FAQs: Defining Materials Booking Policies

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What additional policies are used when creating booking records?

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How do I set up policies to book a meeting room?

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How do I set up policies to book a group of items?

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How do I set up policies to book an item to be shipped?

What additional policies are used when creating booking records?

Since the Materials Booking module is integrated with other SirsiDynix Symphony modules, policies in other policy groups can affect the materials booking process. The Materials Booking module makes use of the following SirsiDynix Symphony policies to determine whether materials may be booked for a given user, item, date, or time period.

Bill Reason Policy

If booking users are to be billed for shipping or for other bills created using the Bill a User wizard, a new Bill Reason policy may need to be created.

Example If a public library ships booked materials to users located in areas too remote for library delivery vehicles, and if the library only recovers shipping costs (not charging the users for a privilege or a transaction fee for booking services), a new Bill Reason policy must be created. Each time a shipment is prepared, library staff use the Bill a User wizard to create a bill (with the new Bill Reason policy) for the amount of the shipping. The Bill Reason policy Name could be SHIPPING, and the Associated with Item attribute would be set to Yes.

Circulation Map Policy

The Circulation Map policy determines the circulation characteristics of a given combination of user profiles, item types, and libraries by linking them to a circulation rule. Before a user can book an item, there must be a Circulation Map policy that permits charging of that item type by that user’s profile and library. Additionally, the Circulation Map policy will reference the circulation rule that controls the loan period of the item. If a requested booking time exceeds the loan period, staff will be prompted to type an override.

For example, if a library permits its off–campus faculty to book meeting rooms in the library, the library must create a Circulation Map policy that permits users with the OFFCAMPFAC User Profile policy to charge items for the MTGROOM Item Type policy. (If the user wanted to book the MTGROOM Item Type for longer than five days, an override prompt might allow staff to grant the request.) The Circulation Map policy could be called OFFCAMPFAC–RM; the User Profile attribute of this policy would be OFFCAMPFAC; the Item Type attribute would be MTGROOM, and the Circulation Rule attribute would be 5DAY. A Library policy would also need to be specified in the Library attribute, such as MAIN.

Circulation Rule Policy

The Circulation Rule policy determines whether the combination of library, user profile, and item type is chargeable. If it is chargeable, the first test of whether an item can be booked has been passed. The Circulation Rule policy also dictates the loan period of a given combination of library, user profile, and item type. If the booking period requested is greater than the loan period specified in the Circulation Rule policy, and the circulation rule can be overridden (Overridable attribute set to Yes), an override prompt would allow staff the opportunity to grant the request.

For example, if a library allows off–campus faculty users to book meeting rooms for up to five consecutive days, a new Circulation Rule policy, 5DAY, should be created to allow certain types of items to circulate for five days without overdue fees being charged. A User Profile policy, OFFCAMPFAC, and an Item Type policy, MTGROOM, should have been created. For off–campus faculty users to book meeting rooms, a new Circulation Map policy, which uses the OFFCAMPFAC User Profile, the MTGROOM Item Type, and the 5DAY Circulation Rule must be created. A Loan Period policy, 5DAY, should also have been created; this policy would be used as the value in the Loan Period attribute of the Circulation Rule policy. The Circulation Rule policy Chargeable attribute would be set to Yes, and the Overridable attribute would be set to Yes.

Item Type Policy

For every type of bookable item, there must be a Booking Profile attribute in the Item Type policy. SirsiDynix Symphony uses the Booking Profile attribute to determine the hours the item is available, item preparation and cleanup time, if the item is shippable, and if copies should be rotated. Item Type policies which do not name a booking profile may not be booked. Multiple item types can share a single booking profile, though more flexibility exists when one item type is associated with one booking profile.

For example, if a library uses the Materials Booking module for scheduling its meeting rooms, bibliographic records for the meeting rooms must have been added to the catalog. A new Item Type policy, MTGROOM, should have been added to the policies. For an item associated with the MTGROOM Item Type policy to be bookable, a Booking Profile policy, perhaps also named MTGROOM for clarity, must have also been created. This Booking Profile policy is then used as the value for the Booking Profile attribute in the Item Type policy.

Library Policy

The Library policy contains a Dates Closed attribute, which impacts nonshippable booking items and can impact booking Media Desks. When booking a nonshippable item, the system checks the dates closed of the owning library. If the requested booking falls within any of the dates listed, the item is said to be “Unavailable for booking,” and the booking is not allowed. When a Media Desk policy is created, staff can indicate whether the Media Desk will observe the dates closed or the holiday schedule specified in the existing Library policy, or none.

For example, the Library policy’s Dates Closed attribute could be set to 1/1/2002, 5/27/2002, 7/4/2002, 9/2/2002, 11/28/2002–11/29/2002, 12/24/2002–12/25/2002. You could also set the Days Closed attribute to Sunday, and the Accrue Fine attribute to No.

Loan Period Policy

The Loan Period policy describes the specific length of time an item may be charged before becoming overdue. Although a loan period of five days may be indicated in the Circulation Rule policy, the actual loan period can be less than five days if the requested booking period is shorter than the loan period, or longer than five days if the requested booking period is greater and an override is supplied to permit the extension. Also, the loan period can be cut short if there is another booking that starts sooner than the requested booking end time. The loan period only includes the requested patron booking time. It does not include time required for preparation, cleanup, or shipping.

For example, if an off–campus faculty member books a meeting room (MTGROOM Item Type) for a period ending at 14:00, the room would not be overdue until the time that the library closes (such as 17:00) because once the room is charged it uses the 5DAY Circulation Rule policy. This Circulation Rule policy references the 5DAY Loan Period policy. If the faculty member booked the meeting room for eight days by using the override allowed in the 5DAY Circulation Rule policy, the booking period would end at 14:00 on the eighth day as requested, but the item would not be overdue until after 17:00 (or the time that the library closes) on the eighth day. In this example, the Loan Period Name would be 5DAY; the Type would be DAILY; the Time Due would be 17:00, and the Length/Due Dates attribute would be 5DAY(S).

User Profile Policy

The User Profile policy contains the following four booking–related attributes.

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Booking Limit

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Delivery Shipping

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Return Shipping

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Consecutive Booking Allowed

The Booking Limit attribute determines whether a user with a given user profile may book items as well as how many items that user may book. If a user is not allowed to book items, the Booking Limit should be 0.

The Delivery Shipping attribute indicates a Delivery Shipping Schedule policy assigned to the user. This schedule is used to record the amount of time required to ship the booked item from the library or media center to the user. This additional time needed for shipping is reserved on the item’s booking calendar. If the user is allowed to book items but will always pick up his items from the library, Delivery Shipping should be left blank.

The Return Shipping attribute indicates a Return Shipping Schedule policy assigned to the user. This schedule is used to record the amount of time required to ship the booked item from the user back to the library or media center. If the user is allowed to book but will always return his items to the library, Return Shipping should be left blank.

The Consecutive Booking Allowed attribute specifies whether or not the user can book items in consecutive fixed time slots. This attribute corresponds to the Fixed Time Slots attribute of the Booking Profile policy.

The Charges Allowed (over the lifetime of the privilege) and the Charge Limit (simultaneous charges) attributes should also be examined, since they may need to be raised if the user will be charging a large number of booked items. Each time a booking is charged, the system counts that toward the charges allowed and charge limit for that user. Simply creating a booking counts only toward the booking limit.

For example, if a library allows booking by off–campus faculty members, but these users are only allowed to have three items booked simultaneously, the User Profile Name could be OFFCAMPFAC, the Charges Allowed would be UNLIMITED; the Charge Limit could be set to 10, and the Booking Limit would be set to 3.

When setting booking limits and charge limits, keep in mind that each item in a group booking is counted as a single charge. In the preceding example, if the Booking Limit is set to 3 and an off–campus faculty member charges a projector, cart, and extension cord as part of a group booking, the faculty member will have reached her booking limit.

How do I set up policies to book a meeting room?

In this FAQ, make the following assumptions when modifying policies so that a meeting room can be booked:

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The library permits adult patrons to book meeting rooms for up to five days.

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The library has decided that no fees should be charged for booking a meeting room, but the library reserves the right to charge a cleanup fee if the room is not left in a tidy condition.

Modify the following policies.

Booking Profile

The room may be booked during the Fixed Time Slots found in the Booking Profile.

Name	MTGROOM–15
Description	Meeting Room 107 –– seats up to 15
Preparation Time	30 MINUTES
Cleanup Time	30 MINUTES
Profile Type	SINGLE
Rotate Copies	NO
Shippable	NO
Fixed Time Slots	Open from Mon 8:00 Until Mon 22:00
Fixed Time Slots	Open from Tue 8:00 Until Tue 22:00
Fixed Time Slots	Open from Wed 8:00 Until Wed 22:00
Fixed Time Slots	Open from Thu 8:00 Until Thu 22:00
Fixed Time Slots	Open from Fri 8:00 Until Fri 22:00
Fixed Time Slots	Open from Sat 9:00 Until Sat 18:00
Requirements List	NONE

Item Type

Create a meeting room item type.

Name	MTGROOM–15
Description	Meeting Room 107
Booking Profile	MTGROOM–15
Floating	NO

Circulation Rule Policy

Create a circulation rule for booking the meeting room.

Name	5DAY–NF
Description	Five day charge for meeting rooms
Loan Period	5DAY
Recall Period	0
Billing	NOFINE
Renew Limit	0
Chargeable	YES
Maximum Charges	25000
Grace Periods Are In	DAYS
Grace Periods	0
Recall Grace Period	0
Overridable	YES
Recall Loan Period	NONE
Alternate Loan Period	NONE

User Profile Policy

Create a user profile for adult users who can book items.

Name	ADULT
Description	Adult Users
Charges Allowed	25000
Hold Rank	125
Recirculate Item	NO
Privilege Limit	3 YEARS
Privilege Fee	$.00
Overdue Threshold	5
Bill Threshold	$5.00
Charge Limit	25
Reserve Charge Limit	25000
Hold Limit	10
Library Precedence	NO
Billable	YES
Routing Rank	3
Request Limit	25000
Overdue Recall Threshold	0
Location	CHECKEDOUT
User Access	NOACCESS
Environment	PUBLIC
Booking Limit	10
Shipping Delivery	NONE
Return Shipping	NONE
Consecutive Booking Allowed	YES
Increment Charge Counter	YES

Circulation Map Policy

Create a special line in the circulation map for booking the meeting room.

Name	MTG15–ADLT
Description	Meeting Room 107
Library	ALL
User Profile	ADULT
Item Type	MTGROOM–15
Circulation Rule	5DAY–NF

Bill Reason Policy

Create a bill reason for cleaning up the room.

Name	CLEANUP
Description	Clean up of booked room
Associated w/Item	YES

How do I set up policies to book a group of items?

To book a group consisting of a VCR, a video, and an equipment cart, the following policies are required.

It is assumed that Item Type and Booking Profile policies for the individual items in the group have already been created. For this example, the Item Types and Booking Profiles VCR, VIDEO, and EQUIPCART have already been created.

Booking Profile

Create a booking profile for the grouped items.

Name	VCR–CART
Description	VCR, Video, and Equipment Cart
Preparation Time	1 HOUR
Cleanup Time	30 MINUTES
Profile Type	GROUP
Rotate Copies	[BLANK]
Shippable	[BLANK]
Fixed Time Slots	NONE
Requirements List	Booking profile: VCR Quantity: 1 Delivery Shipping Policy: NONE Return Shipping Policy: NONE Booking Profile: VIDEO Quantity: 1 Delivery Shipping Policy: NONE Return Shipping Policy: NONE Booking Profile: EQUIP–CART Quantity: 1 Delivery Shipping Policy: NONE Return Shipping Policy: NONE

 

Media Desk

Create a Media Desk policy for the main library.

Name	MEDIAMAIN
Description	Main Media Desk
Desk Hours	Open from Mon 6:00 Until Mon 21:00
Desk Hours	Open from Tue 6:00 Until Tue 21:00
Desk Hours	Open from Wed 6:00 Until Wed 21:00
Desk Hours	Open from Thu 6:00 Until Thu 21:00
Desk Hours	Open from Fri 6:00 Until Fri 21:00
Desk Hours	Open from Sat 10:00 Until Sat 22:00
Library	MAIN
Closed Dates	1/1/2002, 5/27/2002, 7/4/2002, 9/2/2002, 11/28/2002–11/29/2002, 12/24/2002–12/25/2002

Circulation Rule

Create a single generic circulation rule for booked AV equipment.

Name	AVEQUIP
Description	AV Equipment
Loan Period	3DAYS
Billing Structure	NOFINE
Renew Limit	0
Chargeable	YES
Maximum Charges	5
Grace Periods Are In	Days
Grace Periods	NONE
Recall Grace Period	NONE
Overridable	YES
Recall Loan Period	NONE
Alternate Loan Period	NONE

User Profile

Create a user profile for on–campus faculty.

Name	FACULTY
Description	On Campus Faculty
Charges Allowed	25000
Hold Rank	125
Recirculate Item	NO
Privilege Limit	1 YEAR
Privilege Fee	$.00
Privilege Fee	$.00
Overdue Threshold	5
Bill Threshold	$5.00
Charge Limit	25000
Reserve Charge Limit	25000
Hold Limit	25000
Library Precedence	NO
Billable	YES
Routing Rank	3
Request Limit	25000
Overdue Recall Threshold	0
Location	CHECKEDOUT
User Access	NOACCESS
Environment	PUBLIC
Booking Limit	10
Shipping Delivery	NONE
Return Shipping	NONE
Consecutive Booking Allowed	YES
Increment Charge Counter	YES

Circulation Map

Create lines in the circulation map for each item type with the generic AVEQUIP circulation rule applied. Enter FACULTY in the User Profile attribute.

Name	VCR–FAC
Description	VCR charged to faculty
Library	ALL
User Profile	FACULTY
Item Type	VCR
Circulation Rule	AVEQUIP

 

Name	VIDEO–FAC
Description	VCR charged to faculty
Library	ALL
User Profile	FACULTY
Item Type	VCR
Circulation Rule	AVEQUIP

 

Name	VIDEO–FAC
Description	Video charged to faculty
Library	ALL
User Profile	FACULTY
Item Type	VIDEO
Circulation Rule	AVEQUIP

 

Name	EQUIPCART–FAC
Description	AV cart charged to faculty
Library	ALL
User Profile	FACULTY
Item Type	EQUIP–CART
Circulation Rule	AVEQUIP

How do I set up policies to book an item to be shipped?

In this FAQ, assume that an off–site faculty member is booking a video to be shipped from the Main library to the West Annex. To book a video to be shipped, the following policies are required.

Shipping Schedule

Create a shipping schedule for shipping videos.

Name	UPS
Description	UPS Shipping Schedule
Pickup Time	Mon.(12:00),Tue.(12:00),Wed.(12:00),Thu.(12:00),Fri.(12:00),Sat. (12:00)
Transit Time	2 DAYS
Closed Dates	1/1/2002, 5/27/2002, 7/4/2002, 9/2/2002, 11/28/2002–11/29/2002, 12/24/2002–12/25/2002

Booking Profile

Create a booking profile for videos shipped off–site.

Name	VIDEO–SHIP
Description	Video for shipment off–site
Preparation Time	NONE
Cleanup Time	NONE
Profile Type	SINGLE
Rotate Copies	YES
Shippable	YES
Fixed Time Slots	NONE
Requirements List	Booking Profile: VIDEO Quantity: 1 Delivery Shipping Policy: UPS Return Shipping Policy: UPS

Media Desk

Create a Media Desk policy for the main library.

Name	MAIN
Description	Main Media Desk
Desk Hours	Open from Mon. 7:00 Until Mon 18:00
Desk Hours	Open from Tue. 7:00 Until Tue 18:00
Desk Hours	Open from Wed. 7:00 Until Wed 18:00
Desk Hours	Open from Thu. 7:00 Until Thu 18:00
Desk Hours	Open from Fri. 7:00 Until Fri 18:00
Desk Hours	Open from Sat. 10:00 Until Sat 14:00
Closed Dates	1/1/2002, 5/27/2002, 7/4/2002, 9/2/2002, 11/28/2002–11/29/2002, 12/24/2002–12/25/2002

Item Type

Create an item type for videos shipped off–site.

Name	VIDEO–SHIP
Description	Video for shipment off–site
Hold Threshold	UNLIMITED
Booking Profile	VIDEO–SHIP

Circulation Rule

Create a circulation rule specifically for videos to be shipped.

Name	VIDEO–SHIP
Description	Video for shipment off–site
Loan Period	3DAYS
Recall Period	0
Billing	NOFINE
Renew Limit	0
Chargeable	YES
Overridable	YES
Grace Type	Days
Grace Period	0
Recall Grace	0

User Profile

Create a user profile for off–campus faculty.

Name	OFF–CAMPFAC
Description	Off Campus Faculty
Charges Allowed	25000
Hold Rank	125
Recirculate Item	NO
Privilege Limit	1 YEAR
Privilege Fee	$.00
Overdue Threshold	5
Bill Threshold	$5.00
Charge Limit	25000
Reserve Charge Limit	25000
Hold Limit	25000
Library Precedence	NO
Billable	YES
Routing Rank	3
Request Limit	25000
Overdue Recall Threshold	0
Location	CHECKEDOUT
User Access	NOACCESS
Environment	PUBLIC
Booking Limit	10
Shipping Delivery	UPS
Return Shipping	UPS
Consecutive Booking Allowed	YES
Increment Charge Counter	YES

Circulation Map

Create a line in the circulation map which applies the circulation rule created specifically for the VIDEO–SHIP item type. Enter OFF–CAMPFAC in the User Profile attribute.

Name	VIDEO–SHIP
Description	VIDEO charged to off–site faculty
Library	ALL
User Profile	OFF–CAMPFAC
Item Type	VIDEO–SHIP
Circulation Rule	VIDEO–SHIP