Objective Four

Operate the circulation system

The Missoula Public Library system uses Sirsi/Dynix as its circulation system. The patrons access the catalog through iBistro, either at the library itself or through the website.
Siris/Dynix is the same platform I've worked with at Sentinel High School. The public library is, of course, operating on a much larger scale and bringing in a higher volume of materials, so there are two computers devoted completely to checking materials in. One computer checks in all of the adult materials, and one is devoted to young adult/juvenile materials. The screen is split into three windows; check-in, repair, and discard. Once materials are checked in, they get sorted onto the various carts depending on where they are shelved in the library, or they get put in the bin that belongs to their home library. Missoula Public Library has six branches in addition to the main library, and it also participates in an interlibrary loan program that goes to a handful of other libraries around the state. These books find their way into the basement, where they are separated and packed into crates that are going to their holding library, or to the next patron with a hold on that material.
If there is a hold on an item for a patron at the main branch, an alert window will pop up and the last five digits of the patron's card number will print out on a label printer. The paper with the number is wrapped around the outside of the material. If it's an audiovisual material it is placed on a shelf in numeric order behind the circulation desk. If it is a book, it is placed in numeric order on a shelf out where the patron can pick it up himself/herself.
When checking out materials, patrons can bring the books to the main desk, or they can go to the self-checkout kiosk. Three computers with de-magnetizing capabilities are set up for convenient checkout in the center of the library entrance.
The Sirsi/Dynix system is very user friendly and allows you to search all participating librarys' holdings for the material you are looking for.
When cataloging new materials, it's very easy to add a new record or add an item in the catalog. I've done this several times working at Sentinel High School and a couple of times since starting at the Missoula Public Library.