MnLINK VDX Blog

I've heard occasionally that some libraries aren't responding to questions in a timely manner. When you don't respond to messages or perform a responsive action you may be putting people at another library in a tough situation. For example, when your Lender Cancel Pending queue has requests in the file it is very important to respond. If you do not give a responsive action, the end user can't request another item.

It's also very important to respond to Borrower Conditional requests. Make sure to perform the responsive action Conditional Reply-Yes or No. Do not just send a Message or the other party will not be able to update the request. If you are contacting your patron for more information you may want to change the Authorization to Acknowledged for the request as a way to let yourself know that something has been done. You can do this by selecting the Acknowledge button on the results display. Do something to move the request along, because someone has taken the time to ask you a question and they are now waiting for a response.

Renewals are a similar matter. As I explain in detail with my Sept. 26 blog posting http://blogs.minitex.umn.edu/mnlink/2006/09/renewals.html if you don't respond to a renewal request it is common practice to assume that the renewal has been granted.

The Messages at the bottom of the Lender and Borrower queues may also require a response. When one party chooses the Message option it will show up here. At the very least there will be some communication that will need to be followed up on with these Messages.

If you have any questions about this posting or any others, don't hesitate to contact me. If you find that you are always struggling to catch up on your workload, please let me know. I'll try to help in any way I can.

Posted by Nick at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Conditional requests can be helpful in getting a request filled with the correct material or to check if an alternate version is OK. As a Lender when you choose the Answer Conditional option there are a couple of important things to remember to make the process work correctly.

First, it is important to clearly state what your conditional question is. There is a list of Reasons in a drop-down menu when you select Answer Conditional, but it is better to add a note. You can do both. When you add a note, leave the New Note Type as ToCurrnt Lndr.

Second, your conditional request will expire the next day if you do not change the Answer Date. I would suggest that you add 14 days to the Answer Date. 2 weeks should be enough time for the end user to be contacted and the Borrower to respond. If the Conditional expires the request will move on to the next lender in the rota. The Borrower will see the Answer Date information in the Audit Answer Details and also in the Service tab it will display as Date in Answer.

Posted by Nick at 12:54 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)

It is very important to follow up on requests in the Conditional file. Often someone is willing to fill the request, but they just need some more information.

When a request appears in the Conditional file of your Borrower Work Queue you will need to look at the Details to read the note explaining what information is needed. The most important thing to remember about responding to a Conditional request in your Borrower Queue is to use the Conditional Reply-Yes or Conditional Reply-No options in the Action drop-down when responding. Do not use the Message option. The Lender will be unable to update the request if you use the Message option to respond. Sometimes you will need to contact your patron to comply with the request for information. If you use the Conditional Reply-Yes the request will move back to the Lender’s In Process file. Make sure to supply the requested information. There will be no need to change the New Note Type unless you would want all possible Lenders to see the message. The Lender can then take the appropriate Action to fill the request. If the Borrower responds Conditional Reply-No the request will move from the current Lender to the next Lender in the Rota.

When you are the Lender and you need to ask for more information to fill a request you should use the Answer Conditional option. When you choose this option, enter a clear note in the New Note field so the Borrower will be able to understand what is needed. There is no need to change the New Note Type from ToCurrntLndr. Make sure to watch your Work Queue for the request to move back to the Lender In Process Waiting file.

Responding to Conditional requests promptly will enable out users to get the appropriate material in a timely manner.

Posted by Nick at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)