Check-Out to Remote Site (INN-Reach)

Owned by Bethany Baker, created
Last updated: Jun 10, 2024
5 min read

This documentation explains the Check-Out to Remote Site function in Sierra and provides the steps for using the function.

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Function Explanation

You must be assigned permission 119 (IR Remote Site Check-Out) to access this function. If you cannot access this function, please contact us and we will modify your permissions.

When the owning site checks out a requested item to the patron site (an act known as the "institutional checkout"), INN-Reach items are checked out for the entire amount of time the item is expected out, including transportation time between the owning site and patron site. The owning site does not check the Days Closed table when calculating the due date. When you perform an institutional checkout, the system:

  • Updates the item STATUS to '@' (OFF-SITE).

  • Removes the hold from the item's hold queue.

  • Retains the INN-Reach message in the item record:

    IR00:00-00-00 requested by .p000000000@site1 for pickup at location

  • Sends a circulation transaction to the patron site, via the INN-Reach Central Server, which:

    • Updates the item record in the INN-Reach Catalog to reflect the due date of the checked-out item, that is, the date on which the item is due back at the owning site. 

    • Provides the item barcode and notifies the patron site that the requested item has been sent. At the patron site, this transaction message causes the system to change the STATUS of the virtual item record to 't' (IN TRANSIT).

The system handles institutional checkouts differently from normal circulation checkouts. During an institutional checkout, the out date, due date, loan rule, and item status fields are updated within the item record, but the out location and patron fields are not updated. On return checkin to the owning library, the out date, due date, loan rule, and item status fields are cleared in the item record, but the LPatron, LCheckin, and In Loc fields are not updated.

 

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Checking Out Paged Items to the Requesting Patron's Site

To check out a Prospector Paged item to the requesting patron’s site:

  1. Choose INN-Reach - Check-Out to Remote Site from the Function list.

  2. Enter or scan the barcode of an item requested by a patron at another site. No patron information is necessary. 

  3. Depending on the current status of the request, the system can display the following messages:

  4. Proceed as appropriate based on the message displayed.

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Request Has Been Cancelled

If the request was cancelled at the patron site after you printed a paging slip for the item, Sierra displays the following prompt:

00-00-00: cancelled by .p0000000@site1

Screenshot of the warning message in Sierra that an INN-Reach hold has been cancelled

In response to this prompt, choose OK. The system returns you to the Check-Out to Remote Site screen. The “(“ status (PRSPCTR PAGED) will be cleared from the item record.

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Request Is Same-server

An INN-Reach request is considered "same-server" if both the owning site and patron site belong to the same Local Server. The system must convert a same-server INN-Reach transaction to a local hold. This can happen when a MLN1 patron places a hold on an MLN1 library’s item through Prospector or a MLN2 patron places a hold on a MLN2 library’s item through Prospector. 

If a request is same-server, Sierra displays the following prompt:

00-00-00 requested by .p0000000@site1 for pickup at location.

In response:

  1. Choose OK to continue. The system displays the following message:

Send book to above patron at location. Item has been set to status IN TRANSIT.

  1. Choose OK to continue. The system converts the request to a standard circulation transaction and displays the item in the summary table with the value "IN TRANSIT" in the Due Date column.

  2. The Holdnote field on the Item-Level hold will have the message “Converted INN-Reach request”

Screenshot of the same server converted INN-Reach hold record in Sierra

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Request Is Active

If the INN-Reach request is still active, Sierra displays the following prompt:

00-00-00 requested by .p0000000@site1 for pickup at location. Item has status PAGED and has been cleared. Send book to above patron at location.

In response to this prompt, choose OK.

The system checks out the item to the patron site and displays the item's barcode, title, delivery destination, and due date in the summary table.

 

The item can then be placed into courier. Below is an example of the INN-Reach courier slip that is printed out when running the INN-Reach paging notice.  It will have the item and the borrowing patron information. You will need to fill out the information on the right side. 

  • The TO is for the courier code of the borrowing library (example C122).  

  • The FROM is the courier code for the lending library.

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No Record of an INN-Reach Request for the Item

If the system cannot identify a virtual patron record for the item you scanned, Sierra displays the following prompt:

Item has not been requested by remote site patrons

Choose the OK button to clear this message. The item can then be reshelved.

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Increasing the Security of Patrons' Personal Information during the INN-Reach Request Process

To increase the security of INN-Reach patrons' personal information during the request process, patron address information is no longer included in INN-Reach circulation transactions. Additionally, both the patron telephone field and the home library field can be excluded from INN-Reach circulation transactions. To exclude these fields, contact Marmot by submitting a request through the Help Desk.

If a patron's personal information has been excluded from INN-Reach circulation transactions, the information does not display on screen during checkout to a remote site.

Note that this security feature does not affect transactions created during checkout to visiting patrons.

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