Offline Circulation

You can circulate your materials offline.

Offline simply means that the barcode numbers are collected outside of and separate from Destiny®.

For example, when your system is unavailable, you can continue to collect circulation information and process it when the system becomes available again. You can also conduct transactions in classrooms or bookmobiles where no computer is available.

To circulate offline, you can use any of the following:

• Follett Remote on a workstation
• Follett Remote on a wireless handheld device (Panther, Falcon, or 7100)
• A PHD Dolphin+
• A keyboard and a text editor
• A scanner and a text editor.

All of these hardware/software combinations produce a text file you can upload to Destiny for processing.
Please make sure the file name ends with .txt.

If you use a PHD Dolphin+ or create a text file, you need to include, in the file, special circulation command codes that indicate the type of transactions you are performing. (Follett Remote adds them automatically.)

Type of Transactions

• Library Manager: Checkins and checkouts are the only types of transactions that you can perform offline. You need to mark copies lost and manage fines and holds online.
• Textbook Manager: Checkins, checkouts to patrons, and checkouts to (local) teachers are the only types of transactions that you can perform offline. You need to check out by class online.

   

  Note: When checking out textbooks to teachers, the Undefined class is used. To transfer the offline checkouts to a single defined class, after uploading the remote circulation file to Destiny, retrieve the teacher in Patron Status in Circulation and click the transfer icon under Currently Teaching. You cannot transfer the checkouts to multiple classes.

• Resource Manager: Checkins, checkouts to patrons, and checkouts to locations are the only types of transactions that you can perform offline. You need to check out to departments, or locations without barcode numbers, online.

Circulate Offline with Follett Remote

Follett Remote is a small single-user application that allows you to collect copy and patron barcode numbers (by either scanning or typing) outside of Destiny.

Once you have downloaded and installed it, you can open the application by double-clicking the shortcut on your Desktop.

To open the application on a wireless handheld device, tap the Follett Remote shortcut on the device's Desktop.

To check out copies or items:

1. Choose the appropriate Circulation function from the Function menu.
2. Click the appropriate Check Out button.
3. Scan or enter the patron (or location) barcode.
4. Scan or enter one or more copy or item barcode numbers.
5. To check out copies or items to another patron or location, click New Patron or New Location and repeat steps 3 and 4.

To check in copies or items:

1. Choose the appropriate Circulation function from the Function menu.
2. Click Check In.
3. Scan or enter the copy or item barcode numbers.

Circulate Offline with Command Barcodes

You can check in and out offline by creating a file of barcode scans. If you are not using Follett Remote, you need to scan the special circulation command codes that indicate the type of transaction you are performing offline.

You can create the file several ways. In fact, you can use any method of barcode collection that results in the proper ASCII text format.

• You can use the PHD Dolphin+ to scan or enter barcode numbers into a Scan.Log file.
• You can use your scanner to scan barcodes into a text editor such as Notepad or SimpleText. You could also type the barcode numbers into the file.

  Note: Do not use Microsoft Word, WordPad, or Apple TextEdit. Hidden characters created by these programs can cause the upload to fail.

Circulation Command Codes

The circulation command codes are barcodes that indicate the type of transaction you are performing.

You can find these scannable circulation command codes on these sheets:
Library Circulation Commands,
Textbook Circulation Commands, and
Resource Circulation Commands.

The command barcodes are available on the Used tab of Barcode Labels on the Patron Reports page of Reports.

If you need to type in the circulation command codes

For the library:

• %C123H for Check Out
• %C127L for Check In

For textbooks:

• %C125J for Check Out to Patron
• %C124I for Check Out to Teacher
• (a local teacher only, to an undefined class)
• %C126K for Check In

For resources:

• %C121Q for Check Out to Patron
• %C122R for Check Out to Location
• %C120P for Check In

To create the file with a PHD Dolphin+ or a text editor:

1. Open your text editor or turn on your PHD Dolphin+.
2. Scan or enter the Check Out command code.
3. Scan or enter the patron (or location) barcode.
4. Scan or enter the copy or item barcode.
5. Repeat step 4 as needed for additional copies or items.
6. To check out copies or items to another patron or location, repeat steps 2-5.

When checking in, just scan or enter the appropriate Check In command code, and then scan or enter the copy or item barcodes.

Example of an Offline Circulation text file:

Text files

When you are finished, name and save the text file. Make sure to save it as a .txt file and record the name and location of the file. When Destiny is available, you need to upload the file.

Dolphin Scan.log files

If you collected your scans with a PHD Dolphin+, you need to transfer them to your workstation first.

To upload the file to Destiny:

Once you have created and saved a text file, transferred your data file from your handheld device, or transferred your Scan.Log file from your Dolphin to your workstation, you are ready to upload the file to Destiny:

1. Open Offline Circulation in Circulation.
2. Select the correct tab, if necessary.
3. Change the transaction date, if necessary. Click the calendar icon for a calendar.
4. For textbook or resource circulations, click the calendar icon to select the desired due date or loan period.
5. Click Browse to locate and select your barcode file.
6. If you are circulating to patrons from, or locations at, other schools, select the File may contain … check box.
7. Select any of the other options on the page.
8. Click Upload.
9. Open the job summary in the Job Manager to review the transactions.

Job summary content

Although Destiny automatically handles many exceptions, you may need to take further action. For example, Destiny automatically performs the following actions:

Library Materials

• Overrides any block conditions on a checkout and notes them in the job summary.
• Marks a copy Lost if the checkout patron is not found.
• If you circulate to patrons at other schools in the district and you did not select the File may contain … check box, marks the copy Lost and lists the patron with that barcode number in the job summary.
• If you circulate to patrons at other schools in the district and selected the File may contain … check box, but more than one patron has a specific barcode number, marks the copy Lost and lists each patron with that barcode number in the job summary.
• Lists, in the summary, any unknown copy that was checked in.
• If you selected Do not create temporary records, lists the unknown copy in the summary.
  Otherwise, Destiny creates a temporary copy for the checkout.
• Notes, in the summary, any holds that were readied, or fines that were created or deleted, or refunds credited on checkin.

Textbooks

• Marks a copy Lost if the checkout patron is not found.
• If you circulate to patrons at other schools in the district and you did not select the File may contain … check box, marks the copy Lost and lists the patron with that barcode number in the job summary.
• If you circulate to patrons at other schools in the district and selected the File may contain … check box, but more than one patron has a specific barcode number, marks the copy Lost and lists each patron with that barcode number in the job summary.
• Lists, in the summary, any unknown copy that was checked in.
• Lists, in the summary, any unknown copy that was checked out.
• Notes, in the summary, any fines that were created or deleted, or refunds credited on checkin.

Resources

• Marks an item Lost if the checkout patron is not found.
• If you circulate resources to patrons or locations at other schools and you did not select the File may contain … check box, marks the item Lost.
• If you circulate to patrons or locations at other schools in the district and selected the File may contain … check box, but more than one patron or location has a specific barcode number, marks the item Lost and lists each patron, or location, with that barcode number in the job summary.
• Lists, in the summary, any unknown item that was checked in.
• Lists, in the summary, any unknown item that was checked out.
• Notes, in the summary, a checkout of a resource type that is not allowed for the patron's Patron Type.

Permissions Needed

For Offline Circulation to appear in Circulation, you must have the following permissions:

Library Manager

• Check out library materials on the Library Materials tab
• Check in library materials on the Library Materials tab
• Monitor/delete site's jobs on the General tab

Textbook Manager

• Check out textbooks on the Textbooks tab
• Check in textbooks on the Textbooks tab
• Monitor/delete site's jobs on the General tab

Resource Manager

• Check out resources on the Resources tab
• Check in resources on the Resources tab
• Monitor/delete site's jobs on the General tab