We are a SirsiDynix Symphony library that loans a lot of equipment on short
terms loans (usually 4 hours). We charge relatively a relatively high
overdue fee each hour the item is late in order to encourage students to
return high dollar equipment like MacBook Pros. However, the notification
functionality in Symphony is not good at sending users timely notices that
an item is coming due so that they can renew it before being charged a fee.
Generally users get a notice within the first hour after checkout providing
the due date/time and an overdue the following morning if they haven't
returned it.
We're wondering if anyone has developed a creative solution to this problem
of timely notifications. We'd be interested in solutions that alerted a
user to an upcoming due date, say maybe 15 - 30 minutes in advance, whether
it be email, text message, or an app-based mobile notification. We've
looked a bit at vendor provided mobile applications, but haven't found much
yet in this area.
Let me know if you've developed a creative solution in-house or found a
vendor that provides a relevant service. We could do this from scratch, but
would love to build off some prior work or take advantage of other elegant
solutions.
thanks!
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Emily Lynema
Associate Department Head
Information Technology, NCSU Libraries
919-513-8031
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