Item statuses/workflows

NCSU partial list of item statuses.  "Shadowed" =  record does not display to the public


Trying to distinguish differences in how we designate a resource:

LOCATION: tells us where the resource can be found permanently.  

  • For a tangible resource, we usually designate a location code that has been pre-configured based on the geography of our facilities (which library, where is the library, etc.).  
  • A resource can also be virtual and a location code could be generic (e.g. Online) or specific (e.g. a URL)

ITEM STATUS: tells us something about the resource in regard to its location.  It is either available at that location or, if not, what has happened/is happening to it?  As we shift our thinking to workflows, this can be seen as a point when a workflow might be initiated, including the use of prompts that will ping appropriate people that it is time for them to take the next step in a workflow.

Would a resource have a single status?  If not, what circumstances need more than one status?


 

What is the item status?Who/how is it applied?Use case (specify audience)Additional notesYea for MM SIGNay for MM SIG
Available / Not chargedDefault status for item in the stacks; item is available for use
  1. Item at rest in stacks
 
  1. LW@NCSU
  2. UChicago
  3. TAMU
  4. Duke
  5. Lehigh
 
In Process / Received

Staff mark an item In Process when the item has been received, is being sent for additional cataloging work, and/or needs labeling/end processing.

Specifications for OLE included the ability for staff to mark an item as "received" under the Acquire functionality and the system would automatically update the item status to "received" in the item record. This functionality was never built but I did want to note that it was desired.

 

  1. Once an On-order item is received, staff manually update the status to In Process.  Item status remains In Process while the item goes through Cataloging and Shelf Preparation. Any item can be marked as In Process if it needs to be sent to Cataloging or Shelf Preparation.
  2. In Process status indicates to staff and library users that the library has the item but it is temporarily unavailable because it is being worked on.
  3. In Process/Received can be used in the public catalog: when an item is In Process/Received, the In Process/Received status would be used to generate a link to direct users to a request form so that the user can place the item on hold once it becomes shelf-ready.
  4. A library user requests an item marked In Process/Received. Library staff see the status and the date it was marked as In Process/Received; both pieces of information can help staff determine where to look for the item.
  1. Filip had noted that this status might instead make use of workflows rather than item status.
  2. It's valuable for the date the item was received to be preserved as that data might be needed in the future (e.g. trying to track down a missing item; analyzing how long it takes for an item to move along each step in a workflow)
  1. LW@NCSU
  2. UChicago
  3. TAMU
  4. Duke
  5. Lehigh
 
Withdrawn

Staff change item status to Withdrawn when an item is deliberately removed from the library's collection.

  1. An item might be withdrawn during a weeding project or in an effort to remove duplicate titles/issues from the library's collection.  After the item status is designated as Withdrawn, the item is no longer visible to the public in the online catalog. 
  2. Use case: providing HathiTrust with file of records that had been owned by the library but had been withdrawn
  3. Use case: state requirements for recordkeeping, need to provide evidence that something had been owned and what happened with it
  4. Further use case: can generate statistics for how many items withdrawn in a time period. (TAMU)
  5. Further use: sometimes we need to prove to State Auditors that we had the item.  We are accountable for state property and what has become of it. (TAMU)
  1. Although we don’t always use this status.  For serials, we put a note in the 852 $x declaring which volumes were withdrawn and by whose authorization.   And we delete the item records.   For older serials which don’t have item records for the pieces, it didn’t make sense to us to create item records for pieces we were withdrawing anyway. (TAMU)
  2. Electronic resources: indication that we had something but no longer have it; would this be useful for physical items? Inactive? We'll get in touch with Cate regarding this
  1. LW@NCSU
  2. UChicago
  3. TAMU
  4. Duke
  5. Lehigh
 
in TransitUsed when an item is moving from one location to another.
  1. Applied to items post-processing before being checked in; also used for ILL activities
  1. Duke: relevant for institutions that have a remote workplace to indicate that an item is on the move from one place to another
  2. Lehigh: used when an item that is normally housed in Library A is then checked out from Library A but is then returned to Library B. The staff checking the item in at Library B is prompted to transit the item to Library A and the system assigns the In Transit status which also populate the online catalog so that patrons know the item is not on the shelf. Once the item arrives at Library A, the item is checked in and the In Transit status is removed. Item is then returned to shelf.
  3. NCSU: same case as Lehigh - we have 5+ libraries, storage (BookBot) and remote storage, so items are moving between these locations constantly
  1. LW@NCSU
  2. UChicago
  3. TAMU
  4. Duke
  5. Lehigh
 
Missing

Staff change item status to Missing when a patron claims to have returned an item, but it is not checked in

Staff apply when we can’t find an item. (TAMU)

  1. Items with Item Status Missing should not be able to circulate without updating the item status to indicate it is back in circulation
  2. Same as NCSU that Staff change item status to Missing when a patron claims to have returned an item, but it is not checked in.   But it could also be the case that staff were looking for an item for other reasons and we just can’t find it.  Missing implied that we think it’s somewhere but we don’t know where it is and there is a chance we will find it.  “Lost” means we’ve looked for the item multiple times that the item is lost and needs to be reported to collection staff for a replacement decision. (TAMU)
 
  1. LW@NCSU
  2. UChicago
  3. TAMU
  4. Duke
  5. Lehigh
 
Lost; Lost – Library AppliedStaff change item status to Lost to indicate an item cannot be found in the stacks;
  1. Once an item is marked Lost, collections staff may decide to replace the item by purchasing another copy. 
  2. After the item status is designated as Lost, the item is no longer visible to the public in the online catalog.
  3. We searched for an item several times and can’t find it.  Collection development is notified for a selector to decide whether to replace the item. (TAMU)

 

 
  1. LW@NCSU
  2. UChicago
  3. TAMU
  4. Duke
  5. Lehigh
 
On-orderWhen a vendor file (containing bibliographic records and data to autogenerate a purchase order) is loaded, constant data configured in the profile used to load the file is set to populate the item status field with ON-ORDER
  1. Item is ordered and data is recorded in the system to specify that it was ordered, helping to prevent other staff from duplicating the order
  2. On-order can be used to prompt staff to investigate when something has been on-order for a specified amount of time (e.g. when an order is 3 months old, staff can contact vendor to check on order, possibly order through a different vendor to expedite delivery)
  3. On-order can be used in the public catalog: when an item is on-order, the on-order status would be used to generate a link to direct users to a request form so that the user can place the item on hold once it arrives and becomes shelf-ready; a link can direct users to a request form for interlibrary loan so they can access the title
  1. We do display "on order" to patrons, but that is not coming from the item status.  It's coming from the Acquisitions module in Voyager TAMU ; We don't consider this as an issue for the cataloging module.
  1. LW@NCSU
  2. UChicago
  3. Duke
  4. Lehigh
  1. TAMU
At BinderyApplied by Bindery staff; item has been removed from the shelves and has been shipped to the bindery; item is not able to be recalled as in the case when an item is checked out to a patron
  1. Items (usually serial issues) have been pulled and sent to commercial bindery
  2. NCSU: also used for Monograph repairs/rebinds; sometimes items also sent for special enclosures.
  1. At UChicago, when items are sent for binding, the items are checked out to the Bindery department (so item status just reveals that the item is "Loaned" or "Not available").
  1. LW@NCSU
  2. TAMU
  3. Duke
  4. Lehigh
  1. UChicago
Analytic

A serial set with individual issues that can be cataloged as monographs are sometimes analyzed.  This means, all issues of the serial set are shelved together under the serial classification but each analyzable issue also has a monographic record.  The item attached to the monographic record has the status "Analytic" to indicate that this monographic title is part of a larger series that is shelved as a set.

(A related issue is bound-withs, which are similar to analytics in that the same item is associated with more than one bib record. In Cornell's Voyager system, the barcode is assigned to the item record for the first bib, and given in a holdings 876 $a for subsequent bibs. This is a local workaround. Cornell no longer does analytics.)

  1. Once a decision has been made by cataloging staff or bibliographers to analyze a series/serial set, separate bibliographic records are created for the analyzed issues of the set.  Cataloging staff apply the Analytic status to the attached item of the monographic record.  The Analytic status forces a literal in the public catalog on the analyzed record that tells patrons to "Consult the Series record."  The "real" item is on the series/serial set record which contains the actual status of the item. 
  1. This is the current workflow at UChicago and it is definitely not ideal.
  2. The record structure for analytics is obviously a separate question from this.Does this status affect anything else besides the display?
  3. Right, nothing else is affected.  We use this item status to help us easily identify a record as an analytic.
  4. TAMU–more a workflow issue than an item status issue ; The real issue is that we need an item to be associated with multiple holdings or bibs (bound-withs)
  5. Chicago–when checking out an item that is represented as both a monograph and a serial part, the item status needs to be reflected at both places

 

  1. UChicago
  1. TAMU
  2. Lehigh (we handle this through different means than item status though admit we do not have a lot of experience with this function and are not sure how it should best be handled)
  3. Duke
Lost—System AppliedThe system automatically adds that status to an item that has been overdue for more than a set number of days. (TAMU)  
  1.  TAMU
  1. UChicago
  2. Lehigh
DamagedApplied by staff. Item is known to be damaged but is still in a condition to circulate.   Status applied so that subsequent users are not charged for the damage. (TAMU); question from Doreen: can you provide more info re: is this a permanent status? What happens when an item circulates? 

Yes this is a permanent status unless the damage can be repaired. It can circulate with this status. Our system allows more than one status.

  1.  TAMU
  1. UChicago
  2. Lehigh
Cataloging ReviewApplied by staff -- This is not really a status, but a ‘trigger’ or a ‘flag’. 
  1. If a patron needs an item we will let them borrow it, even if the cataloging is not done or it needs preservation work, etc.  When the patron returns the item and the student (usually) at the check-in desk discharges it, this status causes the check-in operator to be flagged (notified) that the item is not to be returned to the stacks, but should be set aside and taken to cataloging to complete the unfinished work.
  1. This status should also alert Circ staff to return the item for further processing in technical services.
  2. UChicago uses a Checking Note under Circulation Information in the item record in order to route material to Cataloging (or any other special instructions)
  1.  TAMU
  2. Duke
  1. UChicago
  2. Lehigh
Circulation reviewApplied by staff -- This is not really a status, but a ‘trigger’ or a ‘flag’. 
  1. This is a trigger to alert circulation that they need to review this item. For example, if a book is checked out for a long time and a student is blocked, it alerts circulation to remove blocks.
  1. We don't care if this is an item status but the ability to trigger an item to put it into a workflow is necessary.

 

  1. UChicago
  2.  TAMU
  3. Lehigh
  4. Duke

Acquisitions on demand

Purchase on demand

Patron driven acquisitions

DDA/PDA

  
  1. LW@NCSU - is this more of an acquisition status/flag (info for the order record) rather than item status? - I do know some systems don't keep order records forever, so maybe item record is the better place for this info?
  2. TAMU has a location code of PDA, not item status. 
  3. Note from Doreen (4/6/2017): I sent a note to Kristin Martin (convener of RM SIG) to initiate discussions regarding this
 
  1. UChicago
  2. TAMU
  3. Duke
General Note  We need item statues to have a time/date stamp.
  1. Lehigh
  2. Duke