General Circulation Statistics (cir-30) - Which Library Gets Credit For Transfer Loans?

Description: 

Which library gets credit for the circulation count in circulation statistics:

1.The library that owns the book (Z35_SUB_LIBRARY)
2.The library that checks it out to the patron
3.Both?

Z35_ID and Z35_CATALOGER_NAME are different in some cases, so to what library is the loan written?

Resolution: 

SHORT ANSWER: All transactions are credited to the sub-library that owns the Item.

LONG ANSWER:

In the "General Circulation Statistics" job (cir-30) a "50" Loan is only recorded once, but a "61" Return is recorded twice (it considers both "50" and "56" as Loans).

According to the z35 Oracle table description, the Z35-SUB-LIBRARY field "contains the sublibrary code to which the item belongs" - which means that the 50/56 loan transactions are credited to the item owning library (not the library that checks it out to the patron).

Regardless of whether there is a Z35_IP_ADDRESS or Z35_CATALOGER_NAME, the Z35_S (sublibrary) is always the item owning sublibrary.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

QUESTION 1. Is z35_ID always the same as z35_sub_library?

REPLY: Yes, the sublibrary 'pseudo' patron (e.g. WID or LAW) is used for the 56 (transit loan) transactions - not the actual patron patron. The ALEPH program that deals with in-transit loans specifically looks for a z303_ID that matches the transfer sublibrary. So be sure his z303_ID matches the sublibrary code exactly.

QUESTION 2. In the cir-30 statistical report by patron status, the JJ sublibrary has 2,431 loans total, while patron status 98 (transfer loans) has 372 loans. Does 372 transfer loans include both to loans that were sent a) to JJ for pickup and b) from JJ, or just a)?

REPLY: Generally, transfer loans (type 56) refer to loans that were sent to a sublibrary for pickup only (not to/from). The following SQL will generate a list of the total number of simple loans, transfer loans, and returns by z35_ID:

select Z35_ID "ID",
SUM( DECODE( Z35_EVENT_TYPE, 50, 1, 0)) "Simple Loan",
SUM( DECODE( Z35_EVENT_TYPE, 56, 1, 0)) "Transfer Loan",
SUM( DECODE( Z35_EVENT_TYPE, 61, 1, 0)) "Return"
from z35
where Z35_EVENT_DATE >= 20071001
and Z35_EVENT_DATE <= 20071029
group by Z35_ID;

If you want to remove the transfer data from this report, then the Transfer Patrons need to have a special Patron status so they can be removed manually from this report (see below, Transfer Status 15). The same is true for the "Circulation Statistics by Activity Type" job (cir-31).

Circ Stats for 20071013 - 20071013 by Sublibrary (ALL) by Borrower Status

Sub- Borr.
library Status Loans Renewals Holds Returns
------- ------ ----------- ---------- -------- -----------
HYL 01 3 0 0 3
15 5 0 0 5
******* ----------- ---------- -------- -----------
sum 8 0 0 8

If you want to differentiate the source of the actions in SQL queries, (which sub-library performed the action), you could set up your tab_attr_sub_library and workstation identifiers to provide this detail via the Z35_IP_ADDRESS field.

• Article last edited: 29-June-2016