Knowledge Base: Library Help

Picklist

Shows all items which are requested by your patrons as well as those at other libraries. Select your branch and resize the columns to how you want to see them when they are printed. Select File -> print -> list view to print the request to fill report. Pull the requested items from the shelf and check them in to fill the hold.

Mandatory

Unclaimed Holds

Generates a list of holds that have gone to “Unclaimed” status where your library is the pickup location. Unclaimed means the hold was not picked up by the patron within ~10 days (this depends on the unclaimed date settings for each library).

For items Unclaimed that are on your library shelves, you can check the item back in to Polaris or you may choose to contact the patron first.

If an unclaimed hold is lost, the transacting library (pickup library) has one month beyond the unclaimed hold date to find the item, after which the owning library may consider it lost and invoice the transacting library for it. The owning library must invoice within one year of the item becoming an unclaimed hold.

Mandatory

Daily Notification Summary

This report lists all the notices sent to patrons, listing patron names and statuses. If a patron wants to confirm how they were notified, this report is helpful.

Recommended

Custom > Daily Notification Summary

Telephony Failures

Telephony is the notification system TRAC uses which automatically phones patrons if patrons select phone instead of mail, email, or TXT as their notification method for their patron account. This report tells you if any phone notification failed. You may wish to manually phone the patron and verbally deliver the notification instead. Note: This report will usually come up blank.

Recommended

Custom > Telephony > Telephony Failures

To subscribe to daily emails use TelephonyFailuresYesterday

Overdue Z Fold Mailer

This report must be run weekly to post (update) patron accounts with mail notification to indicate that an item is overdue. This report only produces results for mail notification patrons.

The important part is to run the report and post the report in the database.

This report may come up blank for most libraries as patrons primarily select automatic notification options such as phone or email. Regardless, this must be run to move the item through the Overdue queue, and then it will enter the Billing queue.

Mandatory

Billing Z Fold Mailer

This report must be run weekly to post (update) the Polaris status for items that are long overdue to switch to “Lost.” You may select a different paper format than the “Z-fold Mailer”, but you must run one type of Billing report from the list in the “Notices” folder. It is recommended that you run this report on the same day each week (ie. every Wednesday morning).

Whether or not your library charges fines, this needs to be complete, or items will sit overdue permanently. Posting the Billing also ensures lost copy replacement charges are billed as required.

You do not have to mail the Billing Notice, as it usually costs more in postage than the library will receive for lost item fees. Lost items will appear on patrons’ accounts.

Mandatory

In-Transit and Transferred Items

Identifies items assigned to your library that have had a status of “In-Transit” or “Transferred” for over two months. Check your library shelves or contact the sending library so they can check their shelves. If you find the item, check it in.

Items owned by your library that have been in-transit or transferred for over two months should be manually converted to missing. Missing items will automatically be deleted and withdrawn in one year.

Mandatory

Missing Items

This report shows items assigned to your library with a status of “Missing”. Run this report and check shelves for missing items. If you find the item, complete a Check-in. Missing items are automatically changed to withdrawn after 1 year.

“Missing” is different from “Lost”. While “Lost” indicates the item was checked out and did not get checked in again, “Missing” indicates that the item has not circulated but cannot be found. Frequently these are due to in-transit or transferred items.

Mandatory

Claimed Items

This report lists items patrons have declared they returned to the library (Claim Returned) or they never had (Claim Never Had).

Check the shelves every month for these items to ensure they are not in your library, otherwise the items will be considered Lost and will be withdrawn after 6 months. If you find the item, check it in.

Mandatory

Lists lost items belonging to your library that have not been resolved. Follow the procedure to reconcile these items.

• Check shelves
• Follow-up with patrons
• Invoice the appropriate libraries

“Lost” indicates that the item was checked out and either the patron has informed the library that the item has been lost and a staff member manually changed the status from “Out” to “Lost” via the Patron Status work form, or that the item has been long overdue at which point it automatically becomes

“Lost” upon billing the patron and posting to the database.

Do not delete damaged items if there is the possibility of replacing the item.

Mandatory

*Damaged items can only be run in Power BI + SimplyReports

Unclaimed Holds by Item Assigned Branch

Generates a list of holds specifically on your library’s items that have gone to “Unclaimed” status. Unclaimed means the hold was not picked up by the patron within 10 days. The first column shows the pickup “branch” (patron library).

For items Unclaimed that are on your library shelves, you can check the item back in to Polaris or you may choose to contact the patron first.

If an unclaimed hold is lost, the transacting library (pickup library) has one month beyond the unclaimed hold date to find the item, after which the owning library may consider it lost and invoice the transacting library for it. The owning library must invoice within one year of the item becoming an unclaimed hold.

Mandatory

*Currently, can only be run in the Canned Reports

Custom > Unclaimed Item Assigned Holds by Assigned Branch

Lost Holds (Bib-Level + Item Level)

These reports generate requests (Bib and Item level) that have “fallen” off the Picklist. These requests may have been denied, or the items were edited to missing or non-circulating, but the hold remained active. Run them every month to check for requests marked Denied or Missing. Investigate the item history and cancel the request if the item is not available in TRACpac.

Mandatory

*Currently, can only be run in the Canned Reports

Custom > Lost Holds (Bib-Level -1) by Item assign branch

Custom > Lost Holds (Item-Specific requests) by Library

Statistical Summary

This report provides a snapshot of collection counts, circulation statistics, records added and deleted, lending and borrowing, and patrons.

Optional

Custom > Statistical Summary (Custom)

Website Usage

These statistics are required for the Annual Report from PLSB. Your board may also want to see these statistics, and they are available for library managers to see usage trends and patron interests.

Optional

eResource Usage

These statistics are required for the Annual Report from PLSB. Your board may also want to see these statistics, and they are available for library managers to see usage trends and patron interests.

Optional

Annual Report

This report collects the specific data required for PLSB’s Annual Report into one document that is run at the beginning of every year. PLSB puts out a call for the Annual Report in January as the start of the yearly Operational Grant process.

Mandatory

eResource Usage

These statistics are required for the Annual Report from PLSB. Your board may also want to see these statistics, and they are available for library managers to see usage trends and patron interests.

Mandatory

Website Usage

These statistics are required for the Annual Report from PLSB. Your board may also want to see these statistics, and they are available for library managers to see usage trends and patron interests.

Mandatory

Expired Patrons – Database Cleanup

Every year database maintenance is required to ensure patron data is accurate and follows privacy regulations. This report will generate a list of patron accounts that have been expired for over 2 years and have fines under $10. These accounts are then deleted from Polaris.

Mandatory