Resource Sharing - June 2016 Enhancements
Prevent Receiving and Shipping from the Scan In Items Page
This feature will be fully available for use after the June 12th release refresh. Please do not set the rs_allow_actions_on_scan_in to false before then.
Using the Scan In Items page to receive resource sharing items may have a negative effect on the request workflow. For example, defaults may incorrectly set the due date and item location. It is strongly recommended that all receiving and shipping for resource sharing items be done only from the receiving and shipping pages. Therefore, it is possible to set up an optional warning message that informs the user that the receiving or shipping pages should be used. If Alma determines that a scanned item requires shipping or receiving and the parameters have been set accordingly, an error message displays that may be overridden.
The option to block shipping and receiving of resource sharing items on the Scan In page is controlled by a new customer parameter, rs_allow_actions_on_scan_in.
Loaning from Manage Patron Services is also handled when the item has not been received, with a corresponding block defined in Block Preferences. The loan action may continue by overriding the block that will trigger the receive action, update the request status, send an ISO message to the partner, and allow the loan to continue.
The override options for this block are defined in the Block Preferences. (Main Menu > Fulfillment > Fulfillment Configuration > Configuration Menu > Physical Fulfillment > Block Preferences). The parameter, Item has not been received by a resource sharing operator, has five possible settings.
- Block - The pop-up warning appears and the loan action may not be carried out.
- Override by All - The pop-up warning appears and may be overridden by all users.
- Override by Manager - The pop-up warning appears and may be overridden by users with manager roles.
- Override by Operator - The pop-up warning appears and may be overridden by users with operator roles.
- Handle Automatically - The pop-up warning does not appear and the receiving action will be carried out automatically, with appropriate actions taken to handle the resource sharing actions. This is the default option.
If the block is overridden, the following actions take place:
- The borrowing request status is updated to Loaned to Patron.
- The Receive ISO message is sent.
- The temporary item is updated as if the receive page was used without the due date.
- The location is updated due to the item creation rules.
- The loan proceeds as if a regular receive was executed.
- Fees are calculated.
The scan in interface has two new buttons for moving to the shipping and receiving interfaces.
For more information about the block in the scan in interface, see Scanning Items.
An item scanned twice in the shipping and receiving interfaces will behave like the initial scan. The item will be added to the list, displaying data from the initial receive/ship, but no action is taken. This is to prevent mistakes when an item for shipping/receiving is scanned twice.
For more information about receiving and returning items in the receive and shipping interfaces, see Receiving and Shipping.
A self-check or API loan is blocked without an override option.
Multiple Items for a Single Request
It is now possible to receive and return more than one item for a single borrowing request. The receive or return operation is considered complete when all items are scanned in, though a partial receive may also be done. A manual receive can be performed from the row action in the borrowing task list and from the Receiving Items interface. A manual return can be done from Return Items, the Manage Patron Services > Returns tab, and Scan In Items.
Lender shipping of multiple items will be supported in future releases.
For detailed information, see Receiving or Shipping Multiple Items for a Single Request.