Materials Request Admin Management

Owned by Ashley Sneesby, created
Last updated: Apr 13, 2023
10 min read

This document outlines administrative management actions for the Materials Request function in Pika.

Table of Contents

Enable Materials Request Functionality

Go to Pika Configuration and Library Systems from the left sidebar.  

  • Click here to see what Pika Admin Roles are needed for this configuration.

Click the Library Id number or the Edit link to gain access to the Library System page.


Go to the Materials Request tab.

Click the Enable Pika Materials Request System.  There is an option to use an External Materials Request URL.

You can control the Max Requests Per Year.  The Max Requests Per Year threshold is a rolling number.  In addition, you can control the Max Open Requests.  This is per patron.  The general idea is to limit the number of requests, so as not to overload the people who make the purchasing decisions.  These numbers are controlled by your library.  

Make sure to save your changes.  The save button is located at the bottom of the page.

When the Materials Request functionality is enabled and patrons search for a title that your library does not own, they will see the Suggest a purchase link at the bottom of their search results. This link opens up to the Materials Request Form.

Materials Request role in your staff account

There is special permission or role for people who are doing materials request processing called library_material_requests.


To see if you have these permissions, you would go to My Account and Account Settings.

At the bottom of the page under Staff Settings, you will see the role of library_material_requests.

Staff who are responsible for responding to the emails from the patrons that submit materials requests should add an appropriate email address and signature to the Materials Request Management section in Staff Settings. The Staff Settings can be found under the Account Settings section under MyAccount.

The Materials Requests tab will show on the left sidebar if you have this role.

Clicking on the Materials Request tab is where you have access to Manage Requests, Summary Report, Report By User, and Manage Statues.  There is also a link to the documentation.

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Manage Status settings

The first thing you will want to view is the Manage Statuses.  

You will have to set up the statutes for your library before patrons can submit any requests.  We suggest that you click the Click on the Reset to Default button to get a default list of statuses that can be modified. 

You can also add new statuses one at a time by clicking  Add New MaterialsRequestStatus.

The request statuses are configurable by the library. They are completely customizable and can be customized at any time.  It is up to the individual library to create the workflow for your statuses.

Manage Status Defaults and Suggestions

The status of Materials Requests allows you to communicate to your patrons about where their material requests are currently in the process. There are a number of options available on default and you can edit existing statuses or create your own based on how your library wants to organize Materials Requests and communicate with patrons.

Default Status

The first status should be a default status normally called Submitted or New.  This is the default status for all new requests. This should have the Default Status? option checked. 

Only one status should have the Default Status? option checked. 

Open Status

The Open Status? should be checked as well.  Open Status is used for the reports, and when patrons are viewing the materials requested from their account.  This will control if they show by default.  

There is an Email Template for an email that will be sent to the requestor.  Make sure to pick your Library from the drop-down menu.  Click Save Changes and Add Another.

Another status you will need to create is Cancelled By Patron.  Check the Set When Patron Cancels? box. This status is used when the patron cancels their own request. 

Only one status should have the Set When Patron Cancels? Box checked. 

There is an Email Template for an email that will be sent to the requestor.  Make sure to pick your Library from the drop-down menu.  Click Save Changes and Add Another.

Another status you can create is the Purchased By Library.  Check the Send Email To Paton? box. 

When filling out the Email Template, you can fill in different tags { } for what you have purchased, so you do not have to customize every single email to patrons.  

List of tags

{title}

{author}

{format}

{ageLevel}

{isbn}

{publisher}

{publicationYear}

{articleInfo}

{abridged}

{about}

{comments}

{status}

{dateCreated}

{createdBy}

{dateUpdated}

{email}

{phone}

{season}

{magazineTitle}

{upc}

{issn}

{bookType}

{subFormat}

{magazineDate}

{magazineVolume}

{magazinePageNumbers}

{magazineNumber}

 

Pick your Library from the drop-down menu.  Click Save Changes and Add Another.  

Another status can be Already Owned By Library.  Click the Send Email To Patron? Box.

When filling out the Email Template, you can fill in different tags { } for what you have purchased,  so you do not have to customize every single email to patrons.  

Pick your Library from the drop-down menu.  Click Save Changes and Return, if this is your last status.    

Other status suggestions

Manage Requests

You can view your patrons request under the Materials Requests.  Click on Manage Requests.  This should be checked daily or weekly to make sure requests are moved to the next step of the process.

You can sort and filter your request using the Manage Materials Requests.

You can click on Details to see information about the request.

You can click on Update Request to add information.

You can enter the ISBN or OCLC number.  If you do not have the ISBN, you can go to your preferred vendor to find it. If you have a WorldCat account, you can look up the information to find the ISBN automatically. It does a title/author search.  Any Comments can be seen by the patron.

 

 

 

 

Click Update Request to save the added information.

Use the check box and drop down to Assign Selected Requests to someone in your library to manage the patron’s request.  You can assign multiple items at the same time. Click Assign Selected Requests when finished.

Use the check box and drop down to Update Selected Requests, and move it to another status.  You can move multiple items at the same time. Click Update Selected Requests when finished.

When a library staff member who has the role of Library Materials Requests changes the status of a request, that person can have an email Reply-To and Signature that will be included in the email to the patron.  This is available under the Staff Settings on the person’s account.

Using Filters

Click on the arrow next to Filters to expand the fields associated with managing the materials requests.

The expanded fields have menus attached to them, so you can filter your requests.

The Statuses to Show filter lists all the statuses that were entered under the Managed Statuses.

The Date filter allows you to limit the request by any date you enter.

You can also limit by Request ID, Format, and Assigned To.  

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Material Requests Reports

There are two reports: the Summary Report and the Report By User.  

Summary Report

This report shows the status of each item in the Materials Request process relative to the filters applied. 

You can use the Filters for the Summary Report to expand or limit by Period (Day, Week, Month, Year), and by Date.

After applying your desired filters and reporting range parameters, the report returns a graph and a table relative to those supplied parameters.

 

 

 

Report By User

This report shows all the status that have been assigned using the filters. 

 

This table produced by the report displays the patrons' names and barcodes. You can also see the request information for each status for that patron. The report returns of the number of items for each patron for each chosen status.

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Materials Requests in patron accounts

When a patron is logged in they can see their requests under Materials Requests.

The patron can see how many requests they have used, and how many they have left to request for the year.  The message also lets the patron know their active request limits, and how many current requests they have active.

Under the My Materials Requests, the patron can view Open Requests or All Requests.  The patron can see the Status of their request.  The patron can view Details.  This is where the patron can see any comments you added to update the patron.

 

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