ILL Circulation RFC

RFC: Inter-Library Loan Circulation Handling

Status:	development
Sponsored by:	Loughborough University & PTFS Europe
Developed by:	Andrew Isherwood (PTFS Europe)
Expected for:
Bug number:	Bug 23112
Work in progress repository:	No URL given.
Description:	The ILL framework we have supports the tracking of outgoing ILL requests well, but once the item has arrived at the library there isn't a clear workflow for lending it to the end users yet. This bug aims to deal with this oversight.

Workflow Agreed with Sponsor

1. Item outbound to patron
   1. Requested item is received from supplier
   2. In “Manage request” page for request, display “Checkout” button (need some logic to determine if item is already issued, request status probably)
   3. ILL staff click “Issue” button
   4. “ILL Issue” screen, form gathers required information:
      1. Patron (ILL request already knows this)
      2. Item type (can we use the type specified when placing the record?)
      3. Item barcode
      4. Due date (one of the following):
         1. Fixed due date specified by staff member (typically X days before supplier expects item back)
         2. Loan rule for item (ILL Branch, Patron Category, Item Type)
         3. No due date, so issued to “In house use” statistical patron
   5. Staff clicks “Create item and issue” button
   6. System:
      1. Creates an item
      2. Issues item to patron
      3. Checks item was issued (may not be issued due to fines etc)
      4. Sends the ‘ready for collection’ notice to the patron.
   7. System displays message depending on outcome
   8. If successful:
      1. Request status is updated accordingly (to what? “In circulation”?)
      2. Item is placed for collection
      3. When patron comes for collection, item is handed over
   9. If not successful:
      1. Item can be issued once problems are resolved via main circulation module (would require the issuing process to update the ILL request’s status)

1. Item returned by patron (if appropriate)
   1. Patron returns item, this could be at a desk or using self check etc.
   2. Return notifies ILL, ILL updates request status (to what? “Returned by patron”?)
   3. Item is packaged and returned to supplier

Workflow Option

1. Requested item is received from supplier
2. In “Manage request” page for the request, display “Process for circulation” button
3. “Process for circulation” screen/form gathers required information:
   1. Item type (can we use the type specified when placing the record?)
   2. Item barcode
   3. Due date (one of the following - recorded into the ILL record):
      1. Fixed due date specified by staff member (typically X days before supplier expects item back)
      2. No due date if the patron gets to keep the item - ‘permanent loan flag’
4. Staff clicks “Create item and hold” button
   1. Creates the item
   2. Places a hold on the item for the patron and marks it "ready for collection" or "in transit" if the item needs to be transited to another branch for collection
   3. Sets the ILL request status to “Awaiting patron collection”
5. ILL Staff place item on ‘ready for collection’ shelf/basket/whatever
6. Patron comes into the library to collect their item
7. Circ desk (or self check) issues the item as normal (taking account of any circulation rule requirements like fines outstanding):
   1. AddIssue checks for a hard due date or permanent loan flag in the ILL record and sets the issue due date appropriately (hard due | never due | normal loan rules apply).
   2. ILL Request status is updated accordingly - “In Circulation”/”Collected by Patron”
8. Patron returns Item to the circulation desk (self check) (if appropriate)
   1. Update ILL request status accordingly.
   2. Staff collect the Item and process it for returning to ILL supplier.
   3. Item (and Bib) records are removed as they are only transitory/temporary?