Home » Articles posted by Saad D. Abulhab
Author Archives: Saad D. Abulhab
Best Practice when Setting up ILL Accounts in Aleph
The best practice when setting up ILL accounts in Aleph is to set up individual accounts (patron status “32.ILL”) for individual ILL borrowers. Having all ILL loans go out under one individual account is not a good practice for several reasons. For example, it is not technically possible in Aleph for a single account to have unlimited loans. There are several advantages to individual accounts:
- ILL borrowers (the libraries making the request, not their patrons) would receive all patron notices and billing for un-returned items
- Borrowing Libraries would have a “bill” or lost materials notices to hand their patrons
- The notices can be targeted to a specific individuals at the borrowing organizations, for better communication
- Fewer ILL loans to the same account means one is less likely to hit a ‘limit’
- Several CUNY libraries may lend to the SAME borrower, but only one account is maintained. The work is thus distributed.
You can get more information, including a sample list of such accounts already set up in Aleph, on the OLS Support Site.
Working with the Aleph Task Manager and Reports
The Task Manager is the Aleph client user’s only window into back-end Aleph server processes. It is the only visual utility where the Aleph users can view, obtain, and manipulate reports and other task files, whether produced periodically or on-demand. It allows users to find reports/files saved on the Aleph server’s print directory for viewing, printing/emailing (manually or automatically), or downloading to any desired local directory for backup and/or future processing.
After the Aleph 21 update, the Task Manager utility was significantly revamped in terms of functionality, accessibility, and ease of use. Getting familiarized with the Task Manager is very important for cataloging and circulation staff, but it is equally useful for information services staff as it would allow them to obtain all kinds of information access statistics files.
For more information on how to work with the Aleph Task Manager utility and reports, please read the Task Manager and Files page available on the OLS Support Site.
Implementing gradual fines in Aleph
Libraries charge late fines to discourage delinquent borrowing behavior which prevents other patrons from accessing material for their academic and research needs. While the Office of Library Services does not set the fee schedule (it merely adheres to it), the libraries have expressed concern that some of the fees escalate too quickly, charging excessively large fines for relatively minor offenses.
OLS suggests the following three options for applying slowly increasing fines with various Items Circulation Statuses:
-
Splitting out charges
Some CUNY libraries have opted for setting a lower ‘initial’ maximum fine, and then applying a billing charge. The point is to initially charge a low amount and later add an additional amount for billing.
Example: Setting a maximum fine of $5. If the person continues keep the item past its due date, the item is eventually declared ‘lost’ and lost charges are applied. If the person then returns the item, he or she owes a $5 fine plus an additional non-refundable $20 billing charge.
-
Instituting a grace period
Setting up grace periods for reserve items is up to each individual library. Because not everything in reserves is a textbook, this option may be more applicable to non-textbook reserves such as leisure reading or children’s books.
Example: Setting a 6-day grace period and a $20 fine. In this example, a person would not have a fine for the first several days. On day seven, they would owe $20 (an average of just under $3 per day). If the goal is to charge up to $20 but not all at once, this permits a way to spread out the cost, and focus charges on those who are late for a longer length of time. The length of the loan plus the length of the grace period can be adjusted to produce a similar length of loan (without charges) to what was previously used.
-
Identifying non-print materials
One can charge $1 to $10 for loans lasting one to ten days. Please make sure equipment is not included in this Item Status grouping as the equipment rate would still apply.
The existing CUNY policy for library fines, put in place by the Board of Trustees in Fall 2013, has made it more challenging to produce slowly increasing fines. The options outlined above allow flexibility for circulation staff at each library to produce a more graduated scale of fines with their various Items Circulation Statuses.
Useful Information regarding Fiscal Year End (FYE)
Are you new to acquisition’s Fiscal Year End process? At a loss for what to do in Aleph to make sure you’ve got everything set up correctly? Check out the checklist on the OLS Support Site:
http://support.cunylibraries.org/systems/aleph/fiscal-year-end
Also included on this page are related Aleph reports that you may want to check out.
Why you should not remove a lost item record in Aleph
If you’re considering deleting a “lost” item from the catalog, consider this: removing a “lost” item record also removes its circulation history! This affects library circulation statistics and item counts. Item records also contain a “date last returned” field that can be used to identify items that no longer have relevant circulation history. This information is included in reports listing items with a specific Item Process Status (IPS).
When working with a lost item, you should instead mark it with an appropriate IPS. Lost items can be flagged as missing in transit, lost/paid, lost, withdrawn (“weeded”), or suppressed. Local technical services staff should determine which IPS is most appropriate to classify a particular item in the catalog.
To ensure that a lost item record is not removed by mistake, a new automated process was introduced with Aleph v21 so that when all lost charges are resolved/removed, any remaining loan record will eventually be removed. This also ensures that a lost item would not be listed “on loan” in the OPAC when it is actually lost or missing.
Find information about item process statuses, lost items, and more on the OLS Support Site.
