Item Status Resolution (Jointly passed by the RiverShare Circulation and Technical Services Committees March 2014)
In order to facilitate removal of Bibliographic and Item records from the database to eliminate searches that result in no items owned and to reduce maintenance costs while retaining records long enough to record needed statistics, the above committees propose that every RiverShare library be required to Withdraw and Delete Once items weeded from their collection.
In addition, we would like to require that each RiverShare library search for and resolve items in the following statuses at least quarterly: In-transit (items that seem to have been in-transit for too long), Transferred for a Hold (and never arrived), Missing, Claim Returned, Claim Never Had, Lost (including lost items that have been paid for by a patron), In-Repair, In-Process, Unavailable and On-Order.
By requiring this of libraries, RiverShare will take a big step in ensuring a clean database and in providing excellent customer service to patrons waiting for or being charged for items from various libraries.
The above committees understand that each RiverShare library may not use all of these statuses and may have slightly different policies and procedures for resolving items that have become stuck in one of the above statuses. Therefore, beyond the above requirements, we are prepared to provide examples of procedures and recommendations of workflow to RiverShare libraries which do not already have a documented process.
Music CD Resolution (Passed by the TSC May 2016)
Due to patron confusion at multiple libraries, the following resolution was passed in May 2016 by the RiverShare Technical Services Committee.
RDA practice is to put the author/composer in the 100 field as opposed to the performer. One example is 1989, which is performed by Ryan Adams, but Taylor Swift's name is in the 100 field since she composed all the songs. Other Music CDs might have nothing in the 100 field because many individuals composed the songs. The performer is put in a 700 field.
Going forward, RiverShare libraries agree to put the main performer of the work in the 100 field (either adding it if there was no 100 field or flipping it with the 700 field). These changes would not be uploaded to OCLC but only loaded into the RiverShare catalog. If anyone wishes something to be changed retroactively, they should email the cleanup list (riversharedsc@gaggle.email).
Purge recommendation (Passed by the TSC October 12 2017, approved by AOW in same fiscal year)
Annually, the Database Subcommittee members of the Technical Services committee perform purges to remove bibliographic and item records from the database to eliminate searches that result in no items owned and to reduce maintenance costs while still retaining those records long enough to obtain the necessary statistics. The Technical Services Committee recommends that we retain one full year (July-June) of data when the purge is completed each year.
For example, a purge performed in August 2018 would purge all items set to “Withdrawn” or deleted once prior to 1 July 2017. Accurate circulation statistics for one full JUL-JUN fiscal year would still be available. Formerly, we provided two full fiscal years.
We continue to recommend that libraries run circulation and other reports and statistics on a monthly basis to ensure the most accurate results.