Description:
Return/check-in is the process when a borrower returns a borrowed library item under varying circumstances.
A check-in consists of removing the temporary link between the item and the borrower that exists in the loan transaction record (see Checkout Item).
A check-in session begins with the identification of the item being returned and ends when all the items to be checked in have been processed. Check-ins utilize item ba-rcode numbers as the primary identifier to begin processing a check-in transaction.
For a checkin session to begin, the library staff operator physically retrieves items that have been returned to the library, typically from a drop-off bin. Borrowers may also returned borrowed items directly to a staff operator.
The staff operator--already logged into the system at a specific Circulation Location and displaying the checkin screen--types or scans an item’s barcode number into the system. The system then:
- finds the item #
- finds the loan transaction record (see Alternate Workflow when no loan transaction record)
- determines that there is no request # in the loan transaction record (when there is, see Alternate Workflows below)
- determines the due date/time in the loan transaction record
An exhaustive description of the process is available in JIRA under the ticket OLE-3274.
