CARS OVERVIEW

[This overview of CARS is being issued by PSAG-TS to provide branches with a context for understanding the changes being made in BPM procedures for withdrawals and replacements.  It is not intended as an addition to the BPM.  For more information on CARS go to the Library WWW site URL /Staff/CARS/.]

INTRODUCTION

With the advent of CARS, it is essential for units to establish procedures for searching and selector review of billed and missing materials since many workflow choices exist.

Three categories of material exist:  CARS billed items; Non-CARS (i.e. Sundry Debtor, IOC or Institutional Patron) billed items; and Missing items.  Units may make choices depending on their work flow.  Unless specified otherwise, the procedures outlined below should be done in GLADIS Maintenance.  Most V/Cs that contain a *b are edit protected whether billed on CARS or via non-CARS.  The V/Cs of ILL institutional patrons are edit protected; however, all other institutional patrons such as BINDERY do not have edit protected V/Cs

For information regarding issuing the RFR command, see the AutoCirc Manual.

CHANGING THE DEFAULT REPLACEMENT CHARGE

After the Bill Warning postcard generated by GLADIS but before the billing of the patron, units may override the default replacement charge of $100.00.  Either GLADIS AutoCirc or Maintenance can be used.  In AutoCirc, use the SET BILL command (See the AutoCirc Manual for procedures).  In Maintenance, add a *m subfield and the whole dollar price to an item's V/C.  If the item has already been billed, the *m may still be changed, added, or deleted, but it will have no effect on the current bill.  However, it will affect any future bills.

Procedures

1. Units will either receive a "Bill Cleanup" or "Paid on CARS" notice.  From the notice, staff should initiate a search to determine that the item is truly not in the unit.
   
2. If the item is found, the item is discharged and the notice is discarded.
   
3. If the item is not found, staff use AutoCirc to issue the "RFR" command and then refer the item to a selector for a replacement or withdrawal decision.

Any item billed before Jan 1, 1996 is a sundry debtor billed item.  ILL patrons may be either billed on CARS or billed via IOC.  Institutional patrons include "Missing", "CONS", "CATA" and "BINDERY".  Bills are not actually issued to institutional patrons.

Procedures

1. After units receive a "Bill Cleanup" notice, staff should initiate a search to determine that the item is truly not in the unit.
   
2. If the item is found, the item is discharged and the notice is discarded.
   
   If the item is not found, staff:
   
   1. Use the "Unblock" command in supervisory mode of AutoCirc to change the "*b" to "*cMISS/B".
      
   2. If appropriate, contact the Service Desk and ask that a manual block be placed on the patron. Blocks are not placed against 03 or ILL borrowers.
      
   3. If retention of patron information is desired, add a *nX note to the item's V/C: "*nXREPL BILL:[patron ID no.]"

1. After the last search has been completed and an item is determined to be missing, an item should be charged to "MISS".  If the item is not charged to "MISS", the unit will not receive any further notifications.  Reset the due date for when the unit wishes to search for the item again and to review for replacement or withdrawal.  IF NO DUE DATE IS PRESENT IN THE RECORD, THE ITEM WILL NEVER COME UP FOR REVIEW.

2. When follow-up action is taken, BPM Section 1.D.1 or VII.A procedures may be completed.  If the unit wishes to keep standard notes in GLADIS regarding the selector referral process, the unit may use AutoCirc or Maintenance to issue the "RFR" command.  Refer the item to a selector for a replacement or withdrawal decision.