These checklists are also available as printable pages at Reference pages to print.

Daily

1. Leave your workstations secure & save work regularly. 
2. Do a Backup of the daily changes. 
3. Shelve all returned books.

Weekly

1. Do a Weekly Housekeeping to update the loan statistics. OASIS users, select B4/N4 .
2. Rebuild the Library Files. OASIS users select B4/N1.
3. Complete any other essential rebuilds, eg Q2 Rebuild Data. 
4. Check overdues.
5. If new students arrive, refresh the students to add them to the database & make new cards.

Each Term

1. Refresh the Borrowers to update details. (B4/R3 & R4)
2. Check outstanding long-term loans. (B2/M4)
3. Check Authority Files for any mistakes.
4. Load the SCIS Subject Headings (H1/A1)
5. Systemically remove any records with no copy details. OASIS users, select B4/P4 Delete Unheld.

Annually

1. Reset the Borrower Usage. (B4/I4)
2. Reset the Resource Usage. (B4/I2)
3. Generate future calendar year(s). (B2/F1) 
4. Purge Loan History. (B2/R1)
5. Purge Calendar Years no longer required. (B2/F1)
6. Remove any unused subjects (B2/M1)
7. Remove any unused keywords. (B4/N5)
8. Review the Borrower Loan Categories & make any changes. (B2/D2)
9. Review the Resource Loan Categories & make any changes. (B2/D1)
10. Set up a Master Due Date. (B2/D2)
11. Conduct a stocktake of resources. In NSW DET schools, it is an audit requirement that a full stocktake be conducted every 2 years. To accomplish this, stocktake may be carried out:-
    1. full stocktake every 2nd year 
    2. half of the library stocktaken each year
    3. location stocktakes each term, so that all resources are covered in a 2 year period.

1. Search on SCISWeb for records.

1. Batches should be restricted to around 20 per disk. 
2. Prepare more than 1 disk if required.

2. Download to a specific folder/file.
3. Prepare OASIS for download.
   1. Rebuild the library files. (B4 / N1)
   2. Backup of the day's changes. (K1)
   3. Do a Full Data Backup overnight.
4. Early next morning, download the SCIS data onto OASIS while all users are logged out.

Some of these items may have been completed at the end of the previous year. Check them all if you are new to the school or unsure whether they were completed.

1. Generate the Calendar B2/F1 (Maintain Calendar); <G>enerate the calendar for the current year. You can generate more than one year ahead.
   • Also in B2/F1, put in the holiday dates using <H>olidays from the option bar. Don't forget to also include Staff Development Days, Carnivals, Long weekends as holidays as there is generally no borrowing/returns on those days.
2. Check the Resource Loan Categories (B2/D1). Do they still meet your needs? Make changes if required.
3. Check the Borrower Loan Categories (B2/D2). Change the master due date for each category of borrower. Select (curser opposite) each borrower category then choose <L>oans from the option bar. Does the length of borrowing time still apply? If not change it. You may also type 00 (zero) in the number of days & this will allow you to type a specific date in the date field.
4. Check the stocktake initialisations (B2/H1). Any locations that have not been finalised should be completed as soon as possible; and before any new resources are added to that location.

Towards the end of the first week:-

1. Refresh students/staff (B4/R3 & R4) when the office has completed the entry of new & amended details. Check that the system parameter (B1/C1/<C>irculation - Student/Staff Module available? is set to Yes).
   • You may have to do the refresh of students 3-4 times in Term 1 as things settle out, classes get re-shuffled etc..
2. Make new borrower cards (B4/C1)
3. Set the borrower limits for students/staff (B2/I2). The maximum number you may enter is 999.
4. Reset the borrower usage (B4/I4). You may wish to also reset the resource usage (B4/I2). Be aware that this action will zero the number of times an item has been borrowed. You may not wish to do this if you want to use this report as a guide for culling items which are never/rarely borrowed.
5. Purge the loan history (B2/R1). You are required to enter a date. Determine the reason why you wish to record Loan History:-
   • For keeping a history of who has borrowed (eg. where a book may have been defaced) I recommend you retain last term's loan history. I suggest you purge to 01/10/(previous year)
   • For keeping a history of what each student has borrowed; purge to the start of the calendar year (01/01/current year)
6. Check all the System Parameters (B1/C1).
7. Check operators (L3/D1) & remove those no longer required. Leave the system operators in. Only delete volunteers/old staff etc who are no longer associated with the library. Check security levels & revise if needed.
8. Deal with the Outstanding loans from previous year:
   • Print the Loans by return date report (B2/M4). Choose the date 31/12/current year or 28/01/next year. This gives you a complete list of all outstanding items.
   • If you think that there are items on this list that will never come back (eg. class loan items/readers etc attached to teachers) then you will need to manually return them in B2/E2. Don't throw the print-out away.
   • Do a B4/N4 Weekly Housekeeping to lock in the status of these items.
   • Each of the items returned in B2/E2 from the Loans by Return Date report - needs to have <M>issing placed into the status field of the bibliographic record. Go to B1/D1 General Resources; <F>ind by <B>arcode or <T>itle; <C>opies; then <E>dit the status field, changing the <C> to <M>issing & insert the date that it was due back as the missing date; Put an appropriate comment in the Comment field. Progressively work through the report until complete.
   • Do a B4/N4 Weekly Housekeeping

1. Accurate Data: if time permits, at least once a year you should run the data validation reports (B4) & clean up your authority files. Errors can be corrected in Global Change.
2. Loans by return date (B2/M4) - will give you a list of users who still have resources on loan. You will also find out if you have any "phantom" borrowers; they will be at the top of the file & should be removed.
3. Utility programs (B4) You should run these after stocktake when the Finalise has written off items.
   • N5 Remove unused keywords
   • M1 Hide unused subjects . It is recommended that you <R>emove the unused subjects rather than <H>ide them.
   • P4 Delete unheld
   • P5 Check duplicate subjects
4. Management Decisions:
   • Assess Borrower & Resource categories (B2/D1 & D2).
   • Decide if any resources need categories/locations changed.
   • Will changes in Borrower limits (B2/I2)/Borrower Loan category(B2/D2) be required?
5. Updating the database:
   • Generate calendar & put in holidays (B2/F1). Do this as soon as possible. You can, in fact, generate calendars more than one year in advance.
   • Decide on due dates & master due date (B2/D2) for following year. Make sure that any long term loans have a current year date. 
   • Purge loan history (B2/R1). It is recommended that you do not remove Term 4. When asked for a purge before date, enter something like 01/10 /previous year.
   • Reset Resource & Borrower usage (B4/I2 & I4) after you have gained the appropriate statistics (printouts) you may require.
   • Check & edit operators (L3/D1). Do not remove any system operators.
   • Delete any unwanted Department Lists
   • Return any lost or unreturned resources (if this is your policy) using the Loans by Return Date B4/M4. The do a Weekly Housekeeping (B4/N4). Then in General Resources (b1/D1), edit the status of item to M for Missing, enter the date missing (select the date that the item was due back at school by, as per report)& details in the comment line (B1/D1) [something along the line of "student left, book not returned", "not returned from class bulk loan"]
   • Purge old calendar years (B2/F1/<P>urge. Recommendation is that you purge more than 2 years ago. eg in 2007 purge 2005 and before. Make sure you run the Loans by Return Date for that period & return any items; then do Weekly Housekeeping; then edit in as Missing in B1/D1 (Copy details Status) as previously discussed prior to purging calendars as all loans data will also be purged for that year. Missing date is the due date on the Loans by Return Date Report.
6. Beginning a new year: Many of these things can be done at the end of the year also.
   • Refresh student/staff records (B4/R3 & R4)
   • Update Borrower limits & Borrower Category for each year.
   • Determine any changes for individuals you wish to make
   • Ensure the calendar is updated & holidays have been entered
   • Make new student borrower cards (B4/C1)
   • Make sure the library is adequately & attractively signposted
   • Wear a name badge & a welcome smile particularly for new users.

What do I need to do before stocktake?

• Determine which locations are going to be stocktaken.
• Place signage on these shelves.
• Put the items in that location in reasonable order. This is not essential, but it does make checking easier.
• Checking the location shelf list in enquiry (classification then arrow right) is a must before initialising, there you can pick up mistakes & correct them prior to initialisation. Also check the top of the classification area (by typing 0 (zero) in enquiry) to make sure there are no records with blank locations that have been inadvertently missed.
• Deal with any long-term overdues.
  • Run B2/M4 (loans by return date)
    • From date eg 01/01/95 (maybe start of Circ)

      To date 31/12/yy (where yy= current year minus 2)

      So this year, put "31/12/05"

  • Print this report and look after it - once you have processed the listed resources, file it in your stocktake folder.
  • Then... Check the shelves for the resources.
    • Maybe 'heavy' the borrowers just once more.

      Return the items in B2/E2.

      Run Housekeeping - B4/N4.

  • In B1D1 - mark the items as missing...
    • <F>ind by <B>arcode; Open the <C>opies section.

      Double-check the barcode is the right one. (Multiple copies can confuse the issue)

      <E>dit; Change the STATUS to <M>issing

      In Missing/Disp date put the item's DUE DATE (as per Report)

      In comments, put eg "Lost by student"

  • If there's quite a few resources on the list, then run Housekeeping and Rebuild after editing them all.
• Set a reasonable time limit to complete the task through to Finalise.
• Investigate the New Resources Shelf & the Mending Shelf for items which will be part of this stocktake & will need to be included.

What do I need to remember during stocktake?

• When you initialise a location for stocktake, OASIS takes a snapshot of all items in that range - their location/classn/suffix info & their loan status. The subsequent actions you take during the stocktake process all refer back to that "snapshot".
• It is recommended that you do not enter any new items during stocktake, nor change any of the location/classn/suffix details during the process. Isolate or make a note of these items & change after the stocktake finalise. Making changes midstream causes problems.
• The loan status of the item can be changed during the stocktake process, but you must follow up with Weekly Housekeeping & entry of the items. Many people also don't want to interfere with this & choose to isolate returned items until after the finalise.
• You may <D>ispose of items during the process so that they appear in the stocktake reports (ie. the daggy stuff you find while wanding that needs to be culled or is damaged beyond repair).
• When stocktaking your Non Fiction, Reference & Teacher Reference area, make sure you initialise the A800's. These will not be captured in the normal range of NF 000 AAA to NF 999.999 ZZZ. You may also have some NZ800's for New Zealand poetry if you have downloaded them from SCIS. These will also need to be initialised.
• When you have completed the entry of data via H2 or H3, you will need to run the Missing Report H4. It will include all items now recognised as Missing or Disposed as recorded by the initial run of wanding/scanning of location resources. Missing items may have been missing for more than 1 stocktake. This report alerts you to this as well. After you have printed the Missing Report, it is important to go back to the shelves to determine if an item was missed or incorrectly scanned. Also check those 'hidden' places such as the mending box, the new or display shelves and your "special" pile. You may indeed have to run this missing report several times as you whittle down the missing items. Finally you will have exhausted all possibilities and it is time to finalise.

What do I need to do during Finalise?

• Don't leave too long a time span between Initialise & Finalise. The finalise should be completed within a week or two of beginning.
• The key to removal of items that have been missing from previous stocktakes, lies in the date you type in during the H5 Finalise.
• When you begin H5 Finalise, you are asked to select a range to finalise.
• Then you are asked to "Write off items missing before" - you enter a date. The date you enter for writing off missing items is crucial & can be tricky.
  • It is best explained by an example. You, previously, did a stocktake of the Fiction collection & finalised it on 03/12/2005. At that date there were items missing. You have now done the next stocktake of this location (05/12/2007). Some of the items on the missing list now, were also missing in the 2005 stocktake. To write them off now, you would need to enter the date for the day after the 2005 stocktake finalise (04/12/2005). So that when you read the command on the screen "Write off items missing before..........04/12/2005" you will see that any items that were missing on the 03/12/2005 will be included.
  • Please note, if you have typed in "Write off items missing before.......03/12/2005" - the date of the previous stocktake finalise. This command would not include the items that were missing on 03/12/2005; only those items 02/12/2005 or before. The operative word is BEFORE the date.
• Write off Disposed items also - you enter <Y>es.
• Then <C>onfirm.

What print-outs do I need to keep for Stocktake?

Documentation you should print to hard copy and retain for audit purposes for a period of seven years.....

• During H2/H3 Stocktake entry, print & retain any report listed as "Items previously missing...." . These are recoveries.
• The final H4 Missing Report in <D>etailed form.
• The Write off Report from H5.
• The Q1 Stocktake statement for that location with the loss rate calculated & written at the bottom of this sheet

Recommended as good work practice:-

• Have 2 substantial folders - one for stocktake statements & one for the year's write-offs - clearly mark them.
• Set up a master sheet of all locations & fill in the dates you initialise & finalise each section. Retain, keep in the front of your stocktake statement folder.
• After stocktake, run a Q2 Current stock for the location or the whole library, just so that you get an overview of the location/collection.
• Move last year's write-offs into another folder (I use a recycled post pack) and clearly mark the folder/package.
• In stocktake statement folder, have year dividers. Put location master sheet in front.
• Staple the stocktake statements for each location together in the following order - Q1 Stocktake Statement (with loss calculation); Q2 current stock (after H5) if required; H4 Missing Report; "Items previously missing, now recovered" reports.