Rush requests are items that patrons have expressed an immediate need for. Any patron can place a rush request, but it is most common from faculty and for course reserves.
Library policy is to fill a rush request within 24 hours of submission (Monday – Friday). An item can only be “rushed” if it has been physically received in Alma.
After a Rush request has been received, it will be sent to the primary cataloger (Macaela). If the primary cataloger is not available, the request should be to the Head of Systems &Technical Services.
The primary cataloger will, as soon as possible, verify that the item has been received and verify the item can be cataloged within 24hrs. Although extremely unlikely, if a rush request cannot be fulfilled within 24hrs, XXXXXX will contact the patron as quickly as possible to explain the situation.
When cataloging a rush item, the requestor’s name needs to be added to item. To do this, click on the “…” (More Actions) menu for the item and select Request.
Select Patron Physical Item Request as the Request type, add the patron’s name from the rush request and add the pickup location. The pickup location is which library (Andersen or Lenox) the patron is expecting to get the item from. This information should be included with the Rush Request. Then click the blue Submit in the upper right corner of the screen.
After the rush item has been cataloged, it will be placed in the designated area of the student workstation for labeling. Students will be directed to prioritize processing items in the area before completing other tasks, unless directed otherwise. Labeling will follow the standard process for the materials in question.
If there aren’t any students scheduled with the turn- around time of the request, the cataloger or another staff member should process the material.
After the item has been labeled, it should be given to the primary cataloger as soon as possible.
If time allows, the primary or copy cataloger will do a final review before taking the requested materials to Access Services.
After the item has been cataloged and labeled, it should be taken to Access Services and given to the staff member. Be sure to tell the staff member what the pickup location is for the item, as that will determine their next step. If the pickup location is Andersen, staff will scan the item’s barcode in the Scan In screen and place the item on the Hold Shelf. If the pickup location is Lenox, they will need to arrange for the item to be sent to that location. Once there, the barcode will be scanned and the items placed on the Hold Shelf.
Note that scanning the barcode in the Scan In screen will generate a Hold Slip and, approximately one hour later, an email notification will be sent to the patron.
Items sent from Technical Services to another department (generally one of the circulation desks) will have a status of In Transit and need to be received before being put on the shelf.
While at either the main CircDesk or the Rock CircDesk location,
Then go to the Fulfillment -> Scan in Items screen from the left sidebar.
Scan the item barcode in the Scan in Item tab. The options for printing a slip and the external identifier should remain their default settings, Yes and No, respectively. After the item has been scanned, the destination will be reshelve to its permanent location and the Request/Process Type will be empty.
If the item has been requested by a patron, a message will appear on the screen. Click OK, collect the hold slip from the main printer at the CircDeak, and place the item on the hold shelf. Approximately, an hour later, the patron will receive an email notifying them that the item is available for them to pick up.
If the items are being put on New Arrivals shelves, the temporary location can be changed in the Change Item Information tab. The item will show the temporary location as its location and the destination will be Reshelve.
For more information on using temporary locations, see the section on Temporary Locations