Procedure: Receiving Firm Orders

2019 October 30

Department: Technical Services

Purpose: This procedure guides staff on receiving and processing FIRM orders. This procedure applies to items put on the “Receiving Cart” after the “Procedures for General Receiving (i.e. receiving boxes)” has been followed.

Overview: This procedure applies if the mailing label indicates “Library Receiving”, the package is from a book supplier, the label or box does not have anyone’s personal name on it, except "Rachel Volk, does not indicate Interlibrary Loan, Standing Order, "Emery-Pratt"or "YPB GOBI Library Services”, unless it indicates the Bypass account number. Books ordered on the Bypass account number are considered firm orders for the purpose of this procedure.

Required Knowledge/Skills: Familiarity with “Procedures for General Receiving (i.e. receiving boxes)” and Sierra.

Safety Issues/Precautions: Seek help for lifting heavy boxes.

Equipment/Supplies: Computer with Sierra access, scissors, RUSH cataloging slips, (yellow) Receiving/Searching Slip

Procedure

1. Look at the label. This procedure applies if the mailing label indicates “Library Receiving”, the package is from a book supplier, the label does not indicate “Standing Order” or “PromptCat” or ILL and it does not have anyone’s personal name on it, other than Rachel Volk.

2. Open the box. Look for any accompanying documentation, invoices and packing slips. Make sure you can identify who sent the contents to us. If the accompanying documentation indicates a gift, put the box and contents on the gift receiving shelf.

3. Open Sierra-Cataloging. Type the title into the Search box as it appears on the title page. Find an order record for that title. If you cannot find a record using a title search, search by publisher’s number, author or keyword. You may need to search OCLC for additional clues, or use the Internet to translate a foreign language title. If you can’t find a record in Sierra, call the Acquisitions Specialist for help and advice.

7. Look at any notes at the bottom of the order record.

8. Look at the Bibliographic record. It should match the title and publisher of the item being received. In most cases, we can accept a later printing date, a variant binding, or an alternate edition where the content is the same, such as a British edition instead of the American edition. If the title or publisher do not match and we may have received an edition other than what we want. Call the Acquisitions Specialist for help and advice.

9. Once you have determined that we have received what we ordered from the correct vendor, you are ready to officially receive the material.

Order Record: Receiving the material

a. Received Date Fields: It should be blank. If it is not, look for another order record with the same title. If you can’t find one, call the Acquisitions Specialist for help and advice.
b. Type “t” in the blank RDATE box to enter the current date.
c. Vendor Field: Make sure the vendor code matches the company on the invoice. If the item comes from a different vendor than indicated in the order record, call the Acquisitions Specialist for help and advice.
d. Status Code: If the Status code is o (on order) proceed to #6. If the record has a status code other than o, look for another order record. If you cannot find one, call the Acquisitions Specialist for help and advice.
e. RACTION field: Take note if RUSH or Replacement is in this field.

10. If you are trained to catalog, go to the procedures for searching OCLC and Cataloging Printed Monographs with DLC Copy in OCLC. For non-DLC/member input OCLC records, follow the directions below and forward the item on to the professional librarian to catalog.

For Non-DLC / member input OCLC records

Complete a “(yellow) Receiving/Searching Slip” with:
--the received date.
--the suggested OCLC record
--the bib record number (shown in left corner of the bibliographic record starting with a .b)
--the title
--"cat. by mm/dd" three weeks out from the invoice date on the top of the yellow slip
--the format if the item is not a book.
--note on the slip if this is a replacement, added volume, reference, or a second copy.
--check the order record box if there are notes in the order record the cataloger needs to see.
--any additional notes from the order record that would be helpful to the cataloger.
--a note if the item is a 'RUSH'

11. Save and close the Sierra record.

12. On the invoice, write the received date and your initials. Put the invoice in the Acquisitions Specialist’s mail folder once you have received all the items from the receiving boxes.

13. When all receiving is done, discard plastic and non-recyclable packaging materials. Put packing paper in an office recycling bin. Flatten boxes and take to the recycling dumpster.

Procedure: Rush items, including for Course Reserve or with patron holds.

1. Items ordered “RUSH” will usually be ordered through Amazon. However, any item in cataloging can be designated “RUSH” at any point in the cataloging process.

2. Fill out a Pink RUSH/Hold/Reserve Cataloging Slip. You need to include all the information, especially the course/individual name and needed semester Course Reserves.

3. Search for OCLC for cataloging copy if this has not already been done.

4. If you are trained to catalog, go to the procedures for searching OCLC and Cataloging Printed Monographs with DLC Copy in OCLC. For non-DLC/member input OCLC records, follow the directions below and forward the item on to the appropriate staff person to catalog. For newly received items, the RUSH slip along with “Receiving/Searching Slip” should be placed in the book before placing on the cataloging librarian's 'Catolog Purchases New Book' shelf.

5. Process the item (tattletape, stamp & label) before the end of the working day. If the item is for reserve, it should be processed as soon as possible.

6. After processing, take the item with the pink RUSH slip still in it to the main circulation desk and hand it to a circulation manager.

7. Circulation staff will process it for reserve, or place the hold. Circulation staff or the system will notify any patrons who need to be notified

Rachael Holley, revised June 28, 2006
Donna Resetar, revised August 29, 2006
Donna Resetar, revised 22 January 2015
Stacy Fellers, revised 31 October 2019

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