Checking books out and in

The Circulation tab is built for the queue before the bell: scan a card, scan a book, done. It has two modes you switch between at the top: Check out and Check in.

Check out

1. With Check out selected, find the borrower. Under “Who’s borrowing?”, scan the member’s card or type their card number, then press Find. If there’s no match you’ll see “No member with that card.”
2. Their name appears in a card headed Borrowing.
3. Scan a book’s barcode and press Lend. You’ll get an instant confirmation with the due date. Scan the next book, and the next.
4. When the borrower is done, press Done to clear them and start the next person.

Each scan adds a line to the feed above the box, with a tick for success or a mark if something stopped the loan (for example, the copy is not for loan).

The borrower’s sidebar

While a member is selected, the sidebar shows:

• On loan now, with every active loan and a Renew button on each.
• Holds, where you can place a new hold by typing an ISBN or barcode, and see this member’s current holds with their queue position.

Check in

Switch to Check in. Scan each returned book’s barcode and press Return. The feed tells you what happened to each one:

• Returned for a normal return.
• Returned · 3 days late · fine 1.50 when the book was overdue and your rules charge a fine.
• Returned · set aside for [name] when someone is waiting on a hold. The book is held for them instead of going back to the open shelf.

You don’t need to look up the borrower to check a book in. Just scan and return.

Away from the desk

Circulation works on a phone too, for when you’re checking out a class while standing among them rather than at the counter. The steps are the same: find the member, scan books, lend. Confirmations are instant, so a brief drop in signal won’t break the flow.