Department

Circulation, Technical Services

Purpose

The library catalog needs to be purged regularly of records for materials that are lost or missing. The purging process begins with the Circulation Unit with this procedure for creating and outputting a list.

Overview

The basic steps are: 1) Create the list according to established parameters and schedule, 2) Sort and output the list for a final search in the collection, 3) Output data needed by liaisons for replacement consideration, and 4) Notify Technical Services that the list is ready for the withdrawal process. It is best to do purges of lost and missing books on a regular basis so the lists are a manageable size; hence a schedule is included as part of this procedure.

Required Knowledge/Skills

Knowledge of FOLIO item record codes; FOLIO List creation procedure, including knowing how to output records to MS-Excel; knowledge of MS-Excel, including knowing how to input and convert a text file to an Excel workbook.

Equipment needed

Access to FOLIO, MS-Excel and the S drive. If the list is to be printed for searching, access to a printer. If the list is to be accessed via a tablet or laptop for searching, access to such a device is needed.

Procedure

This procedure and the corresponding lists it generates, should be run 3 times a year such that the lists generated will be passed on to Technical Services when their workload can accommodate addressing these items.
Fall semester lists should be run by the end of October and ready for Tech Services by November.
Spring semester lists should be run by the end of February and ready for Tech Services by March.
Summer session lists should be run by the end of June and ready for Tech Services by July.

NOTE: All codes except MISSING indicate patron use or interest and are a higher priority for replacement consideration.
Important item record codes and definitions:
Status: UNKNOWN. We are actively looking for the book, usually because a patron has expressed a need for it but could not find it.
Status: DECLARED LOST. We know the items are not coming back because the patron has admitted to losing them such that the books cannot be retrieved.
(True example: “The books were in the trunk of my car, and I sold the car to someone who is now driving it to California, and I have no way to contact this person because I don’t even have their name anymore.”)
Status: LOST & PAID. Identical to Declared Lost, but the patron has paid for the item.
Status: CLAIMED RETURNED. This code is used when the patron claims to have returned the item, but we still cannot find it.
Status: MISSING. We cannot find the book through an inventory check.
Circulation Procedures:

1. There are three lists to be made 3 times a year: Lost List (Item list type; Item status: Claimed Returned, Declared Lost, Lost and Paid), Missing List (Item list type; Item Status: Missing) and Long Term Overdue (Loan list type, Item Status: Aged to Lost, with Item Due Date between 6 – 10 months before the date of running the list). The Lost and Missing lists can just be refreshed; the LTO list needs to be redone each time this list is run.
   Lost List & Missing List

2. Navigate to the Lists tab of Folio.

3. Scroll down to the applicable list name, and click on it.

4. Click on Actions in the top right corner.

5. Click on Refresh list.

6. Lists are not able to be deleted in FOLIO. Since the criteria are the same every time the list is run, it’s OK to just refresh the list.
   Recreating a List

7. If you need to recreate the list for any reason, creation steps are identical, with different criteria for each list:

8. Navigate to the Lists tab in FOLIO

9. Click on New in the top right-hand corner

10. List name will be either Lost List or Missing List (put MMM YY at the end if you get an error for duplicate naming conventions)

11. Description can be left blank

12. Record Type is Items

13. Hit Build Query

14. Queries are as follows for each list

15. Each part shows up as a drop-down menu when you make the query.

16. Lost List: item_status in [Claimed returned, Declared lost, Lost and paid]

17. Missing List: item_status in [Missing]

18. LTO List: (loan_due_date >= 10 months before the month the list is run) AND (loan_due_date <= 6 months before the month the list is run) AND (item_status == Aged to lost)
    Long Term Overdue List
    Exporting Lists to Excel
    To save Lists to CSV for export to Excel, click on Actions, then Export List to CSV.
    Criteria for Excel lists are as follows, in order (delete all other columns):
    Lost List
    A. Location
    B. Status
    C. Author
    D. Call #
    E. Copy #
    F. Title
    G. Barcode
    H. Note
    Missing List
    I. Location
    J. Status
    K. Author
    L. Call #
    M. Copy #
    N. Title
    O. Barcode
    P. Note
    LTO List
    A. Location
    B. Status
    C. Author
    D. Call #
    E. Copy #
    F. Title
    G. Barcode
    H. Note
    I. Loan Due Date
    J. User Barcode
    K. User Expiration Date
    L. User Full Name
    M. User Patron Type

19. Sort the list by call number, copy number, & location (in that order) for searching.

20. Look for the books.

21. Follow established search procedures.

22. Bring any found books to the Circulation Desk and run them through check-in. This will set their status codes back to “Available.” If the book is a 2nd Floor Reference book, a manager has to change its status back to Restricted.

23. Remove any found items from the list.

24. Save the list to the following pathway on the S Drive S:\CCLS\Collection Development\Replacement review

25. Please make sure to follow the established file naming conventions in this folder.
    Long-Term Overdue
    Prior to billed items going through the Long-term overdue process, patrons receive three notifications: A courtesy notice the day before the item is due, one overdue notice that is sent 7 days after the item is due, and one bill which they receive 15 days after the item is due. After the bill is sent, patrons do not receive any additional notification until the long-term overdue process starts.
    Timeline:
    List run beginning of October: Dec 1 (Previous year)- March 31(Current year)
    List run beginning of February: April 1(Previous year)-July 31(Previous year)
    List run beginning of June: August 1(Previous year)- Nov. 30 (Previous year)

26. Email notices for long-overdue items

27. Wait 2 weeks for any return.

28. Make sure students give book to manager.

29. Add a pop-up notice to book “Give item to a manager”

30. Hit Edit in item record

31. Add check in note, “Give item to a manager. Inform TS item has been returned from XXX list.”

32. Delete note once item is returned.

33. Inform TS Book was Returned—“xxxx List". (xxx list should reflect Fall, Winter, or Summer and year of list)

34. Create the list for LTOs.

35. Navigate to the Lists tab of Folio.

36. Click on New.

37. List Name: LTO List, then the applicable month it’s being generated.

38. Leave Description blank.

39. Record Type: Loans

40. Query: (loan_due_date >= 10 months before the month the list is run) AND (loan_due_date <= 6 months before the month the list is run) AND (item_status == Aged to lost).

41. Click Save at the bottom.

42. Export LTO List to the following pathway on the S Drive S:\CCLS\Collection Development\Replacement review as "MM/YY Long-Term Overdue List".

43. Let Tech Services (email Liz, CC Alison) know you have completed your share of the work.

44. Put the Lost, Missing, and LTO lists all into one Excel sheet with separate tabs.

45. Label it as “Lost, Missing, & LTO List MMMM YY” & save to S:\CCLS\Collection Development\Replacement review\Liaisons to Review

46. Email Technical Services librarian & specialist letting them know you have done so.

Technical Services Procedures:

1. Compile all lost lists (lost/missing/long-term overdue) into one spreadsheet and sort by title.

   1. Within spreadsheet, include all useful metadata (title, author, publisher, pub year, circ data, copy number, cataloging date) to assist in making an informed decision whether or not to replace.

   2. Create individual worksheet pages for all liaisons, AV material and other departments (circ, ILL, etc.) as needed.  Add additional columns for liaisons to indicate if they would like to replace and edition information if relevant

   3. Assign lost items to corresponding page for liaisons.  Include any additional information like copies remaining in a notes category

2. Place finished Spreadsheet at S:\CCLS\Collection Development\Replacement review\Liaisons to Review

   1. Email library liaisons to inform them that the list is ready for review, and ask that the list be completed in 1 months time

   2. Library liaisons will send request via the "Materials Request Form" https://forms.gle/45gAfD646bNWBSGh7 to be reviewed and considered by the Dean.

3. Once the month has elapsed, technical services will delete all item records coded lost/missing.

   1. If no replacements are requested and no additional copies remain in collection, bib records will be coded for delete

   2. If a replacement of an exact addition is made, the bib record will be left alone so a new order record can be attached

4. Incoming replacements will have a note added to the item record that indicates it is a replacement.

5. For LTOs, circulation will break the links between patrons and items in May and December so remaining items can be deleted.