Setting Shelving Status

When an item is returned to its assigned branch and checked in, the item’s circulation status becomes In even though the item may not be immediately returned to the shelf. This can be confusing for a patron who finds the item in PAC, notes that the item’s status is In, but cannot find it on the shelf. To inform the patron that the item is not yet returned to the shelf, you can set a period of time for each material type during which the item’s status is displayed as "Shelving" (or another appropriate description).

For the time period you set, patrons see the shelving status description for the item in the PAC. In the staff client, the shelving status description is displayed in Find Tool search results, the PAC preview in the bibliographic record, and the list of linked item records available from the bibliographic record or the item record. You can also limit Find Tool item searches by shelving status. For items checked in offline, when the offline transactions are uploaded, the shelving status display is calculated according to the date/time of the check-in recorded in the upload file.

When you enable the shelving status option, the shelving description is displayed only when an item is checked in during a circulation process and its circulation status changes to In. The option is not used when an item is created with a status of In or when the status of multiple items is changed to In through bulk change.

Note:
If you use Polaris Serials, part of your serials processing workflow may be to create items with a status of In when a serial issue is checked in. To use the shelving status description with these items, set the status to In Process or another status other than In, then check in the item as a circulation process—using Circulation > Check In or selecting Tools > Check In from the item record workform.

Use the Patron Services parameter Shelving status options to enable this option and to control how long the system displays the shelving status description for each material type. You can set the shelving status period at the system, library, or branch level, but you can only set the shelving status description text at the system level so that the description is consistent in PAC search results. When an item is checked in, the system uses the shelving status settings for the transacting branch.

See also:

• Set Shelving Status Options

• Understanding the Shelving Status Period