies at that point, it will stop paging and leave the request as a bib level hold.

In the increasingly rare case that you receive a request for a specific item (via Paging Slip, NOT on a Title Paging List) and if it is missing, or otherwise unavailable, please follow these procedures.

  • If there are other Available items attached to the same bib record, highlight the item in the Holds/Bookings view of the MilCirc summary list, click the MilCirc Transfer Holds button, click the down arrow to view item record numbers, and select one whose item has a Status of Available as target of the move.
  • When asked whether to print a Paging Slip (at the lending library), say Yes -- This is how the new lender finds out that a request has been transferred.
  • If your copy is missing, let MilCirc apply a Status of "Missing" to it when prompted. Otherwise, go back and change Status to something other than Available.
  • If there are no other currently Available items attached to the same bib record, cancel the hold and choose the "Minerva drop hold" message.

Routine Tasks

  • Daily - Print Title Paging List, Item Paging Slips (these should be infrequent), retrieve and scan matching items.
  • Daily (if needed) - Print Hold Pickup Notices daily, if they are used to notify patrons that a requested item has arrived. If they are not used for this purpose, print them weekly to your email to keep the file from building up.
  • Twice a week - Run the MilCirc Transfer Paged Items function to view and identify those of your patrons' requests that have been paged without response for at least 72 hours. It may be necessary to cancel and place a bib level hold again. Note that expired patron borrowing privileges or other patron blocks may explain why a hold has not performed as expected.
  • Weekly - Print Hold Cancellation Notices and use them to notify your patrons of requests and holds that will not be filled.
  • Weekly - Run Clear the Holdshelf from MilCirc. This will allow you to produce a list of items on the Holdshelf that have been there longer than the wait time specified in the applicable loan rule as well as clear requests with a Not Needed After date that has just passed.

Title Priority Paging Background

The following information provides additional information on Title Priority Paging. Those solely concerned with processing requests can safely skip this section if they have no interest in background of this change in requesting functionality.

Title Priority Paging is a new holds management mode developed by Innovative with assistance by a group of users. It aims to implement holds more effectively within a consortial system and avoid some of the shortcomings of the other holds schemes. In particular, it places an emphasis on avoiding placement of item level holds until it is certain that a specific item will indeed be used to fill a given hold. This averts "marooned" item level holds and a variety of other time-consuming annoyances with which circulation staff are familiar.

This document summarizes the changes as well as they can be known before actually implementing Title Priority Paging. It is intended as preparation for Minerva users.

These things change.

  1. While there is still a need to print Item Paging Slips to deal with multi-volume requests, most requests will be received by printing a new Title Paging List.
  2. Every time an item is scanned in Checkin mode, it will be necessary to print a transit slip to serve as a "packing list". (Exception: multi-volume requests which may still show up on an Item Paging Slip)
  3. Bib-level requests do not "jump" to the item level by themselves. They only jump when staff at the lending library scan the item in Checkin mode and, when prompted, specify that the item in hand should be used to fill that hold.
  4. It should only very rarely be necessary to use the Transfer Hold function to move an item level hold, or the Cancel Hold function to clear an item level hold on your item that is unlikely to be filled for a long time.
  5. The routing of requests is controlled by a new Priority Paging Table nested within the Pickup Locations Table entry for each Minerva library. This means that branch relationships, delivery routes, local cooperative agreements, system affiliations and other considerations can be taken into account by Minerva in determining the order in which libraries should be asked for things.
  6. When an item that could fill a hold is scanned in Checkin mode the system will offer the choice: Fill Hold | Do not fill and cancel hold | Do not fill and retain hold | Do not fill and transfer hold (pre-existing item level holds only). "Fill Hold" will be the proper choice almost all the time. "Do not fill and retain the hold" may be appropriate if the item is damaged, a local patron is standing there waiting to check it out, or for some other reason. As far as I can tell, "Do not fill and cancel hold" will never be appropriate in the Minerva context. Staff should be aware that this option, which it appears cannot be suppressed, is never to be chosen.
  7. Holds are automatically cancelled if all holdable items have been paged and none selected to fill the hold.

What stays the same.

  1. The patron's home library will always be paged first to fill a hold if at least one item there is Available.
  2. Web OPAC requesting looks the same.
  3. Placing a bib level hold in MilCirc looks the same (except that staff get prompt to Page Title and should say Yes)
  4. It still is possible to place an item level hold in MilCirc. However, this should NEVER done against an item in another library's collection, unless that item is part of a multi-volume work.
  5. Holds placement in general looks and behaves the same.
  6. MaineCat procedures are unaffected.

Other considerations.

  1. There will be a period right after the switch over during which we will need to clean up old item level holds. MSL will attempt to facilitate this in ways yet to be determined.
  2. While the switch over can be done in a matter of minutes, the configuration of the Paging Priority Tables will take several hours and likely will require some tweaking over time.
  3. The current Item Paging Slips provide more information than does the Transfer Slip. In future we would want to lobby for the option to include more info on the transfer slip. However, even now a significant number of items travel with Transit Slips rather than Paging Slips because they were paged at the point of checkin rather than retrieved from the shelf. Some libraries may wish to print a Hold Shelf Slip when the item is received and checked in and the Place on Holdshelf prompt appears.