FAQs: Using Reports With the SirsiDynix Voice Automation (SVA) Phone Notification System

To modify patron records for SVA functionality, run the Notify User via Phone (Notifyviaphone) report in the Circulation reports group to insert automatically the NOTIFY_VIA entry with a value of PHONE, or to insert PHONE in pre–existing NOTIFY_VIA entries.

The NOTIFY_VIA entry must be present in the USERX format and listed in the synonym list for USERX–TEM for SVA’s outbound functions to work. NOTIFY_VIA is not repeatable, and the data entered in it is limited to five characters. The following line must also be included in the /Unicorn/Language/Deliv/English/labels file.

usrx_othr_notify||Notify user via|

What is the overall procedure for using the reports in the SVA report group?

Once SVA is set up and the patron records are prepared, the reports in the SVA report group can be used to automate many of the tasks you need to perform to effectively use SVA.

To use the reports in the SVA report group

Run the Prepare Notices (Prepnotices) report to create the communication records and notice records.

If desired, run the SVA Information (Svainformation) report to see a list of patrons who SVA will attempt to contact today.

When SVA has finished making calls, run the Failed Calls report, the Failed Calls Notice report, or the Failed Calls Circulation Mailer report to remove the failed communication records and update the user records so the next Prepare Notices report will not create the same notices for the same users the next day.

Run the SVA Remove (Svaremove) report at least weekly to clear the SVA databases of communication records. You can remove all of the communication records from the SVA database, or only the communication records with the selected communication status.

Run the SVA Statistics (Svastats) report occasionally to see which users consistently cannot be contacted over the specified time period. This report lists users whose contact information should be checked, and whose records should possibly be edited so SVA will not try to contact them by phone any more.

As needed, run the SVA Restore (Svarestore) report to change the communication record status from FAILED to READY so SVA can try contacting the selected patrons again. This report is useful in the event of a power or telephone service outage, or technical difficulties.

What is the Prepare Notices report, and how do I use it?

The Prepare Notices (Prepnotices) report generates notices and the ability to make the phone connection to users. The reports selections are similar to the Hold Pickup Notice (Pickup) report.

You should schedule the Prepare Notices report to run daily to evaluate all current holds, including those made available, as well as to remove any available holds that may have been picked up during the preceding day. The report will also collect information on overdue materials and accumulated fines from the patron records.

For a patron’s overdue items and fines to be selected by the Prepare Notices report, you must run the Update User Delinquency Status report first. The Update User Delinquency Status report keeps the status in user records up to date.

When the Prepare Notices report runs, it creates two types of records.

Record Type	Description
Communication record	Provides contact information for the patron, and a way to organize all of the notices for a particular patron. The communication record can be compared to an envelope in a paper notice.
Notice record	One notice record is created for each individual pending notice, with each notice record being linked to a communication record for a particular patron. Several notice records can be attached to a communication record, but only one communication record exists for each patron. This allows one phone call to include several notices.

The communication record and its attached notice record(s) are called a communication. SVA creates a queue of communications before beginning its calls to patrons.

For example, John Smith owes $20.00 in unpaid bills. He also has two overdue items. The Prepare Notices report creates one communication record for John Smith, and three notices: one bill notice, and one overdue notice for each overdue item.

Holds, fines, and overdue items are not selected again in a subsequent Prepare Notices report until the communication record status is SUCCESS. The communication queue from an earlier report must be cleared by successful connections before the same hold, fines, or overdue item will be selected by the Prepare Notices report. Therefore, patrons are not sent notices again until the Number of Notices Sent counter is updated, as with other SirsiDynix Symphony reports.

What happens if another hold becomes available, another bill is assessed, or another item becomes overdue for the patron after the Prepare Notices report runs?

If the Prepare Notices report is run, and another hold becomes available, another bill is assessed, or another item becomes overdue for the patron, the next run of the report will update the communication record to append the new notice record. Depending on the status of the communication record when the report is run, SVA may deliver only the new notice to the user, or deliver the new notice along with other existing notices.

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If the communication status is SUCCESS, FAILED, or SUPERCEDED, the Prepare Notices report updates the communication record to append the new notice record, and change the communication status to READY. Since the existing notice records attached to the communication record all have a status of SUCCESSFUL, FAILED, or SUPERCEDED, none of the existing notices will be read when SVA contacts the patron. Only the new notice will be delivered since that notice’s status is READY.

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If the communication status is READY, the Prepare Notices report updates the communication record to append the new notice record. Since the existing notice records attached to the communication record all have a status of READY, the new notice and the existing notices will be read when SVA contacts the patron.

For example, the patron MARY has an available hold and an overdue item on her user record. When the Prepare Notices report runs on Monday morning, the report creates a communication record, attaches the two notice records, and sets the communication status and notice status to READY. SVA contacts Mary, reads the two notices to her, changes the communication status to SUCCESS, and changes the notice status for both notices to SUCCESSFUL. On the same day, after SVA has already successfully contacted Mary, the library creates a bill for an item she reported as lost. When the Prepare Notices report runs early Tuesday morning, the report adds a notice record for the bill and changes the communication record status to READY. When SVA makes its calls on Tuesday, it contacts Mary and reads the notice for the lost item bill, changes the communication status to SUCCESS, and changes the notice status to SUCCESSFUL.

What is the Failed Calls report, and how do I use it?

The list of patrons who could not be contacted by SVA is organized by pickup library. Library staff can use this list to personally contact patrons and give them information about overdue items, bills, and available holds.

Communication records can be selected by user characteristics, user status, library, communication status, notice type, or number of attempts.

The output options of this report can update the Number of Notices Sent counter. Once the notice is counted as sent, that particular bill, charge, or hold is not selected for the next report. The output options can also remove notices from the communication record. If all notices are removed from a communication record, the communication record is removed, and the user is no longer contacted.

What is the Failed Call Notice Printing report, and how do I use it?

Failed communications continue to be tried again, according to the time set between attempts. After the number of attempts limit set in the sva_config file is reached, the Failed Call Notice Printing report can be used to create notices for patrons who could not be contacted.

The Failed Call Notice Printing report creates overdue, bill, and available hold notices for each user, saves the notices to a file. These notices can be printed on paper and mailed to the patron, or sent by email to the patron.

Communication records can be selected by bill, overdue item, or available hold characteristics, user characteristics, user status, library, communication status, or number of attempts.

What are the differences between the Failed Calls report and the Failed Calls Notice report?

The Failed Calls and Failed Calls Notice differ as follows:

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By how the reports are used. The Failed Calls report is most frequently used by librarians who will pick up the phone and personally notify the patrons listed in the report about overdue items, bills, and available holds.

The Failed Calls Notice report is used to create email or paper notices that are sent to the patron.

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By how the information is divided. In the Failed Calls report, the information is divided by pickup library. For each library, the list of patrons shows all of the bills, available holds, and overdue items for each user.

In the Failed Calls Notice report, the information is divided by user. This report creates notices for all users who have unpaid bills, then creates notices for all users with available holds, and then creates notices for all users who have overdue items. If you decide to send notices by email, up to three different emails will be sent to a user (one for unpaid bills, one for available holds, and one for overdue items). If you decide to send paper notices, you must gather all of the notices to be sent to each user.

What is the Failed Calls Circ Mailer report, and how do I use it?

Failed communications continue to be tried again, according to the time set between attempts. After the number of attempts limit set in the sva_config file is reached, the Failed Calls Circ Mailer (Fccircmlr) report can be used to send overdue, bill, and hold pickup notices, or any combination of the three (based on report selections) to patrons that could not be contacted by SVA.

Overdue items, items held for pickup, or bills display in a compact, single–line list so that many items can be printed on a single mailer form. By default, only ACTIVE holds are selected.

In a circulation mailer form, notice text may be printed inside one or more layers of a form with internal carbons. The user’s and the library’s addresses display on the first visible layer of the notice form. When the user opens the next layer, optional notice text, a key to abbreviations, and a list of associated items appears.

This report was designed to print on a particular commercial mailer, and SirsiDynix will not guarantee that it will print on any other.

Order Information –– Creative DataProducts

The following is ordering information from Creative DataProducts:

Two-part mailer

57033 0250LIB001

US PATENT DES 382298

Reorder from Creative DataProducts

1-800-951-7234

If you are using Windows 2000, you cannot use the Plain Mailer 4-1/2” x 8” mailer style.

You may use the Notice Type Output options to remove notices for each type (overdue, bill, or hold) from the communication record when the report is run. If all notices are removed from the communication record, the communication record is removed, the user is no longer contacted.

After a call fails several times, the library may want confirm the contact information for the user or remove the NOTIFY_VIA PHONE entry from the user record to prevent the from being selected by SVA for phone calls.

What does the SVA Information report do?

The SVA Information (Svainformation) report prints a list of patrons who will be contacted by SVA. The report output shows the name, user ID, and phone number for each patron who will be contacted. The total numbers of bill notices, hold notices, and overdue notices appear at the end of the report output. This report is useful for making sure that SVA will try to contact the patrons you want to be contacted by phone.

What does the SVA Restore report do?

The SVA Restore report changes communication records with a status of FAILED to READY. The communication records are placed back into the calling queue for SVA to try contacting the patron again. This report is a convenient way of making SVA try to contact patrons again, particularly in the event of a power failure or a technical failure.

What does the SVA Remove report do?

The SVA Remove report permanently removes some or all of the communication records and notice records. You can either remove all communication records and notice records at once, or only those records that meet the selected communication status. This report helps to keep the SVA database to a manageable size.

What does the SVA Statistics report do?

The SVA Statistics report prints an overview of patrons who consistently could not be contacted by SVA within the number of attempts set in the sva_config file. The report will scan the SVA logs from today, the current month, or the current year, and display the patrons who were not reached by phone during that time period. For each patron who could not be consistently contacted by SVA, the report output includes the name, user ID, and number of attempts made to contact the user. This report is a quick way to see which user records may need to be checked for accuracy and modified.