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Patron Initiated Requesting in WISCAT
by Charles
Clemence
After more
than 20 years of doing interlibrary loan I've seen many changes, good
and bad but mostly good. One thing that hasn't changed for many
libraries is the fact that ILL service is hard to access. It usually
involves determining that what you want isn't owned at your local
library, going to a library staff member, filling out a paper form, and
having that information entered into the ILL system by staff. That
works, but there is a better way. By allowing patrons to initiate their
own requests within the WISCAT system you are lowering barriers,
empowering your patrons, cutting down on staff busy work, and improving
your library service in a significant way.
The process
of patron requesting begins in the same place that staff requesting does
– at the WISCAT search screen. The patron searches the WISCAT databases
and finds what he/she wants. They then click the Request This Item
button, just as staff does. If the patron is logged in under their own
profile their contact information is filled in for them automatically.
If not they have to fill in the required fields. When they click
"Submit" the request goes to an Awaiting Approval status in the ILL
Admin section of WISCAT. Staff looks the request over and if it meets
the library's criteria it is approved and sent off to the first lender.
Allowing
your patrons this freedom is really just giving them another way to
submit requests. Instead of filling out a form they enter the request
online. You still have the same control you always did. But from the
patron's perspective, this is an easier way to get the information to
you. When they find what they want in WISCAT they don't have to copy it
down and bring it into the library or to a service desk. For young
people especially, who want to do everything electronically, this has an
obvious appeal.
If you
require your patrons to register as users in WISCAT and have them log in
under their own profile there are several other advantages. Patrons can
do such things as check the status of their own requests, set up
individual search preferences, check their search history, create
bibliographies, and change their password, all without interfering with
what others want to do. For staff, besides not having to enter
everything manually into WISCAT, you have a much better chance that
patron information you get is complete, accurate and legible. If you
have problem patrons you can set system imposed limits on the number of
active requests they have.
I know that
several WRLS libraries offer patron initiated requesting to at least a
limited group of people. For everyone, I urge you to make this an option
for all patrons. If you have a web page you can add a link to the login
screen there. If not there are ways to use the Splash Page feature of
WISCAT to provide an easy and user friendly entrance into the software.
There were some enhancements to the splash page in the last update and
more are scheduled for later this year that should make this feature
even more appealing.
This is just
a brief sketch of what's involved in offering this service, but I'd love
to give you more and help you set it up at your library. Please contact
me if interested.
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