Discovery Session

April 29, 2010

Need scanners and receipt printers as part of computer setup. Need hats for people to pull things from for exercises. (7 if all items have own hat or 4 if hats are re-used after Exercise 1.)Need 7 labels for hats – (Library Cards, Reg Forms with Duplicates, Names not Duplicated, DVD’s, Books, BTGO sets, Cards with Fines)

Exercise 1: Patron Accounts Objectives: Log in, add a patron, look for duplicates, change a patron record, retrieve a library card number.

Materials Needed: 15 new library cards 15 completed library card registration forms of people who's name is a duplicate but is

really a new patron 15 names with birthdates that are not duplicates (in other words, it’s a new person)

1. Log into Evergreen 2. Register yourself as a patron, fill in as many fields as you can. 3. Someone has come up to you and wants a new card, their name is (pick out of hat).

Notice how Evergreen displays patrons when there are multiple people with the same name. Double check that YOUR customer doesn't already have a card. If they are not a duplicate, add them. Go back to the patron registration screen.

4. Go back into your account and change your email address or phone number. 5. A customer has come up and needs their library card number. Their name is (pick out of

the other hat).    Write their barcode number here ____________________________

Comments:

Exercise 2: Check Out, Check In and Renew Objectives: Check out, two ways to check in items, explore the items out area, renew an item

Materials Needed:  15 Barcoded Note cards for DVDs 15 Barcoded Note Cards for books 15 Barcoded note cards for BTGO sets 15 Library cards with materials checked out on them that have at least 3 items that can

be renewed and have fines o 15 item cards of things that are checked out but can't be renewed.  These should

be attached to a library card. o 15 item cards that can be renewed

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1. Bring up your account and check out a book, a DVD and a Books to Grow On (BTGO) set on your account.  Make sure you see all three items on your patron record. Notice where the due dates show up.  Close the account tab without printing a receipt.

2. Go back into your record and print a receipt for the 3 items you just checked out.

Three days have gone by!

3. Check in your DVD (use the scanner)

4. Go to your record, go to the Items Out tab, explore the Items Out area.  Try right-clicking, try changing the columns.  Find a way to check in the BTGO on this screen.

Three weeks have gone by!

5. You were out late the night before and happened to be driving by the library so you put your book in the book drop.  Now it's the next morning and you are working!  Pretend you picked up the book out of the book drop before the library opens and you need to backdate it. 

6. Grab one of the patron cards with two items attached.  Try renewing both items.

7. This patron also wants to renew other items they don't have in their hand.  How would you do it?

CG Note - As a bonus we can have them create a pre-cataloged item for a fake autobiography of themselves.

Make sure we show them the column manager and actions for selected item button if someone hasn't found them and commented on them.

Comments:

Exercise 3: Pay/Waive FinesObjectives: Explore ways to pay or waive fines

Materials Needed:  None (cards with fines are used in exercise 2) 1. Explore ways to pay fines on your library card. 2. Waive the fines on one of the items. 3. Pay all of the fines on one of the items.

  Comments:

Exercise 4: HoldsObjectives: Place hold, change pickup location, freeze/suspend a hold?

Materials Needed:  None, we can use barcoded items from Exercise #2

1. Bring up your record

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2. Search for a book on cats or dogs.  Place a hold on one that interests you. 3. Go back to your record, find the hold you just placed and change the pick up location. 4. Go back to your record and change your position in the hold queue. 

CG Note - changing pickup location has to be done from patron screen under holds button, not in details view.  Can right-click.

We did not put freeze/suspend a hold in the exercise. If this is important to show off now, we should do it as a quick activity to see who can find it after they’ve done the 4 steps of this exercise.

Comments:

Exercise 5: Adding Alerts, Notes and Blocks Objectives: Add and understand messages that can be attached to patron records.

Materials Needed: None, we can use library card from Exercise #2

1. Add a Note to the account you used for Exercise #2 2. Close the account and go back in to that same account.  Where's the note? 3. Add an Alert to the account  4. Close the account and go back in to that same account.  Where does the Alert show up? 5. Add a Block to the account.   6. Close the account and go back in to that same account.  What happened this time? 7. Remove all Alerts, Notes or Blocks from your patron's account.

CG Note   - Apply Standing Penalty/Message button happens in one place, always from the Messages.  We can talk about this on the phone before the session.  Maybe we won't have it in writing if we can't get it straight before the session.

Comments:

Hints, Tips and FYI's:

1. A Note will only be seen by staff in the patron's record.  Use for a "heads up" or historical record.  From staff to staff.  Notes will only show up when you click the Messages tab in the patron's record.

2. An Alert is a message that staff need to see when opening a patron record.  It does not block the account.  Patrons will not see it.  (An ALERT is equal to a Message in Millenium.).

3. A Block will cause a generic message to be seen by the patron and will block their account.  The block message will come up for staff when entering the patron's account. You can write the message that staff will see without worrying that it will show up for the patron.  (Use for things like found someone's wallet, patrons trespass.)

Matt says - A Block trumps an alert, an alert trumps a note.

All content © 2009-10 RSCEL, all rights reserved. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial - No Derivatives 2.0 License. This project and the RSCEL website is made possible by an Institute of Museum and Library Services Grant.

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