| • | How are library users and orders linked to each other? |
| • | What is the process for a user to place a purchase request? |
| • | How do I notify selectors about the status of library orders they have requested? |
| • | What is the process for distributing material directly to a user? |
How are library users and orders linked to each other?
Individual library user records may be linked to orderline records in two ways.
| • | A user can request an item to be purchased for the library’s collection. In this case, the user is making a purchase request. A particular library materials selector, or even a department, may be identified as a requestor. |
| • | A user can ask the library to act as a purchasing agent to acquire an item. In this case, the library makes a distribution to the user. These materials are never added to the library catalog. |
What is the process for a user to place a purchase request?
The Requestor User ID field in the order record contains the user ID of the patron or selector or department who requested the purchase of the current orderline for the catalog. This allows you to track purchases that were requested, and to notify the requestor or selector when materials are available in the library. An order is considered open if it has been ordered and sent to the vendor, but its holdings have not been loaded into the catalog. When you use the Display User wizard to display a library user, the Summary tab displays the number of orders where this user is listed as the Requestor User ID in the Orders field. On the Order Requests tab, a list of the orders associated with that user’s purchase requests appears. By default, all requests display in the user’s library. You can use the Display options to display only open or only closed orders, or to select a library for the request that is not the same as the user’s library.
How do I notify selectors about the status of library orders they have requested?
See FAQs: Automatic Emailing and Printing of Notices for information about customizing the report text messages available for selection notices.
What is the process for distributing material directly to a user?
User distribution segments in orders allow an item or items on a orderline to be marked for user delivery or pickup. Item information for user distribution items is never added to the catalog, because the items purchased are not part of the library’s collection. Instead of Loaded field, each user distribution segment contains a Delivered field. While this field is set to NEVER, this orderline is considered open or undelivered. The distribution is considered open until the user distribution segment is marked with an actual MM/DD/YYYY date in the Delivered field. You may change the date delivered from NEVER to an actual date in either of two ways.
| • | Use the Modify an Order wizard to modify the order and type a date in the Delivered field of the user distribution segment. |
| • | Run the User Order Distribution Notice report to update the Delivered field for user distribution orderlines. If a user distribution segment is marked as received, but its Delivered field is still NEVER, then the User Order Distribution report generates either a packing slip to go with the item delivered to the user, or a notice to the user telling them to pick up the item at some specified library location, depending upon the notice text selected. Running the report with Count as Notice Sent field set to YES updates the Delivered field in the user distribution segment with the date the report ran. |
When you use the Display User wizard to display a library user, the Summary tab displays the number of orders from which this user will have copies distributed in the Distributions field. On the Distributions tab, a list of the orderlines distributed to that user ID appears. By default, all distributions display in the user’s library. You can use the Display Options to display only delivered or undelivered orders, or to select a library for the orderline that is not the same as the user’s library.