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User Services: LIB CIRC FAQ

Work page for 1st and 2nd floor user services desk

What is Needed at Check Out

To check items out patrons must provide their SVSU ID card.  If they are a guest they must provide their SVSU Library card and driver's licence or Michigan ID.  If they do not have a record in the system they will need to fill out a registration form.  (For patrons who have a record, but can not supply ID we will hold the items they wish to check out for up to one week.)

Quick Reference

Patron Records

- SVSU faculty, staff and students are loaded multiple times leading into and in the weeks after the start of the semester

- To find out *when* a record was loaded simply subtract five years from Expiration Date (e.g., a patron load of 9/5/2012 will include an expiration date of 9/5/2017)

- If an expiration date is *not* in the current semester then likely the patron is no longer an active presence in SVSU

Semester Patron Loads

Fall

- Load starts after summer classes end
- Last load after add/drop deadline or as needed, which ever comes later
- Unregistered students (from Summer) converted to guest 1st week of classes

Winter

- Load starts mid-December
- Last load: same criteria as Fall semester
- Unregistered students (from Fall) converted to guest 1st week of classes

Spring

- Load starts last week of Winter semester classes
- Last load blends in with summer load
- Unregistered students (from Winter) converted to guest 2nd/3rd week of classes

Summer

- Load is almost continuous from Spring, no later than 2 weeks before semester
- Last load after add/drop deadline or as needed, which ever comes later
- Unregistered students (from Spring) converted to guest 1st week of fall classes

Checking Items Out in Sierra

1.  Make sure the Check Out (Circulation Desk) Function is selected in the top-right drop down menu.

2.  Make sure the cursor is in the Search box at the top-left.

3.  Scan the patron barcode.

      a.  If the barcode is accepted, compare the name on the card to the name on the screen.

      b.  If the barcode is not accepted, cancel the Create Patron Record authorization box and search by ID# ("u" followed by the last 7 digits found on front of the SVSU card).

      c.  If the ID# is not accepted, Create a New Patron Record (see instructions at left).

4.  Scan barcode of item or items, be sure to watch the screen to ensure the transaction is recorded.

5.  Close account to print due slip.

6.  Desensitize items by sliding spines across block.

  • Under *no* circumstances divulge what *anybody* has checked out.  There are no exceptions to this.  It is against state law.
  • If you have students working for you please note that it is an immediate firing offense if they divulge that information.  Any and all inquiries along these lines must be routed by *everyone* to Heather or a Circ Supervisor.
  • Also, under no circumstances divulge personal information about any patron, and be *very* cautious about divulging schedule information about our workers.  There have been stalking incidents.

Other Things That May Be Checked Out

Reserves Located to the right of the main Circulation desk, these materials are arranged by instructors last name.  The check out period is limited and varies by item.  Also includes SVSU reserves.
Occupational Therapy Reserves Located to the right of the main Circulation desk and along the back wall, these items are to be used by OT students and have various check out periods.

Hold Shelf

 Located on shelving under the processing room window.  Contains items for students and guests in alphabetical order by last name and includes holds and MeL and ILLiad requests.

MeL

 Items found on Hold Shelf.  Type "b" in Search screen before scanning barcode.

Media Reservations

 Items set aside for faculty members to use in their class on a specified day; located on the blue cart outside of the supervisor office on the top rear shelf.

Headphones

 Located in the wood cabinet outside of Thom's office and in front of the Archives door.  These items must be returned before the library closes each day.

 Dry Erase Kits

 Located in the cabinet to the right of the middle work station of the main Circulation desk.  These items must be returned before the library closes each day.

 Remote Controls

 Located in the drawer to the right of the middle work station of the main Circulation desk.  These items must be returned before the library closes each day.

 Amigos

 Located in the three listening rooms across from the Circulation desk.  Check out barcodes are located in the right drawer underneath of the cash register.  Patrons must fill out a policy agreement.  Amigos must be returned before the library closes each day.

Notebooks/ Netbooks

 Located in the closet in the Resource Saring Processing Room, these items require a form (which can be found in the black file trays in the supervisor office) to be checked out.

Reference/ Periodicals/ Curriculum

 Can not be checked out and are to be used in the library only.

New Books/       New Media

 Answer Yes when asked "Item status is NEW BOOKS/AV.  Clear it?" and "Checkout item anyway?".

 Media Items

 Do not desensitize these items, instead pass them around the security gate to the patron to avoid setting off the alarm.

Trouble shooting patron problems

  • Problem: Current faculty/staff/student patron cannot access Library resources
    • First step: confirm that they can get into email or Canvas.
      • If not, then the problem is with their SVSU username/password
      • If yes, then proceed
    • To use SVSU username and password there must be
      • a valid status (current faculty, staff, student)
      • a valid *and* correctly formatted SVSU ID number (7 digits: typically 1st digit is "0")
    • If status and correctly formattedID are present, but access is still compromised
      • is patron blocked (e.g., fines $10 or more, or a status of "SEE SUPERVISOR")? If yes, route to Thom, else continue
      • does patron have non-alphanumeric characters in SVSU password? If so this will impact everything that goes through CardCat authentication.
        • To check this have them log in to "My Library Account".  If they are current SVSU and have a correctly formatted ID, then if they cannot login to My Library Account then the most likely culprit is the password
    • If no problem is discerned thus far in the process then the odds are that the issue is with the resources or the WAM profile.  A good place to start at this point would be to contact Scott (that list to expand in the near future!)
  • Non-current faculty/staff/students should ignore the Username/Password and go to Name/Barcode
  • "SPECIAL" patrons
    • Some non-current SVSU patrons require special access to Library resources.  They have the designation of "Special"
    • They must ignore SVSU username/password and use only name and barcode
    • They have remote access to databases but *not* MeLCat
    • Problems with these patrons should be routed to Thom

Barcode problem

  • If looking up a patron on Sierra *DO NOT USE PATRON BARCODE OR PATRON NAME*.  Instead type "u" followed by last seven digits of SVSU ID# (typically starting with "0" then 6 other numbers)
     
  • If student does not have ID and cannot remember ID#, search by name: type "n" followed by last name and first name (left truncated, e.g., "nZant" will bring up Zantow Thomas)