Book Groups and Book Club Kits
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This feature requires server version 10.8 or higher. |
The new Book Groups sub-module adds a number of new pieces of functionality, while leveraging existing features from Bookings to facilitate reserving and loaning Book Club Kits. New features allow:
- library staff to create Book Groups and manage members, both registered borrowers and guests
- borrowers and guests to search for the OPAC for Book Groups they may wish to join
- Book Club borrowers to search for and make bookings for Book Club Kits
- reservations and notices for Book Club Kits
- loaning Book Club Kits, either as a kit to a Book Group account, or individually to registered borrowers
Click here for more information on creating & managing Book groups, Book group kits, and placing bookings.
Family loan quota
Additional parameters and functionality have been added, which may be used to simplify borrowing as a family group.
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This feature requires server version 10.8 or higher. |
Allow for a family loan quota when calculating loan limits in Circulation
Two new parameters have been introduced to enhance functionality around borrowing for family groups. A Family loan quota has introduced, and will apply a cumulative loan quota applicable to all members of a family group.
- Family loan quota
If set, the maximum number of loans will be calculated on a per family basis using this value. The borrower category setting 'Maximum loans' will not be used.- Family loan quota - apply loan policy and collection quotas
If set to Yes and 'Family loan quota' is also set, then regular loan policy and collection category quota validation will also be applied.These parameters allow library staff to decide if borrowers in a family may loan based on the individual's borrower category quotas and applicable loan policies, or whether the family loan quota is the overriding parameter.
- If parameter 1 is null, regular borrower category loan quotas, as well as collection and policy loan quotas, will be applied as normal.
- If parameter 1 is set to a valid integer, and parameter 2 is null or No, borrower category loan quotas, as well as collection and loan policy quotas will be ignored; only the Family loan quota will be applied.
- If parameter 1 is set to a valid integer, and parameter 2 is Yes, borrower category loan quotas will be ignored, but collection and policy loan quotas will be applied as normal.
Overriding parameter to send notices to Head of Family
A new parameter has been added to allow libraries to decide whether library communications (notices, slips, etc.) are delivered to each borrower in a family, or if all communications for all family members are delivered to the Head of Family.
See the Always send notifications to Head of Family article for more detail.
Option to delete item barcode in bulk item deletion
An option has been added to Bulk Item Deletion to Delete accession number (and/or RFID) when an item is bulk deleted. This can be useful where the library needs to re-use the barcode, or may receive the item again in an Inter-library loan or State Library rotation.
Borrower communications written to audit log
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This feature requires server version 10.8 or higher. |
All borrower communications sent by email or SMS are now written to an audit log in the library's database.
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This enhancement does not apply to circulation notice records, which are already a unique record format stored in the database. |
Communications now recorded to the audit log include:
- borrower circulation slips (but not staff slips)
- SavedLists
- External Searches
- Password resets
- SDI alerts
- Recommendation alerts
- Welcome messages
- Ad hoc communications (individual and bulk)
- Events communications (confirmations, reminders, cancellations etc.)
- Waive requests
- Requests
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IMPORTANT: These audit logs are currently not accessible via the Spydus front end. |
Bulk change reservation utility
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This feature requires server version 10.8 or higher. |
A utility has been added to the Circulation module to allow a number of reservation details to be changed in bulk. The Bulk Change Reservation feature is now available under the Circulation > Other menu.
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For institutions that are part of a consortium, only reservations from the local institution may be edited in Bulk Change Reservation. |
The details currently able to be changed are:
- Pickup Location,
- In a consortium, only locations from the local institution may be selected
- Must have Pickup location set to Yes
- Reservation Hold Date,
- May be set greater than or equal to today's date, or be cleared
- Reservation Expiry Date,
- May be set greater than or equal to today's date, or be cleared
- Suspended date (Suspended until)
After at least one detail to change has been selected, the Search button will become active.
A pop-up search window will default to the Circulation > Reservation Search. This search form may be used to retrieve a set of reservation records, or a previously refined set may be retrieved using the Operations > SavedList Search or Saved Query Search. If using a SavedList or Saved Query, ensure that the records being returned are Reservation records (RSV format).
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When retrieving a set, note that records will begin to be updated immediately - there is no additional confirmation step. |
Allow a head of family to pay a dependant's charges, along side their own
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This feature requires server version 10.8 or higher. |
A number of changes have been made in order to allow a head of family to pay charges for any and all dependent members from the head of family borrower account.
Show total charges for dependents of head of family in WBA Circulation
When a Head of Family borrower is loaded into Circulation, the total of any current charges linked to dependent borrowers will be displayed in the Charges section.
Pay a dependant's charges from the Head of Family in Circulation
After clicking through to the Charges interface, any charges that are linked to dependent family members will indicate the linked borrower's name in red text in the charges grid.
Select charges linked to dependent borrowers and pay them as normal.
If the dependant belongs to another institution in the consortium and does not share data, the name of the dependant will be displayed as BRW BLOCKED.
Click image to enlarge
Enable display of barcode image on circulation email slips
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This feature requires server version 10.8 or higher. For server versions earlier than 10.8, this feature may be commisioned. Please contact the Civica Service Desk for more information. |
The parameter in the Circulation section of the Borrower tab of the HTML Email & Slips Configurator that previously controlled the display of a borrower's membership number has been renamed Show borrower ID.
The Show borrower barcode parameter now allows a borrower's barcode image to be displayed on email slips. Borrowers can then use the barcode from an emailed slip to scan at self-service or library front desk.
Allow the ability to copy borrower name/barcode from Details pane
Clicking the copy icon 
next to the borrower's name or barcode in the borrower transaction interface will copy their name or their barcode to the clipboard. The copied value may then be entered as required into other fields using the paste function (Ctrl + V, right-click and Paste, etc).
Circulation Offline
Update the Offline client download to the new CO 2.0.1 client
The Circulation Offline client has been updated to version 2.0.1, and is now available for download in the Circulation module. Ensure that any previous version/s of Circulation Offline are uninstalled before installing the latest version.
Update Circulation Offline to use SQLite
This feature requires Circulation Offline version 2.0.1.
Circulation Offline now uses SQLite instead of SQL Server Compact edition for its local database as the latter is no longer supported by Microsoft.
Ensure that any previous version/s of Circulation Offline are uninstalled before installing the latest version, and perform an Offline Download to generate new files compatible with SQLite.
Enhancements to loan renewal process
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This feature requires server version 10.8.2 or higher. |
Some significant changes have been made to parameters that control the loan renewal process.
Changes to loan policies for renewal of item linked to reserved titles
Three new parameters have been added to the Renewal section of Loan policies. These parameters apply to the renewal of titles that have pending reservations. These parameters allow library staff to set if reserved titles may be renewed, and if they may, how many times and for how long.
See the new features documentation for reserved title renewal parameters for more detail.
These parameters control only renewal of reserved titles; for the parameters relevant to an initial loan of a reserved title, see Reduction rate for loan period and its related reservations per copy/title parameter.
Renewals methods and limits
A Renewal Types tab has been added to Loan policies, which allows library staff to limit the number of renewals based on the renewal type (e.g. fewer renewals allowed at self service kiosks or the OPAC than renewals in person).
- The Renewal Type for OPAC is hard coded to Online (code in RWT table is WEB)
- The Renewal Type for self service may be set using the new Circulation General Parameter Self service renewal type
- The available Renewal Types are set in the RWT table in Table Manager
See the new features documentation for Renewal Types parameters for more detail.
Ability to print merchant copy of receipt
A new option has been added to the Circulation Preferences page: Print merchant copy.
This option allows libraries to print an additional receipt (merchant copy) if required and applies regardless of the borrower's preference (email, SMS or No slips). This option may be set to Yes, No, or Prompt.
If set to Yes, when a charge is paid a merchant copy slip will be printed. If set to Prompt, when a charge is paid a pop-up will be displayed with the question "Do you wish to print a merchant copy?".
The Merchant copy receipt title can be set in the HTML Email & Slips Configurator.
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Receipt slips must be enabled (set to either Yes or Prompt in Slip Printing Parameters) to allow merchant copies to be printed. |
Generate and process registration reminder notice email
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This feature requires server version 10.8.2 or higher. |
A new notice type has been implemented to remind borrowers who have registered online to complete their registration. See the Maintenance features in 10.8 article for detail on configuring and composing the new notice type.
Change workflow for when a lost item is returned
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This feature requires server version 10.8.2 or higher. |
New parameters have been added to control how lost charges & lost processing charges are handled if the lost item is returned, as well as a change to the Deactivate item when lost and lost processing charges paid parameter.
The new parameters allow libraries to determine whether:
- payment of lost charges, or payment of both lost charges and lost processing charges is required to trigger lost item deactivation
- lost charges and lost processing charges are cancelled, or both cancelled and refunded when a lost item is returned
- staff are required to confirm cancellation/refund of lost charges, or if it is automatically performed when a lost item is returned
- a lost charge is also deleted if it is cancelled when a lost item is returned
Allow ability to require an administrator in an unlinked book groups
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This feature requires server version 10.8.3 or higher. |
A Circulation General Parameter has been added to allow library staff to set whether an Admininstrator member is required in Book Groups where the Allocate box set items to members flag is not set.
If the parameter Unlinked book groups require administrator is set to Yes, before a Book Group can be set to Approved an Administrator member must be added. If no Administrator has yet been added, a prompt will advise that one is required:
