Salutations!

Today’s Topic: What to do about the "Item not found in catalog" error. 

So, you scan an item and get the little popup "Item not found in catalog" window. Now what?   .   Read More...

There are two main things to do:

1. Make sure the item isn't a LOST/UI-ITEM attached to a patron's record.
   1. Clean up any associated Bills.
   2. Remove the Lost Item note from the patron record.
2. Decide whether to re-add the item, or toss it in the booksale/dumpster.

1.  To make sure the item isn't attached to a patron record, you need to do a user search for the barcode.  Yes, you read that correctly--a user searchjust  like looking up a patrron!! Use the Display User wizard and the User Search Helper:

Switch the Search Type to Keyword, and the Index to 5Notes.  Search for the barcode:

And it will display the patron(s) with that barcode in their Lost Item notes:

You can look either at the Notes or the Extended Info tab. There you will see the list of Lost Items on the patron's record.

Cleaning up associated bills:

Many patrons will have bills still on their records associated with these Lost Items. If so, you will probably want to WAIVE the bill, especially if you found the item on your shelves or if it is as old as my examples above. 

Some patrons will have already paid for their lost items, but the Lost Item Extended Info entries are left behind. To check if the patron already paid for the item, click on their Bills tab, and scroll down until you see the Display Options of Library: and Bills: 

Switch the Bills from Unpaid to Paid, and you will see the old, paid bills (up to 36 months ago).   Then you get to decide about whether or not to refund the patron. 

Removing the Lost Item Note:

The next step is to Modify User--either with the Modify/Renew User Wizard, or (simpler) with the Modify User Helper. You are already in the patron record. If you look up at the Helpers area, you'll see the Modify User Helper 2 icons over from the User Search Helper:

Once you are in Modoify User, click on the Extended Info tab.  You'll see all the LOSTITEM entries. Click in the field for the item in question. Click the Red X.

As mentioned in previous "Minders, items that are MISSING, DAMAGED, LOST, WITHDRAWN, etc for more than 18 months get removed from the database at regular intervals as part of standard database maintenance.  On a regular basis, libraries need to send staff on treasure hunts to either find those MISSING materials or Withdraw them.  Set up a routine to look for the items maybe 3 times over the course of a month.  Or look every other week. Or even once a month--anything is better than nothing!  There are many reasons why items may go MISSING--there are also many reasons why they might suddenly re-appear or turn up in some weird spot. I'm pretty sure most libraries have at least one "squirrel" patron who picks something up to look at it, and sets it back on the shelf somewhere random, right?

That's it for this week...

Share & Enjoy!
Karla