135 results found
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Clearing Expired/Defunct Holds - Generate Hold Cancellation Notice
Currently, only when you cancel a hold from either the Hold tab or the Hold queue do you get the option to generate a hold cancellation notice. When a defunct hold is cleared from the holdshelf (clear expired holds), we would like to see a prompt to send a hold cancellation notice(s), just as we do when cancelling holds outside of the clear holdshelf process. All those that get cleared could use the same “drop hold” message in the text of circulation notices (explaining your hold has been cancelled because it’s expired/hold pickup by date has passed). These would be…
2 votes -
Send to: Notices
It would be great if the logic & momentum that introduced Send To - Rapid or Global Update in Sierra 6.3 & will soon allow the same shortcut to Delete Items could also be applied to the Notices function.
I had submitted a similar request that the shortcut be added to Globally Purge Charges & am wondering if this might be combined into one request or if it's easier to introduce them one at a time?
Use case: each week, Cincinnati generates a list of customers sent a statement of charges (bill notice) via Create Lists. This list is then…
2 votes -
Allow Pickup Location Changes After Hold Is Activated (with Optional Patron Notification)
In Sierra, once a hold is activated, the pickup location becomes locked. This occurs even if an error happens or the original location becomes unavailable. The limitation creates workflow issues for libraries that use lockers, shared delivery systems, or multiple branches.
We are requesting a system enhancement that allows authorized staff to edit the pickup location of a hold after it has been activated, but before it is checked out or expires.
-Why This Is Needed:
Locker and space-based workflows: Staff may discover after trapping a hold that a locker is full or not functioning. At that point, there is…
8 votes -
Automatically add date/timestamp to Notes and Messages
It would be helpful if the system automatically added a date/timestamp to Notes and Messages added to Patron and Item records by staff. Currently, we ask our staff to always add thier initials and date to notes and messages when adding them but it doesn't always happen. There are also inconsistnecies in how these are added and no easy way to search for them. We also find that notes/messages are not always removed after they are addressed.
If we had an accurate way to determine the date a note/message was added, it would be possible to develop a retention policy…
14 votes -
Improve clear hold functions for integrated systems
When a hold has been cleared or is defunct, the information Sierra provides integrated integrated systems (IMMS for our example) over API is not consistent In particular, when clear holds is run in Sierra. During clear holds, the item status either remains at ! On holdshelf or changes to another item status. When it remains as !, IMMS sees the hold is still active and does not instruct staff to clear the item from the hold shelf. Daily and weekly processes are needed to update the item records for IMMS to recognise the changes.
Can the clear hold function in…
3 votes -
Increase Max System Display Limit for Fines
Our library has very generous allowances for both checkouts & holds on patron accounts. This can sometimes come into conflict with Sierra's seemingly arbitrary system limits. For example, when these items go unreturned & result in replacement charges, which then cannot be added because of the imposed limits. Like my waist can no longer accommodate 32" pants, Sierra cannot currently accommodate the lending policies taken advantage of by some of our more active borrowers.
I'm sure there are other examples where these limits can manifest, but attached is an example message recently seen by staff which reads:
CANNOT ADD FINE…
2 votes -
Limit the number of holds to the total count of copies in that Bib
There must be a configuration in Sierra to limit the number of holds can be placed at the bib level. We want to limit the hold count to number of copies in the Bib.
1 vote -
Allow for Customization of Fields Included in Expanded Display of Patron Records
I recently learned that the fields included in the Expanded Display for patron records (when you rollover/click the i next to the record) are hard coded.
I found this unfortunate, because what's shown in the Expanded Display differs depending on where you're viewing it, which in the case of patron records is either going to be in the Search/Find a Patron view or the Check Out mode view.
Examples of where I see room for improvement here:
1) When I search for a patron by name & come up with dozens of people with the same name, an identifier like…
4 votes -
Send To: Globally Purge Charges
It would be great if the logic & momentum that introduced Send To - Rapid or Global Update in Sierra 6.3 & will soon allow the same shortcut to Delete Items could also be applied to Globally Purge Charges.
The state of Ohio has a statute of limitations on debt collection that has us purging money owed longer than 5 years on a weekly basis. While this is bazonkers IMO, apparently it's also the law of the land, & it would make the process much more quick & convenient if we could select a file in Create List, navigate to…
4 votes -
add location column in Count Use function
Under the count use function, is it possible to add a location column? Currently, we have Title / Barcode / Count / Status. This way, when staff collects used but not checked out items and counts their usage, they can also see - at a glance - if the item belongs to a different floor/location and can separate it on the spot.
This added information will save staff time and minimize the chance of something being misplaced.
5 votes -
Add "mark damaged items" workflow to checkin
Staff need an easy way to make an item "damaged" when performing check-in. The current damaged workflow requires staff to be in the patron account.
All of our libraries have book drops, and every day, damaged items are returned. It doesn't make sense for library staff to stop their process, review the item record, and then review the patron account details in order to mark an item as damaged.
Can the "Mark Damaged Items" button that appears in the checkout function (checked out items) screen be added to the check-in window. I have attached an image where we would like…
15 votes -
5 votes
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Ability to alter the Recommends Approval and Denial emails that go to patrons who submit a purchase request
Problem: The text of emails sent when using the Approval and Denial notifications in Recommends cannot be currently altered. We would like to be able to provide more customer friendly email templates to patrons that allow us to explain why an item was denied or what the process is for items that are approved.
Impact: Being able to communicate with our patrons at the outset of the process will save staff time by not having to have go back and forth with customers over email to explain processes and reasons for purchase requests. Additionally it will improve the customer's experience…
4 votes -
Money Owed Data Point for Billed Notices
Idea: add the money owed fixed field as an option for a data point in the Bills Notice Data Library for print templates.
Value: Some libraries would like to be able to call out to users how much in total they owe on their account, not just the total of the items on that particular bill. Adding this field to the data library would enable them to do so.
5 votes -
Clarify Fines Payment Lock Messaging
The current wording of the fines payment lock messaging implies the presence of fines, which is not always the case and is misleading. To reduce confusion for staff, please change the message wording to indicate that another station has the record open, therefore the fines function in the patron record is locked. This will indicate to staff the reason why it's locked (another station has it open) and what they can't do while it's locked (access the fines function in the patron record).
22 votes -
Include the AA (patron identifier) element in the 10 Checkin Response for SIP2
When users return the materials via self-check machines, we want an email receipt to be automatically sent to them. Unfortunately, Sierra does not currently support the AA element in the 10 Checkin Response. Some libraries purchased the Patron API feature to get it to work but if Sierra include the AA element, it will simplify the process.
2 votes -
Add search functionality to scoping rule function
As a consortium, our system has hundreds of location codes. We appreciate the new functionality to add locations to scopes ourselves, but it is cumbersome to scroll through the list of hundreds of branch entries each time to find the code you need to add. It would be helpful if there was search functionality, where you can type in the code, and it brings up the corresponding entry in the branches list for you to select.
6 votes -
Disallow cancellation of holds by Pickup Location, Loan Rule or Stat Group
It would be helpful to have the ability to prevent a hold from being canceled based on its pickup location.
We have holds pickup lockers installed in three locations and are finding that if the lockers contain an item which has since had its hold canceled, the lockers will send a CheckIn SIP transaction to Sierra for that item, resulting in the item being [logically] used to fulfill someone else's hold [while physically still housed in a locker]. For popular new releases, this is happening more frequently than one might imagine. The ability to disallow the cancellation of holds at…
8 votes -
Improve patron address parser to better map data to the patron_record_address table
Sierra has a mechanism for parsing the free text entered into patron address fields in the client into separate fields for elements such as city/state/postal code that exist in the patronrecordaddress table. Those distinct fields may then be searched in create lists or utilized in SQL queries. However, the algorithm used to parse out those data points is extremely rigid in terms of the data it expects to see and is quite prone to mapping data incorrectly if an address entered into a patron record does not conform to those guidelines.
For one common example in our system…
21 votes -
Add Character Map to Patron Record Creation/Editing Menu
Despite the constant threats to our funding & the fact that some seem to treat the notion of DEI as offensive, we continue to want our library to be seen as a welcoming & inclusive environment for our patrons.
We would like to be able to extend this to how their name is represented in Sierra & on notices/when seen in the catalog. We currently have a sort of crib sheet for staff to use to insert diacritic characters into patron names as needed, but think it would be helpful if they didn't have to navigate away from Sierra when…
14 votes
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