LINKcat News

Using the TigerWeb search tool to identify municipalities

Lucas Schneider of Madison Public Library has created a video explaining how to use the U.S. Census Bureau's 'new' search tool, TigerWeb,  to locate the correct municipality for a patron's legal place of residence.  TigerWeb is the replacement search tool for American Factfinder, which was discontinued earlier this spring

 

A link to the video has been provided on the "Assigning PSTATs" webpage.

 

The information about selecting municipal divisions for Middleton, Sun Prairie and Verona has also been updated.  Lucas has provided spreadsheets to use to help determine the voting district within those cities.

SURVEY: One more round of patron record expiration date extensions

At the 8/25 Circulation Services Subcommittee meeting members had an extended conversation about the enormous number of patron records that are due to expire on October 1, 2020 and how to handle them.  As of today, there are 54,626 patron records with an expiration date of 10/1/2020.

 

These records originally had expiration dates set between 3/17/2020 and 9/30/2020.

 

The CSS proposed the following schedule of events to help libraries deal with this large number of expiring patron records:

 

Send out a survey to LINKcat libraries offering to extend the patron expiration dates one more time.

The two dates to be offered will be November 1, 2020 and February 1, 2021.

Responses to the survey are due by noon on September 7, 2020, in order to submit the work requests to LibLime staff in a timely manner.

 

Here is the link to the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1-FS_uMmk9cZpdaXGCmYXoPhsrh5bt_646DYdPjMbhY1DoQ/viewform?usp=pp_url

 

Once the expiration dates have been extended, we will follow this schedule for delivering "pre-expiration" notices to patrons that have email addresses:

 

Send a "pre-expiration" notice to patrons with an expiration date of November 1, 2020 (only) on October 1, 2020.  This will give them 4 weeks to contact their library and renew their record.

 

Send a "pre-expiration" notice to patrons with an expiration date between November 2, 2020 to November 30 to the patrons on October 12, 2020. This will give them 2+ weeks to contact their library and renew their record.

 

Send a "pre-expiration" notice to patrons with an expiration date between December 1, 2020 to December 31 to the patrons on November 16, 2020. This will give them 2+ weeks to contact their library and renew their record.

 

Send a "pre-expiration" notice to patrons with an expiration date between January 1, 2021 to January 31, 2021 to the patrons on December 14, 2021. This will give them 2+ weeks to contact their library and renew their record.

 

Send a "pre-expiration" notice to patrons with an expiration date of February 1, 2021 (only) on January 4, 2021.  This will give them 4 weeks to contact their library and renew their record.

 

Send a "pre-expiration" notice to patrons with an expiration date between February 2, 2021 to February 28, 2021 to the patrons on January 18, 2021.  This will give them 2+ weeks to contact their library and renew their record.

Resuming the Long in Transit report

In the spring of 2020 ILS staff conferred with the Circulation Services Subcommittee and we agreed that due to the pandemic and the unknown length of individual library closures, we would postpone running and posting the Long In Transit report.  

 

Since all of the LINKcat libraries are now open to some extent ILS staff have run and reviewed the current report  and we  think that that increasing the end date of the report to 2 months would be enough to cover possible multiple quarantine periods as well as taking into account reduced delivery periods and staffing at libraries.

 

However, when we ran the report, we saw that there are 1577 entries put into transit between 1/3/2018 and 2/28/2020.  We would like to give the libraries the opportunity to clean up these older entries before we start running the report on a regular basis.  

 

Today Michelle ran and posted a Long in Transit report for any items that were put into transit prior to 3/1/2020.

 

Libraries will have 3 weeks to clean-up the older entries before we run the next report.  The generic Long In Transit workflow is located  in the Circulation Manual, Section XII Circulation and Statistical Reports .  If you have a local library workflow for your staff, please use that.

 

Michelle will run and post the next Long in Transit report on Sept. 8, including all entries placed into transit prior to 6/1/2020.  If your library was not able to clean-up the older records they will remain on the report.

 

The next report after that will be run and posted on Sept. 22, entries prior to 7/24/2020.

 

Then we are back to the regular report run, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.  But instead of the previous parameters of 2 weeks the report will include entries for the 2 months prior to the date the report was run.

Curbside Pickup workflow and new report to assist in filling Local Holds

The Pandemic Support for ILS webpage has been updated to provide new curbside workflow information about check-ins, filling local holds and checkouts.

A new report, Local Holds for Curbside, has been added to the list of On Demand reports in Bibliovation. This report may be run after you’ve filled the local holds from your regular Holds Queue report. It will list active holds for pickup at your library where your library owns an available copy of the item, but may have been already trapped for a hold at another library on your Holds Queue Report. You can fill more holds at your library with local materials while delivery is running a reduced schedule.

For more information about the report and a link to the report workflow, click on the Local Holds for Curbside link on the main Reports page. https://www.scls.info/ils/reports

New options for searching for PSTAT information - replacements for American Fact Finder

The U.S. Census Bureau has discontinued access to the American Fact Finder tool as of 3/31/2020.  Here are some options for library staff to use to help determine the PSTAT (sort1 field) for new patron records and updated patron address information.

An updated digital Census Tract map can be found here: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/tigerweb/ You have to enable these options - Census Tracts, Blocks layer and the Places and County Subdivisions layer - to find the relevant information. The address search bar along the top can then be used to find where a particular residence falls within these areas.

• The Firefox extension that an MPL staff person created will, when enabled, automatically populate the sort1 (PSTAT) field in a patron’s record based on data from the US Census Bureau – if there is corresponding data for the address in their database. If there is not, you should mark the address as “UNDETERMINED”. ILS staff periodically perform clean-up on patron record’s that have an UNDETERMINED PSTAT.
• SCLS staff have reviewed and approved the script for this extension but do not provide support for it.

Another resource is My Vote WI - this does not provide enough detail for cities that use Census tracts in their PSTATs, but it works well for smaller incorporated places and townships. The exception to this is places like Village of Brooklyn which has multiple counties, because the My Vote site doesn't distinguish which county it is in.

• Click on the Search by Address button and enter the address information in the pop-up.

AccessDane provides county subdivision-level info via address searches for Dane County only.

• Click on the Address button under the Parcel Search header and enter the street address.

Best Practices for creating WEB Use ONLY patron accounts for temporary use of digital resources.

Request this information from the patrons:

Last and first name (required)

Street address (required)

City, State, Zipcode (required)

Date of birth (optional)

Email address (optional)

Phone number (optional)

Before entering a new patron record into the system, search the database for both name and address to confirm that the patron does not already have a record.

• If they already have a record in our database, they do not need a separate WEB Use ONLY card to access digital materials.

Use your library for the patron’s Home Library.

Enter a PSTAT (sort1 field) based on the street address provided.

Assign the WEB Use ONLY patron category:

• The patron category defaults to a 12 month expiration period. You can select a shorter period of time.  Tell the patron the expiration date and that they can convert the “digital” card into a full service card after the library re-opens.  They will need to provide a photo ID and proof of address.
• This patron category does not allow the patron to place holds in LINKcat or check out physical materials. They will be able to access any SCLS databases, locally (your library) subscribed databases, Overdrive and other digital resources.

If you are interested in providing an application form through your website, you can check out the forms that patrons can access on the Middleton, McMillan, McFarland, and Stevens Point websites and see some examples.  These forms are not interactive with Bibliovation.

If the patron lives outside of SCLS, inform them that they should request access to digital materials through their own library or library system.

Creating Fast BIB Adds in Bibliovation - known BUG

When you or your co-workers are creating Fast BIB Adds in Bibliovation, please make certain to set the HOME LOCATION and HOLDING LOCATION fields to your library.

The BUG in Bibliovation causes the data in those fields to default to the first library alphabetically in the list.  If you don't make the change and save the record, you will not be able to access the record to modify those fields.

More details and screen shots can be located in the Bibliovation Circulation Manual, Section II, CHECKOUT, Part G Fast Bib Add.

Please share this with all of your co-workers.  Thank you for your attention.

The LINKcat launcher script is going away!

You read that right - the LINKcat launcher script will be discontinued when we upgrade to Bibliovation starting at 9pm on December 6, 2019. After many, many years of service, the time has come to put the launcher script to rest.

Why are we discontinuing the launcher script?

Due to changes in technology and access to computers and mobile devices, the launcher script has outlived its original purpose. At the time the script was developed, the only computers available at the library for patrons were patron PCs on the SCLS network. SCLS staff developed the script to look at the computer's IP address, determine which library the patron was located in, and then place the patron into the correct library-branded LINKcat instance. As time went on, access to computers became more open, and patrons began bringing their own laptops and mobile devices to the library. These machines were not on the SCLS network, so the launcher script did not know that the patrons were physically in the library, and those patrons were not placed into the correct library-branded LINKcat instance. Instead, they were treated as "remote" patrons, meaning that they were placed into the "generic" LINKcat instance and they did not see the library's custom branding in LINKcat.

What does this mean for library staff?

The discontinuation of the LINKcat launcher script means that library staff will not be required to use the launcher script URL when adding links to LINKcat on library web sites. For many years, library staff have been required to use the "URL Scrubber" to make all LINKcat links launcher script URL-friendly. The URL Scrubber will be retired at the same time as the LINKcat launcher script, because there won't be a need to "scrub" the links.

Instead of using the "URL Scrubber" to generate LINKcat links, library staff will be able to copy and paste links from LINKcat. Library staff will have the option to use www.linkcat.info (which will continue to be the "generic" non-branded version of LINKcat) OR library staff can use their library's custom URL, which will be agy.linkcat.info, where "agy" is your library's three-letter code (for example, the URL for SUN will be sun.linkcat.info). 

Will LINKcat still show my library's name and logo?

Yes! Library staff will be able to use their library's custom URL of agy.linkcat.info, which will display the library's name and logo. The library's custom URL will also display the library’s items first in the list of items for each title. Please note that currently these are the only two things that are different when using the library's custom URL. The patron's home library, default pickup location, or ability to place holds will not be affected in any way by using the library's custom URL.

Will the existing LINKcat links using the launcher script still work?

Yes! SCLS staff have developed a process that will automatically redirect launcher script links into LINKcat. This redirect will work for the vast majority of existing launcher script links (testing showed that less than one percent of launcher script links failed with the redirect).

What does this mean for patrons?

Most patrons will not notice a change. Patrons who have existing links saved that happened to be using the launcher script will still be able to use those links. Patrons will still be able to use www.linkcat.info to access LINKcat. Library staff are free to tell patrons about the custom library's URL if they choose, and patrons could use that custom URL either in the library or at home. Patron PCs in the library will continue to take patrons into the library's custom-branded LINKcat instance.

What do I do if I have questions or problems?

You can call the SCLS Help Desk or use the SCLS Help Desk Portal to report any LINKcat-related problems or ask questions.

Circulation Policy Review: Items missing from Library Hold Shelf

Have you ever had one of those days ...?  The patron has looked for their item on the hold shelf, you've looked, a couple of co-workers checked the shelves as well and ... it's just not there!

The ILS Policy for Items that go missing from your hold Shelf is as follows:

If items go missing from a library’s hold shelf, the item should be checked out to that library’s “Missing Hold Shelf” card.  Follow the procedure in the Circulation Manual, Section IX Placing and Managing Holds, Part M. Items Missing from your Hold Shelf.

Approved by ILS Committee; 3/7/2012

Here's the procedure from the above cited section of the Circulation Manual:

Procedure for checking items out to your library's Hold Shelf card.
Item has been checked in at your library and placed on the hold shelf for a patron. If the patron and staff members are unable to locate the item when the patron is trying to check the item out OR when you run your daily Holds Queue report and the item that lapsed on the hold shelf is not on the hold shelf, follow these steps:

• Check the item out to your library's Hold Shelf card.
• Re-queue the patron’s hold as necessary.
• If the item is found, it will be checked in eventually, either to fill a hold or when it is received at the owning library. If this is the case, the process of checking the item in will remove the item from your library’s Hold Shelf card.
• If the item is not found and the item Lost Status converts to Lost, your library becomes a“patron”with a lost item on its account. You will need to reimburse the owning library for the lost item, within 6 months of the date the item converted to Lost.
  • Some libraries change the due date to 5 months from the date of checking the item out to their Hold Shelf. If your library does this, be prepared to pay the owning library for the lost item within one(1) month of the items converting to lost, in order to reimburse the owning library within the 6 month period.

Circulation Policy review: Library Staff Use of Other Library Materials

In light of a few problems reported to me recently, I present for your review the Circulation Policy "Library Staff Use of Other Library Materials". 

This policy provides library staff with a set of "dos and don'ts" regarding the use of materials, owned by other libraries, for Book Group Holds, Displays, Collection Development purposes and other reasons/projects.

Please review this policy with your staff and, if any questions arise, feel free to send them on in.

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July celebration!