Using Holds Mailing Labels
The Holds Mailing Labels feature enables libraries to mail requested items to patrons. When this feature is enabled, Sierra routes items that have been designated for mailing to predefined "mailing locations." When a staff member at the mailing location checks in the item, the system prints a mailing label instead of a pickup notice. The library staff use the mailing label to mail the item to the requesting patron.
Standard Holds Processing
Typically, when you check in an item that can satisfy a hold, Sierra uses the pickup location that the requesting patron specified to determine how it should behave as follows:
- If you check in a requested item at the specified pickup location, the system prompts you to place the item on the holdshelf and prints a pickup notice.
- If you check in a requested item at any other location, the system gives you several options, including checking in the item and placing it in transit to the specified pickup location. When a staff member at the specified pickup location checks in the item, the system prompts him to place the item on the holdshelf and queues a pickup notice.
Enabling the Feature
To have this feature enabled at your library, contact Innovative and provide the following information:
- Locations Served that you want to designate as mailing location(s)
- Locations Served that want to mail requested items and the designated mailing location for each
- Mailing Label format
Multiple Mailing Locations
A Locations Served entry can be associated with one mailing location only.
How the Feature Works
When you check in an item that satisfies a hold, the system determines whether the requesting patron's home library has this feature enabled. If so, the system determines if any of the following conditions apply:
- the requested item belongs to the same Locations Served as the patron's home library, or
- the requested item belongs to another Locations Served that uses the same mailing location as the patron's home library, or
- the specified pickup location is the designated mailing location for the patron's home library
If none of these conditions applies, the system behaves normally. If one or more of these conditions apply, the item is considered eligible for mailing. In this case, the system determines whether the check-in location belongs to the Locations Served of the designated mailing location.
Check-In Location does not Belong to Locations Served of Mailing Location
If you check in a held item that is eligible for mailing and your location does not belong to the Locations Served of the designated mailing location for that patron, the system checks in the item and sets it in transit to the designated mailing location. For example:
Item has been checked in and set in transit to <location>.
After you select OK, the system asks whether you want to print a transit slip.
Print transit slip?
Choose Yes or No to print a transit slip and then send the item to the designated mailing location.
Check-In Location Belongs to Locations Served of Mailing Location
If you check in a held item that is eligible for mailing and your location belongs to the Locations Served of the designated mailing location, the system performs the following steps:
- Determines whether another location sent the item "in transit" to your library. If so, the system notifies you that it has cleared the item's status. Choose OK to continue.
- Identifies the patron who requested the item and informs you that it will print a mailing label instead of a pickup notice.Item is on hold for <patron>. Pickup notice will not be printed. Mailing label will be printed.
Choose OK to continue. - Determines whether you have designated a label printer. If you do not have a designated label printer, the system prompts you to select one. To designate a printer, choose a printer from the displayed list and choose OK. For more information on designating printers, see Printing Mailing Labels.
- Prints the mailing label. For information on formatting mailing labels, see Mailing Labels.
After Sierra finishes printing the mailing label:
- Check the item out to the patron.
- Send the item, with the mailing label, to the mailroom.
The mailroom will use the mailing label to ship the item to the requesting patron.
Returning the Item
When the patron returns the item, the system processes the item normally, unless there is another hold to fill that satisfies these conditions, in which case, the check-in location determines how the system behaves.
Example
A library asks Innovative to implement this feature for two of its three Locations Served.
| Locations Served | Mail Items | Mailing Location |
|---|---|---|
| North | Y | East |
| East | Y | East |
| South | N | N/A |
The following table illustrates the conditions under which an item held for a requesting patron whose home library belongs to the Locations Served "North" or "South" is eligible for mailing.
| Patron Location | Item Location | Pickup Location | Eligible for Mailing | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | North | Any | Yes | The requesting patron's home library and the requested item both belong to "North," so the item is eligible for mailing, regardless of the specified pickup location. |
| North | Any | East | Yes | The item is eligible for mailing, regardless of the item's location, since the requesting patron's home library belongs to a Locations Served that has this feature enabled and the specified pickup location belongs to the Locations Served of the designated mailing location. |
| North | Any (not North) | Any (not East) | No | The item is not eligible for mailing because the item does not belong to the same Locations Served as the requesting patron's home library and the specified pickup location does not belong to the Locations Served of the designated mailing location. |
| South | Any | Any | No | Any item held for a patron whose home library belongs to the Locations Served "South" is ineligible for mailing, because the feature is not enabled for that location. |