Phone types and SMS messaging

SMS Text / Notices Reference Guide 

Which boxes should be checked for patrons to get which messages??

The box you check in the Notices By part of the address section of registration works together with the code type you assign to the phone number.  The right choices have to be made for the correct notice to be sent...or not sent.

If the patron wants SMS notices, your only phone options are the 2 mobile types.  To get SMS notices, the type of SMS notices boxes have to be checked.

But the above SMS in yellow has some issues. Please read the IMPORTANT NOTE at the end of this reference sheet.

Here is an explanation of what the different phone code types will produce:

h             Will get phone notice. If phone notice fails, they will get either email or print notice, depending on what is selected in the patron record. SMS is not an option (even if home number is a cell-mobile options MUST be used if SMS is desired)

h-no      Will get either email or print notice, depending on which option is selected in the address section. SMS is not an option (even if home number is a cell-mobile options MUST be used if SMS is desired)

m            Will get phone notice, unless SMS is selected. In that case only SMS notices will be sent. If phone notice fails, they will get either email or print notice, depending on what is selected in  the address section.  If patron wants text messages, choose this and make sure the types of SMS message boxes are checked. 

m-no     Will get either email or print notice, depending on what is selected in the address section, unless SMS is selected; in that case, only SMS notices will be sent. If patron ONLY wants text message with no other type of message if the text message is unsuccessfully sent, choose this and make sure the types of SMS message boxes are checked.

 

o             Will get phone notice. If phone notice fails, they will get either email or print notice, depending on what is selected in the patron record. SMS is not an option. 

o-no      Will get either email or print notice, depending on what is selected in the address section. SMS is not an option.

IF they only want email, then choose email, not standard.  Choose the appropriate “-no” phone, and do NOT check any of the SMS boxes.

If any SMS box is checked (they want a text message), a mobile phone has to be used. No other message type will be used as a backup if the SMS message fails.

3/1/22 -dh

IMPORTANT NOTE:

SJVLS notes a glitch in programming with SMS notices:

“In the case of SMS Hold Notices, if in the patron record “SMS Holds” is checked, then that is the only message they will get. Because of the current SMS settings by the vendor, SMS Overdue Notices will not count as a notice sent, so they will also receive a phone/email/print notice, depending on their settings for these.”

I interpret this as: if both hold and overdue boxes are checked, only the hold notice will be sent SMS.  The overdue will be sent by the other setting (email or standard).

If just OVERDUE is selected for SMS, then it will only go by text.

The glitch happens when both hold and overdue boxes are checked.

What is the easiest way to handle this discrepancy?

A straightforward way to not confuse customers is to simply ask the patron, “Would you like a text message when your hold is here?,”  and just let the standard selected notice handle the overdue issue. 

Other tips / Options:

• Encourage the customer to choose email notifications to lessen calls.
• Directly discuss which text a customer desires to have be priority, if they ask to have both.
• Let them know the limitations, if they ask.
• If we just select Overdue in SMS, that is the text they will get.
• For the sake of easier training, if a customer has an email address and doesn’t want calls or texts,  I usually just select m-no without checking any SMS boxes.
• If the customer absolutely loves calls, doesn't want texts and refuses to provide an email, “h” is the best bet.
• Note: SMS General has nothing to do with holds or overdues.  We don’t currently use this option.

3/1/22 – MH

Proper Use of Address Correction Request Block

The Address Correction Request block should only be used when the customer's address is incorrect and needs to be updated. 

Do NOT use the 'acr' block for any other reason. 

Why? Because this block stops any future printed or email notices from being generated for that customer for holds, overdues and lost items. Any unreturned items will go into Lost status 60 days after they were due and the customer’s account will be charged accordingly. But they won't ever get a notice telling them that. 

If the customer has phone notices, they will still receive notices for holds and overdue items. But if those overdue items go to lost, they will not receive the final overdue or lost notices because those are always sent by US Mail regardless of the customer's notice setting.

Phone Notice Customer Is Mailed a Notice

Scenario: your customer's account is set to receive their notices by phone. So why did receive a notice in the mail?

Reason 1: The automated telephone messaging service (TM3) calls the customer to deliver the hold or overdue notice. If it is unsuccessful after 3 tries (no answer, line disconnected, fax machine, not ringing, etc.), that notice will be printed and mailed via USPS the next business day. Look at the notification block on the customer's account to see whether it was complete or incomplete.

What can you do? Verify the customer's phone number. Do they have an answering machine? There are a few types of answering machines that do not work with TM3.  TM3 only recognizes these area codes. Do they have an alternate number? Would they like to try email notification instead?

Complete - the notice was delivered by phone

Phone Notice Incomplete - TM3 could not deliver the notice so it will be mailed the next business day.

Reason 2: Final overdue notices (we've told you before, but you'll be charged if you don't return the item) and lost notices (the item is now lost and you owe this much) are always printed and mailed - regardless of what notice type the customer has selected. Click here to see how much time elapses between the first overdue and lost notice.

Troubleshooting Problems w/ Email Notices for Gmail Accounts

If a customer with a gmail account is set up for email notices, but is not receiving them even though their email address is correct, here's some troubleshooting steps you can take:

1. Have the customer create a filter in their Gmail account. Go to Settings > Filters > create a new filter with Subject “Library Notice” with the following options check marked. 
2. Working with your customer, place a test/fake hold on their account
3. Check it into the hold shelf.
4. Did they receive an email notice for the test hold the following day after 11 a.m.?
5. If they still don't receive the email, contact Tech Support for more troubleshooting tips. 

Hyperlinks on Email Notices

A customer recently asked, "Why isn't there a link to the overdue title on my email notice?" Here's why. 

1. Overdue notices are generated within the Horizon program itself and their configuration is not very flexible.
2. There's a very limited amount of space to add the lengthy link to ValleyCat. 
3. They could look at the list of titles they have out, but could not renew any that are overdue. 

You might ask, "Why then do Preoverdue Notices contain a link to the general "My Account" page?" Here's why: 

1. They are generated by a third party program that's a bit more flexible than Horizon.
2. The link to "My Account" is much shorter. 
3. Since the item is not yet overdue, the customer can still renew their item(s).

It would be great if we could configure email notices to be more user friendly, but that's not possible with our current system. But at least now you know the reasons.  

Processing Mail Returned Notices

Printed notices are sometimes returned to the library because of an incorrect address.

If the returned mail includes a new address:

• Update the customer's account as appropriate.

If the returned mail does not include a new address:

• Place the ACR: Address Correction Request block on the account. This stops any future printed or email notices from being generated. Any unreturned items will go into Lost status 60 days after they were due and the customer’s account will be charged accordingly.

Note: Do not replace the address with any other information or copy the old address to the Notes/Comments field.

Do not change the BType to FMR (Fresno Mail Returned). The use of the FMR BType has been discontinued effective October 2010.

Email Notices and SPAM Blockers

If the customer's email account has the spam blocker turned on, it may block email notices coming from the library. Their email service may be rerouting the notices to their "junk/bulk" mail folder or blocking them altogether. Either way, the customer should adjust thier spam or junk mail settings so that email from the following email addresses is allowed through to their inbox:

• frbounce@fresnolibrary.org (sends out holds and overdue email notices)

In some cases, they may need to turn down/off their spam blocker to allow one of our notices to come through. Then they turn it up/on again once the frbounce and/or noreplysjvls address is allowed through as a valid sender. As staff, you can work with the customer to place some sort of test hold to generate an email notice, have them adjust their spam blocker and the next day (after 11 a.m.) see if the email notice gets through. In most cases, this type of adjustment will fix the problem.

Time Elapsed From Overdue to Lost Status

Overdue notices are sent every 15 days following the date the Overdue Still Out block is set on the borrower’s record. There are 60 days between the Overdue Still Out block and when the item status is automatically set to Lost status. The same schedule applies for print, phone and email notices. Here’s an example of the progression for an item with a three-week circulation time that has not been returned:

• Item checked out........................March 1
• Overdue Still block placed...........March 23
• First Overdue Notice....................April 7 (sent by print, phone or email depending on preference in Borrower's record)
• Final Overdue Notice...................April 22 (sent by print to all borrowers)
• Lost Notice...............................May 22 (sent by print to all borrowers 60 days after item overdue)

We used to send out additional notices between the first and final overdue notice. However, these reminders were shown to have little effect on customers' returning overdue their items. Therefore they were eliminated and we saved the cost of producing and mailing those notices.

Revised 9/15/2010
Reviewed 1/2018

Email Notices

Borrowers have the option to receive all of their notices by email – that includes holds, overdue and billing notices, as well as an option for preoverdue reminder notices. (See other posts related to preoverdue notices. ) They can sign up for the service in person at any branch or via http://www.fresnolibrary.org/email.html. Requests made via the webpage will be handled by Support Services.

How do I activate email notices on a patron’s account?

• In the borrower's account, for Notice by: Select Email
• E-Mail Name: enter borrower’s name as it appears in the name field above. This information will appear in the To: field of the email. 
• E-Mail Address: Enter patron’s email address. It is important to be very accurate. One typo will cause the notice to fail. Case does not matter, although most people enter it in all lower case letters for easier readability.
• Preoverdue: Check this box if patron wants to receive a reminder notice 3 days before an item is due. They can opt out of this option if they choose and still receive all the other notices by email.
• Phone: Make sure all phone numbers are set to 'No Telephone Notices'
• Save

How do I stop or deactivate email notices on a patron’s account?

• Notice by: Select Stnd
• E-Mail Name: delete name
• E-Mail Address: delete email address
• Preoverdue: uncheck box
• Phone: If the patron wants to receive their notices by phone, set one of their phone numbers to 'Home' or one of the 'With Telephone Notices' options. If they want to receive notices by U.S. Mail, leave the phone set to 'No Telephone Notices' option.
• Save

What if a borrower’s email changes? Staff can change their email in Horizon, but borrowers can also update their own e-mail address directly from the "My Account / Profile" page in ValleyCat as follows:

• Go to fresnolibrary.org – Catalog – My Account
• Enter their library barcode and PIN
• Click the Review Address/PIN tab
• Email Information – type in new email address
• Click Update. It is immediately updated in Horizon.

What if the email address is incorrect? Notices sent to a bad email address are returned to a Support Services mailbox. The undeliverable email notice will be printed and sent via U.S. mail to the borrower. Their account will be reset to standard mail delivery so they will receive future notices by U.S. mail. A Message to Borrower block will be placed on their account to “Update Email Address and Reactivate Email Notices”.

Horizon still shows “Hold Notification – Mail” block for email notices. The hold notification block on the borrower’s account in Horizon will show “Hold Notification – Mail” even if they receive email notices. The Horizon block message does not differentiate between U.S. Mail and Email. The only way to tell if they have email notices activated is to look at their registration record.

Can borrowers receive notices by more than one method (i.e. email and phone)? No – they have to select one method of delivery – phone, email OR standard mail.

Can borrowers receive email notices in Spanish? No, they are only available in English.

rev. 1/2018

Preoverdue Notices Option

Since 2005, our patrons have had the option to receive library notices (holds, overdue, lost) by email. (See On The Horizon 2.5) We’ve recently added several new email notice options as described below.

Horizon Option for Preoverdue NoticesEvery patron who signs up for email notices, also has the option to receive “preoverdue” notices. A preoverdue notice is generated 3 days before an item is due to remind the patron to renew/return it. The email includes the following message/link along with the title(s) affected:

“Courtesy reminder - The following items are due soon. To renew items go to http://hip1.sjvls.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?profile=fhq&menu=account or contact the library. Please do not reply to this email. The mailbox is unattended.”

In order to receive these reminder notices:

1. The patron must sign up to receive Horizon email notices and
2. The Preoverdue option must be checked.

Can a patron receive Horizon preoverdue notices if they get notices by regular mail or phone? No, they must be signed up for email notices. Patrons can sign up in person or online at http://www.fresnolibrary.org/email.html.

Do they have to receive preoverdue notices in order to receive other notices by email? No, they can opt out of the reminder notices, but still receive all other email notices. Note: existing patrons signed up for email notices who used their card in 2008, have been automatically signed up to receive preoverdue notices.

rev. 1/2018