Library Extension

New web  tool from our Tech Services Librarian

   Library Extensions is a small software program enhancement which you can add to your Google Chrome browser. It can assist you when searching for recently/previously released books that patrons are requesting.

  What does it do?

Library Extensions runs along-side of amazon.com and goodreads and lets you know if the book you are searching for is already available in RPLs catalog.

   How do I install it?

1.       Open up chrome.

2.       Click on Customize (top right corner). Select more tools. Click on Extensions.

3.       Click on Get more extensions.

4.       Type Library Extensions into the search box and select the extension to add to Chrome.

 

5.       Select NC and Rowan Public Library from the drop down menus.

 

6.       Try it out!

 

Overdue Books and Computer Use

Overdue Books and Computer Use

Just a reminder folks, if a patron has an overdue book, regardless of the amount of their fine, they are unable to use the computers. Try to renew the book for them if possible, but if it is not possible, they will have to purchase a guest pass if they want to use the computers.

Even if their account balance is less than $2, they still cannot use the computer with an overdue book on their account.

The Reference Desk staff cannot and will not "override" people's accounts to allow them to use the computers, no matter what the patron's story is.

SNAGS

What do we do if items have been on the SNAGS shelf for more than 30 days?

1.       If there has been no response after 30 days:

-          If it is a single item, go to the borrower’s account and change the status of the item to Lost.  This will automatically add cost of material to borrower’s account.

-          If the item is part of larger set, check in the item with Special Status of Repair: Tech SVCS and send the item to Tech Services.

-          Go into the borrower’s account and add a fee as Damaged, including the title, barcode, and description of what was missing in the Comments field.  Charge according to chart below:

Damages	Fee
DVD/CD Case	$4.00
DVD	$10.00
CD	$7.00
Paper Cover	$1.00

 

-          Verify charges have been added to the borrower’s account. 

-          Remove the SNAGS comment from the borrower’s record. 

-          Hold the damaged item until the fee is paid, at which point the borrower receives the damaged item to keep.

-          Larger sets or damaged sets will be sent to Tech Services with appropriate Tech Services slip (Appendix F).

-          Note the date the item was sent and initial the SNAGS slip.  Put the SNAGS slip in the SNAGS folder. 

-          Snags slips may be shredded 6 months from the day items are sent to Tech. Services.

Active Shooter

If you are to ever find yourself in the middle of an active shooter event, your survival may depend on whether or not you have a plan. The plan doesn’t have to be complicated.

There are three things you could do that make a difference: Run. Hide. Fight.

RUN: First and foremost, if you can get out, do.

• If there is an escape path, attempt to evacuate
• Evacuate whether others agree to or not
• Leave your belongings behind
• Help others escape if possible
• Prevent others from entering the area
• Call 9-1-1 when you are safe

HIDE: If you can’t get out safely, you need to find a place to hide. Act quickly and quietly. Try to secure your hiding place the best you can.

• Lock and/or blockade the door
• Silence your cell phone/pager
• Hide behind large objects
• Remain very quiet

Your hiding place should:

• Be out of the shooter’s view
• Provide protection if shots are fired in your direction
• Not trap or restrict your options for movement

FIGHT: As a last resort, and only if your life is in danger . . . whether you’re alone or working together as a group, fight.

• Attempt to incapacitate the shooter
• Act with physical aggression
• Improvise weapons
• Commit to your actions

Remember: The first responders on the scene are not there to evacuate or tend to the injured. They are well-trained, and are there to stop the shooter.

What to do when law enforcement arrives:

• Remain calm and follow instructions
• Keep your hands visible at all times
• Avoid pointing or yelling
• 
  

  Know that help for the injured is on its way
  resources:  www.homelandsecurity.gov

Friends' Cafe Prices

FRIENDS CAFÉ

$1.50 Coffee / Tea
Includes 2 creamers, sugar and/or sweetener packets

Ask about seasonal hot beverage selections
Coke

Diet Coke

Sprite

Water

Security Radio Reset

Security Radio Reset (emergency orange button)

 

When the (orange) emergency panic button is accidently pressed on the Security Radio the following will happen;

A 911 dispatcher will call back on the radio and ask what the emergency is, let them know it was a false alarm.

The dispatcher will then ask you to reset the radio; you do so by dialing ext. 8500 (non emergency number) on the telephone.

The person on the line will ask you to hold down the orange button, the radio will start beeping.

Continue to hold the button down until you are instructed to release the button.

The radio will then be reset.

 

Renewals

LS2 updates coming soon!  With the last update we started seeing a glitch in multiple renewals…..Example: a patron has borrowed 25 books, they want to renew them all, you select all, click renew and a box pops up asking for the password b/c the fine limit has been reached. You enter the password and suddenly you have accidentally renewed an item for the 3^rd time…..I know we all were caught off guard when this happened.

 

With the new update (coming soon) this should not happen anymore!

Claims Returned

Claims Returned…Did you know?

 

-A patron is only allowed 2 claims returned items on their account.

-You can find out how many items are excused losses under Borrower Info -> Extra Info -> Borrower Maintenance Info.

-If an item has to be marked Claims Returned a Full Time Staff Member or Supervisor must handle the CR and the waived fees associated with it.

 

The full Claims Returned Procedure can be found on pages 33/34 of the Circulation Policy & Procedures Manual.

 

 

It’s all about the D.O.B.

 

Proper borrower search procedure is by Date of Birth. This not only narrows the search field and verifies borrowers that may have the same name it follows RPL policy set forth in the P&P Manual. See below:

 

A.   Add New Borrowers

Ask borrower for his/her date of birth and enter in LS2 to determine if individual has ever had a card. Do this even if borrower assures you he/she has never had a card.  In the Borrower Search window, select D.O.B. from the drop-down menu and Search. (P&P Manual pp3)

 

1  Accessing Rowan One Card Accounts

Enter Student ID# or Date of Birth into the Smart Search. (P&P Manual pp8)

 

A.   Check Out Items

If a library card is not available, search by date of birth (D.O.B.).  If the patron does not have a photo on his/her account, ask for a photo ID. (P&P Manual pp10)

 

A.   Search Borrowers (F6)

To search for a borrower, it is best practice to search by Date of Birth (MM/DD/YYYY) and leave the default option set to Smart.  A Borrower Search window will pop up.  In the drop-down menu, select D.O.B. and click Search. (P&P Manual pp55)

 

Lost/Found Items

When you add an item to the Lost/Found drawer, please attach a note onto the item with the date on it.

 

Large items or clothing should be taken to the sorting room and placed in the crate under the table.

 

If you know that an item belongs to a specific patron, please attach a note onto the item with the date and patron acct number.

You should also leave a comment on the patron’s acct so that we can return the items to them.

 

Items with a name on them should be kept in the front of the drawer for easy accessibility.

 

When you clean out the drawer, please remember to remove any comments from a patron’s account regarding Lost/Found items.

 

 

 

Also, please do not let patrons borrow items from the lost and found drawer i.e. glasses, earbuds, flash drives, etc.

These items belong to someone and we should not be loaning them out to other patrons.

 

 

Questions or Comments?

 

See Brooke

Helping Computer Newbies

Helping computer newbies

Posted: 05 Apr 2017 11:25 AM PDT

Often we will have individuals who would like to use the computer lab and they have limited or no experience. We have some updated pages for assisting people with little to no experience in setting up an email address and very basic Microsoft Word instruction. These are saved in the HQ Computer Lab folder in Commons under Instruction & Signs. There are hard copies printed out and stored in a blue folder at the Reference Desk at HQ.

These are a work in progress, so if anyone has suggestions please let Abby know.

 

*This post came from the Security blog, thanks!

Holds

Ch…Ch…Changes…We have moved (a few) and labeled (most) of the shelves behind Circ. This will allow us all to know what we have sitting on the shelves behind the desk and why.

 

A few explanations:

 

-HOLDS for Patrons – if you have a patron that has so many holds that you think the entire shelf may be filled, then place one item on the shelf with a note to see Circ Staff, then place the other items on the HOLDS for Patrons shelf.

 

-HOLDS for Staff – Are you doing deletions and notice that one of our RPL staff/program cards has multiple books that are about to be deleted? Would you like to give them a day to get their items? Place them on the HOLDS for Staff shelf.

 

-HOLDS for Display – See something while you are shelf reading or checking in/out that you feel would be great in our Display area? Place the item on our HOLDS for Display shelf and we will add it to the display when more room becomes available.

 

-TECH SERV and DONATIONS please keep these items separate on the separate shelves. Someone has been leaving donated items on the repair shelves in tech services, so let’s keep them separate on our shelves behind the desk.

Libby/Overdrive

New instructions for e-books are available at our service desk.

-There are two separate instructions for Kindle and Kindle Fire users.

-Overdrive App Any Device is for Nook/Kobo/general e-readers.

-Overdrive App Computer/Laptop is self-explanatory.

-Libby is for iPad/iPhone/Android.

 

Libby is the newest version of Overdrive and is very user friendly/easy to use.

If you have not/can not download this on your own device, feel free to use the Circ iPad (at work only) to practice using Libby.  The more familiar you are with e-books, the more you can help out the patrons. (Need help using Libby? Ask Paula. She’s an expert!)

ILL Overdue Fines

 

Did you know that ILL materials that are returned late do not automatically charge fines to the patron’s account?  Circulation Staff must look at the date on the pink slip and then determine the amount of overdue fines which should be added based on the number of days late the materials are. Instructions are written on each pink ILL slip. OV ILL Fines are $1.00 per day.

 

 

 

Improper Check-outs

Please be mindful of hitting the ESC button after checking out items to a patron or before you start to check in items from a book drop.

 

We have had several patrons lately contact us saying that items are checked out to their account that they did not physically check out from the library. A short search has resulted in finding each of the items on the shelf.

 

Accidentally checking out items on a patron’s card is easy to do if you have not cleared the screen from the previous transaction. Use the ESC button as your “easy button” to ensure that these miscellaneous check-outs don’t occur.

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/C Patrons

When editing a patron account to make them N/C, please copy the phone number up to the Primary Phone Number field.

N/C does not mean that we do not need a phone number. We still need a number so that we may contact them if a problem occurs.

 

Some patrons do not have a phone number or do not wish to provide a phone number. Please reassure patrons that we do not give out private information. All information collected through the library card applications are for library use only.

 

 

 

 

 

Inter Library Loan Check-In Procedure

When anyone from the History Rm staff brings down a group of books that are back from ILL, they must be added to the First/Second check carts.

 

Recently some items were brought down, and then added to a ‘Done’ cart and never checked in. Fortunately the History Rm staff was able to track down the items and check them in properly.

 

The RPL Circulation procedure is that all items from ILL or Outreach must be checked in a second time through the circulation desk to ensure that all items are checked in properly.

New Library Cards and Patron Questions

REMINDER: Please check DOB when looking up patrons for a new Library Card. We have had several duplicate cards issued lately. If you are standing at Station 4/Computer 4 you will need to search all locations when entering in patron DOBs.

 

 

 

 

Patron Question:  A patron had a concern about distinguishing between dvds and books in the catalog. Each item in the catalog has the collection descriptor underneath it.  EXAMPLE: book or dvd or Large Print or eBook.

Take a moment to pull up the catalog and show them. Information is what we do and Customer Service is our specialty!

Technology Quick-Stops/RCCC's Employability Lab

When a patron requests technology assistance that will require more than a few minutes of your time, you must decide if this will compromise your ability to competently staff the reference desk. If you feel it would monopolize your time to the detriment of the patrons, please inform them of our Technology Quick-Stops.

We are not currently offering scheduled technology classes, so if a patron inquires or expresses a desire for instruction, please refer them to Abby. If unavailable, get their contact information. Depending on what their needs are Abby will coordinate with the most qualified and knowledgeable staff member to arrange for a instructional session for the patron at their convenience.

As you may have noticed, RCCC's Employability Lab has a standing reservation for Conference Room 4 on Mondays and Fridays from 9:30AM to noon. Should a patron ask for resume or job-seeking assistance please make sure they are aware of this opportunity. No appointment is required and walk-ins are welcome.

*Post taken from the Reference Staff area.

Incident Reports and Damaged/Lost Items

INCIDENT REPORT:  If a patron gets hurt or injured on county property, a Staff member must fill out an Incident Report form. When a patron comes to the Circ desk requesting a Band-Aid or other medical attention, please get a supervisor or our Security/Safety officer to fill out the report. All incident reports must be filled out completely and signed by the patron. Copies must be made and given to Pam Nance, Tara, and one copy gets sent to the County.

Incident Reports are over on the right side of the Circ Desk with other essential forms.

 

 

 

 

REMINDER: Patrons may not buy a replacement copy in exchange for items that are damaged or lost. RPL policy is to mark the items damaged/lost and charge the patron for the replacement fee that is listed in the system.  

 

Rowan One Card

If a Juvenile has a physical library card with fines, and they want to use the computer, the child may use their Rowan One Card (Student ID#) to access the computer.

 

If a Juvenile has a physical library card with fines, and they want to check out items, the child may use their Rowan One Card (Student ID#) to check out 3 items only on their ROC.

 

 

If an Adult patron has a physical library card with fines, and they want to check out items on their child’s Rowan One Card, the child must be present.

 

Friends Membership

If a patron gives you a Friends Envelope, sealed with money in it – just place the envelope in the box for Cyndii.

 

If a patron comes to the desk to pay for their membership with cash/check, grab an envelope, have them fill it out to make sure we have the most updated info, place the money/check in the envelope – place the envelope in the box for Cyndii.

 

If a patron comes to the desk to pay for their membership with a credit card, pull up their account on the computer, add charges: friends membership, run the charge just like any other credit card purchase, and place the receipt in the cash drawer – reprint the receipt or make a copy of the receipt, place in a friends envelope with their info on it and in the box for Cyndii.

Book Drops

#CircStaff please check under the book returns once a day for items that may have fallen under the wooden box. Its a rare occurrence, but sometimes books get returned and can be found under the return box.

#PageStaff please check under the metal drop boxes once a day for items that may have fallen under them. It is very easy for items to miss the opening and fall down on the floor under the drop.

Hold Slips Updated

Procedure Update!

 

 

The current Borrower Notification Procedure is to change the Primary Phone number field in the Borrower Info when the patron wishes to received arrived holds via email/text.

 

 

We will no longer do that.

 

 

 

As of January 26, 2017 the only thing in the Primary Phone number field will be the Borrower’s primary contact number, whether it is a mobile or home number.

 

To receive email or text messages staff must fill in the email field or text field with the correct information and then make changes on the settings page.

 

 

Our newly revised Arrived Holds Slips will now show the notification type as well as the patrons primary contact number.

 

RPL Staff will call every patron, no matter their notification setting unless the patron specifically asks for No Calls.

 

 

 

In the event they ask for No Calls, please place N/C in the Address 2 Secondary Phone Field.

 

 

 

Any other notes regarding patrons should be placed in the Comments Field or Notes.