Enable desk operators to select from a predetermined list of loan periods.
We would like desk operators to have the option of selecting from a list of predetermined check out periods for items in certain collections.
Boston College Libraries currently provide approximately 80 laptops to community members, which can be borrowed for a fixed loan period. For many patrons this static loan period is either too short or too long, adding some loan period choices would enable us to easily meet the needs of more patrons.
Currently in Alma, offering a variety of loan periods would require the creation of additional locations and terms of use. Doing so would enable us to move subsets of our inventory to each location, however, this is an inherently a rigid way of inventory control. What we are looking for is a more flexible system that enables our entire laptop inventory to circulate for a variety of loan periods.
The imagined workflow:
- Patron comes to borrow a laptop.
- The laptop is loaned in Alma
- The operator is presented with a dialog box with a series of loan period options (configured at the library level) - for example (4 Hours, 1 Day, 4 Days, 7 Days).
- The operator asks the patron which loan period meets the need and makes the selection in Alma to complete the loan.
Thank you for considering this request.
Paul Bridden
shared this idea
Adding more than one policy to a TOU would add a lot of complexity to TOU and loan rules management. Perhaps it is simpler to change a due date manually at loan time
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Paul Bridden commented
Hello Moshe, this is something that we already do on a requested basis but we would like a more structure rather than leaving it up to individual staff members to determine the loan period.
What we a really looking for is the ability to provide some choice to our patrons for very high use parts of our technology inventory.
Thank you for considering, Paul
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Anonymous commented
Thanks