2025-06-30 Resource Access Meeting Notes

Date: Jun 30, 2025 

Recordings

NOTE: RESOURCE ACCESS SIG USES EITHER ZOOM’S AI NOTES FUNCTIONALITY OR MICROSOFT COPILOT TO PROCESS THE TRANSCRIPT. If you would prefer that we do not use AI any session you attend, we are happy to! Please alert the convener at the start of the meeting.

Find all recordings here: https://recordings.openlibraryfoundation.org/folio/resource-access-sig/ (pw: folio-lsp)

Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/337279319 (pw: folio-lsp)

Attendees

@Charlotte Whitt

@Thomas Trutt

@Anna Olofsson

@Tobias Gostomsky

@David Bottorff

@Shirley Moentnish

@Mark Canney

@Erin Weller

@Olga Kalachinskaya

@Claire Hoag

@Martina Tumulla

@Kajsa Bäckius

@Laurence Mini

@Tobi Hines

@Anja Kakau

@Tim Auger

@Catherine Tuohy

@Amelia Sutton

@Susan Kimball

@Cornelia Awenius

Discussion Items:

Meeting Notes

🗣️ Discussion Points

📦 Checkout Count on Item Records

🕒 11:05–11:45

• Overview:
  Charlotte introduced the topic of revisiting JIRA:UXPROD-2035, a long-standing draft feature concerning the display of checkout counts on item records. Originally proposed by Chalmers University in 2019, the feature has resurfaced due to renewed interest from multiple institutions, including the National Library of Sweden.

• Presentation:
  Charlotte presented a slide deck showing how Aleph (the legacy system used by NLS) displayed checkout counts as a calculated field. In Folio, this data is currently stored in staff-only item notes (e.g., "LF CheckoutCount") but lacks dynamic updating.

• Discussion:

  • David emphasized that while MetaDB users can generate detailed reports, many institutions lack such infrastructure. He supported a simple total + yearly breakdown but warned against over-reliance on these numbers due to their inherent inaccuracies (e.g., internal processing checkouts).

  • Susan cautioned against over-engineering the feature. She advocated for a simple, scalable count that provides a rough usage estimate, not a replacement for formal reporting.

  • Anja and Olga echoed the need for a rough count, especially for institutions without MetaDB or LDP. They emphasized the utility of such a number for quick decisions (e.g., preservation, replacement).

  • Thomas proposed using internal reports or lightweight UI-based reporting tools (e.g., List App) instead of embedding counts in item records. He also suggested storing data in Circulation Store and injecting it into Inventory UI dynamically.

  • Cornelia highlighted performance concerns with querying large datasets and supported a simplified implementation.

  • Mark noted that while workarounds exist (e.g., reporting app, preservation workflows), having the count visible in the item record is still valuable for staff.

• Complications:

  • Accuracy concerns due to inclusion of non-user checkouts (e.g., bindery, internal processing).

  • Performance issues with real-time queries on large datasets.

  • Permissions: not all staff can access the circulation log due to patron privacy concerns.

  • Feature ownership ambiguity between Resource Access SIG and Metadata Management SIG.

• Proposal:

  • Keep the feature simple: a running total, possibly with last year/this year breakdown.

  • Avoid real-time queries; instead, update the count at checkout time.

  • Store data outside Inventory and inject it into the UI to reduce SIG dependencies.

• Decisions Made:

  • Charlotte will revise and update the JIRA:UXPROD-2035 description based on feedback.

  • Further discussion and prioritization will occur once the updated ticket is available.

🧾 Review of Old JIRA Tickets for Closure

🕒 11:45–11:56

• Overview:
  Susan led a review of 27 old JIRA tickets (4+ years old) originally assigned to the Vega team. These were reviewed by a smaller working group over several months.

• Discussion:

  • Most tickets were deemed outdated, duplicates, or already addressed through other means.

  • One ticket, JIRA:RA-1040 (request purging of closed requests), was discussed in more detail. It lacked a clear write-up and was considered redundant due to existing API-based solutions and upcoming anonymization features.

• Decisions Made:

  • All 27 tickets, including JIRA:RA-1040, will be marked as closed.

  • Future prioritization efforts will begin in the fall, expanding beyond Vega-tagged tickets.

✅ Decisions Made

📌 Action Items

📊 Data & Insights

• Aleph system displays dynamic checkout counts per item, which is a desired feature in Folio.

• Institutions without MetaDB rely heavily on static or rough usage data.

• Checkout counts are used for:

  • Preservation and replacement decisions

  • Quick assessments of item relevance

  • Equipment lifecycle evaluation

• Performance and privacy concerns limit access to detailed circulation logs.

🔄 Follow-Up

• Updated JIRA:UXPROD-2035 will be circulated for review.

• Further discussion and prioritization will occur in the fall.

• Next meeting scheduled for July 10th to discuss multi-volume series and continuing resources with Stephanie.

🐝 JIRAs

• JIRA:UXPROD-2035 – Feature – Display checkout counts on item records. Discussed in detail; proposed to be updated and prioritized.

• JIRA:RA-1040 – Unknown – Request purging of closed requests. Proposed for closure due to lack of detail and existing alternatives.