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Circulation Manual

The official circulation manual for OPAL

Pickup Anywhere

When a student who attends one OhioLINK institution requests a book from a different OhioLINK institution and wants it send to a third OhioLINK institution for pick-up. There are essentially three libraries involved in the transaction:

Owning Library    --  Owns the requested item.
Receiving Library --  Where the item is retrieved.
Patron's Library  --  Patron's initiating home site.

Note: There is NO way to prevent a patron from one OPAL institution requesting materials from another OPAL institution and having it picked up at a third OPAL institution if the request is placed within the OPAL catalog. 

There is a difference in how the system handles Pickup Anywhere” in OhioLINK and the equivalent “local” process in OPAL. Within OPAL there is only one setting that limits where an item can be picked up:  the “home pickup” element of the loan rule.  Making that change forces the item in question to be picked up at the OWNING library because loan rules are determined by the patron’s library. For example, if a Malone patron requested an Otterbein item and the “home pickup” was set to “yes” for Malone’s loan rules, the patron would have to pick up the item at the owning library, Otterbein. 

Owning Library

Slips for Pickup Anywhere (PUA) will print with INN-Reach paging slips. Separate these items out before preparing to send in cargo as they need special treatment to insure delivery and checkout by the requesting patron.

  • Pull requested item(s).
  • Check out using Inn-Reach - Check Out to Remote Site function.
  • Put paging slip inside front cover.
  • Band item with a BRIGHT GREEN PICKUP ANYWHERE band.
  • Ship to correct PICKUP location (NOT requesting location).

Note: In 2007, PUA slips were modified to make them more identifiable. They have a double line of * around the PUA notation. Find the Template for PUA Band here. The Word version can be edited by adding a text box with your school information at the bottom. Note the band was updated in 2009 to include receiving and checkout instructions for the pickup institution.

Receiving Library

1. Receive the Item

 

In the Pickup Anywhere - Receive Item function, scan or key in the barcode and click Search. Once the item is loaded, the Process button will become active; click it to process the item(s). 

Place the item on the hold shelf. The patron will be notified of arrival of their item when their home library runs their pickup slips.

PUA items must be checked out to the patron using the Pickup Anywhere - Check-Out function. 

2. Check Out the Item

 

Using the Pickup Anywhere - Check-Out function, type the patron's last name in the Patron Name dialog box. Note: The system does not require an n before the surname.

Example: Green

When the patron record has been loaded, scan or key in the item barcode and click Process. Write the due date on the book band. Notify patron that all renewals must be done through their home library.

3. Return the Item

To return a PUA item:

  • Select the Pickup Anywhere - Return Item function
  • Scan the barcode, click Search, and then Process
  • Return the item to the owning library as usual. 

Missing Barcodes

If you receive a Pickup Anywhere item and there is no barcode, do not try inserting it into the record through the INN-Reach function. PUA does not have an “Insert Barcode” option, so attempting to do so will move the item out of PUA mode and into regular INN-Reach circulation, breaking the transaction.

If there is a missing barcode, you will notice a transit message and the PUA location code (“yxxxx”) in the record. This indicates that you will need to contact the owning library and have them check out the item again following proper PUA procedures.