Library Use Cards

In order to allow library staff to place holds and checkout materials that they need for their jobs, we have created a User Profile called "LIBRARYUSE." 

Materials checkedout to staff for purposes of doing their job does not count as circulation as far as your library stats go. That is why staff should never use their personal cards for checking out Storytime materials, or books you're using for Book Clubs, etc.  Your personal card should only be used for materials you are checking out for your own personal use.

The LIBRARYUSE Profile is excluded from statistics reports, it has an unlimited load period, and is FineFree, etc.   This profile is not to be used to checkout items for personal use--altho' the name on the record often includes the name of the staff person using it.  

LIBRARYUSE cards should be entered in one of the the following formats:

  1.  Last Name “LIBRARYNAME, type of card"   Ex: Last name: "WESTFIELD, BOOK CLUB" 
    1. First name: optional. May use name of staff person doing the program. Ex: "WESTFIELD, BOOK CLUB, VICTORIA S"
  2. Last Name "LIBRARYNAME"  First Name: type of card.  Ex: "BOOK CLUB"
  3. Last Name "DUMMY"  First Name: Staff name, or type of card, or description of use.  Ex: "DUMMY, RIPON JUV AWARDS"
  4. Use the address and demographics of your library, and a work (name@xxxxxlibrary.org) email address. 
  5. We recommend not entering a phone number and putting "?????"  in the Zipcode field as an added precaution to prevent any notifications except email.    

For the purpose of these cards, use your library's city not the actual name.  ex "WESTFIELD" not "ETHEL EVERHARD"

They can either have a barcode that can be scanned, or can be text like "RI-STORYTIME". The ID just needs to be unique. If you go this route please prefix the ID with your library's 2-letter code. Ex: "GR-STORYTIME"

Think about whether you want these LIBRARYUSE cards to have their Charge History turned on. For Book clubs and Storytimes you probably want it on so you know what you've used already. For placing holds on copies to come back for repair/relabeling/whatever, probably not.

Questions? Please contact Karla Smith or Melissa Klein.