Target -> What to do when circ goes down

["Donna J. Reidhead" <reidhead@PSD.K12.CO.US>]

Dear Virtual Colleagues,

        We are just completing our first year with a web-based library
circulation system.  While there are some aspects of the system that many
of us like (viewing the OPAC from any computer with web access, for
example), I have not found an acceptable way to handle checkin and
checkout when our Wide Area Network goes down.  Our system does not have a
way to handle these things off-line.

        We have a mostly-fixed schedule for library checkout classes and a
student population of about 580.  Our classes are often tightly scheduled.
Our students have unlimited checkout above 2nd grade, but usually have no
more than 5-6 items at a time.

We've tried stacking the books from students with a sticky-note with the
child's name on the top book.  After they've been scanned into the system
later,  we deliver books to classrooms or call the class back to pick them
up.  We've had scores of books pile up, and stacks of books topple over
and make a mess.

We've tried writing down student names and the books' barcodes and then
have to enter the numbers by hand.  This leaves us with too many errors in
either the writing or the entering.

We are considering these options for next year:
        - If the system goes down while the kids are checking out, we
would finish that class with one of the ways above.
        - We would cancel checkout classes if the system is down before
the class arrives.
        - We would take the classes, but not allow kids to check books out
if the system is down while they are there.  (This, to me, seems like the
hardest one: "See all these neat books?  You can't have any!")

Are there other ways that you have tried?

We have a microwave link to the WAN from our district and have experienced
almost 30 documented losses of WAN access so far this year - sometimes for
ten minutes and sometimes for a half day or longer.  Does that seem like
an acceptable amount of down-time?

 I'm hoping that others with more experience have suggestions that I can
use to come up with a procedure to handle this with more grace and poise
than I have been able to muster.  I will post a HIT if there is interest.
TIA - DJR

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Donna J. Reidhead                         Timnath Elementary School (K-6)
Media and Technology Teacher            P.O. Drawer 10   3909 Main Street
reidhead@psd.k12.co.us                            Timnath, Colorado 80547
School: (970) 493-5978                                Fax: (970) 493-1264
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