Custody

The custody history gives the circulation team a dated history of a physical copy. An event can describe a reserve, issue, return, transfer or condition review. The event links to its parent loan and can identify the copy code, source custodian, destination custodian and condition. Those details matter when the loan’s current status no longer tells the whole story of a handoff.

Consider a copy issued at one desk and later transferred to another library. The loan still identifies the patron, item and due date. The event history explains who released the copy, who received it and what condition was recorded. A coordinator can use that evidence to answer a patron’s question without replacing the earlier event with a newly edited summary.

• Sequence. The line number and revision keep each event attached to the relevant loan history.
• Custodians. The source and destination custodians describe the direction of a handoff.
• Condition. The copy code and condition help identify what physically moved or returned.

Agree how staff label a copy and how custodians are named in an event. Decide when a condition note is required and what wording distinguishes ordinary wear from a problem needing review. A receiving person should have enough detail to confirm the copy before acknowledging it. When an interlibrary transfer is involved, decide what the receiving library needs to record alongside its own local process.

A loan can have several events. Staff should add the next event rather than erase the earlier movement to make the record look simpler. Agree how a mistaken event is explained and who reviews a contested handoff. The Collection Reviewer can compare the custody sequence with the submitted request and any operation receipt. The Auditor can later follow the same path to understand the result.

Issue a specific copy on a representative loan and record its source and destination custodians. Transfer it to another custodian with a condition note. Return it and record the receiving custodian and condition again. The history should show the three distinct moments in order, with the same parent loan. Check the loan’s issue and return times against the event dates rather than assuming the status alone proves custody.

For an exception case, make a transfer record whose receiving details disagree with the request. The coordinator should pause and seek review. The reviewer needs the original events and supporting attachment to decide what happened. A reconciliation receipt should show whether the expected effects matched or need attention; the custody history remains intact during that review.

• Custody History — Reserve, issue, return, transfer and condition events with copy details.
• Pending Operation Receipts — Operations whose recorded effects need checking.

Read custody and exceptions for the handover path. The circulation process shows how those events relate to the loan’s current state.