History

Item Statistics: Last Issued To

Use this setting to determine whether to retain the name of the patron that last checked out an item in the item statistics and in WorldShare Reports. If retention of this field is disabled or the patron record no longer exists, the name of the institution that last borrowed the material appears in the Last Issued To field. 

Options include:

• Never retain: Select this option to disable retention.
  • All data in your existing item records will also be deleted within seven days of your configuration change. The deletion process will run weekly on Saturdays at 22:00 (10:00 PM) in your WMS data center's timezone. After deletion, your data cannot be recovered by OCLC. You will be asked to confirm the deletion when saving this change to your History configuration.
  • Retain for a specific period of time between 1 day and 60 months: Select this option to retain and display the name of the patron that last checked out the item for a specific period of time.
    1. Enter a number in the text field.
    2. Select a duration from the drop-down list.
       • Days
       • Weeks
       • Months 
• Retain forever: Select this option to retain and display the name of the patron that last checked out the item.

 Caution: If you choose not to retain item statistics or reduce your retention period, previously stored data that should no longer be retained will be deleted within seven days of your configuration change. The deletion process will run weekly on Saturdays at 22:00 (10:00 PM) in your WMS data center's timezone. After deletion, your data cannot be recovered by OCLC.

For Circulation groups:

• The Item Statistics: Last Issued To retention policy will be controlled by the patron's home institution. This ensures that your library remains in control of the retention of data about your users.
  Example:  If a patron of Library A checked out an item from Library B's collection, then the retention policy of Library A will be used to determine if the patron's information is stored in the item statistics for Library B's item.

Staff Transaction History

Use this setting to store transaction history for items and patrons.

• The system retains circulation transactions (check ins, check outs, etc.) when transaction history is stored.
• When stored, transaction history can be viewed:
  • In the Transaction History section of the Item Details screen (item transaction history)
  • In the History tab of a patron account (patron transaction history)
• For Circulation groups:
  • Library staff are able to view all retained transactions for patrons and items, regardless of where the event took place or the home library of the patron or item. For example, you will be able to see history for your patrons, even if they checked out or returned materials at a different library in your group.
    • For the best experience, all members of the group should consider retaining transactions for the same period of time. Only transactions within the relevant retention period will be displayed to library staff. 

Notification History

Use this setting to store notification history.

• The system retains the notifications sent to patrons when notification history is stored.
• When stored, notification history can be viewed in History tab of the patron record
• For Circulation groups:
  • Library staff are able to view all retained notifications for patrons and items, regardless of where the event took place or the home library of the patron or item. For example, you will be able to view bill receipts and overdue notification history for your patrons, even if they checked out or returned materials at a different library in your group.
    • For the best experience, all members of the group should consider retaining notifications for the same period of time. Only notifications within the relevant retention period will be displayed to library staff.

Patron Borrowing History

Use this feature to allow library users to see a list of materials that they have previously had on loan or used in the library via the in-house use workflow in My Account. 

• Never retain: Do not retain patron borrowing history.
• Retain for a specific period between 1 month and 60 months: If you select to store history, you must set the length of time transaction history will be retained.

 Caution:  All of your users' borrowing history data and opt-in preferences will be deleted if your library disables the feature. A warning message will appear if you attempt to save a change to the History configuration that would disable Patron Borrowing History.

Once your library has activated the feature and sets a retention period, library users will see the Borrowing history tab and the option to enable borrowing history on the Profile tab in My Account. See Borrowing history for more information.