New Museum Pass

Hello Ladies,

We now have a new museum pass in our collection, Cape Cod Children's Museum. There is 1 pass for each day. It is 50% off admission per person up to 4 people.

Thanks,
Lisa

DPL Book Club

Hello,

Here is the listing of books for the DPL Book Club for the next 6 months:

July - At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
August - How it All Began by Penelope Lively
September - Isaac's Storm by Eric Larson
October - Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
November - The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
December - Suggestions welcome

Cindy

Items not checked in

Good Morning!

I checked out 3 items yesterday that were "checked out to another patron."  I looked up the previous patron for each and took the charges off.

It can be easy to rush when we are busy - or lose track of what we already think we've checked in - or get distracted when patrons are engaging in conversation with us.

Remember - hearing the beep does not mean the computer accepted the transaction.  Please look at your screen while checking items in or out.

Thank you!

Public Service Meeting 5/5/2016

Listed are some highlights from Thursday's Public Service Meeting.

Regarding Lost or Damaged materials:

• Accept payment for the item, charging the replacement cost found in the CLAMS record.  If the item belongs to another library & the cost of the item seems unusually high or out-of-the-ordinary, please call the owning library and see if they are willing to adjust the price.  Checks should be made payable to the owning library. (NOTE - Some libraries require checks be made out to the Town, i.e. Brooks is "Town of Harwich", Dennis Public is "Town of Dennis").  For correct library names & addresses, go to "Library Information" on the CLAMS staff pages or click "All CLAMS Libraries at the top of OPAC.

• Mark the item as lost/damaged in the system, and clear the charge from the patron's record. If damaged, add a message to the item 'at checkout/in'. The message can only be removed by the owning library

• Print a receipt of the transaction for the patron and make a copy for the owning library. Make sure the owning library has the name, barcode, and contact information for the patron, as well as the name and barcode of the item in case they need to follow up with the patron or want to replace the item.

• Mail the payment to the owning library. Do not put any checks or cash in delivery. Mail it to the attention of the Circulation Department.

• Replacement items are generally not accepted for lost or damaged materials. This should be made known to the patron immediately at the time the loss or damage is brought to a staff member's attention. If a patron has already purchased a replacement item, you must contact the owning library to see if they will accept it in lieu of monetary reparation, but this is totally at their discretion.

Regarding Pop-up Messages on Patron Accounts:

• All pop-up messages should be dated and initialed as per stated policy. For example: dp/cl 5/6/16. 
• When adding messages please BE SPECIFIC. Add the message to the item (or patron account) at checkout.
• Messages can be removed if they are not initialed and dated, but can only be removed by the owning library.

Regarding Vendor Support Contacts: 

• Here is a list of Vendor Support contacts - https://sites.google.com/a/clamsnet.org/staff/systems/support-contact-list-information?pli=1. For Tech Support in NoveList, Commonwealth Catalog, Patron Internet issues, and Overdrive, please contact the vendor directly. For issues with Sierra, Opac, Encore, Staff email & Staff internet please contact CLAMS support. 

REMINDERS:

• About Missing Items Reports - A handout is provided in your mailbox.
• DO NOT place 'Item-Level Holds' on items unless it is for a book club or has volume information.

Thanks much!

Chrissie

Public Service Meeting Highlights 3/3/2016

Hello everyone:

The public service meeting took place today, March 3, 2016. Several reminders were discussed as follows:

• If an item coming through transit is in poor condition (coffee stains, water damage, etc) a note should be placed on the item itself (ex: a sticky note). Notes cannot be placed on the item record if it belongs to another library.
• When changing a patron's PIN over the phone, make sure to request identifying info before doing so. For example, ask the patron to confirm phone number, address, etc. PIN should be changed to the last 4 of the library card. After this is completed, the patron has the option of changing the PIN in OPAC. If a patron has never set up a PIN, they can also do this through OPAC using an email address.
• Regarding items on the "problem shelf" (ex: returns missing a dvd, etc). If the item belongs to another library - do not check the item in - Follow the procedures for returns with missing or damaged items - calling the patron, renewing the item, notifying the owning library. Material from other libraries should only be kept on the 'problem shelf' for 1 week, or not, depending on what the owning library decides. A note should also be placed on the patron record concerning the item and removed once the item status has been resolved.
• For 'Claims Returned' - This should only be applied if a patron states they returned the item to a CLAMS library. A note should be placed on the patron record. If the item belongs to another library, the patron or us, can contact the owning library. We cannot place another library's item on 'claims returned' unless you have permission from the owning library.
• Report any issues with ComCat to the ComCat Help Desk right away.
• Reminder to update all the record information each year for Teacher/Institutional cards.

Thanks!

~Chrissie

Ezra Baker Library Card Drive - to do

Hi, Everyone!

I attended a meeting of the Dennis library directors yesterday and found out that the library system is coordinating a library card drive with the Ezra Baker Elementary School in Dennis (Grades K through 4.) This drive will take place on February 23rd. This matters to us because Nancy Symmington (Director of Dennis Memorial Library) will be dropping off completed library registration cards on February 24th, 25th, and 26th. The data on these cards (Dennis Port residents) needs to be entered by Monday, February 29th, before the Dennis Read Around Town Program. If we have any extra time on these days, I would like us to enter this data into Sierra. I was told that if the parents have a card, we are able to do a copy function that will create a duplicate record, and we can change the patron's name, but leave the rest of the relevant information.

Once the card information is in the system, the new library card (Nancy will be dropping off special ones with stickers) will be place in an envelope with the child's name and grade. Nancy will then be picking these cards up for the school to distribute.

After the children get their new cards, they are able to come into the library and present them in order to get a frisbee. Children who attend the Ezra Baker School and already have cards are also entitled to a frisbee.

MBLC Survey and ALA Notes

Hello everyone,

I attended the bimonthly Reference meeting last week. A representative from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners urged library staff to take a survey entitled "Massachusetts Statewide Database Evaluation: Now and the Future" at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/StatewideDBSurvey

The survey is available until 1/30/16.

You may not personally work with the databases that we offer at this website: http://galesites.com/menu/mlin_s_dentown

but you might want to try them out and see what you think. The more survey results they get, the better; our input helps prove the worth of libraries and their resources and helps justify the money spent on databases.

Also, if anyone is interested, I attended the mid-winter ALA (American Library Association) meeting in Boston a couple of weeks ago and would be happy to share my notes.

Cindy

"IN REPAIR"

MATERIALS THAT NEED REPAIR:

When coming across materials that are in need of repair, please do the following:

1.  In Sierra - place the status of the item to "IN REPAIR"
                (see me if you don't know how to do this)

2.  Take the physical material and ....

     BOOKS (PLEASE DO NOT PUT IN THE DRAWER): 

             Mystery, Fiction, Large Print, Cape Cod - give to Cindy

             Non Fiction or Juvenile (children's) - give to Julie

             YA (Young Adult) - give to Jessica

     MEDIA:

            Music Cds:     Scratched?  Not working? - clean it
                                    Damaged case?  Please put in new case
                                    Damaged DISK?  - give to Jessica.
   
            Spoken Cds and DVDs:  Same as above - except if Damaged DISK - give to Lisa

 Thanks for your help with this!  Please see me with any questions.
 Julie  

Oops! for Friends Book Sale count

It's been so long since we've done this, I forgot how. Please actually record the dollar/cent amount of each book sale, rather than an item count, on the correct date. Thank you!

Pub Service Meeting Highlights

Hello everyone:

The Public Service meeting took place this past Thursday, January 7. A couple of reminders were discussed:

- Magazines should be placed in envelopes before being sent to delivery.
- Item level holds are NOT to be placed on items that are widely available and       have no volume information.
- Address 1 and Address 2 fields have to be differentiated in patrons' records so     that the local and permanent addresses are in the correct place. *For details see     Patron Registration Guidelines located at the Circulation desk*
-When registering patrons, remember to use the proper two-letter home library       code in patron records, not a shelf-location code which is three or more letters.
- Do not use commas after towns in address fields in patron records. Per UPS         guidelines.
- When creating a patron record, if the name has a prefix and/or suffix, it should     be typed in the following manner: Smith Jr, John J - Porter, Dr Virginia S -           Ryans Sr, Dr Stephen J. Any questions please see Patron Registration                   Guidelines.
- Only use rubber bands on A/V materials, anything with loose parts, or on a case    that could pop open. Do not place rubber bands on books unless a slip has to be    put in and you feel the slip will fall out. Transit slips should only be used on        items that do not have a visible barcode on the front of the item.

Other news:

- Sierra will upgrade on January 20th and will finish 3 a.m. our time.
- Most DVD covers will now appear in OPAC.
- Bourne library has new hours: Tues & Thurs 9-7, Wed 9-5, Fri & Sat 9-5:30.       Closed on Tuesdays after a Monday holiday

~Chrissie