[Ruth Davis]

With the rise of Covid-19 and the need for libraries to quarantine those items they have circulated, libraries are struggling with which aspects of Evergreen ILS will support this new behavior – allowing for a space of time where an item is checked in, but is not available for circulation (no targeting for holds, not potentially accruing fines for the previous patron, and not showing up as reshelving or available in the catalog).

The development of a check-in modifier that would immediately apply a “temporarily unavailable” status to those items that were checked-in would help alleviate many of the issues that libraries are experiencing.

[Ruth Davis]

I’ve added a LP ticket for this. You can view here.

[Benjamin Kalish]

Wouldn’t staff then have to check in/edit the items then to clear the status? How is this better than waiting to check in the materials and then backdating the checkin?

[Ruth Davis]

They would have to check things in to clear the status. Backdating it doesn’t stop any notifications that might go out indicating that an item is overdue. It also doesn’t remove that item from a circulating status in a patron’s “My Account.” From the patron side, that circulation is over when they return it. It needs to be reflect that way in the ILS as soon as possible to cut down on those panicked calls and emails that a lot of libraries are getting right now. “I returned that two days ago. Why is it still showing as checked out?” And even if items are backdated and any accrued fines, however minuscule, are automatically renewed, there is potential for a patron to have fines showing in their “My Account” between when they return something and that item is checked in with backdating.

[Benjamin Kalish]

Got it. I agree with all of this. Though I suspect that some libraries (including my own) will continue to wait until after a quarantine period before checking things in so long as their is a health risk associated with handing materials.

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