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Step 1: Setting up Holds policies for patrons
Step 1: Setting up Holds policies for patrons
At the site level, go to Back Office - Admin - Library Policies and stay on Patron Types.
For each Patron Type, check how many holds they can place at the same time. If you want to change that number, click the pencil icon to edit.
You can also change how long the book will stay available for the patron once it's ready, how long the hold will stay pending while the book is checked out to someone else, and the priority level of the hold.
Step 2: Setting up Holds access for Patrons
Step 2: Setting up Holds access for Patrons
At the site level, go to Back Office - Admin - Access Levels.
For each access level you want to set up, click on the pencil icon on the right hand side of the screen. Then click the Patrons tab on the right hand side of the screen.
Under the Self-Empowered Patron Access section, review and check the boxes that are appropriate for your community.
There are several options in this section, but the ones that are important for holds are in the red rectangles.
You will definitely need to select "Place hold for self from Catalog (Library)". The other options are optional!
-If you have given permission in step 1, Library Policies - Patron Types, for patrons to place 2 or more holds, then select "Place multiple holds for self".
-If you want patrons to be able to delete their holds and reserves by themselves, select that option.
Note #1: holds and reserves can be deleted only if they are still "pending", i.e., if the item is checked out. If the item is available, then the hold is marked "Available", and only a library staff can delete it for the patron.
Note #2: holds are for items to be put aside for the patron as soon as they are available; reserves are for items to be put aside at a certain date - a good feature for teachers to reserve certain items for their future units and lessons.
-"Place reserves for self" can be a good feature for teachers, as discussed above.
-"Place holds on available copies" is a feature often toggled off during regular school years; but something you probably want 'on' during remote learning or hybrid learning, so that students can place holds on all items.
-"Place ILL for self" allows students to put holds on items that are at different sites in your district.
Note: you will need to allow students to see items from other sites during their search. Click on the Library Materials tab on the right hand side, and check the boxes highlighted in red, as seen here:
Step 3: Setting up Patrons' access to Destiny
Step 3: Setting up Patrons' access to Destiny
You need to give patrons access to their own account in Destiny, so they can search the catalog and place holds.
There are several ways to do this:
Method #1: Allow patrons to create their own login and password.
Go back to Access Levels, edit each access level one by one, going to the Patrons tab. Check the box for "Able to create own login and modify password".
You will need to give patrons their barcode number.
It can be found individually under Admin - Manage Patrons and by searching for the patron.
It can also be exported into Excel for a select group of patrons - whether all of your patrons, a certain grade level, a specific homeroom, etc. by going to Reports - Patron Reports - Patron ID Cards.
Select the group of patrons (leave as is if you want the barcode numbers for all your patrons).
Check the box for "Barcode number"
Check the option for "Excel" , and Run the report.
From the Excel spreadsheet, you can either cut rows to give to students during a curbside pickup event, or use a mail merge to email patrons their barcode ID.
Note: Using a barcode ID that is easy to remember (their District ID, used for cafeteria or located on their grade report card, for example; or a combo of their first and last names; etc) would make this process a lot easier.
Patrons will need to create their account using Destiny Back Office (aka Destiny Classic), by clicking the "Create Account" button. It will guide them step-by-step through the account creation process. After this, they will use the "Log In" link, either on Destiny Back Office or Destiny Discover, to log into their account.
Method #2: Single Sign On
If your school uses a learning platform with LTI, or if your school uses Google for Education, it can be linked to Destiny, allowing patrons to use their credentials for that platform to log into Destiny.
Note #1: You will need access to the District level to set this up.
Log into Destiny Back Office with a district access level. Click on the pencil icon for the top site:
Scroll down until you find the SSO Configuration button, and click on it.
Depending on your platform (LTI or Google), follow the steps outlined here.
When the configuration is saved, patrons who click on the Log In link will see a "Log in using your account with" button, and they will use their regular credentials to log in.
Method #3: Creating patrons' usernames and passwords for them
If your school does not have Gmail or another platform with LTI, but you do not want to allow patrons to create their own login, you can generate their username and password for them.
You can create those one by one at the Site level, in Admin - Manage Patrons and going into each patron record individually. You can also use the Patron Import Converter to input them in Destiny as a batch.
Step 4: Teach and promote your policies to your patrons
Step 4: Teach and promote your policies to your patrons
-Create videos, flyers, bookmarks, etc. to teach your patrons how to access and log into Destiny.
-Show them how to search for items, and use the "Hold" button.
-If you gave them permission to "View their own status" and "Renew their library materials" (see first screenshot under Step 2), show them the My Info tab (in Destiny Classic) or the menu accessed by the 3 horizontal lines icon (in Destiny Discover).
Step 5: Seeing holds and processing them
Step 5: Seeing holds and processing them
When holds are placed, you will see a flag appear in the banner at the top of your screen:
Click the Flag to see what needs to be processed:
#1: Local Requests: these are requests from patrons at that site, for materials at that site.
"Local Materials to be Pulled": these are items that should be available on your shelves right now.
"Local Materials Ready for Patron": these items are waiting to be picked up by the patron.
"Local Materials Expired": these items were not picked up by the patron in the time you set up in Step 1. If someone else was on hold for those items, the hold now defaulted to them.
"Local Materials Pending": these items are not available right now; students are waiting for them to be ready for them. The wait time was set up in Step 1.
#2: ILL Requests: those are requests, either from patrons at that site for items from other sites, or from patrons from other sites for items at that site.
"To be filled by (your site)": these items are requests by patrons at other sites.
"To be filled by other sites": these items are requested by your patrons, but need to be sent from other sites.
Step 6: Alerting your patrons that their holds are ready
Step 6: Alerting your patrons that their holds are ready
Go to Reports - Library Reports and look at the Holds section:
-Holds is another way to see the list of holds (same as in Step 5)
-InterLibrary Loans is another way to see the list of ILL requests (same as in Step 5)
We will focus on Hold Notices, which allow you to print or email, hold notices.
You can print the notices in order to keep books in order for patrons, as you pull the books, and/or as they wait to be picked up.
You can click the "via email" button under 'Distributed' to send an email to your patrons (and/or their grown-ups, in students' case), by selecting which email field(s) to send the notice to.
The email feature requires two things:
1- that email addresses are included in the Patrons' records.
This can be done individually, record by record, or can be downloaded from your school's or district's Student Information System, and uploaded to Destiny. Look into how to use the Patron Import Converter for this process.
2- that the SMTP Settings are set up at the District level.
You will need District level access. Click the District Options tab, and then scroll down to click "Edit" next to 'SMTP Settings'.
The fields in black will be school-specific. Contact your IT for details.
The bottom two fields are also school-specific, but here are examples. The library email address was set up by our IT for this exact purpose.
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