FOR THE HOPELESSLY CHECKED OUT:

Batch Check-Ins

Madge Boldt, MLIS

Massasoit Community College

Brockton, MA

mboldt@massasoit.mass.edu

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Madge Boldt

Librarian

Electronic Resources (2016-present),

Technical Services (2022-present)

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Brockton, MA

FTE: 2,739 (Fall 2022)

Arts, Humanities, Communication, Business, Computer Science, Culinary, Education, Health Sciences, Public Safety, STEM, Continuing Education

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Founded in 2017, HELM (Higher Education Libraries of Massachusetts) is an association of Massachusetts college libraries in public higher education.

Joined the HELM consortia and began using Koha in 2019

AGENDA

Long Overdue Cleanup Project: Spring 2023

1. Hopelessly long overdues
2. Planning the project
3. A conundrum – batch check ins
4. Project steps
5. Results
6. Lessons learned
7. Future plans

Libraries have rules.

But we are kind.

1. HOPELESSLY LONG OVERDUES

1. HOPELESSLY LONG OVERDUES

We are also realistic.

5% of the items checked out in 2022 are still checked out by that patron today.

1. HOPELESSLY LONG OVERDUES

Wordlessly watching he waits by the window and wonders�At the empty place inside.

- Stephen A. Stills

Crosby, Stills & Nash. “Helplessly Hoping." Crosby, Stills & Nash, Atlantic, 1969.

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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

1. HOPELESSLY LONG OVERDUES

“I imagine books have a life cycle. Not all of their lives will end in my library.”

Scardina, Ciro. “A Philosophy of Lost Books.” School Library Journal, vol. 65, no. 8, Sept. 2019, p. 17. 

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

“While they are no longer part of my collection, they are part of another collection, I believe, somewhere else.”

“…lost books are out there being someone else’s evidence, and my therapist and I are more than fine with that.”

This book was due in August 2003

• George W. Bush was President
• NYT best seller: The Da Vinci Code
• TV show Friends was still prime time
• Your cell phone…

1. HOPELESSLY LONG OVERDUES

Koha report: Items currently checked out

The report showed:

1225 items currently checked out

1113 to students

112 to faculty/staff

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394 items due 2022-2023

321 items due 2020-2021

510 items due 2003-2019

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(Total collection is 28k physical items.)

1. HOPELESSLY LONG OVERDUES

353

Why remove long overdues from Koha?

• Record cleanup
• Curation (weeding)
• Collection Development
• Patrons are long gone

2. PLANNING THE PROJECT

Questions:

• How likely is it that long overdue items will be returned?
• What is our cutoff time for giving up on an item?
• Are we ok with letting the patrons get out of library jail?

Meet with:

Circulation

Reference & Instruction

Library Director

Meeting result – decisions made:

• Try to get some of the faculty/staff items back.
• Do not remove any technology items – calculators, laptops, hotspots.
• Remove all items checked out by students or long-gone faculty/staff due 2021 and earlier.

2. PLANNING THE PROJECT

In Koha, I can’t delete items that are checked out. Where is the Batch Check In feature?

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3. A CONUNDRUM – BATCH CHECK INS

DOES NOT EXIST!

3. A CONUNDRUM – BATCH CHECK INS

Bugzilla Bug 19814 https://bugs.koha-community.org/bugzilla3/show_bug.cgi?id=19814

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

“The inventory module has a bunch of options, and one has to do with checking in the scanned items. Cookies you say?”

“There are cookies in the breakroom, I’m happy it is spring, and I don’t know how to delete items that are checked out.”

3. A CONUNDRUM – BATCH CHECK INS

The benefits of talking casually with your colleagues

4. PROJECT STEPS

1. Run a Koha report to get a list of currently checked out items.
2. Filter and sort to get just the items you want to check in and remove. This is your working report.

Build your Working Report

Important: Be sure to sort by barcode and

remove any other library’s items.

4. PROJECT STEPS

Using the barcodes from your working report, run a report to provide to the collection development team for possible future replacement of these items.

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Fields: barcode, call number, title, author, ISBN, date, edition, checkouts.

Run a report for Collection Development

4. PROJECT STEPS

Batch Check In

1. Sort the working report by call number so you can batch them in ranges.
2. Use the inventory module to check the items in. Let other staff know when you are going to run it in the live system.

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Try it in the test server first!

4. PROJECT STEPS

I ran inventory in batches. Here are inventory screenshots from one batch.

Be sure to uncheck “Do not check in items scanned during inventory”

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4. PROJECT STEPS

Why put A – A in the call number range?

My logic: So that there will be only results from the barcodes copied in.

4. PROJECT STEPS

Uncheck: Skip Items on Loan

4. PROJECT STEPS

I checked off all the itypes I had in the list. Not sure it matters!

4. PROJECT STEPS

Check this off so you’ll have the results.

4. PROJECT STEPS

Inventory output.

All items will show “Found in wrong place” since we are using a fake range.

Found in wrong

place

4. PROJECT STEPS

Now you are ready to batch delete the items using the same barcodes from your working report.

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Let staff know the process is complete.

Sleep well tonight for you have cleaned up your catalog and set your patrons free.

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5. RESULTS

Removed 678 books and 2 DVDs that were still checked out and due 12/31/2021 or earlier from the catalog.

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Did not remove:

• Books checked out by faculty who are still at Massasoit
• Equipment (calculators, laptops, hotspots)

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A report of these items was provided for future replacement consideration.

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5. RESULTS

Books that are now part of someone else’s collection.

72 of our One Book One Community selections.

5. RESULTS

Books that are now part of someone else’s collection.

6. LESSONS LEARNED

Talk to your colleagues. They all have great ideas!

Make a plan.

Document your steps.

Be careful. Don’t do the batch check in when you are tired.

New!!! Check Bugzilla.

7. FUTURE PLANS

Each spring, run the report of Items Currently Checked Out.

Determine if we need to clean up overdues yearly or every other year.

New!!! Check Bugzilla.

1. Define your rules.
2. Run a Koha report to get a list of currently checked out items.
3. Filter and sort to get just the items you want to check in and remove. This is your working report.
4. Using the barcodes from your working report, run a report to provide to the collection development team for possible future replacement of these items.
5. Sort the working report by call number so you can batch them in ranges.
6. Use the inventory module to check the items in.
7. Once all the items are checked in, you are ready to remove them via batch item delete.

SUMMARY OF STEPS

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!