Re: [IUG] Julian calendar question/semester long checkout

["Sue Whitehead" <sue dot whitehead at biola dot edu>]

I'm not sure it will work for you to just estimate the number of days in
the semester, unless your students will all check the reserve items out on
the same day of the semester.  For example, if you set the loan rule for
104 days, and someone checks an item out on day 25 of the semester, it
would be due after the term is over.

Yes, if you use the Julian calendar date approach, you will need to reset
it every semester. If renewal of the materials is an issue, that also must
be taken into account in your timing of the change of the loan rule.

We use it for faculty due dates for books; We use 3 terms per year (fall,
spring, and summer).  So I have to change the loan rule 3 times a year. 
The due date varies from year to year, because the end of the term differs
each year.  And because we allow them to renew the books once, that had to
be incorporated into the policy.  But we don't fine the faculty, so I
didn't have to deal with that issue.

With our policy, the faculty can renew anytime within 28 days of the
expire date.  So I have to change the Julian date in the loan rule 28 days
before the end of term.  For example, if a faculty member checks a book
out one week before end of term, he/she will have a due date of the end of
the next term.  And if he/she also brings in some books to renew, those
will also get the due date of the end of the next term.  But those are
just the specific details for our policy.  Yours will probably be somewhat
less complicated, especially if renewal of the materials is not involved.

I did a lot of testing of the loan rule before we started using it.

For the Julian date calculation, I use this website:

www.fs.fed.us/raws/book/julian.shtml

You just put in the date you want, click on the red arrow, and it will
calculate the Julian date for you.  

I also made a document which shows the date I need to make the change, and
what the new due date will be, and what the Julian date should be for the
loan rule.  I look at it once a year, make the new calculations for the
year, and put a note on my calendar to change the rule on the correct day.
 I give a copy of the document to the Head of Public Services, so that the
Circulation Dept. will be informed when the change will occur, and what
the new due date will be for faculty.

When I was trying to work out the details for our loan rule change, I
searched the III User Group Listserv archives.  Although none of the
messages had the specific answer for my exact situation, there were
several which helped me work through the problem.  We've been using this
approach for several years now, and it has allowed us to implement the
policy our Dean wanted for the faculty due dates.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Sue Whitehead,  
Systems Librarian/Archivist
Biola University
sue dot whitehead at biola dot edu



IUG INNOPAC List <innopac at innopacusers dot org> on Tuesday, July 08, 2008 at
8:16 AM -0800 wrote:
Hi-
I need to set up a special reserve Loan Rule for a semester long checkout.
Our longest checkout time currently is 28 days, and I'm not sure the best
route to go here. I can either estimate the length of the semester in
days, about 104-108, or use the Julian calendar date.
But if I use the Julian calendar option, is this something that I have to
reset every semester to reflect the new date?
Anyone have any experience or advice for me?
Thanks, 


- Amelia
 
Amelia Klem Osterud
Access Services Librarian
Carroll University Library
100 N. East Ave.
Waukesha, WI 53186
(262) 650-4888
aosterud at cc dot edu


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