Branch & Material Catalog

Keep each material tied to its owning branch and policy reference. The team should be able to start at a request and reach the branch, material, people and evidence that explain the next decision. The main work screen is the Loan Requests Workspace, where the status board and selection-driven request detail keep the current case beside its history, requirements and pending decisions.

A branch administrator adds a new lending material with its code, effective dates and policy reference. The circulation operator uses the branch and material together when opening a request. A material assigned to another branch needs review before anyone treats it as the choice for this patron.

• Ownership. The administrator keeps branch ownership clear. The operator uses the catalog during intake, while the reviewer reads the selected material and policy context before deciding a revision.
• Evidence. Keep the request’s linked records and source revision together so a later reader can reconstruct the action.
• Status. Read the saved status and decision values before moving the case forward or assigning a correction.

The material code and branch should be agreed with the team that owns the catalog. Decide who may mark a material active, how effective dates are interpreted and which policy reference staff should consult at intake. Field mappings can describe an exchange with a source catalog, but the destination and transfer procedure belong in the integration setup.

The material record is the point of reference for intake. Check its branch, active value, effective dates and policy reference before a circulation operator selects it. A mapping can record which source field supplied a material code; staff still need to agree who reviews a changed code and when the new definition takes effect.

Compare an active material with the request that uses it. Check that its branch agrees with the request branch and that the policy reference is the one staff followed. If the code changes in a source catalog, retain enough context to understand earlier requests before changing the mapping.

Have the Library Administrator compare a material code, its branch and its policy reference with a draft request. The Library Circulation Operator should be able to explain why that material is eligible for the branch and whether its effective dates cover the request. Check a second material from another branch to make sure the wrong selection is caught.

• Active Materials — Materials available for branch selection, with effective dates and policy references.
• Loan Request Board — Requests grouped by their current status for a quick handoff check.

Follow request intake, evidence review and decision and delivery. Use the data model to check record ownership and references during setup.