SIP2 server renews item instead of charging it to new patron; SW-CIRC

• Article Type: General
• Product: Aleph
• Product Version: 16.02

Description:
The SIP2 server renews item for existing patron when a different patron performs a self-check loan for the item.

Scenario:

Patron A has a book charged out to her, with a due date two weeks from now.

Patron B finds the book on a shelf, and uses the Self-Check machine to check the book out to himself.

After using the Self-Check machine, the book has been renewed for Patron A for whatever Patron A's renewal period is (Patron B has no real indication of this, and probably assumes it is checked out to him).

If Patron B had taken the book to a staffed circulation point, and the circulation staffer had used the Circulation GUI to check out the book, the book would have been discharged from Patron A, and then charged to Patron B for whatever Patron B's loan period is.

What we want, of course, is for the sip2_server is to *not* treat this as a renewal when the patron ID is different.

Resolution:
The ./sc_global/sc_global_loan_item program has the following logic:

If the item is already on loan and if the z36 record has a status of "A" (active),
then
if SW-CIRC = "Y"
then treat the loan as a renewal
else
if ID of patron in loan record not = ID of current patron
then issue an error (./error_eng/sip2_server error 0033 )
else treat the loan as a renewal

The value of SW-CIRC comes from the "circ_ok" variable in ./xxx50/tab_sip2.conf.

Since this is the only place that the circ_ok variable is used and since it has the (clearly) negative effect of causing the current patron's ID to not be compared to that of the existing loan's patron in this situation, we suggest that circ_ok *not* be set to "Y". (The default is "N".)

If you want to add this parameter to the table, it goes in the first section of tab_sip2.conf (the "[Host]" section):
circ_ok = N

Note that other variables "checkout_ok" and "checkin_ok" determine whether loans/returns can occur. Both of these need to be set to "Y". {checkin_ok is required in order to handle the situation where the system checks the barcode of the item at the time it checks it out for the patron, but also then right as it desensitizes the item. If the patron has used one book to check out and then is trying to switch another book in to desensitize a book that isn't checked out, then the system checks the first item back in and doesn't desensitize the second item. Setting checkin_ok to Y is required in order for this to work.}