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Although many library staff users have come to use the OPAC level [Issue and return] dialog, the original [Circulations] dialog intended for staff use is available from the [Quick Access] toolbar group on the main workspace, or from the [Staff Menu] toolbar icon.
While the OPAC level [Issue and Return] dialog provides convenient circulations capabilities, the [Circulations] dialog provides far more background power, information, and the real-time ability to see what is being decided upon by the Circulations engine in detail in regards to circulations rules - information which would normally be available to a Reader Assistant in the OPAC system (for which the OPAC Issue and Returns dialog was originally intended) only by investigating a failed circulation.
The [Circulation Dialog] is constructed from four main sections, top to bottom in the dialog area:
At the most basic, the Circulations dialog is intended to perform a Circulation - assigning an item in the catalogue to a reader for a set amount of time and using defined rules.
Enter a reader barcode number into the [Reader:] field. The text field provided is a search criteria field. If a unique barcode is entered which can be matched against a single reader, the reader is displayed ready for use. The cursor is automatically placed into the [Item:] field.
Note however, that if a single specific reader is not identified, the information entered into the search criteria field may find other readers that match the entry and are all entered into the drop-down pick-list beneath the search field. The search criteria field need not therefore, only be used for reader barcodes - a reader name or part of one can be entered into the search field instead.
If multiple readers are displayed in the drop-down pick-list, select one from the list to make it the active reader in the current circulations process.
Enter the item accession barcode into the [Item:] field. This field acts in exactly the same way as the [Reader:] field, and performs a search of the catalogue for the accession number or a component of the title. Also in the same way, the search results are placed into the drop-down pick-list beneath the [Item:] search field.
If a single item is found, the details are displayed immediately. If a number of results are found, select the appropriate entry from the drop-down pick-list to make it the current item for the circulations process.
Once a a valid reader and item are selected in the two search fields and their details are displayed, and the item is not already on-loan, you can issue the item by clicking the [Issue] button at the bottom of the dialog.
If the item is on loan to the currently selected reader, you can instead choose to re-issue by clicking the [ReIssue] button instead, which will extend the load duration.
Once a valid item is selected and its details are displayed, and it is on-loan but not to any currently displayed reader, it can be returned by clicking the [Return] button at the bottom of the dialog.
Once details of both a reader and an item are displayed, a calculation is performed by the Circulations dialog to decide if and how the item can be issued to the reader. The Functional Details section of the dialog (the second from last segment) displays three fields which can be modified to alter the way in which the circulation will be made, as well as a list of the rules that will be applied:
If any single row in the circulations rules list is displayed in Red, that rule is preventing the circulation from occurring at all. This may be because the reader already has too many items, the item itself is locked, or the circulation would result in the return date being outside the availability of the reader or item.
In order to override the rule preventing the circulation, click the green tick (active) next to the rule to turn it off and temporarily prevent it from being included it in the calculation. Once all rules in the calculation can be successfully applied, the Duration and Due Date fields are modified to display when the circulation will apply until. Click the [Issue] or [ReIssue] button to complete the circulation as normal.
If a reader needs to return an item, but for whatever reason the item is not in the possession of the staff user, it can be returned by selecting the item from the reader details: