MnLINK VDX Blog

Bulk Action for requests can be accessed in two different ways. You can Action or Complete more than a hundred items at once. Remember that the more items you Bulk Action, the longer it will take to process.

One way to use Bulk Action is to first select the Requests button, and then select the Bulk Action option at the top of the screen. You would use this method when you will be scanning or manually entering barcodes into the ILL Numbers box. If you're scanning numbers it will likely enter a new number on a new line. If you're typing numbers in, you can just separate each number with a space. When you have populated the box with the request numbers you would like to Action, choose the appropriate Action from the drop-down menu and click Submit.

The other method for using Bulk Action is to bring up a Work Queue file, such as Borrower Not Supplied. On the far right hand side of the screen check the boxes of the items you want to Action, or use the Select all option at the top of the page. Click Submit when you have all the items you want to Bulk Action. The request numbers you have checked will populate the ILL Numbers box. Choose the appropriate Action or Complete.

After Submitting the Action, an appropriate second screen will follow. You will sometimes see the option to select Service Type. DO NOT select a Service Type from the drop down menu. If you're going to change the Service Type from Loan to Copy non returnable or vice versa, you should probably do it one at a time.

When the processing of the requests is finished, your request numbers will be listed as Successful. Occasionally some of the requests will not process correctly and they will be listed as Failed. Requests will come back as Failed if the Action was not valid for that specific request or if there was some other problem with the request.

Make sure to assign the Due Date if you are marking the item Shipped.

If you are using the Action ANSWER NONSUPPLY don't forget to select a reason. In the past I have had some people ask me about the reason and I suggested that it wasn't that important. I have come to realize that it is very important to add a reason if possible. Many libraries forward this information to their users.

When using Bulk Action for Returns (or any time you process Returns), it is very important to make sure that the paperwork matches the item you are Returning. Also make sure all parts are included.

Posted by Nick at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I hear from some of you from time to time about the wrong item being sent with a request. You ask, what can we do to eliminate these errors.

The Pick slips generally have all of the information that we should need to identify a specific item that is being requested. The information that is on the Pick slip comes from the bibliographic record chosen by the end user. This can be found by looking at the Database/# line on the Pick slip. The Title line should display the title and the subtitle and series information. The rest of the information on the Pick slips is fairly self explanatory. Remember to look at the Request notes to see what special instructions have been provided to assist in filling the request with the correct item. Occasionally with compact discs your catalog will have more than one title match for classical music and other CDs. Look at the Publisher Info to make sure that you have the correct item. Look at the Description to make sure the item has the correct number of discs. The Database/# line will also have a publisher number for the requested item. All of these together will help you supply the correct item.

Sometimes there just isn't enough information on the Pick slip to identify what is needed. This would be a good time to use Conditional and ask for more specific information. As important as it is to use Conditional to ask for more information, it is equally important to respond in a timely manner to Conditional questions as a Borrower. For more information about using Conditional check out my June 20, 2006 posting. http://blogs.minitex.umn.edu/mnlink/conditional_requests/

Posted by Nick at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Question: I know this has been covered many times before, but I don’t remember the answer to the question. A request comes back as non-supplied. How long is that information accessible on MnLINK so the patron can check their account and see that the item is not available anywhere?

Response: Once the last possible lender in the rota responds ANSWER NONSUPPLY the request moves into the Borrower’s Not Supplied work queue. In ZPortal they do not see Not Supplied, the user sees the status Currently unavailable through MnLINK. 30 days after the request moves into the Borrower Not Supplied queue the system will automatically Complete the request. Your library has the option of Completing the request sooner. Once the request is marked Complete, either manually by your library or with the 30 day default Complete, the request is no longer viewable by your user in their ZPortal account.

Just an added note, 30 days after any request has been marked Complete the Client Name and Client Barcode are removed from the Borrower Details of the request.

Posted by Nick at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Question: We have a patron who had to get a new card for some reason (old one was lost, stolen, whatever). He had placed 10-15 requests on the old card. Because that card is no longer valid in our ILS, it doesn’t validate in MnLINK. His new card validates, but there are no requests attached to it. What happens to his requests that are still in process in MnLINK? Will they ever arrive? Will we be able to connect them to him?

Response: Good question. The requests previously placed are still active. Those requests have the name and barcode used for requesting attached in the Borrower Details. You can do a Client Barcode search for that user in VDX to locate all of the requests if your user contacts you about their status, but the user can not access the account via ZPortal. On your circulation system’s end, if you remove the barcode from the user account you will only be able to match the MnLINK request up with the patron by looking at the Borrower Details. If your library leaves old barcodes attached to the patron circulation record and somehow denotes that it is invalid, you may still be able to search by the barcode on the bottom of the Pick slip depending on your system’s capabilities.

To search in VDX for Client Barcode, you can either do a Simple Search or Advanced Search, and format the search with your 3 letter code, hyphen, patron barcode (e.g. cce-22086000000000).

Posted by Nick at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)