What's Unique in a Consortium Setting
OPAL members share a library catalog that includes all participating members' patron and material records. Circulation practices, such as patron types and loan rules, are generally determined on a local level, however, some decisions (such as wording on notices) must be determined on the consortial level. Because of OPAL’s membership in OhioLINK, it is important to be familiar with OhioLINK PCIRC policies and procedures. When accessing patron records, it is vitally important to verify you have the correct patron for your institution. Additionally, when searching for materials in Sierra ILS, unless you limit the search by location, you will retrieve holdings from all member institutions since the catalog is shared. We have a built-in group of peers to troubleshoot with and learn from!
Key Practices and Things to Know
OPAL, OhioLINK and Pickup Anywhere Paging Slips
OPAL paging slips are processed as if the patron is YOUR patron because of the shared catalog (simply choose “Check in” from the Function menu in Sierra).
OhioLINK paging slips use “INN-Reach – Check-out to Remote Site”. Think of it as checking out the item to a “remote” far away location.
Pickup Anywhere Paging Slips are also processed using “INN-Reach – Check-out to Remote Site”. Again, picture sending the item to a different location. Pickup Anywhere items should be banded with neon green or have PUA on the sticker and paging slip to assist with processing at the receiving location.
The types of paging slips can be distinguished primarily by the words identifying which type of paging slip it is (on the top left of the slip). It is important to look at the “pickup location” on all paging slips to ensure the item is sent to the correct location.