OWWLAC Meeting, Tuesday, March 24, 2015

At PLSHQ, 10:00am-12:00pm


Attendees

Rebecca Budinger-Mulhern (AVO), Lisa Gricius (WAR), Sandra Hylen (ONT), Erin Robinson (CAS), Diana Thorn (BLO), Stacey Wicksall (MAC); Lindsay Stratton (PLS)

Follow up from previous meeting

ILL issues

The new form - available from the PLS wensite, here:http://pls-net.org/services/inter-library-loan - has been in use. No problems so far.

External requests for DVDs being denied. Corrolary issue: PLS will not request DVDs for ILL.

To do:
  • Finalize DVD ILL policy - we will not fill or submit external ILL requests for DVD materials
Discussion:

All agree that if we are not supplying DVD materials for external ILL requests, then we should not request external ILLs of DVD materials. This policy birngs PLS in line with other systems, such as MCLS. DVD requests are not made frequently (on behalf of PLS patrons or from external organizations.) One library staunchly willing to lend DVDs out of system. One question raised regarding sourcing older materials.

Multi-part Mailers

Majority opinion indicates that the mailers are valuable to libraries at this time.

Discussion:

Clarified that PLS raised this issue based on: complaints about the printing process used for the mailers; the delay inherant in the process of printing mailers weekly at PLSHQ, sending them out to libraries via delivery, libraries mailing them to patrons; complaints that libraries do not know what items are listed on the mailers (due to the type of mailer originally selected); and the option within the staff client for libraries to print out their own notices, which would put control of the process, quality, timeline, and details of specific notice, in the hands of the library. Some libraries feel strongly that the mailers are important to their workflow, convey an official image to patrons, and are still valuable. As factors continue to evolve, we will continue to evaluate how these notices are sent.

Logos

Discussion:

This page includes OWWL catalog logos, OWWL2Go logos, and the "Libraries are Education" logo.

Brief side discussion in how to find materials in PLUM using the Web Index option, which displays a complete list of all topics included in the web, and Ctrl+F keyboard shortcut, which allows one to search for characters within a web page.

New business

Driver's Licenses in Evergreen

Excluding driver's licenses from patron records in Evergreen was recommended by OWWLAC and approved as official PLS Policy by the PLS Board of Trustees.

Driver's licenses should not be added ANYWHERE in the patron record. Doing so means that if the Evergreen server is hacked and personally identifying information is stolen, then PLS would be responsible for providing all people in the databse with notification of the security breach and credit reports. These repercussions would be financially devastating to PLS.

Individual libraries may continue include driver's licenses in their paper files. Security of these files is the responsibility of the library.

Discussion:

Lisa Gricius brought up that the printable patron registration forms still include a field for driver's license number. The committee agreed that because some libraries may wish to keep that data on file, the form should remain as is. Libraries that do not keep that data can either edit the form for their own use to remove the field, or black it out when printed. Lisa also described Warsaw's use of the field as a place for staff to initial that they have seen photo ID.

Documentation regarding patron registration and driver's license numbers needs to be updated.

Detailed Cash report - beta test

These reports are INITIAL tests, to determine what data about fine transactions library directors need in order to make necessary decisions, report on circulation-related bills and payments, and manage patron billing issues.

The Forgiven Payment, Goods Payment, Monetary Payment, and Work Payment reports provide the same information as the staff client Cash Report function, but are itemized by bill, inlcude staff login, and patron barcode. To do:
  • Define what information is needed to effectively manage bills generated and payments accepted using Evergreen
  • Define how this information relates to non-ILS money handling or accounting processes
  • Next steps for Evergreen-derived financial reports
Discussion:

Clarification of "Work Payments" - the "work" payment type is also PASSTHRU payments. When we used the Sirsi ILS we had a payment type named PASSTHRU to be used for payments for lost materials that needed to be forwarded to another library. This special payment type was supposed to allow libraries to reconcile potentially large amounts of cash/checks processed in the ILS that would NOT be in their cash drawer. Evergreen did not come with a comparable payment type, and we were unable to have a new payment type created. So the decision was made to "repurpose" an existing payment type. To that end, the existing "work" payment type was renamed. Passthru payments appear on the current Cash Report as User Payments > Work.

NOTE: When handling payments for Lost Materials bills for items owned by other libraries, process those bills SEPARATELY from other bills (such as overdue, hold no show, etc.) This will allow libraries to accurately account for money that has been processed via Evergreen, but is NOT in the cash drawer.

Voiding fines vs. forgiving fines - It has been longstanding OWWL recommendation to forgive any fines that libraries are not holding the patron responsible for, whether those fines were created in error or it is a customer service issue. The reason is that forgiving fines maintains a record of those fines in the patron Bill History, so that any future questions questions can be addressed. Voiding fines, however, removes the bill from the patron's Bill History. The absence of fines, particularly in situations where they might be expected, can add confusion when attempting to investigate problems. For these reasons, the recommendation to forgive fines still stands.

Money handling issues and OSC audits - there was general discussion of OSC audits; questions raised by auditors, such as the amount of forgiven fines; and the role of fines in libraries vs. the business concept of uncollected debt/income.

Draft reports - The committee's initial thoughts are that itemized reports would be occasionally useful for investigating problems, but not necessarily for daily cash drawer reconciliation. Examples will be shared with represnted libraries for discussion, and to answer the "to do" questions, to determine next steps regarding billing/payment reports from Evergreen.

Updated online catalog ready for testing

Bob's work on the new version of the online catalog is pretty much complete - pages have been themed to match the owwl.org and pls-net websites, provide a cleaner less cluttered look, improve usability.

URL: http://evergreenmaster.owwl.org/eg/opac/home

To do:
  • Test searching and other patron tasks in the catalog
  • Make sure pages look and function as expected
  • Become familiar with the new look to assist staff and patron during and after the upgrade

2.7 Evergreen upgrade update

Lindsay is in the process of scheduling the upgrade to v.2.7. So far, there are some changes to be made on the server/database side, but no MAJOR changes for libraries in the staff client. We are looking to schedule this at the end of May. More details as they come!

Actions

  • Update patron registration and related documentation for DL issues - LS
  • Get fedback regarding draft payment reports - ALL
  • Define what information is needed to effectively manage bills generated and payments accepted using Evergreen
    • Define how this information relates to non-ILS money handling or accounting processes
    • Next steps for Evergreen-derived financial reports
    • Test new version of the online catalog - ALL
  • Clarify definition of Work Payments and recommendations re: voiding vs. forgiving fines in PLS Notes - LS

Outcomes

  • PLS officially will not fill or submit external ILL requests for DVD materials
  • Multi-part mailers for overdue notifications will continue to be used
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