Re: self-check out from OPAC?

Posted by pedroparkero on Aug 27, 2011; 12:54am
URL: http://ngl.70.s1.nabble.com/self-check-out-from-OPAC-tp6723761p6730966.html

Good points. My take on this is that if the patron doesn't verify his check out, then it will cancel automatically by the end of the day or after a certain amount of time (say after one hour). Should another student wish to borrow the book that is pending verification and it is in his hands already, the librarian still has the power to cancel the prior check out transaction of the previous student. Because remember, a patron should only self-check out an item if it is already in his hands (so he knows the exact accession number). You can setup this guideline and require students to already self-check out books on their own so that it will lessen the work of the librarian.
But this is different from the "reserve the available book" that is my second suggestion. If someone reserves the available book thru OPAC, then the reservation will be until that library day ends (he should get it after 4pm or just before the library closes). Other patrons cannot check it out (unless it's for a quick 1 hour loan for class use or before 4pm). And to be fair for others, those who did not get their reserve books that day will be marked 'delinquent'. Optionally, we can also charge a fee for this kind of reservation.