[IUG] Patron requests in the OPAC and items on longer loan

[Suzanne McAnna <mcanna at mail dot utexas dot edu>]

We're setting up our circ parameters for Millennium (we will go live 
next May), and would really like to hear from libraries which 
circulate items for longer-term loans about how you handle patron 
requests in the OPAC.

In our current system we circulate many of our items on semester loan 
(to faculty and grad students), and our patrons are accustomed to 
being able to RECALL checked-out items through our current OPAC. The 
recall changes the due date of the current check-out to no more than 
about 14 days from the date placed, which means that the requestor 
gets the book much sooner than the original due date. If we didn't do 
this, a requestor might have to wait months to get the book.

Our understanding from III is that patrons can place HOLDS in the 
OPAC in Millennium, but that holds don't change due dates; and that 
patrons cannot actually recall books through the OPAC.

(We do know that staff can recall items in the circ module, but 75% 
of our current request business is directly patron-initiated.)

If your library circulates materials for extended periods of 
time--say loans of 6 weeks or more--

- How do you handle patron-placed requests through the OPAC?

- What loan period do you use?

- Are patron requests in the OPAC just treated as holds, meaning that 
the requestor may have to wait the length of the loan period to get 
the book?

- Or do you have some means of adjusting the due date or otherwise 
motivating the borrower to return the book sooner?

I don't know if this question is of general interest, so please 
respond off-list if you prefer.

Thanks very much,
Suzanne McAnna
--

Suzanne K. McAnna
Head Librarian
Circulation Services
PCL Access Services
University of Texas Libraries
The University of Texas at Austin

PCL 2.122 |  Mail Code S5460  |  PO Box P
Austin, Texas 78713-8916
Phone: 512-495-4303  |  Fax: 512-495-4296
mcanna at mail dot utexas dot edu  |  www.lib.utexas.edu