Floating Collections Processing Overview

When you set up floating collections, you first determine what collections are eligible to float for which home branches. The home branch’s policies determine if an item from the eligible collection should float. For each branch that enables floating collections, you set the following additional limits:

• Which branches can receive the home branch’s floating items
• Which material types may not float regardless of whether the item belongs to an eligible collection.
• Whether limits are applied based on the number of items of the same material type attached to the same bibliographic record, or by the number of items in a collection.

If floating is enabled for an item’s home branch, when the item is checked in at a receiving branch, the system checks the limits. If all conditions permit floating, the item is checked in at the new branch and the item’s assigned branch automatically changes to the new branch.

Note:
If floating collections are not used, the item’s home branch and assigned branch are typically the same. The home branch value is used only for floating collections and does not affect any other item processing.

Cooperative Considerations for Floating Collections

Libraries and branches that participate in floating collections may want to have matching, reciprocal policies to help maintain a balance of items. If the participating organizations will float many items, it is a good practice to standardize the classification system and collections.

Circulation Processing for Floating Items

Floating collection processing takes place at check in. The system check for floating eligibility and the migration of the item to its new assigned branch are nearly the last steps in the check-in process. The process happens automatically; no message is displayed to the staff member when the item floats to its new assigned branch.

• Fines - All fines are calculated before floating, according to the most recent assigned branch for the item.
• Holds - All holds are filled before the floating check. The hold is filled according to the policies of the most recent assigned branch. If the item fills a hold, it does not float to the new branch; it goes to the pick-up branch.
• Blocks - Checked according to the most recent assigned branch, before the floating check.
• Cancelling check in - The option to cancel a check in occurs before the check for floating. Cancelling check-in retains the original Assigned Branch of the item.
• Lost or Lost-and-Paid items - Lost recovery options, including the lost recovery dialog, are invoked according to the rules of the receiving branch, regardless of whether the item floats to that branch or not.
• Claimed items - Floating has no impact. The patron record is updated normally when the item checks in, regardless of floating.
• Prompt for In-transit - If an item qualifies for floating but does not migrate to the receiving branch (for example, the item is over a specified material type or collection limit for the receiving branch), you can have the system display a prompt to accept an item over the limit anyway (see Set parameters and profiles for floating collections). If you suppress the prompt from display, an in-transit prompt is displayed instead, and the staff member can put the item in-transit or check it in (the assigned branch and other parameters do not change to those of the receiving branch).
  If the item does not qualify for floating, the system displays or does not display the in-transit prompt according to the Polaris Administration setting for the receiving branch. If the prompt displays and the option to put the item in-transit is not selected, the item is checked in at the receiving branch but the assigned branch and other parameters do not change to those of the receiving branch.
• Shelving Status - The assignment of a shelving status occurs after the item becomes In at the receiving branch. The behavior is not affected by floating.
• In-to-In - If the assigned branch is the same as the check-in branch, the item goes from In to In. If an item status is In and the Assigned Branch is different from the receiving branch, the transaction is treated as a new check-in.
• Bulk check in - If an item successfully floats, the item becomes In at the new assigned branch. No additional messages display.
• Check in from item record - Same processing as normal check in from the Check In workform.
• OTF (on-the fly) items - These behave as normal items. They may float as long as they fit the rules established for floating.
• Items that do not float - ILL items and reserve items with a reserve status of On Reserve or Permanent Reserve never float.
• Offline check in - Floating checks are performed as part of the offline upload. There are no additional messages in the upload log resulting from floating. If an item that would check in at the receiving branch (per the floating item option of the Home Branch) is checked in offline, the Assigned Branch field in the item record will be updated when the transactions are uploaded. No message is written to the upload transaction file. If an item that would be placed in-transit from the receiving branch is checked in offline, the item status is set to In-Transit, and a message is written to the offline upload transaction file.
• SIP check in - If an item that would check in at the receiving branch (per the floating item option of the Home Branch) is checked in at a SIP workstation, the item floats to the receiving branch like the normal check-in. The Assigned Branch field in the item record is updated accordingly.
• Transactions - For check in, the subtype Item float branchID shows the branch ID of the receiving branch if an item has floated there. Check-out and check-in transactions include the item’s home branch.

Possible Issues

• If the assigned branch of a floating item is changed manually or by bulk change to a branch that is not on the home branch’s list of receiving branches, the item will obey the circulation parameters of its new assigned branch, unless it is checked in at a branch controlled by the home branch.
• If the floating option is disabled for the home branch, items will stay at their last assigned branch. Reporting is available to identify items where the Home branch and Assigned branch differ. See Floating Collections Reports.
• If you choose to allow serial items to float, the PAC compressed holdings statement may be inaccurate. You can minimize the difficulty by restricting a serials collection or material type from floating, or by creating serial item records with a template in which Do Not Float is checked.

Collection Agency Processing and Floating Items

If several branches report to a collection agency and the reporting is set by item’s branch, remember that floating items can change branch. For example, if a patron account is submitted to a collection agency for a charge on Item X from Branch A and then that item floats to Branch C, in subsequent reporting, the patron’s account will be reported from Branch C. The patron will not have multiple charges, but the amount owed for that item is now associated with C. The patron’s account is no longer listed on the Update Report for Branch A; it appears on the next Submission Report for Branch C. Subsequent payments and other activity will appear for Branch C unless the item moves again.

Item Record Updates for Floating Items

When a floating item is checked in at the receiving branch, the item record fields are updated as follows:

• Assigned branch - Changes to the branch of the check-in workstation.
• Collection - If both the home branch and receiving branch are assigned to the collection, that collection is displayed. If the receiving branch is not assigned to the collection, or if there is no collection indicated in the item record, the behavior depends on Polaris Administration settings. See Cooperative Considerations for Floating Collections.
• Loan Period - The Loan Period defined for the loan period code of the receiving branch.
• Fine Code - The Fine Code defined for the receiving branch.

Note:
Loan Period Codes and Fine Codes can be defined at the system level so that all participating branches share these settings. Also, you can use the Patron Services Parameter Fine and Loan period defaults to set default values to apply when the loan period code and fine code are not shared by the home branch and receiving branch.

• Shelf Location - The program attempts a character-for-character match on the field. If the fields match, the value remains. If the fields do not match, the value is set to None.
• Stat code - The program attempts a character-for-character match on the field. If the fields match, the value remains. If the fields do not match, the value is set to None.
• Library-assigned blocks - The program attempts a character-for-character match on the field. If the fields match, the value remains. If the fields do not match, the value is set to None.
• Free text block - The text is not altered or deleted. It appears in the item record after check in.

The Item Record workform - Circulation History view shows the item’s Home branch, the Do not float option, and the circulation history of the item as the item moves from branch to branch. (You can also see the circulation history for floating items linked to the same bibliographic record by selecting Tools, Show Usage Statistics in the Bibliographic Record workform.) Two transactions appear each time an item floats, one for the check in, and one for the change in assigned branch due to floating.