Adding Notes from Circulation

Summary: Have you ever wanted to add a note to an item or patron record?  Maybe you would like to put a note in the Transaction Log and a reminder through the course of the day.  This week’s tip will discuss all of these options.

Add general or alert notes to patron or item copy records from the Command line.  Since alert notes show whenever a patron or copy is made current, these are particularly helpful to remind you of something associated with the patron or copy.  For instance, a copy alert note, "kit contains 4 CDs, 1 teacher's manual, and 6 student manuals" will enable you to check the contents of the kit to ascertain that all pieces of the kit were returned.  A patron note, "parental request - no books on witchcraft," will remind you of this request.

Adding a note to the Transaction Log, allows you to record information you may need later. For example, if you use the same login for all student aides, you may add a note saying "Jennifer on duty" to show that the current student aide operating the workstation is Jennifer.  You will be able to identify all transactions that were done since Jennifer took over.

To add a note to a Patron record:

·  Make the desired patron current by scanning or typing the patron’s barcode.

·  To add a General Note, type a + and then the message to be added and press <enter>. (e.g. + Enjoys adventure books).

·  To add an Alert Note, type an ! and then the message to be added and press <enter>.  (e.g. ! Parental Request: No books on Witchcraft).

·  Alert notes will appear in a dialog box when ever the patron becomes current.

To add a note to a Copy record:

·  Make the desired copy current by scanning or typing the copy’s barcode.

·  To add a General Note, type ++ and then the message to be added and press <enter>. (e.g. ++ Water damage charged to patron 1003).

·  To add an Alert Note, type !! and then the message to be added and press <enter>.  (e.g. !! Kit contains: puppet, book, and tape).

·  Alert notes will appear in a dialog box when ever the patron becomes current.

To remove a Copy or Patron note:

·  Make the desired copy or patron current by scanning or typing the barcode.

·  Type the appropriate number of characters for the desired note(s) to be removed, then # and press <enter>. For example, to remove copy alert notes, type !!#.

To add a note to the Transaction Log:

·  Type #, then enter the message to be added and press <enter>.

Enjoy the ease and effectiveness of adding notes to your patrons, item copies and Transaction Log!

Thank you,

The Alexandria Staff Librarians