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Patrons can borrow/request/hold/recall/renew items directly (Unmediated) from non-home member libraries (owning library) with which their library has a resource sharing relationship. All of FOLIO's circulation rights can be used to control access for non-owning library patrons. Library may need the addition of "special" user groups for patrons that can be used by default when trying to borrow from a non-home library. Circulation staff workflows should be as close to a typical checkout as possible. On the backend staff side these operations should be completely unmediated.
Checkout requirements:
1. Borrower must exist in both the home library and the non-home library. This can be accomplished in 4 possible ways:
- Option 1: Automated feature exists that allows library to list all the member libraries that the home library will allow a circulation relationship with that circulation uses to search for a patron record across the member libraries and when found, automatically imports that patron while adding a flag that the patron is "non-native" or "temporary". FOLIO is able to see if the patron has been restricted due to "bad" behavior. This feature also sets up live synchronization of transaction data to make sure home and remote libraries are always in alignment. Note that this feature needs to be automatically initiated when a non-local patron tries to login to the discovery service and place a request for the 1st time as well. The following 3 options take care of this discovery use case by default as well.
- Option 2: Sys-Admin regularly batch loads patron files (can be setup as automatic cron type process) from all affiliated libraries. The load automatically assigns non-native patrons as "non-native" or "temporary". The "almost" union patron file is managed locally. But this option is somewhat limited in that it does not really help with configuration of library communication of data to keep the home library FOLIO system in sync and responsible.
- Option 3: For walk-ins, the front desk simply adds the patron manually by hand as a non-native patron (When a patron is not a member of any affiliated library) Possibly move this to an additional use case.
- Option 4: A registration page is setup for the patron to register and add their personal information into FOLIO including login, password and affiliation that the librarian can approve or FOLIO itself can validate against the patron's home library.
- Note: in options 2 - 4, FOLIO still needs to be configured to communicate with patron home libraries to keep transaction data is sync and to verify affiliation, restrictions if wanted. All options can "work together" for the most flexible options and seamless experience.
2. Local librarians get all standard abilities such as dealing with blocks, notifications, etc.
3. On checkout, FOLIO connects and sends the following to the patron library:
- Patron ID
- Instance metadata and ID
- Item metadata and ID
- Transaction type and data (ex. loan, parameters of loan, library that actually owns the item and loan, etc)
- Home circulation (patron library) checks to see if the patron is still a valid member of the library in good standing. If so, sends acknowledgement to owning library. If not, sends denial to owning library.
- if acknowledgement is positive, patron library creates a loan transaction for the above
4. Owning library circulation creates the transaction locally. Library might want to print a "slip" with a reminder that the item must be returned to the owning library
5. Circ stats are updated on both systems. ex. local loans are updated, along with some additional information or stats that shows this item was provided for a patron of another library.
6. Affiliation and privileges validation (critical): There is a need to check regularly if the patron is still a member of their home library. Need to remove rights once they are no longer a member.
Check-in requirements:
1. If item returned to the owning library, item is returned and circulation sends the following to the patron's home library:
- Patron ID
- Item metadata and ID
- Transaction type and data (ex. loan, parameters of loan, fees if overdue or lost, etc)
- The patron's home library closes the loan. What happens to the item since it is not part of inventory? What status is it assigned?
2. Else if Item returned to the wrong library, Circ displays a block and possibly prints a slip or shipping label (library configurable) to facilitate transfer back to owning library
- The loan is closed
- Circulation sends a message to the library that owns the item that it was returned.
- Is a status of "in-transit"? assigned until the library physically received the item?
Assumptions:
1. All standard GDPR needs can be accommodated with standard library policy.
2. Circ systems communicated via HTTPS.
3. The minimum amount of patron data to load still needs to be defined.
4. All external ILL systems will simply connect via API to FOLIO and rely on the transactions created in FOLIO tenants.
5. Unaffiliated walk-ins (community users) will be handled per library policy either via library simply creating a local patron for the user as needed or possibly in the future, a registration page. Considered out of scope of this feature.
Notes:
1. Stories need to be written for:
- Loans
- Renewals
- Requests
- Returns
- Damaged or lost items
- Data that needs to be included in transaction data transfer that indicates the loan (or other types) actually originates at another library
- Member library setup and configuration including which library has responsibility (patron's home or library owning the item)
- Configuration for if the library must ship the item back to home or keep it. Including config of "in-transit" status behavior
- Automated patron lookup in member libraries at the front desk as well as via Discovery
- Modifications for batch patron loader that marks these records as non-native.
- New patron registration page
- Item slips for patron reminder of where to return item
- Item slip upon return for where to send item if needed
- Shipping labels
- Changes to reports to deal with non-local patrons (overdues, fees & fines)
- Changes to patron import and circulation about how to handle when the patron barcode of the just loaded patron's barcode collides with a local patron barcode.
- Changes to overdue notices to configure which library actually sends overdue notices
- SSO ring down (
UXPROD-808
Open
)
- NCIP support needs to be added as a requirement for interfacing with external systems
- Reporting needs (Consortia and local)
- What patron fields are hidden/accessable?
2. For the patron loading options listed, it is being recommended that a union catalog of patron records not be included for the following reasons:
- It lacks or will require a sync of not just patron data, but transaction data as well which implies instance and item data also which will always be out of date minutes after the next sync. This implies to properly fix, the next item below is probably the ideal solution if the union option is wanted/needed...
- It can easily supported via single tenant consortia option in FOLIO or
- It might be possible to support via an external ILL system, but maintenance and circulation transactions at the front desk might rely on the ILL system for ILL transactions?
3. When handling cross library borrowing in this manner across tenants,
UXPROD-797
Open
for should be automatic and really just an additional story that most likely needs no work. Or worst case, just some changes in the discovery service.
4. This includes functionality defined in
UXPROD-816
Open
and
UXPROD-819
Open
Questions:
1. Question, does this handle the "group" situation as WMS and/orVoyager systems do?
2. What happens to the item record when the item is returned to the home library and the loan is closed? It's technically no longer part of inventory of the non-home library? What status is assigned?
3. This is no longer a feature. This is an epic sized on it's own.
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