QUICK CIRC Circulating Ephemeral Items

QUICK CIRC Using Polaris Quick- Circ, you can circulate items that are not intended for full cataloging and generate circulation statistics for these items. For example, items suitable for quick-circ circulation might include old mass- market paperbacks or pamphlets.

QUICK CIRC  Quick-circ items differ from regular items in that they have no conventional Polaris item records.  They circulate with no due dates, no fines, and no overdue processing.  They cannot fill hold requests.  They do not count against any patron borrowing limits, and they are not displayed in the patron’s items out list or in a patron’s reading history.  A quick-circ item is identified only by a barcode, assigned branch and collection, and material type.  The primary advantage of Polaris Quick-Circ is in tracking and reporting circulation of these kinds of items. Quick-circ item circulation is included in many Polaris circulation reports.

QUICK CIRC  What to use Quick Circ for:  Paperback books  Pamphlets or Vertical File  Tax Forms  Copies  Faxes  Book sale items  Old periodicals  Newspapers

CREATING QUICK CIRC ITEMS From the Polaris Shortcut Bar, select Utilities, Quick-circ Item Records, and select File, New from the Quick-circ Item Record List.

CREATING QUICK CIRC Scan or type the barcode in the Item barcode box. For quick-circ items, the system does not check the item barcode format definitions set in Polaris Administration (Profiles, Staff client). However, you cannot use a barcode that is already assigned to another quick-circ item or to a conventional item.

CREATING QUICK CIRC Attach barcode to note card – may have two or three, depending on how many circulation desks you have.

CREATING QUICK CIRC 1. Select the item’s assigned branch.  The default value is the workstation log-on branch. The available options are the same as those available in the conventional item record. They depend on your branch’s settings and your permissions. 2. If your library uses collections, select a collection from the Assigned collection list.  3. Select a material type.  The default value is set in Polaris Administration. Your policy may be to use any available and appropriate material type for quick-circ items, or you may use one material type for all quick-circ items.  4. Select File, Save

CREATING QUICK CIRC  Collection Codes:  With over 900 plus collections, easy to choose from. Consider:  Newspaper for newspapers  Government document for tax form  Cartographic material for maps  Ephemeral for faxes or copies  Vertical file  Pamphlet  See list as found on SHARE website.  If you choose something you normally are not using, we can “turn it back on” for you.

CREATING QUICK CIRC Material codes to consider:  Realia  Serial  Pamphlet

CHECKING OUT QUICK CIRC When a quick-circ item barcode is scanned during normal check- out, offline check-out, or check-out from Polaris ExpressCheck, the transaction is recorded as a quick-circ transaction.

CHECKING OUT QUICK CIRC  The system does not check the patron total item limit or item limit by material type, and the patron record is not updated in any way to reflect the transaction.  The items do not display in the patron’s Items Out list on the Patron Status workform, in the patron’s account as viewed in PAC, or in the patron’s reading history.  However, if the quick-circ items are the only items scanned for check-out, the patron’s Last activity date is updated to the date of the transaction

CHECKING OUT QUICK CIRC  Quick-circ items cannot be checked out from an Outreach Services pick list. Also, quick-circ items cannot be renewed from the staff client, PAC, Polaris ExpressCheck, or by telephone, because they are not displayed or recorded on the patron’s Items Out view.

CHECKING IN QUICK CIRC ITEMS  It is not necessary to check in quick-circ items, since there is not barcode on every item.  Quick-circ items are not recognized during in-house or inventory check-in. If a quick-circ item barcode is scanned during these operations, the system displays a message that the item record cannot be found.

REPORTS FOR QUICK CIRC  Found on circulation reports by Collection Code and Material type.  Remember, that if you use a collection code for quick circ that you also use for regular circulating items, it will be reported as lump sum circulation. So think about collection codes if you wish to see just quick circ.

REPORTS FOR QUICK CIRC  For general overview – see the “item” record for Quick Circ.

MODIFYING OR DELETING QUICK CIRC  You cannot search for quick-circ item records with the Polaris Find Tool. However, you can view a list of all the existing quick-circ items and select them from the list to modify or delete them.  1. Select Utilities, Quick-circ Item Records from the Polaris Shortcut Bar.  Tip: You can sort the list by branch. Click the Branch column head.  2. To modify an item, double-click the item in the list.  The Quick-circ Item Record workform opens. You can edit the barcode, assigned branch, assigned collection, and material type of the item. Select File, Save when you have made the changes.  4. To delete an item, right-click the item in the list, and select Delete from the context menu.

MODIFYING OR DELETING QUICK CIRC  While you see all quick circ items, you will only be able to modify or delete the item for your own branch!

PERMISSIONS FOR QUICK CIRC  Permissions for Quick Circ are needed to create, modify, and delete the quick circ item. These are cataloging permissions.  Barcoders and catalogers should already have these permissions.  If others need this, please submit help desk ticket (for permissions, we generally prefer the request come for the director. I will take request for cataloging/barcoding from the head cataloger/barcoder.  No extra permissions are needed to circulate the item.