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Y'all are great! I swear, within 20 minutes of my original post/screed about 
Follett, I about 10 hits. Here's the original:
 
I use Follett, with all records kept on our school server. Frequently, when doing 
overdues, I will get the information that a student has overdue materials, but when 
I check the shelves and/or my receipt book, will find that the material has been 
returned and any fine owed paid. in other words, the overdue or the fine owed 
reappear like malicious little ghosts on my records.

Is this a wide-spread problem? Even more, is there a solution? Follett tech support 
claims the problem is with our server. My tech guru's reply to that is usually 
unprintable.

 Here are some of the replies:

We are experiencing the same problem, the same response from Follett, and the same 
unprintable replies from our tech department.  The problems we are experiencing are 
even more wide-spread, including incorrect results being displayed in patron and 
item searches.  Are you on a virtual server?  We are also experiencing problems 
with keyword index rebuilding; this doesn't seem to solve the problem of only being 
able to find items by barcode or ISBN number.
***

I have seen that problem over and over with Follett over the past 14
years that I have used Circ / Cat in two different locations.  I have
had the experience of checking the book in myself, and a minute or two
later checking on it and finding that it had not been checked in when I
know it was done. 

It's not your server, it's the program.

***

Interesting,  My server has a similar problem. Hmmm.  Fines haven't been a problem 
because we don't collect them for overdues but occasionally books will resurface on 
the shelves miraculously and in the correct place, something I know my students 
aren't able to do. I keep thinking it's my fault and perhaps sometimes it is and 
perhaps sometimes it might not be (:^)  

***
I have been having the same problem, more so lately it seems.  I'm
switching to Destiny this summer, so hopefully the problem goes away.

***
We have been using the Destiny version now for several years, but prior to that- 
most definitely it was a problem! 
 
It was blamed on items not being scanned in properly and several other things. I 
personally checkin and then out a little boy's books. He walked down the hall, 
changed his mind and came back. Guess what had happened meanwhile!!
***
 
We use Follett Circ+ here and I always have students who come in saying they either 
never checked out the book or they have returned it.  I don't know why it 
happens...but my guess is database bugs.  Follett tech support is a joke. Since 
January of this year my server has been throwing error after error. (Usually when I 
am not in the building and can't fix it.)  Tech support says the problem is power 
surges/spikes, but no other servers are going down and our logs do not indicate any 
such problems.   Go figure... 

***
I have never had that problem with fines but it happens all the time with overdue 
materials.  I think that my assistant occasionally gets in too big of a hurry and 
scans too rapidly and the system does not have a chance to "process" the 
checking-in of a book.  If you find a better answer, please let me know!  (OK, I'll 
admit I've done this, too. But for cryin' out loud, not every freakin' time!! ADH)
 
***
 don't do fines, so I can't answer that part of your question.  The problem that I 
do have is that the scanner will read only part of the bar code.  Sometimes it will 
leave off the first or last number, but sometimes it will skip one in the middle.  
(done this, too.) I know the kid didn't check out the book when, for instance, it 
says the kindergartner has checked out War and Peace.  When a student tells me he 
has already returned the book, I look at the bar code.  If it is a 4 digit number 
instead of a 5 digit number, I investigate further, because it is now suspect.  If 
he can find the book he returned, I can check, and see right away that the scanner 
goofed.  It is very frustrating because I want to be able to tell the kid for sure 
that I know he still has the book.
 
***
 
So. My opinion? All in all - Follett has a problem and doesn't want to admit it. 
Creeps. And this judgment in no way reflects the fact that I spent 5 hours of my 
own time today  - school's out and I'm off contract - contending with parents who 
swear that their child (1) didn't check the book out (2) returned the book (3) gave 
the book to a teacher to turn in, despite the information that (1) every locker, 
classroom and nook and cranny has been checked and rechecked for books and (2) the 
fact that I've rescanned everything for the third time. 
 
You wanna know something? I love my job - I really do. However, it's little things 
like this that make me long for a job in a flower shop. Or the night shift at a 
morgue. 
  
Amanda Hutchins
Library Media Specialist
Rison High School
700 Main St.
P.O. Box 600
Rison, AR 71665
phone: 870-325-7673
fax: 870-325-6799
e-mail: ahutchin@rison.k12.ar.us <mailto:ahutchin@rison.k12.ar.us> 
 
 
 
You see, I don't believe that libraries should be drab places where people sit in 
silence, and that's been the main reason for our policy of employing wild animals 
as librarians. 
- Monty Python skit 

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