Damaged Item form & process
- Ross Anastos
See Best Practices for Decision Pages and Tags for groups
Legend: not started IN PROGRESS STALLED decided
Status | IN PROGRESs |
|---|---|
Description | Creation of new process for reporting damaged items to lending institutions and preserving damaged item circulation history via Microsoft From & Power Automate. |
Decision summary |
|
Owning group | Fulfillment OST |
Approver | Fulfillment OST |
Consulted [TBD] | ILL CKG (CKG-ILL-L [@] listserv.ucop.edu); |
Informed | SILS All Chairs Groups; SILS-Cohort (SILS-Cohort-L@ucop.edu) |
Decision-making process | Fist of five; Fulfillment OST authored decision page, gathered & incorporated feedback from Resource Sharing OST & consulted groups. Result of F OST vote:
|
Priority | Medium |
Target decision date | TBD |
Date decided | [type // to add Date] You must add a date field for it to sort properly. It will not sort if you simply type the date. The date the Approver approves the decision. |
Executive Summary
We’re proposing using a Microsoft form [still in development] as a way to improve communication and retain data between UC campuses regarding damaged AFN items. This form will be sent between campuses when AFN items are found to have damage. This form will serve as a short term stop gap to facilitate communication until ExLibris institutes the ability for note fields or consortial notifications. This form also preserves patron circulation records on damaged items which is anonymized when an item is checked in.
Problem Statement
When AFN items are found to have damage, communication between campuses should be smooth and efficient. Until Alma allows for notes fields or consortial notifications, resorting on a 3rd party method for communication is the next best solution. This Microsoft form will allow front line desk staff or circulation managers to notify the lending institution of any damage found on borrowed items within the UC system. Further, when items are checked in, all loan record information is deleted as a part of each campus' anonymization process. This form helps preserve which patron had which item at the time damage was found before information about the loan is erased.
Recommendations
When an AFN item is found to be damaged, the borrowing campus staff will fill out the form.
Borrowing Campus: Staff will select the campus they’re a member of.
Patron Name: Fill out the patron’s name (or relevant information).
Item Title: Title of damaged item.
Barcode: Barcode for damaged item.
Extent of damage: Please describe the damage in as much detail as possible. We would like the ability to include a picture but Microsoft Forms don’t allow for image attachments unless the form isn’t shared outside of a single institution (the files are hosted through a OneDrive account and currently Microsoft doesn’t allow for cross-institution file sharing.
Lending Campus: Please select which campus the item is owned by. This action triggers a corresponding Microsoft Power Automate Flow and the form will be emailed to the appropriate campus listed in the Fulfillment Directory.
Your name, position title, relevant information: Borrowing campus staff will input their name and contact information.
Email: Borrowing campus staff will put their email and a copy of the form will also be sent to this address.
The damaged item will be sent back normally unless damage is extensive enough to spread to other books (water). In that case care should be used to avoid cross contamination by placing damaged item in a large Ziploc bag (or similar). The lending institution can also be contacted for recommendations.
Once the form is complete, the borrowing campus will print a copy of the completed form and include it with the damaged item being returned.
Example of letter sent to lending institution:
Example of copy letter sent to form submitter:
Impact
Stakeholder group | Impact |
|---|---|
Resource Sharing OST | Initial adjustments to process and form, ongoing monitoring of process. |
Fulfillment OST | Planning, investigation, adjustments to configuration, ongoing monitoring of process. |
SILS OT | Recommendations on where to host form & power automate flow? |
All UC Library Resource Sharing Staff | Preparation to receive form from other campuses. |
All UC Library Circulation Staff | Ability to complete form accurately and send to appropriate campus. |
SILS Operations Center at CDL | Recommendations on where to host form & power automate flow? |
Patrons | Must be aware that suspension of privileges due to damaged items may occur. Must work directly with lending campus to resolve library account blocks. |
Reasoning
There is no downside to more communication. Having a clear pathway amongst the consortia to share information about damaged items is critical. In the absence of the ability to effectively communicate within Alma, the Microsoft form is a suitable alternative solution. Furthermore, with the policy and practice of anonymizing patron circulation records when an item is checked in, this form will save the record of which patron is responsible for damage.
Background
The idea for a universally shared form came out of discussion for how each campus handles damaged AFN material. The form captures and preserves all relevant information and gets it to the correct people at the correct campus. The form acts as a reporting tool but still allows the owning institution to make the final decision. See “Meeting History” for more background information.
Dependencies
There will need to be a host (or owner) of the Microsoft Form and corresponding Power Automate Flow otherwise the form will not automatically route to the correct campus location.
If the flow isn’t run in a 90 day window then a 30 day clock begins where the flow will be turned off due to lack of use. The owner of the flow will have to log in and reactivate it.
Questions to consider
Who will “host” the Microsoft Form and corresponding Power Automate Flow?
Meeting History
Date | Notes |
|---|---|
| Original notes page: What is considered "damage" to an item
Notes UCR - sends damaged materials to preservation unit for assessment & mitigate any further damage (ex. dry liquids). Wouldn’t necessarily do that with an AFN item. Hopefully fulfillment notes exist for writing/underlining/highlighting. Water damage, bite marks, mold, etc - those aspects would warrant contacting the lending library. Same for pages separated from spine (but this could possibly be wear & tear). “If it were me, I would want to see the item.” Is the time spent reviewing damage “worth it”? How much time is being spent managing something that isn’t manageable.
UCB - issue with Alma, once the item is checked in it’s gone from the user record. Hoping that lending campus can put notes in the item record. What can/should we do if the item is returned without noticing damage and checked in. Should we put a note “it was returned with damage, we dont know who had it, etc”. Or contact lending campus without it being checked back in? Would probably ignore pen, etc. REAL damage/rebound/etc leave it on the user account and do not check it in -OR- check it in but capture the patron information for a follow up on billing. Check it in, capture all appropriate info and send a note back with the book. Standardize & generate a form for everyone to use: name, email, institution, barcode. UCB’s conservation department has a bunch of plastic bags used to prevent cross contamination. |
5/22/2023 | workflow would be to capture all patron information before checking in item. then fill out form, return like normal. work on draft of the form. form acts as a report, but the responsibility still lies with the owning institution to make final decision. investigate bags. preservation bags? work with owning institution on level of damage, do they even want it back? heavy water damage? form could prompt for that info? Action(s) Carry topic on to next meeting to continue discussion. Generate a form for each of us to use: patron name, email, institution, barcode (or request ID?)? Perhaps a photo of an item (ex. if an item is so waterlogged you can send a photo to see if they even want it back - don’t want to be spreading around mold or other damage). (see below) Could the form automatically send an email to a selected campus & print a copy? Don’t want to lose a printed copy in transit. Library supply plastic bags? Support for plastic bags to help denote that an item is being returned with damage; can be sent directly to the preservation dept for analysis. |
8/14/2023 | UCB decided they’re not going to deal with what’s considered normal use/wear & tear. only really obviously damaged.
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10/9/2023 | briefly went over demo form + microsoft Power Automate process to email specific campuses. Ross will work with Mark to find a time to do some testing, then present to the group for feedback/edits. Then we can implement. |
10/17/2023 | Completed successful demo with Mark to my email address as “UC Merced”. Everything went well. Does each campus need to configure their own form or process? No. It exists (currently) on Ross' account and will stay active as long he’s staff. What happens if Ross leaves the UC or switches departments? We’ll need to discuss longevity. Perhaps exporting the form + Power Automate flow into GitHub (or similar) for preservation. -option: give to CDL to preserve and/or manage?
Edits/To-Do/Next steps:
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10/23/2024 | Reviewed process for what we tested. Create a subgroup between F & RS who can test and wordsmith before finalization.
Action items
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2/26/24 | Ross has been busy and hasn’t had time to get ba ck into this. Push pause for 1-2 meetings. |
4/22/24 | emailed copy of form and screenshots of flow to F OST for feedback and comments. Discussed at 5/6/24 meeting. Feedback: add photo upload option & send a copy of form of submitter. to do:
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5/16/2024 | Generated decision page. |
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