Materials Booking

Overview

The Materials Booking module gives you a way to manage your library’s non bibliographic materials, such as audio-visual equipment or conference rooms. Materials Booking wizards reserve library materials for future use. This differs from placing a hold, which reserves library materials for use as soon as they become available. Instead, booking an item reserves it for a specified period, and leaves it free for other patrons to use until that specified (booked) time.

Each time a user books an item for a future time, SirsiDynix Symphony creates a booking record. A booking record contains information about which items are booked by which user, along with significant dates and times from the booking calendar and the booking timeline.

SirsiDynix Symphony schedules and tracks the booked items through the entire booking cycle.

Staff prepares booked items.

Staff charges the booked items to the library user.

Library user uses the booked items.

Library user returns the booked items (if necessary).

Staff cleans up booked items (if necessary).

Staff discharges the booked items.

The Materials Booking module offers the following features.

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Patrons can book a single item or a group of items. For example, a patron could book a DVD player, an audio-visual equipment cart, and extension cord as a group rather than booking each item individually.

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If your library has several pieces of the same equipment, you can rotate items to evenly distribute the wear.

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Library users can book items by the minute. You must specify the starting and ending dates and times for each booking.

The Materials Booking module is integrated with the Circulation module. Users are subject to the same eligibility checks when booking an item as they are when checking out an item. Patrons cannot check-out items if the due date falls within the period needed to prepare, ship, use, return, and clean a booked item. You can create a media desk to define booking profiles and shipping schedules. For information about configuring the Materials Booking module, see Getting Started with Materials Booking.

Wizards

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Checkout Bookings Wizard

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Discharge Bookings Wizard

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Create Bookings Wizard

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Modify User Bookings Wizard

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Modify Item Bookings Wizard

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