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.

Searching for ILLs in Horizon

Effective April 12, 2010, all interlibrary loans (ILL) that are filled will utilize Horizon’s patron request and notification system to make the process easier for patrons and staff. You can search for an ILL using the following methods:

Customer's Request List

• The ILL will appear on the patron’s request list as soon as a copy has been located at another library. It can be viewed by staff from Horizon or by the patron through My Account access in ValleyCat. The date of the request is the date the item was requested from the owning library - not the date the patron completed their original ILL request form.

Horizon Search

• All ILL titles begin with “I L L/” followed by the title as one long word (i.e. I L L/10MinuteToughness).
• Seach by Title Browse: enter I L L/ to browse the list of all ILL titles in Horizon. If you know the title of the ILL, enter I L L/ followed by the title as a single word. For example, to find the ILL titled 10 Minute Toughness, do a Title Browse search for "I L L/10minute".
• The requested item is first given a barcode beginning with FILL followed by the OCLC request number (i.e. FILL61289480). This tells you it has been requested and we are waiting for the item to arrive. When the item actually arrives, it is given a standard item barcode.
• Search by barcode: To locate all of the ILLs that have been requested, but have not yet arrived, enter FILL********. After the item arrives, the ILL is given a standard item barcode.

ValleyCat Search

• ILL items will be difficult for customers to find in ValleyCat because both the bib record and the item record have been marked “staff only”. Customer cannot find ILL titles using any keyword search option. They might discover ILL titles by using Title Browse and enter ILL. If they do happen to discover an ILL title, there's a note included in the record that says: "This title is not available for general circulation". They could still place a request on the item. However, if this happens, staff should ignore any holds on the ILL to anyone else besides the original customer. The ILL should always be returned to Central Circulation's ILL Department when it's returned.

Interlibrary Loan Hold Notification via Horizon

Effective April 12, 2010, all interlibrary loans (ILL) that are filled will utilize Horizon’s patron request and notification system to make the process easier for patrons and staff.

New ILL Notification Procedure

• As soon as ILL staff finds a library willing to fill the ILL, the title is entered into Horizon and a hold is placed on the customer’s account.
• All ILL titles begin with “I L L/” followed by the title as one long word(i.e. I L L/10MinuteToughness).
• The requested item is given a barcode beginning with FILL followed by the OCLC request number (i.e. FILL61289480). This tells you it has been requested and we are waiting for the item to arrive.
• When the item is received at Central Circ, the FILL barcode will be replaced with a standard barcode. The item will be checked in through Horizon and the normal routing procedure for holds will begin. All ILLs are processed using the same wrapper format as before.
• When the ILL arrives at the branch, check it in via Horizon. A hold shelf slip is printed and a hold notification is sent to the customer using the method specified in their account. Store the ILL behind the behind the desk for pickup. Note: It is recommended that ILL customers have their notification set to email or phone so they are notified in a timely manner.
• When the customer picks up the ILL, check it out to them with the stated due date. Self check will block check out of these items. They cannot be renewed.
• When the item is returned, check it in. A return routing slip to FRSN is printed. If someone else has placed a hold on the item, ignore the request and return the ILL to FRSN.
• When Central Circ receives the returned ILL, they will delete the item record. The bib record will disappear automatically within one month.

Other Things to Remember

• If we cannot fill the ILL (not available at all or no library will lend it), ILL staff will put a “message to the borrower” on the customer’s account that includes the title of the ILL and the reason it cannot be filled.
• An ILL request will now count towards the maximum of 30 requests allowed per borrower in Horizon. They are limited to maximum of 5 ILL requests per month.
• The FIL Itype will allow holds. No renewals are allowed.
• Never place a hold on an ILL title via Horizon or ValleyCat. If another patron wants that item, a completely new ILL request should be initiated.
• It will be difficult for customers to discover ILL titles in ValleyCat, however it's not impossible. They could place a request on an ILL title. Just remember, the ILL should always be routed to FRSN when it is returned by the original customer. It should never be placed in the shipment to fill another hold at another location.
• If the ILL appears on the expired holds list, ignore it. It will be easy to spot since the title will begin with “I L L”. Follow your usual procedure for holding these items.
• ILLs will still have the white wrapper and should still be placed on the top of crates in the shipment so they are easy to spot for check in.

Fines and Processing Fees on Returned Lost Materials

The Library's policy is to charge a processing fee for lost materials to recover the staff time it takes to replace the item. As of July 2017, this fee is set at $7.00 per item.

If an item's status changes to Lost, a series of related blocks will eventually appear on the account:

1. Lost Block - Cost of the item
When a Lost item is returned, the Lost Block is automatically resolved and the cost of the item is removed from the borrower's account.

2. Lost Processing Fee Block - $7.00
The Lost Processing Fee is not removed automatically. Staff must waive the fee manually. The borrower would then only owe the maximum overdue fine.

3. Fine Block - This block only appears on the account when the Lost item is returned. It will be set to the maximum amount allowed depending on itype/jursidiction. FCPL's maximum overdue fine as of July 2018 is $4.00 per item. Other jurisdictions' items can have a maximum overdue charge ranging from $2.50 up to the cost of the item. Local policy prevails for collecting overdue fines. Fresno staff may adjust the maximum fine to $4.00 at their discretion. If the Fine Block does not appear, waive the Lost Processing Fee down to $4.

There are several exceptions to the above:

> Kern County does not charge a Lost Processing Fee. Therefore, if a Kern County item is lost and returned, no Lost Processing Fee Block will be on the account - and so there's nothing to waive.

> The Fine Block will not appear on the account when a lost item is returned in some cases.
1) After 12 months, Lost status items will change to Missing status. If a missing item is returned, the item no longer contains the original due date, so it cannot calculate the fine (or)
2) The item was manually set to Lost status by staff and then returned prior to the due date (or)

3) The account is exempt from fines (FST - Staff, FVOL - Volunteers and FHB - Home Service). (Note: these account types will eventually be charged for the Lost item including the Lost Processing Fee, but the Fine Block will never appear on their account if the item is returned.)

*See the other Lost Processing Fee post to understand how the Lost Processing Fee is calculated.


rev. August 2017