Transcript How to Check Books In and Out (as well as other library

How to Check Books
In and Out
(as well as other library materials)
A tutorial for librarians who
use Agent VERSO
This tutorial is in three sections.
The first section is preparation that is
similar to both, such as finding your way
to the correct starting screen.
The second section is how to check
library materials IN.
The third section is how to check a book
or other item OUT.
Any library staff member can check items
both IN and OUT.
Checking Items In or Out
First, log in to
your library staff
account.
Checking Items In or Out
Next, click the
tab for “Staff
Menu.”
Checking Items In or Out
Then, click the
tab for
“Circulation.”
From the Circulation Tab,
you can select “Patron Status
and Checkout” or “Checkin.”
To check IN an item, click “Checkin”
from the Menu at the left of the screen.
This is the Checkin screen. You have to be on this
screen, before you can check in any items. There
is not another Checkin screen anywhere else.
With the item in your hand, locate
the LIBRARY BARCODE.
Type or scan the barcode into the first
field, at the top of the Checkin screen.
Click Submit.
The next screen displayed is this.
Sometimes, an item does not
check in properly. To verify
Checkin, or to confirm other
books from the same patron,
click the Patron’s name to
bring up their record.
If you Checkin by typing the
barcode, instead of scanning,
be sure to also verify that you
typed the barcode correctly,
by comparing the title of your
item with the title on the
screen. This extra step
prevents “but I turned it in!”
from being your fault.
Checkin was effective – AND this
patron has no more books out.
To check OUT an item,
click “Patron Status and Checkout”
from the Menu at the left of the screen.
This is the Patron Checkout
or Lookup Screen
If the student presents a student ID,
then enter the ID number
in the place for “username.”
Click SUBMIT (in the upper right
hand corner of the screen) to
bring up the Patron Record.
It is highly recommended that you require students to present
their ID badges. The ID badges have a picture on them, which
allows you to positively identify the person presenting it. This
protects THEM from impersonation. It also PREVENTS them
from impersonating others.
However, if the student does not have their student ID with
them, they MUST present another picture ID to verify their
identity. Impersonation – especially by students pretending to be
faculty – is a current problem on at least one of our campuses.
We need to be aware of this possibility at all campus libraries,
and be ready for it.
Requiring a photo ID from everyone – even staff and faculty
WHOM YOU KNOW – will absolutely prevent one patron from
impersonating another. Requiring a photo ID from staff and
faculty will also prevent students from impersonating them and
fooling you. This is for THEIR protection – and yours.
To look up the Patron Record by name, first select
your campus from the drop down menu.
Next, enter their Last Name in the blank for
Username (or enter the first 4 or 5 letters).
Click SUBMIT (in the upper right
hand corner of the screen) to
bring up the list.
Select the Patron Record from the list, by clicking
the link in the Username column at the left.
With a photo ID
that does not have
a student number,
verify patron’s
street address!!
If the street address is different, ask the patron (including
employees) if they have recently moved. Then ask what their
previous address was. Chances are few that someone other than
them will bother to memorize their address. Then, if a student,
encourage the student to bring their student ID to the library
always. If it still doesn’t match, do not continue checkout.
Also notice that when
faculty or staff appear in
this list, their NAMES
and USERNAMES are
fully capitalized.
This becomes important
for you to know, if you
ever add a patron “on
the fly.”
Verifying the street address is also a good way to
determine the difference between two Patron
Records with similar (or identical) names.
Since we have now
determined we have the
correct Patron Record,
click the link under User
Name, to bring up the
Patron Record.
It is important to realize that STUDENT
WORKERS will have two accounts: their student
account (by ID number) and a STAFF account (by
lastname1234).
In the case of a student worker, DO NOT USE
their staff account to check out library materials.
Instead, Block and Disable the staff account (see
other tutorial on how to do that), so that you and
others in your library will use only the STUDENT
account to check out materials to that patron.
Now that we have brought up the Patron Record,
this is what it looks like with no items out.
To check out a book, DVD, or other item,
type or scan the barcode of the item
into the blank as follows.
Click SUBMIT or
press ENTER.
The resulting screen displays the item associated with that barcode in the
system, along with title, the due date, and other item information.
It is a good idea to VERIFY that this is the correct item, especially if you typed it.
If the patron wants to check out more than one item, you can simply type or
scan the barcodes of the other items here, one at a time, remembering to press
ENTER or click SUBMIT after each entry.
When you are finished checking out items, click CLOSE, and the Patron Record
will display, once again.
Here is the Patron Record, after checking out items is completed.
If a patron has checked out 4 or more items, or if they already have other items out, and their
total items is 4 items or more checked out, you may wish to provide them with a printout,
showing what titles and barcodes they have checked out, along with their due dates.
To cause Printing of a page in Autographics, you must use
Keyboard Shortcuts. There is no icon or button to print.
The Keyboard Shortcut to Print is CNTL P. That means
you hold down the CNTL key, then press the letter P,
releasing both at the same time.
This brings up the Print Dialog Box. Simply click OK, and
the page you are on will print to your default printer.
As a customer receipt, you may choose to print either the
screen on which you entered today’s checkouts, or you may
choose to print their Patron Record screen (especially if they
have other items out).
That’s it!
It’s easier than it looks,
and it’s easy to learn.
This tutorial was created by
Jennifer Carless,
Library Director at the Orlando campus
for Keiser University,
on December 1, 2009