Transcript 4.18 - South Central Library System

4.18
Preliminary demonstration of
circulation-related enhancements and
bug fixes
Sponsored by the Pioneer Consortium
with features sponsored by SCLS
Overdue fines “estimated” until item
checked-in
• While an overdue item is still checked out, "estimated fees"
display as a separate amount from the Total amount due
– in the staff client in the patron’s Account tab, “Original amt”
column; and
– in the patron’s PAC account, Fines tab (amount hyperlink) as
“Accruing fines on checked out materials”.
• Estimated fees are included in the Total due but cannot be
paid as specific line items, waived or forgiven.
• An unallocated payment can be applied against the patron’s
record, which will be applied to the Overdue fines when
the items are checked in. Otherwise the payment is
retained as an unallocated credit.
Estimated fines
Total accrued
estimated fines.
Calculation of fines when item is returned
(41328)
• Estimated fees are (re)calculated and charged
as Overdue fines to the patron (Outstanding
column) when an overdue item is checked-in.
Estimated prior to cki
No Pay or Waive option.
Overdue assessed after
cki.
Pay or Waive option.
Checkboxes for Multiple Entry Actions
• There are now checkboxes on each line of the
current Accounts tab entries.
– When one or more entries are selected, the buttons at
the bottom of the screen change from Pay All or
Waive All to read Pay Selected or Waive Selected.
– If you click Waive Selected, you can choose to either
Waive or Forgive, either full or partial amounts
(41060).
– If you click Pay Selected, you’ll see a Manual Credit
screen with the various charges, and the one(s) you
selected highlighted.
– Adding a description for the payment is required.
Select entry to pay.
Only one
highlighted
and totaled
for payment.
Estimated fines are
not eligible for
specified payments
Changes to Lost and Claims Returned
processes
When an overdue item converts to Lost, the estimated fees are ‘credited’ and
the patron is charged the replacement price for that Lost item.
Replacement price charged.
Estimated fee ‘credited’.
When an unpaid Lost item is returned, the replacement charge is credited and the
patron is charged the maximum fine defined in the Check Out library’s circ rule.
Lost item checked in.
Patron charged max. overdue fine.
When a Claims Returned item is returned, the patron is also charged the maximum
overdue fine defined in the Check Out library’s circ.(41322)
Max. overdue on
returned (lost)item.
Additional fixes and enhancements…
• Patron Account History retains title and barcode number in text.
Information is retained after item/bib hyperlink deleted. (42954)
• Checkout library displays in patron’s Checked Out list (bug fix; 42526)
• Display complete Item Status in Item Detail screen.
• Numbered list of checked out items plus total in tab. (enhancement).
• Fines tab defaults to Account page – equivalent to existing Pay Fines tab.
Account History reflects all financial transactions that occur on the
patron’s record.
• Fines that are still ‘estimated’ cannot be selected for payment. You can
apply the amount owed to the account but the payment will not be
applied to the fines until the item is returned. This will prevent the
“refunded overdues” bug (40697).
• Expand debt collect so that the billing notice flag will "unflag" once the
patron's balance goes below 50.00
Discovery Layer – what LibLime says
• LibLime Academic Koha Discovery Layer offers
academic libraries a richly customizable search
interface (Discovery Layer Editor) which can be
integrated seamlessly with third party products to
create searching across multiple datasets or source
repositories. (API architecture)
• The other advantage of the Discovery Layer is that it is
a single page application which retrieves less data from
the server when a link is chosen; the Discovery Layer
replaces the old approach to HTML page rendering
which resulted in significant response time delays.
• And other, more technical descriptions
Discovery Layer – what WALDO says
• The Discovery Layer editor which allows
– Can customize the advanced search page
– Can rename the Cart and List buttons
– Can customize the look and feel of the OPAC (rather than in
System Preferences)
– Among other customizations
• Easier to read; has a clean, fresh look
• Faster—response time less than a second
• The EDS API will be used for searching not only the library
catalog but also licensed databases or other information
sources such as an institutional repository
• [Retains the look and feel and functionality of the current
OPAC; users get improvements, not a whole new interface]
SCLS sponsored Features – potentially
added to Discovery Layer
• Provide a “return to search” button for patrons
after placing a hold (from patron survey)
• Add ability to renew multiple items at once using
checkboxes
• Add ability to suspend and resume multiple holds
at once using checkboxes
• Integration with OverDrive and/or Ebscohost
(LSTA) ; WALDO is sponsoring integration with
Ebsco EDS (not sure yet if that is what Badgernet
uses)
Open Source
• Objective from the October 6, 2008 Migration
Committee recommendation to LINK: With
open source software, we have the ability to
drive software development that is specific to
our needs. In addition, we can contribute to
the library open source community, and take
advantage of development that is initiated by
other libraries.