Policy
and Procedure Statement 2.4.7
Uncataloged and On-Order Materials: Searches, Checkouts, Holds
January
1996
I. General Overview
Bibliographic access
to materials received but not yet cataloged and to materials not yet received
is made possible by searching by author or title on MAGIC or Innopac. It remains in both databases until the item has
been cataloged.
Anyone desiring to
check out an item so indicated in the catalog should request the item at the
Information Referral Center (IRC). The staff member at the IRC will complete a
search request form and will give the requestor a slip which explains the
process.
At 10:00 a.m., Monday
through Friday, staff from Acquisitions in Technical Services will pick up uncatalogued book requests from the IRC. A search for the
item will be conducted in Technical Services. NOTE: Requests submitted to IRC
after 10:00 a.m. or on weekends or holidays will not be forwarded to Technical
Services for searching until the next working day at 10:00 a.m.
Requests can also be
sent to the "Uncats" email address. They
will be collected at 10:00 a.m.
If an item is
immediately available for check out, Circulation will mail a notice to pick it
up will be mailed to the requestor.
II. Specific Procedures
All requests for uncatalogued items are handled initially by the IRC staff
or through the email uncats
address.
1. Prior to accepting these requests, MAGIC
should be consulted. If the item is cataloged on MAGIC, normal IRC searching
and/or hold procedures will be followed.
2. If the item is not found cataloged on MAGIC,
the IRC staff member should explain that the item is not available immediately
and should complete the Uncatalogued Book Search
form.
3. At this time, the requestor will be given a
slip which explains the notification process.
A staff member from
Acquisitions picks up all requests from the IRC desk at 10:00 a.m., Monday
through Friday. In Acquisitions each request is checked to determine if the
item has been received.
1. If the item has not been received:
a. The word "notify" and the patron
barcode will be added to the Innopac record. Once
received the item will be rush catalogued for the requestor and placed on the
"notify" shelf. Circulation staff will pick up the books, sort out
those that can circulate from the Main Circulation desk, notify the requestor
of the availability of those items and will hold them for the requestor. Branch
Libraries are responsible for notifying requestors of the availability/status
of branch materials.
2. If the order for the item has been canceled:
a. The "order canceled/book missing"
response will be recorded on the request form.
b. The form will be returned to Circulation
where a staff member will mail the requestor a copy of the response and
instructions for submitting an Interlibrary Loan request.
3. If the item has been received:
a. A MAGIC/OCLC search will be conducted to
determine if the item has been cataloged.
(1) If the item has been catalogued:
(a) A MAGIC copy holdings record is printed and a
note "cataloged" is attached to the request form.
(b) The response will be forwarded to Circulation
who will locate the item and notify the patron.
b. If the item is not yet catalogued, it will be
traced through the Technical Services work flow. A notify streamer will be
completed and inserted into the item along with a rush flag and the request
form. The item will then be placed in the rush cataloging work flow and follow
as in B.1.a. above.
4. If the item is received but not found in
Technical Services:
a. Acquisitions staff will return one copy of
the request (including all patron information provided by IRC or the email
request) to Circulation marked "still searching" and file the request
in a pending folder for continued searching. Circulation will mail the
requestor a copy of the response, an ILL request form, and instructions for
submitting an Interlibrary Loan request.
b. Acquisitions will continue to search for up
to six months. When the item is located the request and a notify streamer will
be inserted in the item and the item will be rush catalogued following as in
B.1.a. above.
c. If, after six months, the item cannot be
located, the Innopac record of the item will be
marked "missing" and the bibliographers will be notified for re-order
consideration.
5. If a second uncatalogued
book request is received in Acquisitions for an item which has already been
placed into the rush cataloguing work flow:
a. The item should be located, the patron
information added to the notify streamer and the request form inserted in the
book.
If the item is
destined to Special Collections or Government Documents the procedure differs
because the uncataloged materials are housed in the
branch:
1. Acquisitions staff forward
the uncatalogued book request to Special Collections
or Government Documents as appropriate.
2. Special Collections or Government Documents
staff locate the item, insert the notify paperwork, and send the item to be
cataloged.
a. Special Collections staff notifies the
requestor when the item is available.
b. Government Documents staff
return the item and the paperwork to Monograph Acquisitions and the item is
rush cataloged following regular procedures.