Reminder about changing a patron address

Minuteman Library Network - Staff Information Center (http://staff.minlib.net)

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Change a Patron Address

At its March 17, 2010 meeting, the MLN Membership Committee voted that libraries will accept patron address change information, volunteered by the patron, without requiring additional proof of address.

• The RMV does not require proof of new/changed addresses.
• Patrons are voluntarily offering this information; they should not be inconvenienced or discouraged from doing so by requiring them to return with proof.
• Libraries want, and it is to the library's benefit, to have the most updated contact information in patron records.

When a patron moves from one from one town to another, it is important to change the relevant fixed field coding to reflect the new address.

 

The fields that should be corrected are:

• Address
• PTYPE
• MA Town
• Home Library (default hold pickup location)

 

Here is an example of a patron record properly coded for Anne Bancroft who lives in Waltham.

 

 

 

If Anne moves to Lexington, change

• Address
• Patron Type
• MA Town
• Home Library (optional; represents preferred hold pickup location)

 

Of course, this is a good opportunity to solicit an Email address if there is none, or to confirm the Email address if there is one in the record. Also, confirm the telephone number.

 

Here is Anne’s record after she has been re-coded as a Lexington resident.

 

 

More about the patron record fields:

 

ADDRESS

The Address field in the patron record is used for sending notices.

 

But it is the coded fields for PTYPE and MA Town that are used for any statistical reports we run.

 

PTYPE

Minuteman standards call for the patron PTYPE to reflect where the patron lives, or the MLN college with which the patron is affiliated.

See PTYPE chart at: http://staff.minlib.net/content/patron-types-sorted-library-name

 

There are PTYPEs for each of the Minuteman members as well as “Non-MLN resident” (but in Massachusetts) and Out-of-State resident

 

The PTYPE controls various aspects of the patron’s experience with MLN services (Database access, privilege of requesting new videos, etc.) It is also the basis for the statistics required by the MBLC in the annual ARIS report.

 

MA TOWN

Minuteman standards call for the MA Town field to reflect where the patron lives as well. This field contains most of the towns in which MLN patrons live (as opposed to just the Minuteman towns) and is used for statistical purposes.

See MA Town chart at: http://staff.minlib.net/content/pcode3-chart-ma-town-codes

 

HOME LIBRARY (default hold pickup location)

And if a patron is moving, he may wish to change his preferred pickup location as well; this is coded in the Home Library Field, and must be the location code ending in “z”. (Patrons can change this in My Account – Modify Personal Info as well.)

 

PCODE4

NOTE: If your library utilizes the PCODE4 field for statistical purposes and a patron moves to your town, you should enter a PCODE4 value.

Similarly, if your town does NOT use the PCODE4 field, and a patron moves to your town, you should remove the PCODE4 value that was meaningful only for the previous address.

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Source URL: http://staff.minlib.net/content/change-patron-address