Problem
One of our branches will be closing for a brief period and we would like advice on re-routing holds.
Solution
There are a number of considerations in holds routing, and related areas, when closing a branch temporarily. Your library may choose whether to implement each of these depending on the length and nature of the closure.
Dates closed:
Always be sure to enter any closed period into the Dates Closed table for the branch. This is found in Administration Explorer at the branch level under Policy Tables. This will ensure that the closed days are taken into account in due date and fine calculation. This will take effect with any circ transactions that take place after the dates are entered.
Holds:
If you wish for other branches' requests not to go Pending for items at your library during the closure, and instead skip to the next branch in the routing sequence, open the Holds Routing Sequences Primary (and, if applicable, Secondary) Policy Table at the System Level and change the Days at Branch setting to "0" for your branch anywhere it appears as a Responder.
You can exclude the branch as a choice for pickup when placing holds from the Staff Client or from the PAC. This can be done in System Administration in Parameters-->Request-->Holds Options under the Pickup Tab. Select the box next to each branch you wish to exclude as a pickup location in the PAC; select the box at the bottom of the window to exclude these branches from the pickup drop-down menu in the Staff Client.
You can also extend the number of days items are held for pickup, to allow any holds already on the shelf more time before they are marked Unclaimed. This can be done in Holds Options, as above, under the Terms tab.
Other optional considerations
Suppress the branch's items in the PAC:
If your branch's collections will be inaccessible and you would like to remove them from PAC display, you may remove the branch from the Item Availability Display Order Policy Tables for each other branch. This can be found in System Administration under Policy Tables for each branch. If patrons access your PAC at the System level, the branch will need to be removed for the system as well.
Suppress the branch as a connection branch in the PAC:
This will remove the branch from the connection branches ("Switch to another branch"), as well as the Search Options and Advanced Search scoping branch lists. See System Administrator--> System--> Profiles-->PAC-->Suppress Branches. (This can only be done at the System level.)
Free days:
If due dates fall on the days the branch is closed (for example, this may happen if the items were checked out before the dates closed were added), you may consider using free days to check in items after the branch reopens. This is worth considering if your branch does not have a book drop and patrons cannot return materials. You can do this manually at the check-in screen - just enter the number of free days in the upper right box and hit Enter. Or you can set default free days at the branch level under Parameters-->Patron Services--> Free Days Normal and Free Days Bulk.
NOTE:
- Any SA changes affecting the PAC will require a PAC reload in WebAdmin to take effect. PAC changes also affect the MobilePAC.
- It is important to keep track of which changes were made so that they can be reversed when the branch reopens.
- Remember to stop the RTF processing by going into Parameters > Request > Hold Options - RTF tab - "Stop RTF Processing"