Staff's ability to make item bulk changes should follow permissions for item record change
Currently item bulk change functionality allows staff to bulk change fields that they can't change in individual item records. This allows staff to modify item records using bulk change when they're blocked from modifying directly in the item record. The same permissions should apply to bulk change:
• Item records: Modify cataloging view
• Item records: Modify source and acquisitions view
• Item records: Modify reserves view
• Item records: Modify history view
The library feels this is a data security risk. Fundamentally, here is the question: what is the purpose of the permission Item records: Modify cataloging view?
If the purpose is data security, to protect certain data from accidental or purposeful editing by individuals whose job does not require write permissions to the data protected by that permission, then why are these individuals allowed to do that editing in a bulk interface?
Amy Emery
shared this idea
-
Carmi Parker
commented
My library discovered this issue because circulation staff mistakenly bulk edited several cataloging fields, that, per our permissions schema, only catalogers can edit. In further testing, I found that bulk edit allows circ staff to edit or delete any field, including mission critical ones that only our catalogers should touch, like call number, loan period, etc. The proposed workaround is to not let circ staff use bulk edit, a feature they currently use on hundreds of items per day when they are weeding, shifting books by branch location, shifting books to different shelf locations, and other tasks. So, the workaround doesn't work for us.
-
Amy Mihelich
commented
We run into this when having to correct mistaken bulk changes. A staff member is bulk changing item records and accidentally changes a field that they didn't mean to (such as assigned branch) and then is unable to correct the item records and has to request support. It would be a work and time-saver if there were a failsafe to prevent this.