Docs reorg: adding a circulation manual

[Evergreen.git] / docs / circulation / offline_mode.adoc

Offline Transactions
====================

Introduction
------------

Evergreen's 'Standalone Interface' / 'Offline Interface' is designed to log
transactions during network outage, which can be uploaded and processed once
network operations are restored.

The terms 'Offline Interface' and 'Standalone Interface' mean the same thing:
a separate program to handle simple circulation tasks while the network is
down.

To access the *Offline Interface*, navigate to the *Staff Client login screen*
and click *Standalone Interface*. The *Evergreen Standalone Interface* window
opens.

Patron Registration
-------------------
Patron registration on the 'Evergreen Offline Interface' records the minimum
patron information necessary to register a new patron.

All of the fields, except for Line 2 of Billing Address, on the *Patron
Registration* screen are required. If your library does not record information
for any field, you need to work out a standard fake value for it, for example,
`1900-01-01` for *Date of Birth*.

The account password is automatically generated. Patrons can access their
account with the password after the offline transactions are uploaded and
processed.

To register a patron:

. Click *Register Patron* on the top menu bar. The *Patron Registration*
  window opens.
. Fill in the form with patron information, using the drop down list if
  available.
. Click *Save patron registration*. A confirmation dialog opens.
. Click *OK* to finish registering the patron.

Checking Out Items
------------------
anchor:standalone_check_out[Checking Out Items]

To circulate items from the *Evergreen standalone interface*:

. Click *Check Out* on the top menu bar. The *Standalone Check Out* screen
  opens.
. Ensure that the date on the left-hand side of the menu bar is correct.
. Enter the patron's library card barcode in the *Enter the patron's barcode*
  field by scanning or typing the barcode.
. Ensure that the due date is correct in the *Enter the item due date* field.
  You may enter a different due date manually, or select a different duration
  from the dropdown list to select a relative due date based on the loan period.
. Check out items:
** For cataloged items, scan each item's barcode in *Enter the item barcode*
   field. The barcode appears on the right side of the screen.
** For non-cataloged items:
... Click *Choose a non-barcode option* to select a non-catalogued category
    from the drop-down list.
... Enter the number of items you want to check out, then click OK on the prompt
    window.
. Scan all items, changing the due date if necessary.
. To print a receipt, select the *Print receipt?* checkbox.
. Click *Save these transactions*.

The default dates are based on your computer settings.

Pre-catalogued item circulation is not available on Offline Interface. If an
existing pre-cat barcode happens to be used, it is checked out with the
previous author and title. If a new pre-cat barcode is attempted, an error of
`ASSET NOT FOUND` (item not found) is returned upon processing offline
transactions.

Renew
-----
To renew an item, you must know the item's barcode number. The patron's barcode
is optional.

To renew items from the *Evergreen standalone interface*:

. Click *Renew* on the top menu bar.
+
NOTE: The *Renew* window is very similar to the *Check Out* window. The
differences are that a patron's barcode is optional on the *Renew* window, and
the non-barcoded option is not available on the *Renew* window, as non-barcoded
items can not be renewed.
+
. Ensure that the date on the left-hand side of the menu bar is correct.
. '(Optional)': Enter the patron's library card barcode in the *Enter the
  patron's barcode* field by scanning or typing the barcode.
. Ensure that the due date is correct in the *Enter the item due date* field.
  You may enter a different due date manually, or select a different duration
  from the dropdown list to select a relative due date based on the loan period.
. For each item to be renewed, enter the item's barcode in the *Enter the item
  barcode* field. The barcode appears on the right side of the screen.
. To print a receipt, select the *Print receipt?* checkbox.
. Click *Save these transactions*.

In-house Use
------------
To record in-house use transactions from the *Evergreen standalone interface*:

. Click *In House Use* on the top menu bar.
. Ensure the date is correct.
. Enter the number of uses to record for the item in the *Enter the number of
  uses of the item* field.
. Enter the item barcode number in the *Enter the item barcode* field.
. Repeat the previous 2 steps until all items have been scanned.
. To print a receipt, select the *Print receipt?* checkbox.
. Click *Save these transactions*.

Check In
--------
To check in items from the *Evergreen standalone interface*:

. Click *Check In* on the top menu bar. The *Check In* screen opens.
. Ensure the date is correct.
. For each item you want to check in, enter the item's barcode in the *Enter
  item barcode* field. The number is displayed on the right side of the screen.
. To print a receipt, select the *Print receipt?* checkbox.
. Click *Save these transactions*.

NOTE: Without access to Evergreen database, items on holds or with special
status will not be captured in offline mode.

Uploading Offline Transactions
------------------------------
Once you are able to connect to the server, you need to upload the offline
transactions. To avoid confusion for patrons and in the system, you should
upload the offline transactions as soon as possible.

Once you can connect to the server, there are 3 steps to uploading offline
transactions:

. Create a session: to be done by local system administrators at an
  administration workstation.
. Upload transactions to a session: to be done by circulation staff at
  circulation workstations.
. Process the uploaded transactions: to be done by local system administrators
  at an administration workstation.

Once network connectivity has been restored, a local system administrator must
create an offline transaction session. Then, staff can upload transactions from
each of the workstations used in offline circulation mode to that session.
Once all of the branch workstations have uploaded their transactions to the
session, the manager processes all the transactions from all the workstations
at once.

Uploading transactions to the session does *not* put the transactions into the
Evergreen database. The transactions will not be sent to the Evergreen database
until the manager processes the session.

Creating an Offline Session
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the Evergreen staff client:

. Log into Evergreen using an account with local system administrator
  privileges.
. Select *Admin (-) -> Offline Transaction Management* from the menu. The
  *Offline Transactions* screen opens. Previously created sessions are listed
  in the *Offline Sessions* section.
. In the upper *Offline Sessions* section, click *Create* to create a new
  session.
. Enter a name for the session, like `Internet Down 2012-12-02`.  Click *OK*.
. In the *Offline Sessions* section, highlight the session you created. An
  *Uploaded Transactions* section appears in the bottom of the screen.
  Initially, this section is empty.  
. Inform library staff that the session has been created and tell them the
  name of the session.

Uploading Workstation Transactions to a Session
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wait until the local system administrator has created a session and told you
that it's ready for your upload. There may be several sessions shown on the
*Offline Transaction Management* screen, so you will need the name of the
correct session from your local system administrator.

Each workstation used to perform offline circulation during the outage must
upload its transactions to the offline transaction session.

To upload offline transaction from a workstation to a session, perform
the following steps in the Evergreen staff client:

. Log into Evergreen with your regular username and password.
. Select *Admin (-) -> Offline Transaction Management* from the menu. The
  *Offline Transactions* screen opens. You should see at least one session
  in the *Offline Sessions* section. You may also see older sessions.
. In the upper *Offline Sessions* section, highlight the correct session,
  then click *Upload*. The transactions are transferred to the Evergreen
  server. 
. When the transactions have been uploaded, select the session in the *Offline
  Sessions* section. The value in the *Upload Count* column has increased by 1
  and your workstation is now listed in the *Uploaded Transactions* section.
. Inform your local system administrator that your transaction has been
  uploaded to the session.

Processing the Transactions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When all of the participating staff workstations have uploaded their
transactions to the offline session, the workstation names are listed
in the *Uploaded Transactions* section. To process the offline transactions
and make them live on the Evergreen server:

. Log into Evergreen using an account with local system administrator
  privileges.
. Select *Admin (-) -> Offline Transaction Management* from the menu. The
  *Offline Transactions* screen opens. Previously created sessions are listed
  in the *Offline Sessions* section.
. Highlight the correct session and, if necessary, click *Refresh* to verify
  all the participating workstations have uploaded their transactions to your
  session.
. Click *Process*. The processing may take some time to complete, depending on
  how many transactions you have done. Click *Refresh* to see the updated
  status of the processing step. Processing is complete when the *Processing?*
  column shows `Completed`.

The number in the *Transactions Processed* column is equal to the number of items
checked out or checked in.  For example, 5 transactions processed could mean that:

* 5 items were checked out, or
* 3 items were checked in and 2 items were checked out, or
* 5 items were checked in.  

Exceptions
~~~~~~~~~~
Exceptions are problems that were encountered during processing.  For example,
a mis-scanned patron barcode, an open circulation, or an item that was not
checked in before it was checked out to another patron would be listed as an
exception. Those transactions causing exceptions may not be loaded into
Evergreen database. Staff should examine the exceptions and take necessary
action.

These are a few notes about possible exceptions. It is not an all-inclusive
list.

* Checking out a DVD with the wrong date (leaving due date set at +2 weeks
  instead of +1 week) does not cause an exception.
* Overdue books are not flagged as exceptions.
* Checking out a reference book does not cause an exception.
* Checking out an item belonging to another library does not cause an
  exception.
* The *Standalone Interface* does not recognize books on hold, so no exceptions
  will be generated when matching items are checked in or checked out.
* The *Standalone Interface* can recognize blocked, barred, and expired patrons,
  as well as lost cards, _if_ you have recently run an *Admin (-) -> Download
  Offline Patron List* action on the workstation on which you are using the
  *Standalone Interface*. You will get an error message indicating the patron
  status from within the *Standalone Interface* at check-out time.

Common error messages
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
* `ROUTE-ITEM` - Indicates the book should be routed to another branch or
  library system. You'll need to find the book and re-check it in (online) to
  get the Transit Slip to print.
* `COPY_STATUS_LOST` - Indicates a book previously marked as lost was found and
  checked in.
* `CIRC_CLAIMS_RETURNED` - Indicates a book previously marked as
  claimed-returned was found and checked in.
* `ASSET_COPY_NOT_FOUND` - Indicates the item barcode was
  mis-scanned/mis-typed.
* `ACTOR_CARD_NOT_FOUND` - Indicates the patron's library barcode was
  mis-scanned/ mis-typed.
* `OPEN_CIRCULATION_EXISTS` - Indicates a book was checked out that had never
  been checked in.
* `MAX_RENEWALS_REACHED` - Indicates the item has already been renewed the
  maximum times allowed (or it’s a video/DVD).