Patron Record Maintenance

At the end of each calendar year, SWAN runs patron records through the United States Postal Service (USPS) National Change of Address (NCOA) database and populates Symphony with updated address and geolocation information for your patrons.

NCOA Processing

In late November or early December, we send all patron records for processing against the National Change of Address (NCOA) data provided by the United States Postal Service (USPS). On average, this process returns 4-5% of patron records with an updated address.

Once those records are returned to us, we overlay the current patron records. The processing is generally completed by the first week of January.

Records with updated address

• Address changes are reflected in Address 1
• The previous address on record is written to a patron note field (SWAN NCOA 20xx)
• User Category 6 contains the value NCOA20xx

The value 20xx refers to the year the processing took place. For example, records sent at the end of 2023 received notes and User Category 6 fields indicating NCOA2023.

No change to patron status is made. Libraries who wish to have the patron status updated to BADADDRES to block circulation until the address is verified can submit a SWAN support ticket. This request requires the Library Director's approval.

Recommendations for review and action

Below are some SWAN recommendations for NCOA follow-up by staff at your library. See the NCOA Reports section below for helpful BLUEcloud Analytics reports that will assist you with these tasks.

1. If you would like SWAN to purge records that are no longer in your service area, submit a support ticket indicating:
   1. Bill forgiveness threshold (no patron records can be removed if outstanding bills, checkouts, or holds are present)
   2. Criteria for geographic removal (e.g. out of state)
   3. Criteria for Last Activity Date (e.g. prior to 1/1/2023)
2. If the patron is still within your service area, manually update the patron after verifying their new address and contact information.
   1. Remove any User Notes associated with NCOA processing once the patron's new address has been confirmed
   2. Update User Category 6 to the blank choice
3. Manually remove the patron that is long inactive with no outstanding activity (e.g. common scenario is juveniles who are now adults and moved away from childhood home)
4. Review accounts for patrons who have moved from a different SWAN service area to your service area. This will allow you to reach out to the patron to invite them to get a card at your library. If the 4-digit barcode prefix does not belong to your library, do not modify the record until the patron applies for and receives a card at your library. 

NCOA Reports

The BLUEcloud Analytics NCOA Processing folder contains several reports to assist in the review of these updated patron records.

In prior years, we have provided separate reports for each year of NCOA processing. As of January 2024, reports will provide lists and counts of users updated for all NCOA processes regardless of year. Count reports will display each year in a separate column.

See: SWAN Reports > Users > NCOA Processing

Count by Library of NCOA20xx User Cat 6

• This report provides a count of patron records flagged with NCOA20xx.
• NCOA20xx patrons from previous years should have been updated or removed during the past year. Please review and update or remove these records. Refer to the List Users reports in the NCOA BLUEcloud Analytics folder for details on these patrons.

List Users - NCOA Flagged

Note the recommended actions listed above to initiate the removal or update of all patrons with changed addresses.

• Select your library for a list of all patrons assigned to your library with User Category 6 = NCOA20xx.
• You may also target specific user profiles, but be sure to do a final check of all profiles associated with your library.

List Users - NCOA Flagged - My Service Area, Not My Library

This report will assist libraries that would like to reach out to patrons who have moved into their service area as explained in recommended action 4 above.

• Select your service area's city and your library.

List Users - NCOA Flagged (Inactive - Out of State)

This report lists patrons who have moved outside of Illinois and have not been active since before the prior calendar year. 

• Select your library.
• Recommendation: Remove patrons who are inactive and no longer residing in Illinois

List Users - NCOA Flagged (Inactive Out of State - With Bills)

This report lists patrons who have moved outside of Illinois and who owe bills.

• Select your library.
• If you would like SWAN to purge records under a bill threshold and period of inactivity, submit a help ticket.

Geolocation update

In addition to updating any changed address, any patron record that was active since the prior processing receives a refresh of geolocation data. This ensures any patrons new or updated in the past year receive updated geolocation coordinates.

• Address 3 fields updated for geo-location reporting:
  • Latitude
  • Longitude
  • Census Tract
  • Census Block

Updating BADADDRES status after verifying new address 

If you have a patron record with a BADADDRES status, follow your local policy to verify the new address. Once you have verified the new address you can update the status of the record using the Modify User wizard.

You will not be able to update to OK. You must select BLOCKED from the Status drop-down menu and include the override. When you save the record, WorkFlows will automatically update the status to the correct setting (OK, DELINQUENT, BLOCKED).

A patron record status of MAILRETD will block a patron from all functions except placing holds. You can update your patron's record status to MAILRETD if your library blocks patrons for returned mail.

NOTE: If it is not your patron, refer to section 6.6 of the SWAN Circulation Policy.

Changing a patron record status when you have mail returned

1. Open the patron record in the Modify User wizard.
2. Go to the Privilege tab.
3. Click on the drop-down menu for the Status field.
4. Select MAILRETD.
5. Enter the override in the Override field.
6. Go to the Extended Info tab
7. Add a note of Mail returned; include the date, library code, and your initials.
8. Click Save.

Reinstating a patron record 

1. Open the patron record in the Modify User wizard.
2. Go to the Privilege tab.
3. Click on the drop-down menu for the Status field.
4. Select BLOCKED (OK is not a choice; the status will update appropriately after the record is saved).
5. Enter the override in the Override field.
6. Go to the Extended Info tab.
7. Put the cursor in the Note field.
8. Click on the Delete Row helper.
9. Click Save.

User Groups is a tool for library staff to use with families.  It allows you to manage their checkouts, and holds, and consolidate bill payments as a group. Note that patrons cannot see their user groups in the online catalog - they are only viewable to staff.

SWAN recommends using the linked cards feature in the online catalog instead.

What is a user group?

• User Groups is a feature that allows you to connect 2 or more users.
• All users must be from the same library when creating a user group.
• Select a Responsibility Policy.  This assigns a Responsibility level, Responsibility Type, and Access Levels.
• User groups should be used as a family card.
• The creation of a User Group should be upon request by the family.

Who should be in a user group?

• Parent and minor child
• Caregiver and adult
  • User Groups are for combining members of a family for their convenience upon request.
  • For your adult independent patrons, User Groups are not recommended.
  • Your library should have a User Group responsibility and authorization form on file.  It should have signatures for those family members in a User Group.

Responsibility policy

You have many options when picking a responsibility policy. Depending on the one you choose, your responsibility level will change to SELF or LINKED.

Self-policies (recommended)

Each user is responsible for their own bills.  No one is blocked for the other member’s bills.

• ADULT
• CHILD
• PARENT
• PARENTSN

Linked policies

Only used to financially connect 2 or more people.  One member’s bills will block everyone in the group.

• ADULT LINK
• CHILD LINK
• PARENT LINK
• PARENTLN
• GUARDIAN
• UNDER 18

SWAN recommends the responsibility level of SELF. This makes the cardholder independent from the rest of the group.  In other words, if a parent is blocked due to limits, their child can still check out items, and vice versa.

SWAN does NOT recommend LINKED.  If you select LINKED, one member's delinquency affects all members in the User Group.  This means if one member is blocked due to limits, all members are blocked for checkouts.

Responsibility type

There are two responsibility types to choose from:

None

• All checkouts belong to the individual patron.
• Item limits are applied to the individual, not the entire group.

Head

• All group member checkouts will be reflected on the group Head.
• Item limits will be applied to the group Head.
• Only available in the Responsibility Levels of PARENT and PARENTLINK.
• Example – A library has a limit of 5 console games per patron.  Only 5 games can be checked out to the entire group at one time if Head is selected.

Access levels

Access levels control a user's ability to access other group member records.  These records include charges, holds, and bills.  Group members can access this information in Enterprise under My Account.

Available access levels:

• Display charges
  • Allows the user to see charges that belong to other members.
• Display holds
  • Allows the user to see holds that belong to other members.
• Checkout holds
  • Allows the user to checkout items on hold for other members.
  • When the item is checked out to a user with this access, the hold is considered filled.
• Remove holds
  • Allows the user to remove holds for other members.
• Display bills
  • Allows the user to see bills that belong to other members.
• Pay bills
  • Allows the user to pay bills for other members.
• Notice master
  • All notices will go to the Notice Master of the group.
  • This person will keep track of all hold notifications, courtesy notices, overdue notices, and billing for the group.
  • There can be only one Notice Master per group.
• Allow group choice
  • DO NOT SELECT.

Select access levels under the User Groups tab:

Create/add members to a user group

Below are the steps required to create or add a member to a user group.

1. Register your patron as normal or select the Modify User wizard.
2. Select the User Groups tab.
3. Create a group name:

• Use your 3 letter agency code plus the last 4 digits of the primary phone number.

1. Responsibility policy:

• A policy needs to be selected for each member.
• Select PARENT, ADULT, or CHILD.

1. Responsibility level:

The responsibility policy will automatically change the responsibility level.

• PARENT, ADULT, or CHILD defaults to SELF.
• If set to LINKED, review the Responsibility Policy selected.

1. Access levels:

• Determine what type of access a user will have to other members.
• A group should have only one notice master.

1. Click Save when done.

Create/add members to a user group

Below are the steps required to create or add a member to a user group.

1. Register your patron as normal or select the Modify User wizard.
2. Select the User Groups tab.
3. Create a group name:

• Use your 3 letter agency code plus the last 4 digits of the primary phone number.

1. Responsibility policy:

• A policy needs to be selected for each member.
• Select PARENT, ADULT, or CHILD.

1. Responsibility level:

The responsibility policy will automatically change the responsibility level.

• PARENT, ADULT, or CHILD defaults to SELF.
• If set to LINKED, review the Responsibility Policy selected.

1. Access levels:

• Determine what type of access a user will have to other members.
• A group should have only one notice master.

1. Click Save when done.

Remove a patron from a user group

Follow the steps below to remove a user from a group.

When a child reaches the age of 18, it is best practice to remove them from a User Group.

1. Bring up the patron in the Modify User wizard.
2. Go to the User Groups tab.
3. Click the Remove group membership Helper.

4. Click OK when prompted in the next window.