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Workflow management

Discover the options to implement a cataloguing workflow in OLIB.

About workflow management

Using cataloguing workflow management in OLIB you can:

  • Assign statuses to Title records to represent the various stages in your cataloguing workflow
  • Configure different lists of statuses depending on the Media Type
  • Automatically allocate a Title to a member of staff when the record's status is changed
  • Automatically set a Title to a specific status when a newly ordered item is checked in
  • Set the record's accession date to the current date when the status is set to a specific status

Setup procedure

A sample set of Title statuses is included as standard in Title/Series Statuses. However, the Media Type field is not set for these statuses, so they will not appear in a Title's Record Status field when you are cataloguing. You will need to edit the existing Status records or create new ones as follows:

  1. Go to Cataloguing Reference Data> Title/Series Statuses.
  2. Enter the Key ID, Short and Long Description as normal reference data.
  3. Choose the Media Type to which the status relates.
  4. Enter the Sequence number between 1 and 99 representing the status's stage in the cataloguing workflow. E.g. if Being Catalogued is the first stage in the cataloguing workflow, set that Status to Sequence number 1. (Statuses are sorted by this sequence rather than by the status's description).
  5. In Allocate To choose the person who this record will be automatically allocated to when a title's status is changed to this status. (If the Allocate To field is blank, the Allocated To field in the title record will be cleared when the title record is set to this status.

 Note: you would leave the Allocate To field blank in the status record representing the final stage in the cataloguing workflow, so that the title record will not be allocated to anyone once it reaches that stage.

  1. Set Assign On Checkin? to Yes to automatically set the title record's Status field to this status when an order item is checked in. Typically it is set to Yes for the status which represents the first stage in the cataloguing workflow.
  2. Set Accession Date? to Yes to automatically set the title record's Accession Date field to the current date when it's status is set to this status. Typically, it is set to Yes for the status which represents the last stage in the cataloguing workflow. Note that OLIB only sets the title's accession date if it has not already been set - if you have set the title's accession date manually, this will not be overridden.

Use workflow management

  1. Go to Titles.
  2. Search for the relevant Title and check you have the standard General layout on display.
  3. Click on the Related Items and Control Data tab.
  • The Record Status field shows the title's current status in the cataloguing workflow. Click the down arrow to display the list of available statuses that the record can be changed to. The list is limited to the statuses with the media type that matches this title's media type. If this field is blank when a copy of this title is checked in, the field will be automatically set to the title status which has Assign On Checkin? set to Yes.
  • Allocated To is the User to whom the record has been allocated. This may be set automatically depending on the Record Status's Allocate To field. You can set it manually by using Search to find the User record then selecting / inserting into the Title.
  • The title's Accession Date initiates the title's inclusion in SDI alerts and bulletins. The date is essential If you operate either of these services. It is set automatically when you change the Status to one which has the Set Accession Date field set to Yes. However, you can set or reset it manually if required. If the field is blank when a Copy is checked in, the field will be automatically set to the current date if the Status for this title has -
  • Assign On Checkin? set to Yes
  • Set Accession Date? set to Yes

Changes to the record status in the title record

  • The Allocated To field will also be changed to whatever is in the Allocate To field in the Status Record.
  • The Title Allocated To field will be cleared if the Allocate To field is blank
  • If the new Status's Set Accession Date? field is set to Yes and the Title's Accession Date field is blank, then the Title's Accession Date field will be set to the current date.