[ISLMA-Share] Destiny self check out

Mon Jan 23 12:36:50 CST 2017

We use self-check out and self-check in. I couldn’t do my job without it. There are days that we check out over 500 items.
How does it work for you library? Pro/cons?
The key is training your faculty. We have worked hand-in-hand to develop a procedures over the years.
At check in, it is just zap book and zap reset. At “teacher assisted” check out, it is zap ID, zap book(s), and then zap rest. Kids have been trained to listen for the sounds (Ding-ding is good, buzz bad).
Speaking of sounds, Follett messed up my system this year. For some reason, they “updated” the software so the overdue notification overrides the alert notice. This means we only hear 2 sounds instead of the 3 we had for the past few years. As a result, we have students that were unable to return stuff with more than they should… Gotta love Follett, they have really declined in quality since they became the only game in town. We had to retrain our faculty and students to read the screen.
Easy to set up, and what equipment do you use?
The trick is to have a station for each task. Many years ago, I kidnapped a pair of old desktop computers. One old desktop is set up as self-check out. Another for self-check in. We never set these to any other feature in Destiny. Only check in and check out respectively. I have a barcode reader that is set to always on at each one. Hence, it is just pass the id under the reader and then the book. I printed out the command barcodes from the bottom of the patron barcode report, so the students can reset. I have two monitors on each machine (one that faces me and one that faces them), just don’t tell my AP what happened to her monitor. ;-) Keyboard and mouse are on my side of the circ desk.
Our techs set up a “generic” account to log into the network and another generic in Destiny. That way if needed I can track “who” checked in/out items.
The weakness is the auto-log off feature. Hence, you need to listen to the sounds. I have the computers set at full volume (and the screen is at 125%, so I can see it from a mile away).

Speaking of barcodes, just load the barcode 39 font and you can make any barcode you want. I have one for the network log in, its password as well as one for Destiny’s password. No need for kids to touch a keyboard.

If you want to see it in action, my doors are always open.

Sincerely,

Alan, Librarian serving Brooks Middle School
holtzac at vvsd.org<mailto:holtzac at vvsd.org>

"What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it thinks about education."
- Harold Howe, former U.S. Commissioner of Education

From: islma-bounces at list.railslibraries.info [mailto:islma-bounces at list.railslibraries.info] On Behalf Of Email list for the Illinois School Library Media Association
Sent: Monday, January 23, 2017 11:30 AM
To: islma at list.railslibraries.info
Subject: Re: [ISLMA-Share] Destiny self check out

I do!
I like it but there are some cons...kids constantly clicking out of the screen and I haven't learned all there names unlike when I'm dong checkout.  It does frees me up to do reader's advisory though.
We just just a laptop and a scanner so total easy setup.

On Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 10:55 AM, Email list for the Illinois School Library Media Association <islma at list.railslibraries.info<mailto:islma at list.railslibraries.info>> wrote:
Does anyone have their students on self-checkout?

How does it work for you library? Pro/cons?

Easy to set up, and what equipment do you use?

Amy Stefanski
District Librarian
Dunlap School District
Media and Book Club Sponsor
astefanski at dunlapcusd.net<mailto:astefanski at dunlapcusd.net>
@LibranSki    @AmyNSTEM

________________________________
Disclaimer: Your transmission of electronic mail to this address represents your consent to two-way communication by Internet e-mail. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer on which it exists.

_______________________________________________
ISLMA-Share mailing list
islma at list.railslibraries.info<mailto:islma at list.railslibraries.info>
For list archives and subscription options, visit:
http://list.railslibraries.info/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/islma
To unsubscribe, send a message to:
islma-leave at list.railslibraries.info<mailto:islma-leave at list.railslibraries.info>

--
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
                                           -Mahatma Gandhi-

_______________________________________________
ISLMA-Share mailing list
islma at list.railslibraries.info<mailto:islma at list.railslibraries.info>
For list archives and subscription options, visit:
http://list.railslibraries.info/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/islma
To unsubscribe, send a message to:
islma-leave at list.railslibraries.info<mailto:islma-leave at list.railslibraries.info>

This message is for named person(s) only. It may contain confidential
and/or legally privileged information. No confidentiality or privilege
is waived or lost should mis-transmission occur. If you receive this message
in error, delete it (and all copies) and notify the sender. You must not,
directly or indirectly, use, disclose, distribute, print, or copy any part
of this message if you are not the intended recipient.  Valley View Public 
School District 365U reserves the right to monitor all e-mail communications 
through its networks.Any views expressed in this message are those of the 
individual sender, except where the message states otherwise and the sender 
is authorized to state them to the views of any such entity.  This e-mail has 
been virus and content scanned by Valley View Public School District 365U.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.railslibraries.info/pipermail/aisle/attachments/20170123/297454f1/attachment-0002.html>