There are several options for handling checkouts when the automation system is down.

Paper—write down the transactions and key them in when the system is back up.

Scanning into a document—scan the patron and item barcodes into notepad, wordpad or other text processing software, and then copy and paste, line by line, into the system when it is back up. All of the circulation PCs have this type of software installed on them.

If the system or a library is going to be down for an extended period of time, use the Offline Circulation module of WorkFlows. Instructions are available here.

When the system is down, do NOT discharge items. Discharging offline causes problems because the system will attempt to fill holds, transit items, etc., once the transactions are processed after coming back up, but the item may have gone elsewhere.

Claiming an Item Returned (General)  -- Claiming an Item Returned (step-by-step)

When a patron claims to have returned an item, there is a circulation wizard to handle the process.

The claims-returned date must be set to the due date to keep fines from accruing on the item.

The Item:

• Shows in the catalog as Long Overdue, Unavailable.
• Shows on either the user’s ACTIVE check out list or on the INACTIVE list. The item stays on the user’s list until the item is returned or the library manually handles it.
  Note:  If the item was claimed returned after the lost notice was generated, the item displays on the user's INACTIVE list.
• Does NOT display on their user’s checkout list
• Does NOT display in My Account in the catalog
• Does NOT go through the lost-assum processing

The user does not get any further notices on the item.

The claims-returned counter is incremented for each item and an alert showing the number of claims returned items displays when the user record is called up. The counter does not decrement if the item is returned. The counter can be reset manually in Modify User (privilege tab)

The library needs to decide whether the claims-returned items are to be billed or forgiven and then take care of the items. Winnefox can provide lists for the library.

The system does not record or display which library claimed the item returned.

Clearing the Claims-Returned

Clearing the claims-returned item is done by discharging the item. Write down or copy (for later pasting) the Item ID.

There are two parts to the process:

Is the item going to be made missing or withdrawn?
Either use the missing wizard to set the item missing or check it out to the library’s Withdrawn user. Either process will require an override. It may require a second override if there is a hold on the item. The standard override works for this step.

Is the user is going to be billed?
If the library is billing the user, it must be done using the Bill-A-User wizard. Use the bill reason of BILLCLMRET. The library decides the amount of the bill. The system requires the item ID.

If the library does not bill the user for the item, nothing further needs to be done unless the library chooses to put a note in the patron record. Some libraries put the date and the title of the claims-returned item that was forgiven.

If the item does not belong to your library, please notify the owning library.

Updated 2-27-2025. 

Most Current Instructions for Handling Damaged Items are Located HERE. 

Damaged Form is Located HERE.

List of all libraries' Damaged Users:

NAME	User ID
DAMAGED, BERLIN	DA-BE
DAMAGED, BRANDON	DA-BR
DAMAGED, CAMPBELLSPORT	DA-CA
DAMAGED, COLOMA	DA-CO
DAMAGED, ENDEAVOR	DA-EN
DAMAGED, FONDDULAC	DA-FO
DAMAGED, GREENLAKE	DA-GR
DAMAGED, HANCOCK	DA-HA
DAMAGED, KINGSTON	DA-KI
DAMAGED, MARKESAN	DA-MA
DAMAGED, MENASHA	DA-ME
DAMAGED, MONTELLO	DA-MO
DAMAGED, NEENAH	DA-NE
DAMAGED, NESHKORO	DA-NES
DAMAGED, NFONDDULAC	DA-NF
DAMAGED, OAKFIELD	DA-OA
DAMAGED, OMRO	DA-OM
DAMAGED, OSHKOSH	DA-OS
DAMAGED, OXFORD	DA-OX
DAMAGED, PACKWAUKEE	DA-PA
DAMAGED, PINERIVER	DA-PI
DAMAGED, PLAINFIELD	DA-PL
DAMAGED, POYSIPPI	DA-PO
DAMAGED, PRINCETON	DA-PR
DAMAGED, REDGRANITE	DA-RE
DAMAGED, RIPON	DA-RI
DAMAGED, WAUTOMA	DA-WA
DAMAGED, WESTFIELD	DA-WE
DAMAGED, WILDROSE	DA-WI
DAMAGED, WINNECONNE	DA-WN
DAMAGED, WINNEFOX	DA-WX

 

When the email system cannot deliver an email, it is returned to the Winnefox email system as an Undeliverable or “Bounced” email. The email is then manually forwarded to individual libraries to handle for their own patrons. The bounced notification will appear exactly as a usual notice, but with the name and address of a specific patron will be beneath the library’s mailing address.

It is very important to handle these undelivered email in a timely manner; if the email has been returned as undeliverable, then the patron did not receive their notice, and will not receive any other notices sent to that same email address.

When you receive a bounced email, go into WorkFlows and open up Modify/Renew User. Click on the User Search helper in the top left corner, and 1) change the search to a Keyword search by “6Email”, then 2) Search for the patron’s email. 

SEARCH BY EMAIL, NOT THE PATRON’S NAME, TO FIND EVERY ACCOUNT WITH THE SAME EMAIL. Sometimes a family shares a single email address for their notices. If one’s patron’s notices could not be delivered to that email address, notices for the others using that email address will bounce back as well. The email address needs to be removed from all records it is attached to.

Within the patron’s account, go into the “Address” tab, click on the email address in the Email field so that the email is highlighted, and USE THE DELETE ROW HELPER. It’s the one just above the address fields with a red X.

 

If the Delete Row Helper is not used (i.e., if the Delete or Backspace key is used instead) the email is not actually deleted within the system, and emails will continue to be sent to an invalid email address.

Once the email has been deleted from the patron’s record, optionally, you can add a note to their account requesting verification of their email address. Use the Extended Info tab to do so. DO NOT ADD A NOTE IN THE EMAIL FIELD in the address tab.

Optionally, you can then contact the patron to inform them about the content of the notice that was returned as undeliverable: a hold’s available, or they have overdue material.

At times, the email address has a very obvious error: .con instead of .com, no @ sign, spaces in the email address instead of underscores, .gmaill.com and similar misspellings. In these cases, the email address does not need to be deleted; it can be edited and saved with no special requirements.

If you have questions on a bounced email, please contact Melissa Klein at 920-236-5230, or at klein@winnefox.org. 

The automation system is set up to allow two renewals of an item if there are no holds on the title.

The standard override can be used to allow additional renewals.

Additional renewals should be an occasional exception, especially if the item does not belong to the library.  The additional renewals prevent browsers from finding material on library shelves.

The library should never do a renewal to override a hold.

When items are checked out and not returned, there is a annual process that breaks the link between the user and the LOST-ASSUM item so the item can be withdrawn.  The item is at least 18 months overdue at the time this is done.  The user is both billed for the lost item, and is barred.

Details:

WALS uses a two reports to process items that have been checked out and not returned, and are not expected to be returned. These items show in the database as LOST-ASSUM. 

The first report, Process Long Overdue Items, does five things:

1. Discharges the item from the patron record
2. Bars the patron
3. Puts the item in a location of UI-LOST for later removal
4. Creates a generic UI-ITEM bill for each item
   The bill does NOT give the title of the lost item.
   The bill is the price of the Item if the price is in the item record.
   The price is $25 for anything without a price in the item record.
5. Creates a Lost-Item note in the patron record for each item removed.

The title, call number, Item ID, and due date are included in the note. The information in that field is searchable with a keyword search of the notes field.  The note stays in the user's record until manually removed.

There is NO link between the item in the notes field and the bill.  If the patron pays the bill, or the item is returned in the book drop, the note must be removed manually.

The second report, Remove Item by Location, permanently removes the UI-LOST items from the database.   If it is the last copy, the report also removes the bibliographic record.

This process is done annually to remove items from the database.

The circulation software does not have a default loan period for interlibrary loan material.  When ILL items are being checked out, the staff person needs to use the Special Due Date helper for that transaction.  The due date should match the paperwork that came with the ILL item.

There are 3 options:

• Use special due date from now on
• For this user only  (This is the one staff should be using)
• For this checkout only

If you Use special due date from now on, you will be giving the date you entered for that patron‘s item to not only that patron but to every single user after that!  The program returns to the normal due dates only if you close out of checkout and go to a different function like Borrower Display or Discharge. 

If you select For this user only, all of the books that you check out to this customer will have the date you set—ILL as well as everything else. But when you leave that user, the next user will get regular dates.

If you For this checkout only, the selected date will be applied only to the first book scanned. The system reverts to regular checkout dates for that same person without you having to do anything.

Procedure—Handling Missing-Content Items

The library where the missing-content item is returned is responsible for handling that item, regardless of the owner of the item.

Procedures vary at Winnefox libraries as to whether the missing-content item remains on the borrower record or is discharged and then charged to a missing-content user.

The key issue is that the library where the item was returned is to make a good-faith effort to get the missing part back from the borrower. The part that was returned should remain at the library while the patron is being contacted.  

There is a MISSING CONTENT user record for Oshkosh, Menasha, and Neenah. Those libraries check items out to their MC user rather than leaving the item on the user’s record. This helps their staff find the rest of the item that has already been returned.

The User Does NOT Return the Missing Part

If the user does not return the missing part within 2-3 months, add a charge to patron record under Billing a User and put a note in the user’s record. The local library, not the owning library, charge-rate applies. In most cases, the user should be charged for the replacement cost of the item.

Within 6 months, make a withdraw/replace decision for your own items, and return items belonging to other libraries. Put a note on each item returned so they the library knows what has happened.

Items that are currently missing need to be searched for on your shelves for three months.

Identify items currently missing by using the List Items Missing report in Analytics, found in "Shared Reports > For Libraries > Item Lists", and then searched for on your shelves. The report lists all items with a status of MISSING. It exports as an Excel file and can be sorted by Last Activity Date, to identify the items that have been missing longest. 

When searching for items, check both where the item would normally would be shelved, and likely places where it could have been misshelved, such as shelves above and below their normal location, or under similar call numbers. 

If the item is located on the shelf, discharge it. This will take the item out of MISSING and route it to the correct location, either back to its Home Location, or to a hold should someone be waiting for that item. 

If you cannot find the item after three months, mark the item Withdrawn by checking it out to your WD-XX user, where XX indicates your library code. This allows the item to be fully removed from the catalog during item maintenance. 

List Items MISSHOLD

This report that were on the Holds shelf for a patron, and now cannot be found; the item was very recently seen and handled to make the hold available for the patron. This can happen if the item is not checked out with the patron's other holds, or mistakenly given to a different patron. 

Handle these items similarly to the regular List Items Missing report. Check for them on your shelf for three months, and if they are not located in that time, withdraw the item. 

Sometimes a library discharges an item and then notices that the item is damaged or that parts are missing.

If the Discharging the Bookdrop wizard is being used, highlight the item in question and click on the Display User Wizard.  The previous borrower will appear as the Current button. This only works while the Discharging Bookdrop Wizard is still open.  If the Clear Discharge List or Close are clicked, the patron information is no longer available.

If the discharged item was overdue, the discharge created a bill.  In that case search for the specific copy and look to see if the patron is listed on the Bill tab. 

If there is no bill, and you've closed the Bookdrop Wizard, system statff can search the automation log files to look up the previous borrower. Email Melissa Klein (at klein@winnefox.org) with the barcode of the item.

The same report can be used to look up by borrower. Sometimes a problem situation can be resolved by seeing what else a user checked out at the time of the problem, but this should be done sparingly since it is more invasive.