Teen Volunteers Have Special Handling

We currently have just a handful of teen volunteers.  For these teens, they are no longer in the FVOL status within Horizon but instead there is a message in their account that reads “Teen Volunteer.  Please waive fines manually (don't use fvol for teens)”  Please do exactly as the note indicates and waive fines but not lost material or processing fees.  On that note, it’s okay to waive fines that were accrued previously.

For future teen volunteers, please use this wording as a note in Horizon. 

Return Slip Doesn't Look Right

Once your branch has CircIT self check a few things change in terms of procedure.  If you're checking-in an item and the return slip comes up looking "wrong" (see example), this is a reminder you need to use Horizon to check in the item - not CircIT.

Things wrong in this example: library name isn't spelled out, barcode doesn't match book and no county listed for other jurisdictions. This is not the System standard for routing slips.

The CircIT client (installed on customer CKO stations) should only be used for check-in when the customer requests a receipt. Then the item needs to be checked in again in Horizon from the workroom. This will give you the correct routing slip.

Can't Pay Fines Online with Lost Library Card Barcode

If a customer tries to log into SmartPay with a lost library card, they will get the message: User type is blocked...(and their btype). It does not specifically state the card is lost. But SmartPay does not allow them any further access. 

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.