Hi koha-devel, During my investigation on bug 668 [1], I've started discovering how reserve worked. I must admit I'm a bit disappointed about several points: 1. A reserve can be linked to a biblio or to an item. I've asked hdl on IRC in which case it was useful to reserve a specific item, he told me that was to avoid preventing an issue on another branch. My opinion is that this is not the right design if branches independance is the reason of item number in reserve table. 2. Reserve cancellation can only be made when reserve is linked to an item (this is the origin of the problem, coming from the correction on the bug 969 [2]). When trying to issue an item reserved, only the first reserve is displayed for confirmation of cancel and only the first reserve is cancelled if asked by the librarian, without changing the priority of other reserves. I think it's a bug of course. 3. Finally, I really don't understand why Koha ask for reserve cancellation when issuing. A warning isn't enough? Why would a librarian cancel the reserve of borrower B1 if she authorizes B2 to issue the item? It doesn't make sense to me. Please help me to understand the deep origin of this design I don't understand :-) [1] http://bugs.koha.org/cgi-bin/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=668 [2] http://bugs.koha.org/cgi-bin/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=969 Bye -- Pierrick LE GALL INEO media system
Hi Pierrick, I'm glad to hear you're looking closely at reserves. It's something that our library really depends on (as you can tell from all the bugs I've filed). I'd be great to get the reserves system tightened up.
1. A reserve can be linked to a biblio or to an item.
I know you're talking about the workings of the script here, but here's what we'd like to see at the other end: At NPL we'd like patrons to be able to reserve at the biblio level, and librarians to be able to reserve at either the biblio level or the item level. Our patrons don't have a need to reserve a particular barcode. To make that feature available to them would only be confusing. But librarians might need to reserve a particular item because of damage, for instance, or a missing CD from a set, etc.
When trying to issue an item reserved, only the first reserve is displayed for confirmation of cancel and only the first reserve is cancelled if asked by the librarian, without changing the priority of other reserves. I think it's a bug of course.
3. Finally, I really don't understand why Koha ask for reserve cancellation when issuing.
Perhaps this issue comes up more at a public library. We're very familiar with this situation: A woman places a reserve on a book, and when it arrives she sends her husband in with his card to check out the book. We issue the book to the husband and when Koha prompts us we say yes to override and yes to canceling the reserve (because the wife's reservation is being fulfilled by the transaction to her husband). In this case, /only/ the first (highest priority) reserve is relevant, so it's proper that only the first reserve is displayed. -- Owen
On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 12:27:10 -0400 Owen Leonard wrote:
Hi Pierrick,
Hi Owen,
1. A reserve can be linked to a biblio or to an item.
[...] But librarians might need to reserve a particular item because of damage, for instance, or a missing CD from a set, etc.
Instead of reserving a specific item, shouldn't we prevent from reserving damaged items? Isn't column items.notforloan done for this?
[... Pierrick wonders why only first reserve can be cancelled ...]
[...] A woman places a reserve on a book, and when it arrives she sends her husband [...] /only/ the first reserve is relevant [...]
I don't understand why woman's reserve would be the first in the list. Do you mean that only if the reserve shown is for the woman, then the librarian can issue the book to her husband? When trying to issue a book, wouldn't it be better to list all the reserves on the biblio and let the librarian select the reserves to cancel? Bye -- Pierrick LE GALL INEO media system
On Wed, Apr 26, 2006 at 10:01:32AM +0200, Pierrick LE GALL said:
On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 12:27:10 -0400 Owen Leonard wrote:
Hi Pierrick,
Hi Owen,
1. A reserve can be linked to a biblio or to an item.
[...] But librarians might need to reserve a particular item because of damage, for instance, or a missing CD from a set, etc.
Instead of reserving a specific item, shouldn't we prevent from reserving damaged items? Isn't column items.notforloan done for this?
Hmmm, no what Owen is meaning, suppose an item is out on loan, and you want it to be flagged when its returned a librarian could place a reserve on it. And when its returned the reserve will pop up. Reserving specific items is a legitimate need for librarians, not nessecarily for the public, but for librarians.
[... Pierrick wonders why only first reserve can be cancelled ...]
[...] A woman places a reserve on a book, and when it arrives she sends her husband [...] /only/ the first reserve is relevant [...]
I don't understand why woman's reserve would be the first in the list. Do you mean that only if the reserve shown is for the woman, then the librarian can issue the book to her husband?
When trying to issue a book, wouldn't it be better to list all the reserves on the biblio and let the librarian select the reserves to cancel?
Maybe, but I as a borrower would be annoyed if I placed a reserve on a book, and the librarian issued it to a person who reserved it after me. Chris -- Chris Cormack Programmer 027 4500 789 Katipo Communications Ltd chris@katipo.co.nz www.katipo.co.nz
On Wed, 26 Apr 2006 20:28:56 +1200 Chris Cormack <chris@katipo.co.nz> wrote:
Instead of reserving a specific item, shouldn't we prevent from reserving damaged items? Isn't column items.notforloan done for this?
Hmmm, no what Owen is meaning, suppose an item is out on loan, and you want it to be flagged when its returned a librarian could place a reserve on it. And when its returned the reserve will pop up.
OK, there must be something I don't understand because I would have thought in that case the librarian would have flagged a biblio, not a specific item. What can be the reasons for a librarian to place a reserve on a specific item?
When trying to issue a book, wouldn't it be better to list all the reserves on the biblio and let the librarian select the reserves to cancel?
Maybe, but I as a borrower would be annoyed if I placed a reserve on a book, and the librarian issued it to a person who reserved it after me.
I understand (this is why I wondered why it was possible to cancel a reserve and even to issue a reserved biblio). In the example given by Owen, how does the librarian know borrower B1 is really the husband/boyfriend/brother on borrower B2? -- Pierrick LE GALL INEO media system
On Wed, Apr 26, 2006 at 10:41:33AM +0200, Pierrick LE GALL said:
On Wed, 26 Apr 2006 20:28:56 +1200 Chris Cormack <chris@katipo.co.nz> wrote:
Hmmm, no what Owen is meaning, suppose an item is out on loan, and you want it to be flagged when its returned a librarian could place a reserve on it. And when its returned the reserve will pop up.
OK, there must be something I don't understand because I would have thought in that case the librarian would have flagged a biblio, not a specific item. What can be the reasons for a librarian to place a reserve on a specific item?
For some of the reasons owen gave, it may be damaged and you want to grab it the next time its returned to repair it. Or it may be that a specific item you want to send to another branch. So when its returned you want it to flag so you can deal with it.
Maybe, but I as a borrower would be annoyed if I placed a reserve on a book, and the librarian issued it to a person who reserved it after me.
I understand (this is why I wondered why it was possible to cancel a reserve and even to issue a reserved biblio).
In the example given by Owen, how does the librarian know borrower B1 is really the husband/boyfriend/brother on borrower B2?
Often librarians know their patrons well :) especially in public libraries. There are all sorts of reasons why someone might want to a biblio that has a reserve on it. Generally if a borrower has found the book on the shelf .. you dont want to say you cant have this because our system failed and we put a reserved book on the shelves. So you issue it, but dont cancel any reserves. Or a borrower who has a reserve on a biblio, finds a copy of it, and takes it up to the issue desk. Now since the library has made a mistake, (ie a reserved book shouldnt be on the shelf) we have the option to issue it and cancel their reserve, or say sorry this is on reserve for someone else. But we should give the library the option to choose. Hope this is some help Chris -- Chris Cormack Programmer 027 4500 789 Katipo Communications Ltd chris@katipo.co.nz www.katipo.co.nz
participants (3)
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Chris Cormack -
Owen Leonard -
Pierrick LE GALL