Re: Loss of cursor in check-in mode

["Peggy Sisselman" <psisselman at poklib dot org>]

Hi Susan,

We are having the same problem, I think.  In our case, we often will see a
message that says something like "this index is invalid" and we can't
check it in.  Of course, if you are in a hurry and not looking at the
screen you could miss a bunch.  This also happens also when I am checking
out a large number of books to a patron and I always thought it was
because I was moving too quickly for the system to keep up.  Are these
different problems, do you think, or all part of the same thing?

Thanks.

Peggy

> Hi all,
> Just wanted to mention a problem we've been having in Millennium
> Circulation and are curious as to whether others have noticed it as well.
> We have had a number of patrons who come to us after having gotten overdue
> notices and swear that they have returned the item. When we check the
> shelves, we find the item sitting there, though it was never checked in.
> We finally figured out what was happening. Most of the time, the Milcirc
> window is open and the Circulation Desk button is selected. When someone
> returns an item, the Check-In button is selected and the item is checked
> in.
>
> Most times the staff member will return the screen to the Circ Desk mode,
> but occassionally, they will leave the screen in this mode (Check-In). If
> the next patron is also returning an item, the staff member occassionally
> will not notice that Millen. is already in Check-In mode and will click on
> the Check-In button again. This removes the cursor from the text box.
>
> This is where the problem arises. If the staff member is not looking at
> the screen and wands in the  barcode of the returned item, the wand will
> beep as though it has checked the item in, but in fact, it has not. They
> will then return to Circ Desk mode thinking that the item checked in. I
> realize this is user error and that we have to teach people to watch the
> screen closely, but when it is busy, that is not always easy to do.
>
> When we contacted III about this, they said the cursor was designed to
> work that way (reposition the focus on the Check-In icon, not the text
> box) and that it was working properly, but that we could submit an
> enhancement for this if we wanted to. We have a pretty small circulation
> compared to most of you folks, but we also have quite a few different
> people doing circulation and they don't always notice when something is
> different in the appearance of the screen. At least now that we know what
> is happening, we can watch for it, but I thought it was worth mentioning
> and see if others have had a problem with it and if they think an
> enhancement is need.
> Thanks, and sorry for such a long message!
>
> Susan Trombly
> Technical Services Librarian
> The Taft School
> 110 Woodbury Rd.
> Watertown, CT  06795
> (860) 945-7782
> tromblys at taftschool dot org
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Peggy Sisselman
Principal Clerk, Acquisitions
Poughkeepsie Public Library District
93 Market St
Poughkeepsie, NY  12603
845.485.3445 x 3337