Category: Policies & Procedures

Ok. This is super long, but it is really how I want to see claims returned handled, so I hope it makes sense. Please let me know if you have any questions.

When a patron states that they brought a book back but it is still showing on their account, we should be able to resolve the issue with the claims returned function or by escalating it to Molly or Denise with the Patron Needs Review form.

Very rarely will we want to go to the shelf to look for the item(s). 

Before moving an item to claims returned or escalating the issue, please make sure you are asking the following questions and having a conversation about our check-in timeline when appropriate:

• Do you remember approximately when you brought it back?
  • We don’t need an exact date but was it two hours ago, two days ago, a week ago…
• Did you return it to the library or one of our remote book returns at Beaver Creek Elementary or Horizon Elementary?

The above questions just help us provide education and establish expectations on the time between returning an item and when it is check-in. This is my script:

• Our goal is to have items checked in within 24 hours when using the book returns at the library. Holidays or weekends occasionally put us past that timeline. If you return something to the book return at the library, I recommend waiting two days before contacting us to let us know if it is still showing on your account. We backdate at check-in to reflect the date the items were received at the library.
• For Beaver Creek or Horizon, we generally empty the book returns twice a week (backdating to the last empty), so I generally recommend that people wait one week after returning a book to the remote book returns before they contact us to report a discrepancy.

If the patron is calling about five items or fewer, I put the items to a status of claim returned regardless of the timeframe. I just want to make sure I educate them so, hopefully, they will wait an appropriate amount of time before calling next time.

If the patron has more than five items out, and it seems that the items on a cart waiting to be checked in or in a remote book return waiting to be emptied based on the timeline they provided you, I thank them for calling. I give them a date by which I would expect their items to be checked in. I ask them to check their account or give us a call back after that date if they still detect any errors.

If the patron has more than five items out and from the timeline, it seems like they should have been checked in, please transfer the call to circulation so we can look on the shelf for the book or take a look for the books yourself.

• If you find the books, check them in backdating, and call the patron to apologize and let them know we have checked in the items.
• If you don’t find the books, call back the patron and let them know you are looking for the items but you do not see them on the shelf. If possible, renew the items in question and fill out a patron needs review form so we can follow up with them after looking for the items again. If some of the items have holds and are not renewable, please move them to claim returned (even though there are more than five) and fill out the patron needs review form.

Here are instructions for moving items to claim returned.

*For any of the above scenarios if the item is an ILL or a book club book, would you also send a message to Lori Elrick letting her know the status?

TS stocks both packing tape (under the workroom counter) and book tape (in the processing supplies cupboard). When you’re considering which tape to use, keep in mind the cost of book tape ($.63 per yard) vs. packing tape ($.05 per yard).

Book tape is thick and acid-free. It’s a good choice for mending library materials as it won’t yellow over time.

Packing tape isn’t quite as thick, but it’s the right choice for packing boxes and your other wide-tape adhesive needs.