Hours Open Table (Admin>Parameters>Circulation - Sierra)

This documentation explains the functionality and data elements of the Hours Open table.

Table of Contents

1 Hours Open Table Overview
2 Functionality Information
3 Data Elements
4 Example Entries
- 4.1 Four-hour Loan, Overnight Checkout
5 Related Documentation

Hours Open Table Overview

You can contact the Marmot Help Desk for help if you cannot view this table.

View the Hours Open Table by going to Admin, Parameters, Circulation, and Hours Open in Sierra

The Hours Open table specifies the hours during which your library, or a specific library branch or location, is open and circulating items. The Hours Open table applies only when circulating items under hourly loan rules (that is, loan rules with a Code value of 'H', 'I', 'J', or 'K'). Unless you specify a date and location in the Hours Open table, the system assumes that the location is open 24 hours per day.

The system uses the Hours Open table in the following ways:

If an hourly item would be due at a time when the library is closed, the system makes it due at closing time, or one hour after opening time the next day, depending on the Code element of the loan rule.
The system prevents fines for overdue items from accruing during times when the library is closed.

Functionality Information

When viewing and modifying the Hours Open table, note the following:

Library Hours Only for Hourly Loan Locations

The system consults the Hours Open table only when circulating and calculating fines for hourly items. Therefore, you need only add entries to the Hours Open table for locations with hourly circulation. For example, if your library's Reserve Room circulates items for a two-hour loan period, and those items have a location of "aif," you can add entries to the Hours Open table for the "aif" location but omit other locations and branches.

Updating the Hours Open Table

If your library has non-standard circulation policies regarding hourly loans, you might need to have the Marmot staff change the Hours Open table (and possibly also the Days Closed table) to obtain the results you want.
- For example, if your library's Reserve Room is open until midnight on Friday but want items checked out between 6:00 P.M. and midnight to remain checked out until 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, enter 1800 (that is, 6:00 P.M.) instead of 2400 (midnight) in the Closed element for Friday and 0900 (9:00 A.M.) in the Open element for the Saturday entry.
- The Hours Open table does not control when you can check material out and in; the table only determines the due dates of items and the fine schedule.

Marmot maintains the table for the entire consortium. Your Days Closed contacts will be sent information on how to submit the Hours Open for your library.

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Data Elements

Entries in the Hours Open table contain the following data elements:

Element	Description

Element	Description
Location	The library branch or location to which the entry pertains. Possible values are a location from the Branches table, a wildcard code ????? (exactly five question marks) to represent all locations, or a partial location code followed by an asterisk (for example, ai* to represent any location code that starts with "ai").
Day	The day of the week or year that the location is closed. Possible values are a calendar date, a day of the week, or a wildcard code to signify every day. The wildcard code must be entered as ??? (exactly three question marks). Days of the week must be one of the following three-character codes in UPPERCASE or lowercase: mon tue wed thu fri sat sun
Open	The time the location opens, expressed in 24-hour "military" time (e.g., 0800 = 8:00 A.M.). Entering a '0' is for locations that are open 24 hours per day.
Closed	The time the location closes, expressed in 24-hour "military" time (e.g., 2000 = 8:00 P.M.). Entering "2400" is for locations that are open 24 hours per day. If the location closes after midnight (e.g., 1:00 A.M.), indicate this as the time plus 2400. The maximum time you can specify is 2800 (i.e., 4:00 A.M. the following day).

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Example Entries

The following examples illustrate how the system uses the Hours Open table to calculate hourly loans:

Four-hour Loan, Overnight Checkout

The Hours Open table contains the following entries:

Location	Day	Open	Closed

Location	Day	Open	Closed
ail*	sat	1300	1700
ail*	sun	1300	1700
fl*	fri	730	2200
fl*	sat	1000	1700

A patron checks out a manuscript from the Library (location = "fl") at 7:00 P.M. Friday; the manuscript is on four-hour reserve with overnight privileges. The Library closes at 10:00 P.M. Friday and reopens at 10:00 A.M. Saturday. Because the patron is allowed to borrow the manuscript for four hours and the time from check out to closing is only three hours, the loan becomes an overnight loan and is due at 11:00 A.M. Saturday (one hour after opening the next day).