CHECK OUT ITEMS TO FLOAT HUB - Floating Procedures Update 11/10/16

Effective 11/10/2016, NL staff that send in materials to the LMS Float Team to be floated must check out the items to their unit's FLOAT User account before shipping.  Instructions for this step are as follows.  This is also being incorporated into an updated edition of the entire "Floating FAQ" document.

Sara Karow / Coordinator of Centralized Floating
x31480  Sara.Karow@houstontx.gov


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CHECK OUT ITEMS TO FLOAT HUB (*new procedure 11/2016)

Checking out all items appropriate for floating to the unit’s Float user account in WorkFlows will ensure that their whereabouts can be tracked and they will not appear in the catalog as being on the shelf available to customers. The checkouts will change each item’s current location to FLOATHUB while retaining the name of the library that is sending it in.

Before sending items to the LMS Float Hub, be sure to check each of the following:

1.      Items that are candidates for withdrawal according to HPL’s weeding criteria, such as damaged and dated material, should not be floated.  Instead, set them aside and follow the weeding guidelines established by Collection Development.

2.  If the item is On-The-Fly or No-Record-Found, do not send it with float material.  Place a completed LMS Processing Flag in the item and send it to LMS via the regular delivery bins.
3.       If an item is In Transit to another location, whether for a hold or reshelving, do not send it to the LMS Float Hub.  Print the transit slip or hold wrapper, and place it in the regular delivery bin to be sent to the proper location.

For items to be floated via the LMS Float Hub that do not meet any of the conditions above, follow the procedure below.

Check out the items to your unit’s FLOAT User:

1.       Look up your unit’s Float account in Workflows > Circulation > Check Out.

a.      User ID matches the user profile name, per the standard pattern for agency accounts:     agency acronym, dash (-), FLOAT.  (So, for example, Alief’s Float User is ALI-FLOAT.)

2.      Scan each item to be checked out.

a.      The current location will become FLOATHUB, which will “shadow” the item in the OPAC.

b.      Handle exceptions noted above and any others that arise according to HPL policies and procedures.

3.      Pack the items that check out successfully for shipping to the LMS Float Hub.

Sirsi Workflows - Helpful Hint

This is an interesting tip for configuring Sirsi Workflows. It allows you to have two or more tabs open at one time (for example you could have both the Circulation and the Serials tab open and toggle between them as needed).

In Workflows, go to Preferences along the top horizontal menu.

Go to Desktop

Go to Desktop Setup

This screen will appear:

Make sure that Tabbed windows  box is checked.

Press OK

This message will appear

 

Close out Workflows and restart

Checking in Floats and New Items

**Every unit should be checking in all received Float items *daily* along with your other Delivery items so that the items' locations get updated in Sirsi.

This is important so that, in the event that those items have holds, they don't end up on the sending locations' paging lists getting marked missing when they do holds paging lists, causing the customers to wait longer to get their requests.

**Also, related - we've been noticing a spate of recently received new books still being 'shipped' status long after other system copies have been received and are circulating.  When we call units for shelfchecks to verify the items' arrival, they are being found on the shelf.  Please be careful to check in all new books as they arrive.

This is a particular issue as more and more items are being ordered as FLT copies - if they aren't checked in at the receiving units upon arrival there is NO WAY to tell what building they may be in.  They will also never show up on holds paging lists.


~Sara Karow on behalf of the whole Collection Development Team
x31480

New Collection Development Tool

The library has purchased a new online tool that allows staff analyze the collection. It is called CollectionHQ. With this tool, you can run reports to find items with no recent circulation or items that might be missing. You can even get reports showing what parts of the Dewey range do (or do not) circulate at your location.

In order to run reports in CollectionHQ, you will need watch two video tutorials. They are now available on the G drive, in the 'CollectionHQ GoLive Day1' & 'CollectionHQ GoLive Day2' folders. Once you have completed these tutorials, Lin Swalley (x31479) will assign you an ID and password.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT FLOATING

The following e-mail was recently (11/6/2012) sent to both Central and NL staff. The text of the e-mail is listed below:

Recently, we began a pilot project where McCrane-Kashmere Neighborhood Library became a floating and tagging hub for overflow items from Meyer Neighborhood Library. Staff at the branch is responsible for tagging and re-distributing to other neighborhood libraries in the system the items it receives from Meyer.

As many items as possible will be kept on Kashmere’s shelves, and staff will re-distribute the remainder equally among other NL’s. Content weeding will be conducted by Kashmere staff in advance of re-distribution, and re-distribution efforts will be guided by holdings reviews, also conducted by Kashmere staff.  Some of you will receive a few books through delivery, while others will receive a few boxes. Since this is a new project, the current best estimate is that floating items will arrive perhaps once a week at your locations and should be anticipated by NL staff.

DO NOT RETURN THESE ITEMS (or OTHER floating materials, for that matter) TO SENDER!  Doing so poses an unnecessary burden to FIDS drivers.  Please be considerate!  If you have space issues that need to be addressed, please contact me; Collection Development staff will visit your location to review your situation. 

With NL approval, this is the first of 2 to 4 such partnerships aimed at reducing the overflow issues around the system.  Collection Development staff will be monitoring the partnerships and assisting as needed. Slowly but surely, overflow will lessen for most of the system as we (necessarily) reduce purchases in keeping with a reduced budget, and as we re-direct our funds towards e-resources.  That being said, some of our branches will continue to experience overflow simply because of high customer traffic. These partnerships are aimed at alleviating the workflow at high traffic locations.  

Lin Swalley

Coordinator of Collection Development

Houston Public Library

832-393-1479