Define Borrow by Mail parameters

To set up Borrow by Mail, you first designate processing centers at the system level. Other Borrow by Mail settings are available at the library, system, or branch level.

To set up Borrow by Mail circulation in Polaris Administration:

1. In the Administration Explorer tree view, open the Parameters folder for the system, and click the Request tab in the details view.

2. Double-click Borrow by mail. The Borrow by Mail dialog box - Processing Centers tabbed page appears. (This page appears only when the dialog box is opened at the system level.)

3. Select all the organizations that might serve as processing centers for the branches that will enable Borrow by Mail.

To enable Borrow by Mail features for any individual organization, at least one organization must be designated as a processing center on this tabbed page.

• If you have one central processing center for the whole system, designate only one processing center.
• If various processing centers will serve various branches, or if branches will serve as their own processing centers, select all the possible processing centers.

Note:
Processing centers may be actual branches or virtual organizations set up for this specific purpose. For more information about creating new organizations, see Setting Statistical Codes for Reports.

4. If you will set up all Borrow by Mail options at the system level (that is, all organizations will participate in Borrow by Mail and use the same settings), go directly to the next step. Otherwise, click OK to close the dialog box at this point, and re-open it for each organization that will use Borrow by Mail circulation.
5. On the Options tabbed page, select Enable Borrow by Mail and select a processing center for this organization.

Note:
Telephone notices include Borrow by Mail messages if Borrow by Mail is enabled at the system level. If you use both telephone notification and Borrow by Mail, enable Borrow by Mail at the system level, then disable it for any branch that is not using Borrow by Mail.

The available options depend on your settings on the system-level Processing Centers tabbed page.

Note:
An item that fills a Borrow by Mail request created in the staff client is shipped to the processing center designated for the log-in branch of the workstation that created the hold request. An item that fills a Borrow by Mail request from the PAC is shipped to the processing center designated for the patron’s registered branch.

Important:
Be sure the processing center is listed in the holds routing sequence table for the branch that originated the hold request. See Setting Up Holds Routing.

6. (Optional) Select Display confirmation message in PAC to display a special confirmation message when the patron places a Borrow by Mail request.

Tip:
You can display the patron’s contact information on the PAC request confirmation page so that the patron can quickly verify the address to which the Borrow by Mail item will be shipped. See Set Holds options: Alerts and blocks.

Note:
If the processing center charges a delivery fee (see step 11), this confirmation message states the charge and offers the option to continue or cancel the request.

7. (Optional) Select Staff display note and edit the text of the note if you wish (maximum 250 characters). If individual branches process their own Borrow by Mail items along with regular circulations, you should check this option to alert staff members to Borrow by Mail items. This note is automatically added to the Hold Request workform - Notes view when the request is saved. It then appears when an item that fills the Borrow by Mail request is trapped An item is said to be trapped for a hold when an item that fills a request is scanned at circulation and the system links the item to a specific request, either automatically or by displaying a message that prompts you for a decision. at circulation, and alerts the staff member that the item requires Borrow by Mail processing. The system uses the processing center’s setting.
8. (Optional) Select PAC display note and edit the text of the note if you wish (maximum 250 characters). This note is automatically added to the Hold Request workform - Notes view when the request is saved. The note is displayed to patrons in the information view for individual items listed on the PAC patron account Requests page. The system uses the processing center’s setting.

Note:
Staff members with the branch-level Circulation permission Hold requests: Modify PAC display note can edit the note for individual hold requests on the Hold Request workform - Notes view.

9. Select Suppress charge for Outreach Services patrons if you ordinarily charge a delivery fee for Borrow by Mail requests, but you do not want to charge a fee to homebound (Outreach Services) patrons.
10. If you want to change the loan period to accommodate shipping time, select the number of days to extend the calculated loan period for an item. This setting is available only if the organization is designated as a processing center. The system uses the processing center’s setting at bulk checkout. See Bulk-Processing Borrow by Mail Items.
11. Click the Limits tab to set Borrow by Mail limits:

• Check the patron codes for the patrons permitted to place Borrow by Mail requests. The system uses the settings for the patron’s registered branch in both the staff client and PAC.
• (Settings available for the system or library level only, or for the processing center defined for a branch organization.) If you want to charge a Borrow by Mail delivery fee, select the appropriate patron code, set the charge amount, and click Apply. You can set separate charges for different patron codes. To specify the same charge for multiple patron codes, select the codes, then set the charge amount and click Apply. The system uses the processing center’s settings for charges. A processing center should set charges for all the patron codes it intends to charge, regardless of whether those codes are used for the processing center’s own patrons.

Note:
Requests placed from the PAC use the settings of the processing center for the patron’s registered branch, while requests placed from the staff client use the settings of the processing center for the workstation’s branch. It is therefore possible that the fee may differ depending on where the request is placed.

• Clear the item material types that should not be eligible to fill Borrow by Mail requests. For PAC requests, the system uses the setting for the patron’s registered library. For staff client requests, the system uses the setting for the workstation branch. Be sure to uncheck any item material types used for eContent such as ebooks.

Note:
You can prevent a specific item from filling a Borrow by Mail request by checking Do not mail on the Item Record workform - Cataloging view.

12. Click the Print & Notices tab and make the following settings:

• Specify a return address for the item mailer. You can select Processing Branch (default) or Item’s Branch (item’s assigned branch).
• Select Enable failure notice to send an automatic notice to the patron when an item cannot be checked out during Borrow by Mail bulk checkout due to blocks on the patron account.
• If you checked Enable failure notice, select a notification method.

The available method options are determined by your settings for notification methods on the Notification options parameter - General tabbed page. For more information about these settings, see Delivering Notices by Phone (Outbound Telephony).

Note:
Telephone notices include Borrow by Mail messages if Borrow by Mail is enabled at the system level. If you use both telephone notification and Borrow by Mail, enable Borrow by Mail at the system level, then disable it for any branch that is not using Borrow by Mail.

13. Click OK.

Related Information

• Borrow by Mail workflows - See Borrow By Mail Circulation.
• Request status of Out - When a held item is checked out, the request status changes to Out until the item is returned. The request is then deleted. The status is automatically enabled for organizations using Borrow by Mail and is displayed in the staff client and the PAC patron account (where it appears as Sent). Organizations that do not use Borrow by Mail can choose to display or suppress the display of requests with the status of Out. On the Holds options dialog box - Staff & PAC tabbed page (Request parameters), select the option Display request status “Out”. The setting for the workstation’s logon branch controls the display in the staff client, while the setting for the patron’s registered branch controls the display in the PAC patron account.
• Modify Borrow by Mail item mailer or failure notice text - You can edit and translate the default text with Polaris Language Editor. See the Polaris Language Editor Guide or Language Editor online Help. Foreign language text for the mailer must include the fee as text because the system does not automatically insert the amount in the foreign language translation.
• Placing Borrow by Mail requests in PAC - See the PowerPAC online help.