Statuses such as Lost, Missing, Long Overdue, Withdrawn, etc. in Koha are applied in different circumstances, and a little differently by our member libraries.

Here’s a recap of the NExpress Koha item statuses, and when they should be used:

*LONG OVERDUE/ASSUMED LOST is a status that can be applied to items as an informational label for staff. Like MISSING, the LONG OVERDUE/ASSUMED LOST status reverts to AVAILABLE once it is checked in at the owning library. This status simply alerts the checkout library that the item has been overdue for too long. It is sometimes used as an intermediate step prior to making the item LOST, and is applied by the checkout library.

*CLAIMS RETURNED behaves in exactly the same way, but alerts the librarian to the fact that the patron has claimed the item was returned, but keeps the item checked out. This status is again a temporary status. The item should, at some point, be marked LOST or simply checked in and marked WITHDRAWN.

*WITHDRAWN should ONLY be applied by the owning library. WITHDRAWN means that the owning library has determined that the item is temporarily unavailable, for whatever reason.  It might be claimed returned, undergoing repairs, temporarily inaccessible, or stolen, but ONLY the owning library should apply this status.

*The MISSING status is used when a Pick List/H0lds Queue item isn’t found. MISSING is a pretty innocuous status, because as soon as a MISSING item is checked in at the home library, it reverts to AVAILABLE status.

*LOST is a status applied to an item checked out to a patron that is unreturned after a certain period. LOST is a special Koha status that automatically does two things: (1) It removes the item from the patron’s checkouts and (2) It puts the item’s barcode and title, along with its Replacement Cost, on the Fines Tab of the patron account. As you know, it is not at all unusual for items from one library to be checked out to a patron from another library; therefore, the LOST status is frequently applied to non-owned items, since the borrower’s account is charged with a replacement charge for the lost items, regardless of who owns the LOST item. If a LOST item is checked in, the replacement charge is reversed (credited) on the patron’s fine tab, and the item becomes AVAILABLE.

The borrower’s library transacting library is responsible for retrieving the materials, or reimbursing the owning library, either through initiating an MRF request (Materials Replacement Fund) or by simply paying the owning library outright. As the owning library, you can run a periodic report of LOST items belonging to you, if you wish, and contact the libraries whose patrons have these LOST items and bill them. So the LOST status applied by another library is entirely appropriate, since it alerts you, the owning library, to the fact that the item is probably not going to be returned to your collection, and that some action needs to be taken. A Lost Report is available in Koha under Reports>Other>Items Lost.

In a shared catalog environment like NExpress, you should think of items as “yours” if they circulate to patrons at your library. Once an item is checked out to your patron, regardless of who owns it, you are responsible for the item should it be lost or damaged.  You should also think of patrons as “yours” if they circulate items at your library.  Likewise, any item of yours that is checked out to another library’s patron is the responsibility of that patron’s home library. Reimbursement and/or replacement requests between libraries are appropriate, and occur from time to time.

From the January 2012 Users Group meeting:

Patron A Belongs to Library A Drives to Library B to checkout a Movie that belongs to Library C. Who’s responsible when Patron A breaks it/loses it/doesn’t bring it back? Understanding is that it’s the transacting library’s responsibility to get the material returned/replaced, follow up with this patron. Group agreed to this.

Marking an item LOST takes it off the patron’s checkout page (checks it in), labels the item LOST in the catalog, and adds the replacement cost of the item to the patron’s FINES tab.  No notice is sent when this occurs.

LOST status must be applied manually. There is no automatic LOST  conversion process, although it is under discussion with our support vendor.

The patron’s OPAC account will display the FINES AND CHARGES due from the LOST item(s).

Welcome, Introduction and ‘What is NExpress?’

• NExpress Shared Catalog Overview (.pdf)
• Vision and Values Statement (.pdf)

Public Catalog Tour

An Introduction to the NExpress Patron Catalog (.pdf, Updated 4/18/11)

• Catalog Overview Tutorial (Updated 11/11/11)

About Your Account (.pdf w/ older illustrations)

• My Account Overview Tutorial (Updated 11/11/11)

Homework – Explore Additional Patron Training Tutorial Videos

Notes and Discussion

• Purchase Suggestions - Post and ByWater Tutorial
• Promotions on Go Live! page
• NExpress Patron Confidentiality Statement (.d0c) and other Orientation Packet Documents (post)

Questions and Answers so far…

Staff Client Tour

Landmarks of the Home Page and Circulation Page

Basic Circulation – Checking items in:

• Video – Checking Items In (11/11/11 in Koha 3.6)
• Video – Checking Items In with Holds (8/10 in Harley)

Basic Circulation – Checking items out:

• Video – Checking Items Out (8/10)
• Homework Video – Patron Account features in Staff Client, with Checking out demonstrated (11/09)

Patrons

• Searching for Patrons in NExpress Handout (NEW 4/11)
• Editing Patrons Handout (full color, updated 11/11)
• Creating New Library Cards Handout (step-by-step, updated 11/11)

Holds

• Managing Holds in NExpress (July 2011) (.pdf) – Complete instructions
• Run and Pull Holds Queue Report (Pick List) (video 9/10)
• Check in and Confirm Holds (9/10) – for more examples, see the Checking Items with Holds tutorial

Homework / Extra Credit – Searching

• Overview of the keyword and advanced search features of the Staff Client
• Keyword searching hints -
  • add “richmond” to improve results
  • Look for and use UNIQUE terms.  Is the author’s last name unusual, like “Evanovich”? Is there a term like “playaway” that will improve results?
  • As in Google, use a combination of keywords from the title, series and author name, including dates
  • Keyword searching looks at All fields of All attached items, even mis-cataloged ones
• Advanced searching hints
  • Non-keyword searches are EXACT, so spelling counts but you get faster results
  • Look for unique or unusual subject headings to help narrow your search – “cookery for two”
  • Koha can’t find what is NOT in the record.  If a series title isn’t in the record, no amount of searching will find the book.
• Use specialized external sites to find ISBNs and other unique identifiers AND correct spelling:
• Amazon
• What’s Next ™: Books in Series database
• Fantastic Fiction
• Internet Movie Database

Workflows, Troubleshooting and Questions

DONE!
Welcome and enjoy access to 850,000 items, including books, movies, videogames, audiobooks and cake pans.

Advanced Training and Homework Posts:

• Training Materials from September 2010 and May 2010 and November 2011
• Known Issues - Encountering a problem? See if it’s a known bug.
• Managing Suggestions for Purchase - overview video 9/10
  • Must be logged in as TECH or DIRECTOR
  • Step-by-step instructions post, with a video from Royce Kitts, formerly at Tonganoxie Public Library
  • Patrons are alerted the next time they log into their account of your decision
• Searching and Search Training and Search-related Bugs and Barcode Searching-  These (older) posts may be of interest.

• NOTE: Do not include the special characters ( ! ? & ) in searches, it may skew results.
• What to do with Agent Interlibrary Loans – Best practices
• How do we manage LOST items? – Best practices
• Tags and the Tag Cloud – Ideas from Susan at Hiawatha
• Handling Patron Accounts and Fines – Best practices
• NExpress Users Group Notes, meetings, etc.
• Kansas EZ Library and OneClick Digital Registration information

Liz has identified the cause, related to the granular permissions, and we will pursue a fix.   Community Bug 7888.

Until then, for all non-Staff accounts (Adult, Child and Library Associate) you can still edit passwords via the Edit Patron menu:

If you need the password changed on a Staff account (LIBRTECH, LIBRCIRC, etc.), please contact the NExpress Team.

Content will include:

• new cataloging features in NExpress
• new best practices
• frequently asked questions
• tips and tricks

You’re welcome to bring your pile of things for which you have not been able to find records!

This training will help everyone get on the same page with cataloging
in NExpress.

Time for questions and answers about using the available NExpress reports will also be included.

Here’s where you will find Heather:

• March 20 9:30 – 12:30 Sabetha
• March 22 9:30 – 12:30 Overbrook
• March 27 9:30 – 12:30 Winchester
• March 29 9:30 – 12:30 Ottawa
• April 3   9:30 – 12:30  Basehor
• April 5  9:30 – 12:30  Atchison

Register for one of those sessions at:
http://www.nekls.org/nekls-services/ce/event-registration/

If this schedule does not meet your needs, please contact Heather and
she can arrange an alternate time for you.

The archive and materials from the Beginning Cataloging: First Steps to Becoming a Fantastic Copy Cataloger webinar have been posted online. I’ve linked to several different ways to “experience” the webinar, including viewing it online, listening to it, and viewing it through Blackboard Collaborate. Please let me know if you have any questions about cataloging or accessing the webinar.

Access the archive.

Image Credit: “Peeps Parade” by Flickr user bgolub under a Creative Commons license.

Newberry Award

• Medal: Dead End in Norvelt (Jack Gantos)
• Honor: Inside Out & Back Again (Thanhha Lai)
• Honor: Breaking Stalin’s Nose (Eugene Yelchin)

Caldecott Award

• Medal: A Ball for Daisy (Chris Raschka)
• Honor: Blackout (John Rocco)
• Honor: Grandpa Green (Lane Smith)
• Honor: Me . . . Jane (Patrick McDonnell)

Printz Award

• Winner: Where Things Come Back (John Corey Whaley)
• Honor: Why We Broke Up (Daniel Handler)
• Honor: The Returning (Christine Hinwood)
• Honor: Jasper Jones (Craig Silvey)
• Honor: The Scorpio Races (Maggie Stiefvater)

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award

• Winner: Kadir Nelson, Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
• Honor: Eloise Greenfield, The Great Migration: Journey to the North
• Honor: Patricia C. McKissack, Never Forgotten

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award

• Winner: Shane W. Evans, Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom
• Honor: Kadir Nelson, Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

Schneider Family Book Awards

• Middle School Award (9-13): close to famous (Joan Bauer)
• Middle School Award (9-13): Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures (Brian Selznick)
• Teen Award (14-18): The Running Dream (Wendelin Van Draanen)

Alex Awards (10 best adult books that appeal to teens)

1. Big Girl Small (Rachel DeWoskin)
2. In Zanesville (Jo Ann Beard)
3. The Lover’s Dictionary (David Levithan)
4. The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens (Brooke Hauser)
5. The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern)
6. Ready Player One (Ernest Cline)
7. Robopocalypse: A Novel (Daniel H. Wilson)
8. Salvage the Bones (Jesmyn Ward)
9. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures (Caroline Preston)
10. The Talk-Funny Girl (Roland Merullo)

William C. Morris Award (debut book by first-time author writing for teens)

• Winner: Where Things Come Back (John Corey Whaley)
• Finalist: Girl of Fire and Thorns (Rae Carson)
• Finalist: Paper Covers Rock (Jenny Hubbard)
• Finalist: Under the Mesquite (Guadalupe Garcia McCall)
• Finalist: Between Shades of Gray (Ruta Sepetys)

The full list of award winners has been released by ALA and information about the awards can be found on the ALA website. You can even watch the recording of the announcements!

1. It may remove the transfer completely!  If this happens, you can use Circulation > Transfers to re-set the transfer.
   Video: http://screencast.com/t/jMh5LtgBKgY
   
2. It may change the Current Location from the receiving library (the library where the Hold is) back to your branch…so it looks like the book is on it’s way to a library while still being at your library.  Confusing.
3. It may also break/remove/mess up the Transfer.  Instead of saying “In transit from Library A, to Library B, since Date. On Hold for Patron A…” it just says “In transit from Library A, to , since date” – those important Library Branch names are GONE.
   
4. If this happens, rely on the SLIP or the “delivery at Library B” information in the Status note to get the item where it needs to go.
   Video: http://screencast.com/t/hXFbymsFvqF

So, how can you “safely” see the status of a stack of books?

• Scan the barcode in the “Search the Catalog” box rather than “Check in” – then you can see the Status clearly on the Holdings table.

We will share this information with ByWater, in hopes that we can get this fixed or develop a “Check Status” option that does NOTHING to the transfers, holds, or overall status of an item.

Until then, if you wonder about the status of an item in hand, scan it at the Search the Catalog box, not Check In.

1. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Find in NExpress
2. American Boy by Larry Watson. Find in NExpress
3. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. Find in NExpress
4. Broken Irish by Edward J. Delaney. Find in NExpress
5. Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. Find in NExpress
6. The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje. Find in NExpress
7. Chango’s Beads and Two-Tone Shoes by William Kennedy. Find in NExpress
8. Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland. Find in NExpress
9. Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago. Find in NExpress
10. Emily, Alone by Stewart O’Nan. Find in NExpress
11. The Empty Family by Colm Toibin. Find in NExpress
12. The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Benjamin Hale. Find in NExpress
13. Faith by Jennifer Haigh. Find in NExpress
14. **The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright. Find in NExpress
• “The vicissitudes of extramarital love and the obstructions to its smooth flow–including spouses, children, and the very clandestineness of the relationship–are tracked by Enright with a raw clarity expressed in magnetically precise prose. A stunning novel.” –Brad Cooper, Booklist, July 2011
15. The Glass Demon by Helen Grant. Find in NExpress
16. Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks. Find in NExpress
17. Luminarium by Alex Shakar. Find in NExpress
18. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. Find in NExpress
19. The Matchmaker of Kenmare by Frank Delaney. Find in NExpress
20. Millennium Peole by J. G. Ballard. Find in NExpress
21. Saints and Sinners by Edna O’Brien. Find in NExpress
22. The Secret History of Costaguana by Juan Gabriel Vasquez. Find in NExpress
23. The Time in Between by Maria Duenas. Tr. by Daniel Hahn. Find in NExpress
24. To Be Sung Underwater by Tom McNeal. Find in NExpress
25. Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante. Find in NExpress
26. West of Here by Jonathan Evison. Find in NExpress
27. When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman. Find in NExpress
28. When She Woke by Hillary Jordan. Find in NExpress
29. The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak. Not available in NExpress at this time.
30. The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson. Find in NExpress

The Full List of the 2011 Booklist Editor’s Choice

Here’s what’s been ordered, including the release dates:

1. Private, # 1 suspect (January 2, 2012) by James Patterson (5 copies)
2. Private, #1 suspect : a novel (January 2, 2012) [Large Print] by James Patterson (2 copies)
3. Love in a nutshell (January 3, 2012) by Janet Evanovich (4 copies)
4. Love in a nutshell : a novel (January 3, 2012) [Large Print] by Janet Evanovich (1 copy)
5. A devil is waiting (January 3, 2012) by Jack Higgins (1 copy)
6. Gun games (January 3, 2012) by Faye Kellerman (1 copy)
7. The hunter : a novel (January 3, 2012) by John T. Lescroart (1 copy)
8. Breakdown (January 3, 2012) by Sara Paretsky (1 copy)
9. The jaguar (January 10, 2012) by T. Jefferson Parker (1 copy)
10. Gideon’s corpse (January 10, 2012) by Douglas J. Preston (1 copy)
11. The rope : an Anna Pigeon novel (January 17, 2012) by Nevada Barr (1 copy)
12. Shadows in flight (January 17, 2012) by Orson Scott Card (1 copy)
13. Look of love : a Piper Donovan mystery (January 17, 2012) by Mary Jane Behrends Clark (1 copy)
14. The fear index (January 31, 2012) by Robert Harris (1 copy)
15. Kill shot (February 7, 2012) by Vince Flynn (2 copies)
16. Catch me (February 7, 2012) by Lisa Gardner (1 copy)
17. Left for dead : a novel (February 7, 2012) by Judith A. Jance (1 copy)
18. Private games : a novel (February 13, 2012) by James Patterson (5 copies)
19. Private games : a novel (February 13, 2012) [Large Print] by James Patterson (2 copies)
20. Oath of office (February 14, 2012) by Michael Palmer (1 copy)
21. Perfect blood (February 21, 2012) by Kim Harrison (1 copy)
22. Celebrity in death (February 21, 2012) by J.D. Robb (2 copies)
23. Victims : an Alex Delaware novel (February 28, 2012) by Jonathan Kellerman (1 copy)
24. Lone wolf : a novel (February 28, 2012) by Jodi Picoult (4 copies)
25. Fair game (March 6, 2012) by Patricia Briggs (1 copy)
26. The thief (March 6, 2012) by Clive Cussler (2 copies)
27. Phantom : an Alex Hawke novel (March 20, 2012) by Ted Bell (1 copy)
28. Stay close (March 20, 2012) by Harlan Coben (3 copies)
29. Fall from grace : a novel (March 20, 2012) by Richard North Patterson (1 copy)
30. Guilty wives (March 26, 2012) by James Patterson (5 copies)
31. Guilty wives (March 26, 2012) [Large Print] by James Patterson (2 copies)
32. Betrayal : a novel (March 27, 2012) by Danielle Steel (2 copies)
33. Gypped (April 3, 2012) by Carol Higgins Clark (1 copy)
34. The lost years (April 3, 2012) by Mary Higgins Clark (3 copies)
35. Letter from a stranger (April 10, 2012) by Barbara Taylor Bradford (1 copy)
36. Come home (April 10, 2012) by Lisa Scottoline (2 copies)
37. The Innocent (April 17, 2012) by David Baldacci (3 copies)
38. The innocent (April 17, 2012) [Large Print] by David Baldacci (1 copy)
39. Witness (April 17, 2012) by Nora Roberts (2 copies)
40. Witness (April 17, 2012) [Large Print] by Nora Roberts (1 copy)
41. The wind through the keyhole : a dark tower novel (April 24, 2012) by Stephen King (1 copy)

Image Credit: “the future “coming soon”” by Flickr user Scott Nolan under a Creative Commons license.

First, I want to share “Serendipity in the Stacks: Great Non-Fiction Finds” (1 pg, pdf), a wonderful breakout session presented by Christina Callison and Julie Nelson at Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library’s Celebrate the Book workshop in November.  You can also read my notes from that session at the lybrarian blog.

We also have permission to share a presentation about Non-fiction Readers Advisory by Mary A. Kelly and Holly Hibner, authors of Awful Library Books (awfullibrarybooks.net).  They say you CAN judge a book by its cover!
(Unrelated, if you haven’t discovered awfullibrarybooks.net, it may make you cringe, giggle and it could possibly trigger an urgent desire to weed…)

Also, you may be interested in this month’s Booklist “Spotlight on Crafts and Gardening,” which includes helpful articles, like “Top 10 Crafts and Gardening Books: 2011” by Brad Hooper.  You can ILL a copy of Booklist from the NEKLS professional collection, if you don’t subscribe to it yourself.  Carolyn just alerted met that NEKLS hasn’t carried Booklist since 2002!  So, who in NExpress does subscribe?

As far as weeding non-fiction goes, just use CREW!  It gives you specific guidelines for each Dewey range and many sub-ranges, along with easy-to-understand overviews of each section.   For example, when weeding the 610′s (Medicine and Health), CREW says to:

Weed ruthlessly when it comes to current medical practices. Patrons rely on up-to-date information and outdated information can be dangerous. Keep only the current year plus the previous year (one reference, one circulating) of Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR) and other prescription and over-the-counter drug directories, replacing when new editions become available. Do not keep drug guides that are more than three years old regardless.

Hope this gives you some ideas on what to buy, how to sell non-fiction to your patrons, and what to weed!