MnLINK VDX Blog

Renewals, whether you allow them or you don't it is important to respond.

You have an item you or your patron would like to renew, first select the Renew action and click Submit. Then enter your Desired Due Date and click Submit again. This will move the request from the Borrower Received queue to the Borrower Renew/Pending queue. The Renew action can also be performed in the same way on Overdue requests. For an Overdue request it will move to the Borrower Renew/Overdue queue after submitting the renewal.

As a Lender you will need to choose Renew Answer-Yes or Renew Answer-No for the items in your Renew/Pending queue or Renew/Overdue queue. When you choose Renew Answer-Yes you enter the new Due Date in the Due Date box and click Submit. When you choose Renew Answer-No you will just click Submit and then click Submit again. However if you do not respond to a renewal request, some libraries assume the renewal is OK because of the ALA/Reference and User Services Association Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States (http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools/referenceguide/interlibrary.htm see Section 4.11 and Section 5.8).

After the Lender has responded to the renewal request, the Borrower will see that the item has dropped out of the Renew/Pending queue or Renew/Overdue queue. If the renewal has been granted by the Lender, the Borrower will see the response in the Waiting column of the Received queue. If the Lender has responded Renew Answer-No, the request will appear in the Waiting column of the queue at the time the renewal was requested. If the item was Overdue at the time the renewal was requested, the Overdue Waiting work queue is where it will return.

Posted by Nick at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What happens to a request when it is Completed? Why do we need to complete requests?

When you Complete a request it is suppressed and it starts a 30 day countdown to the removal of the requester's name. The patron information is removed to comply with the Minnesota Data Practices Act.

What are the automatic or manual completed requests?

A request that has been Checked In has run it's course and by choosing that action it is automatically Complete for both parties, the Lender and the Borrower. There are also some actions which will auto-Complete for the Lender while leaving the request open for the Borrower. When you choose to Not Supply a request you are Completing the request as a lender, or if you choose the response Conditional Reply-No you are Completing the request for the Lender. Responding Cancel Reply-Yes is another auto-Complete action for the Lender. There are no actions by the Borrower which will auto-Complete a request.

Any time you manually Complete a request it may still be open for the other party in the transaction. As a Lender and a Borrower there are several instances where you will need to manually Complete requests. You manually Complete requests when you select the Complete button from the brief results display. A few examples are as follows, both parties in a transaction will need to manually Complete a request which is Lost. This is an action you will both need to communicate that the time is right to Complete the request. The Borrower's Not Supplied requests are probably the most common reason you will manually Complete requests. And there are many more times you will manually Complete a request.

Very soon we will be instituting a new functionality which will Complete Not Supplied requests for the Borrower. 30 days after the Borrower's request has taken the status of Not Supplied an automatic nightly update will Complete the request. You will still be able to manually Complete the Not Supplied requests if you would like to remove them before the 30 days is up.

Posted by Nick at 4:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have you ever taken advantage of MEDD (MINITEX Electronic Document Delivery) for your Copy Non Returnable requests. It's a real timesaver on the borrowing end, because all you will need to do is Receive the request when MINITEX notifies you that the item has been delivered. Here's how it works.

When your patron expresses the desire to receive their request as an electronic copy, have them put a note in the Special Instructions box to that effect. This will hold up the request in the New file for staff review. When you move the request along, specify MEDD and the email address (MEDD banit006@umn.edu). You can leave the New Note Type with the default ToCurrnt Lndr. MINITEX will scan the article and upload it to their server. An email will be sent to the address on the request. This email will have a hyperlink to the MINITEX server and a PIN number will be listed for accessing the article. Your library will receive notification that the request has been filled. You will only need to Receive the request number provided in the email you receive.

This is a great service which speeds up the delivery of Non Returnable requests. It will also save time for you by removing the need to handle and process the request. Visit the MINITEX MEDD page at http://www.minitex.umn.edu/docdel/medd/ for complete instructions for using MEDD.

Posted by Nick at 3:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)