For customers who don't use or have access to an ILS (integrated library system), collections can be configured to mimic a service for searching and checking out resources.
Through this borrowing option, authenticated (or logged in users) to the Stacks site will have the ability to search these collection times, with options available to filter list items by those which are available or those that have been checked out.
From a library management standpoint, admins can check these items in and out on behalf of the user requesting the item, as well as run reports to view a list of all currently checked out items.
For more information on creating and importing collection content, see the articles Creating Collections and Importing Collection Items.
Enabling and Configuring Borrowing
To enable this feature for a collection:
- From the Dashboard, click Collections
- Find the collection by
- Browsing the list; OR
- Search the Collection by name
- Once found, under the Operations column, click the drop-down arrow, then click List Collection Items
- Click the Settings tab near the top of the screen
- Click the Listing View sub-tab, scroll down to the Loan System section
- Click Enable Loan System <collection name> to enable this feature for the selected collection
- Under Default Loan Length, specify the default time period for how long an item can be loaned for
- Enter the appropriate numerical value, then select the most appropriate Days, Weeks, or Months option from the drop-down list
- Note, this can still be overridden when an item is being checked out
- Scroll to the Field Visibility
- Scroll to the Loan Status and Loan Due Date fields and check or uncheck the box to show or hide these fields from end users when viewing items
- Click the Detail View sub-tab near the top of the page
- Scroll to the Field Visibility section
- Scroll to the Loan Status and Loan Due Date field and check or uncheck the box to show or hide these fields from end users when viewing the item
Checking Items In/Out
Patrons
When viewing items, patrons can click on the item to see additional details associated with the item, for items that have already been checked out, patrons will be able to see this status and when the item is expected to be returned. For items that are available, users will see a note indicating they need to see a library admin for assistance.
Admins
When viewing collection items, logged in Admins will see action buttons on the right to either check out available items, or return checked out items. Checked out items will also have a note indicating who checked the item out and its expected return date.
To Checkout Items
- Admins can search the collection item or browse for the item from the collections page
- Once found, click the item to open the details view
- Click the Checkout Item button
- In the window that opens
- Select the Due Date
- By default this will be set to 2 weeks from the current date, however this setting is configurable when enabling this feature, and can also be overridden when checking an item out
- In the User loaned to field, search for and select the name of the user who is requesting the item
- Select the Due Date
- Click Checkout
To Return Checked Out Items
- Admins can search the collection item or browse for the item from the collections page
- Once found, click the item to open the details view
- Click the Return Item button
- In the window that opens select the Return Date, then click Return
Exporting a Loan Report
To export a loan report:
- From the Dashboard, click Collections
- Find the collection by
- Browsing the list; OR
- Search the Collection by name
- Once found, under the Operations column, click the drop-down arrow, then click List Collection Items
- Click + Export loan report
- Note, this button will only appear for collections where the loan system has been enabled, as described above in the Enabling and Configuring Borrowing section
- Once clicked, a .csv file will download
- This file will list all currently checked out items, data included in the file
- Title, User, Due Date, and whether the item is Overdue
- This file will list all currently checked out items, data included in the file