Lost and Missing Items
- Erin Nettifee
- Jacquie Samples
Introduction
Alma uses Work Orders to represent times when you are working on a specific item or item record and need to move it through a series of steps. For handling Lost and Missing items, DUL libraries will use the process documented here.
Use cases covered in this work order
Case 1: Items ages to lost
Example: Patron checks out the item and doesn’t return it.
What happens in Alma: Alma automated lost loan process marks the item with automated process type “lost” and charges the patron a fine.
Next step: Closing the loan
Case 2: Item is declared lost
Example: Patron says “Hey, I checked this out but I left it on the airplane so I can’t return it.”
What happens in Alma: Staff mark the loan lost from patron loans list. Alma marks the item with automated process type “lost”, with no associated work order status.
Next step: Closing the loan
Case 3: Requested item cannot be found
Example: A patron requests an item. When staff go to pull it from the shelf, the item cannot be found.
What happens in Alma: Staff process request by using “Mark as Missing.” Item goes to associated item process type of “Missing.” Marking the request as missing moves it to the next item (or makes it unfilled if no other items are possible.)
Next step: Search for the item.
Case 4: All other ways that an item goes missing
Example: A library does a shelf inventory over the summer and discovers an item is not shelved as expected.
What happens in Alma: Staff move the item to a Missing status in one of three ways
Select “Toggle Missing Status” from the item record;
Use the Item Information bulk job to apply a Missing process type.
Next step: Search for the item
Searching for lost items
If the item has a Missing status, we need to move it into the Alma work order of “Missing Items Search”. If you have time, you should also do a first search for the item.
Step 1: Start the work order
Change your Alma location to ‘Missing Items Search Department’ if not already set.
Important - don’t use the “Work Order” button - missing items are not requestable, so you can’t start a work order that way. Edit the item instead.
From the “Physical Items” search, find the item record.
Edit the item record and apply a work order type of “Missing Items Search”.
No work order status is applied at this screen.
Optional: If you have time for a first search, search for the item.
If the item is found, go to Fulfillment > Manage In Process Items. Mark the work order as done. Discharge the item and resolve any issues. Reshelve or put in transit.
Step 2 : Complete a first search for any items that have not yet been searched.
Staff will need to periodically complete a first search for any item that has not yet had one.
Change your Alma location to ‘Missing Items Search Department’ if not already set
If the item is found, go to Fulfillment > Manage In Process Items. Mark the work order as done. Discharge the item and resolve any issues. Reshelve or put in transit.
If the item is not found, go to Fulfillment > Manage In Process Items. Check the box for the item and apply the status “First Search Complete.”
Step 3: Complete a second search.
Change your Alma location to ‘Missing Items Search Department’ if not already set
Go to Fulfillment > Manage In Process Items. Use the Process Status filter to show only items with “First Search Complete”. Export the list to Excel or use your computer to view the records. Search for the item.
If the item is found, go to Fulfillment > Manage In Process Items. Mark the work order as done. Discharge the item and resolve any issues. Reshelve or put in transit.
If the item is not found, go to Fulfillment > Manage In Process Items. Check the box for the item and apply the status “Second Search Complete.”
Step 4 : Complete a third search.
Change your Alma location to ‘Missing Items Search Department’ if not already set
Go to Fulfillment > Manage In Process Items. Use the Process Status filter to show only items with “Second Search Complete”. Export the list to Excel or use your computer to view the records. Search for the item.
If the item is found, go to Fulfillment > Manage In Process Items. Mark the work order as done. Discharge the item and resolve any issues. Reshelve or put in transit.
If the item is not found, go to Fulfillment > Manage In Process Items. Check the box for the item and apply the status “Third Search Complete-Long Missing.”
See Item not found after third search for next steps.
Item is in the Missing Item Search work order and is found
Change your Alma location to ‘Missing Items Search Department’ if not already set
Go to Fulfillment > Manage In Process Items.
Mark the work order as done. Discharge the item and resolve any issues. Reshelve or put in transit.
Item goes lost from a loan
If the item is on loan and lost, we generally do not do a shelf search for the item. Instead, we wait a predetermined period of time after the item goes lost to allow the patron to return it.
Unlike with individual item searches, we generally process items lost from a loan in batch.
Step 1: Close the loans (Access Services managers)
To resolve these items, we use the Alma job called Close lost loans on a set of item records.
Lost loan jobs can only be run by administrator roles.
When this job runs:
All loans of the items in the set are closed, even if the loans are not marked as lost.
Any fines and fees remain on the patron’s record;
The item status stays as “Lost”, but there is no longer a link to the loan record.
If the item is returned after this point, the patron will not receive a refund of the cost of the item.
To run this process:
Determine the criteria for the items that are out on loan and that we do not expect to ever come back.
Create an itemized Alma fulfillment set for items that satisfy that criteria.
Submit a ticket in ServiceNow for LSIS with the name of the fulfillment set, asking that “Closed lost loans” be run on the items.
Step 2: Report the items and associated fulfillment set to Collection Services
Once LSIS has confirmed that the loans have been closed, send an email to AskTech and let them know that a fulfillment set has been created for items that are lost and never coming back. Give them the name of the fulfillment set.
From this point, Collection Services can follow internal processes to manage the records, as documented in the Collections Services documentation portal (link coming)
Item not found after third search
If an item is not on loan; marked Missing; and goes through three searches, we assume it is lost and will likely never be found or come back to the library.
Items that are in the workflow “Missing Items Search” with item status “Third Search Complete-Long Missing” will be moved periodically to the work order type “Long Missing” by Collection Services staff, using the “Change Physical items information” job.
From this point, Collection Services can follow internal processes to manage the records, as documented in the Collections Services documentation portal (link coming)