What's New in WALS

Monday 'Minder 2025.06

Salutations!

Today's Topic: Spring Housecleaning! aka Database Maintenance
Today's Tech Tip: Schedule sending an email

Just as one cleans out one's garden at certain times of the year, so I do periodic cleaning of our shared database and it is getting to be about that time. It is frustrating for patrons and staff to wade through search results with copies that say "Withdrawn" or "LongOverdue" or "Missing."

The obvious ones to clean up are all those items you weeded. You check out weeded items to your WD-XX user (ex WD-PO, for PoySippi), and that changes the status (Current Location) to WITHDRAWN2 which patrons can't see in the catalog.  The next step is a report to move all those withdrawn items to a special, system-location of DISCARD.  As I said, those are the obvious ones, but there are a bunch more. For example...

Monday 'Minder 2025.04

Salutations!

Today's Topic:  Let's play "Find that Patron!!" 

With the rising costs of Hoopla and long hold lists on Libby, it is more imporant than ever to always, always, check carefully for duplicate patrons whenever issuing a new card. 

Complicating matters, it was determined at an ALL-WALS meeting that all WALS libraries would enter patron names "as written" (except in ALL-CAPS) on their ID or application form.  This means that VanderZanden gets entered as "VANDERZANDEN" and "Van der Zanden" gets entered  as "VAN DER ZANDEN."  This means last names won't sort together anymore. You need to search by Phone, Street, and Birthdate.  Read More...

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