Simplification of the borrower registration procedure for subscriber borrowers is the object of a Project Group that has been sponsored by Te Paea.
There is a general discussion document and minutes of the first meeting on the K drive: K:\LIBR-Library\Projects\Borrower-Registration
Generally, subscriber borrowers are those whose sole relationship with the library is that they wish to borrow books. There are variations on the theme but the purpose of the group is to recommend a clear and simple process.
The project group is Romy Forrer, Jenny Owens, Lyn Gifford, Sandra Gover, Jan Scandlyn and Tim O’Sullivan.
If you have suggestions and comments please pass them on to the project group
Tim O’Sullivan (convener)
The first thing that leapt out at me, reading the initial project meeting document, is the number of issues the project ducks by declaring them “beyond the scope of this project”. There isn’t a whole lot of project left! My particular hair-tearing and wailing moments were reserved for the project’s abdication from dealing with the problems associated with Retired Staff. Retired Staff records are a major cause of problems, consume a lot of staff time, create considerable frustration for individual retired borrowers, and absolutely SHOULD be addressed as soon as possible. This has already been put in the quoted “too-hard basket” for so long the basket is worn out.
The first part of looking at retired staff should be addressing the library-imposed bit of programming that intervenes and, no matter what HR does at their end, replaces the borrower’s preferred email address (the one they write on their application or 3-yearly renewal form for us) with their old staff one. This old UC Staff email overwrites a personal address even if, as in a case last year, the borrower retired 12 years ago. The result is the library sending notices and recalls, and ultimately fines and invoices, to an address different to the one we asked for and accepted as preferred, and that we know full well the borrower may not know they even have, nor be able to access. It is one of my longest-standing frustrations.
Jack