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Notification Policies

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Learn how to create and edit notification policies as well as set up print notifications.

To access this screen, sign in Service Configuration, open the WMS Circulation left navigation, select Notifications and Receipts, and then select the Notification Policies link.

Use the Notification Policies screen to configure notifications to be sent to patron when they have bills, holds, schedules, overdue items, or recalled items.

  • Notifications are sent via email.
  • The content of the notification is generated at the moment the email is sent.  Changes to the Notification Policies will be reflected in emails to patrons if the email was sent after the change was saved. 
  • Notifications are sent by the system daily at 7:00 am local time. Local time is based on the time zone set on the Open Hours screen in the WorldCat Registry module.
  • The below notifications can be configured to be sent hourly at the top of the hour. Contact OCLC Support for assistance. If not configured to be sent at the top of the hour, these notifications will be sent by the system daily at 7:00 am local time.
    • Hold Expiry Notifications
    • Hold Pickup Notifications
    • Schedule Expiry Notifications
  • Libraries using Tipasa should work with their interlibrary loan department to evaluate the library's Tipasa notification settings and determine whether to use notifications from WorldShare Circulation or from Tipasa. This will prevent patrons from receiving multiple notifications for items about to be due, overdue or available for pickup.

Create or edit notification policies

  1. On the Notification Policies screen, click Create New, or click the Policy Name you want to edit.
  2. On the Create New or Edit Policy screen, enter a Policy Name.
  3. Enter a description of the policy.
  4. Select a Notification Type from the list. See Notification Types.
  5. Enter a Subject.
  6. Enter Start Text.
    • Do not enter more than 500 characters.
    • The system generates a list of items, based on the Notification Types, which appear between the start and end text.
    • Optional. Include your institution's name and contact information.
  7. Enter End Text.
    • Do not enter more than 500 characters.
    • Optional. Include your institution's name and contact information.
  8. Select a Default Delivery Method from the list.
    • Email is the only available method at this time.
    • The system sends emails from no-reply@oclc.org.
  9. Select when you would like to send the notification.
    • This option is not available for Schedule Pickup Notifications or Schedule Placed Notifications.
    • For Loan Overdue Notifications, you can select to send notifications before the event occurs.
  10. For Bill Notifications, enter an amount to trigger when the notification is sent.
  11. (Optional). To add additional notifications to the policy, click the Add button (Add button).
  12. Click Save.

To activate a notification policy for automatic email receipts, open the WMS Circulation left navigation, select Notifications and Receipts, and then select the Additional Patron Notifications link.  Under the Automatic Email Receipts heading, select the appropriate notification policies.

Notification Types

Find descriptions for the available notification types.

Notification type Description
Bill Notification

Use to notify patrons that they have accrued bills.

  • You can configure the notification to be sent out after a set amount is reached. 
    • If the value entered is left blank or set to zero (0) for the amount of bill accrued, notifications will be sent for every bill.
  • Includes membership bill details if available. See Membership Policies.
  • Used in Patron Type Policy.
Hold Pickup Notification

Use to notify patrons that their hold is ready for pickup.
Hold Request Expiry Notification

Use to notify patrons that their hold request expired before an item was found to fulfill the request or was deleted.
Hold Shelf Expiry Notification

Use to notify patrons that their hold has expired (has been pulled from the hold shelf).

  • The notification is queued to be sent once the item has expired from the hold shelf (the patron failed to pick up their hold during the time set in the Hold Shelf Period).
  • Used in Hold Fulfillment Policy.
Schedule Expiry Notification

Use to notify patrons that their scheduled item has expired.

  • The notification is queued to be sent after a scheduled item has expired (the patron did not check out the item during the scheduled time).
  • Used in Scheduling Policy
Schedule Pickup Notification

Use to notify patrons that their scheduled item is ready for pickup.
Schedule Placed Notification

Use to notify patrons that their scheduled item has been successfully placed.

  • The notification is queued to be sent once a schedule has been placed by staff for a patron.
  • Used in Scheduling Policy
Loan Overdue Notification

Use to notify patrons that their item is overdue.

  • You may choose to have different overdue notices according to your loan policies. To send courtesy notices, select to send the notification before the event occurs. Subsequent notices are configured on the same notification policy.
  • You may choose to assess a fee for sending an overdue notification to a patron.  The fee specified will be assessed per notification, not by the number of items on the notification. To assess a fee, first create a Bill Structure for the fee and then select the appropriate Bill Structures from the Bill for sending notification drop down menu in the form. The default is to not assess a fee.
  • The notification is queued to be sent before an item is overdue (if configured) and/or after an item is overdue.
  • Used in Loan Policy.
Recall Notification

Use to notify patrons that their item has been recalled.
Room Schedule Placed Notification

Use to notify patrons that their room event has been scheduled.

  • The notification is queued to be sent once an event has been created for a room.
  • Used in Room Scheduling.
Room Schedule Expiry Notification

Use to notify patrons that their room reservation has been canceled.

  • The notification is queued to be sent after the cancellation occurs.
  • Used in Room Scheduling.
Room Schedule Reminder Notification

Use to notify patrons that they have a room reservation.

  • The notification is queued to be sent before the event occurs.
  • Used in Room Scheduling.
Suspension Notification

Use to notify patrons about suspension activity.

  • The notification is sent hourly to any patrons that have had suspension time added in the previous hour.
  • Suspension notifications include details about the suspension-related events and the patron's suspended-until date.
  • Used in Patron Type Policy.
Automatic Checkin Receipt Notification

Use to notify patrons that their item has been checked in.

  • The notification is queued to be sent once the item has been checked in.
  • For libraries that participate in group circulation, the library user will receive the notification as configured by their home institution.
  • Used in the Additional Patron Notifications.
Automatic Due Date Receipt Notification

Use to notify patrons of their item due date.

  • The notification is queued to be sent once the item has been checked out.
  • For libraries that participate in group circulation, the library user will receive the notification as configured by their home institution.
  • Used in the Additional Patron Notifications.
Membership Bill Notification

Use to notify patrons that a membership bill has been created against their account.

  • Includes the billed amount and the period of membership time this will purchase.
  • Used in Membership Policies.
Membership Confirmation Notification

Use to notify patrons that their membership has been activated.

  • Includes the original billed amount and the expiration date of the membership.
  • Used in Membership Policies.
Membership Expiry Reminder Notification

Use to notify patrons that their membership is approaching expiration.

  • Configure the number of days prior to expiration to notify the member in the Send Expiry Reminder section in Membership Policies.
  • Used in Membership Policies.

Copy notification policies

  1. Click the Policy Name you want to copy.
  2. In the top right corner, click Copy. The copied policy appears.
  3. Enter a policy name and edit any additional fields.
  4. Click Save.

Delete notification policies

 Policies cannot be deleted if they are in use.

  1. Click the Policy Name you want to delete.
  2. In the top right corner, click Delete.
  3. On the Confirm window, click OK.

Notification translations for multilingual WMS groups

Configure the below Notification Policies with custom translations for all primary languages used by group aware libraries.  When an email notification is generated, the system will use the translation that matches the language preference of the patron's home library.  

To use this feature, at least one member library must select a different language or country in the Currency and Locale settings of the WorldCat Registry. 

Translations are optional. If no translation exists, the notification will be delivered using the default language. Translations will not apply to printed receipts, emails sent manually from the staff interface, or print notices created for patrons without an email address. The default translation of the printing/sending institution will be used.

  1. On the Notification Policies screen, click the Policy Name to add a translation.
  2. On the Edit Policy screen, select the additional language tab.
  3. Select the Activate setting to send notifications in this language if it matches the language preference of the patron's home library.
  4. Enter the translated text for Subject, Start Text, and End Text.
  5. Select a Default Delivery Method from the list.
    • Email is the only available method at this time.
    • The system sends emails from no-reply@oclc.org.
  6. Select when you would like to send the notification.
    • This option is not available for Schedule Pickup Notifications or Schedule Placed Notifications.
    • For Loan Overdue Notifications, you can select to send notifications before the event occurs.
  7. Click Save.

  Note: The following notification types are always sent by the patron's home library. At this time, translated text can be provided in Service Configuration but will not be used by the system:

  • Bill Notification
  • Hold Request Expiry Notification
  • Suspension Notification