Sierra Adaptor

This is a work-in-progress document detailing the Sierra adaptor in OpenRS DCB.

1 Mappings
- 1.1 How do Sierra item statuses map to DCB item statuses?
2 Common Sierra questions, errors and observations
- 2.1 My OpenRS DCB request with Sierra as the pickup/borrowing library went to RETURN_TRANSIT, but I didn’t do a check-in

Mappings

How do Sierra item statuses map to DCB item statuses?

Sierra item statuses are mapped to DCB item statuses as follows.

Sierra item status code	Additional condition	DCB item status

Sierra item status code	Additional condition	DCB item status
-	If due date is present	ITEM_LOANED
-	If due date is not present	ITEM_AVAILABLE
t	None	ITEM_TRANSIT
@	None	ITEM_OFFSITE
#	None	ITEM_RECEIVED
!	None	ITEM_ON_HOLDSHELF
o	None	LIBRARY_USE_ONLY
%	None	ITEM_RETURNED
m	None	ITEM_MISSING
&	None	ITEM_REQUESTED

To learn more about Sierra item statuses, please consult the official docs.

Common Sierra questions, errors and observations

My OpenRS DCB request with Sierra as the pickup/borrowing library went to RETURN_TRANSIT, but I didn’t do a check-in

As seen in https://openlibraryfoundation.atlassian.net/browse/DCB-2094 https://openlibraryfoundation.atlassian.net/browse/DCB-2094 , there is an architectural decision in Sierra to make check-out a multi-step process that is only completed when the user closes the checkout window. This means that in rare circumstances where the window hasn’t been closed and DCB polls Sierra, the following situation can occur.

If a Sierra checkout is left incomplete, Sierra can report to DCB that the local hold request is MISSING, but the virtual item (the item at the borrower) is AVAILABLE. In DCB, this leads to the HandleBorrowerSkippedLoanTransit transition triggering and the DCB request skips straight to RETURN_TRANSIT without a check-in.
The discrepancy happens because Sierra does not assign the due date until the checkout is complete. Because the same status code is used for available and checked out items in Sierra (-), the only differentiator we have for these items is the presence of a due date. Sierra items with a status code of - and a due date are considered LOANED by DCB, items with a status code of - and no due date are considered AVAILABLE.
To avoid this, Sierra libraries using DCB are encouraged to make sure that all checkouts are fully completed. If a request does end up in this state, it is likely that it will be finalised correctly when DCB returns the item to the supplier.

To learn more about Sierra item statuses, please consult the official docs.