NCIP generated patron records
Relais uses the NCIP Lookup User message to retrieve patron information from your library system, this patron information is used to create a skeletal patron record in Relais. The following summarizes what information is used in creating the patron record.
Fields added when the skeleton patron record is created
|
Field in the patron record |
How the field is populated |
|---|---|
|
Patron ID |
The value returned in UserID element with a UserIdentifierType value of "Primary Key" in the Lookup User response. The Primary Key is a system number in your library system that never changes even though a patron may lose their library card and as a result need a new library card / barcode. |
|
Alternate Patron ID |
From the OpenURL PI tag or the Patron ID entered through Login.
|
|
Patron Active |
“Y” |
|
Patron Type |
The value returned in the Profile field in the Lookup User response is used to look up the Relais Patron Type as defined in your Relais NCIP profile. If no value is returned in the Lookup User response or there is no corresponding Relais patron type , then the field is left empty in the Relais patron record. |
|
Date Registered |
Current Date/Time. |
|
Surname ** |
The value returned in the Personal Name Information field in the Lookup User response. |
|
First Name ** |
The value returned in the Personal Name Information field in the Lookup User response. If no value is returned then the First Name field is left empty in the Relais patron record. |
|
Address ** Street City State/Province Country Zip/Postal Code |
From the Mailing Address section in the LookupUser response. |
|
Phone ** |
From the Phone field in the LookupUser response. |
|
Email Address ** |
From the Email Address field in the LookupUser response. |
|
Department |
The value returned in the Cat1 field in the LookupUser response is used to look up the value in your department table in Relais. If no value is returned in the Lookup User response or there is no corresponding Relais department, then the field is left empty in the Relais patron record. |
|
Delivery Method Copy |
The value returned in the Profile field in the LookupUser response is used to look up the Delivery Method Copy value defined in your Relais NCIP profile. If not defined the Delivery Method is set to Mail. If the Delivery Method Copy = Pickup then the code in Delivery Address Copy is used to update the Pickup Location. |
|
Delivery Method Loan |
The value returned in the Profile field in the LookupUser response is used to look up the Delivery Method Loan value defined in your Relais NCIP profile. If not defined the Delivery Method is set to Mail. If the Delivery Method Loan = Pickup then the code in Delivery Address Copy is used to update the Pickup Location. |
|
Messaging Method |
If an email address is provided in the Lookup User response, then the Messaging Method is set to E(mail). If no email address is provided in the Lookup User response, then the Message Method is set to M(ail). |
|
E-Mail Image Format |
Profile returned is used to lookup the File Format value defined in the Relais NCIP Profile. If not found use the default set in the relaisWeb.ini [System Default] -> DefaultFileFormat. If still not found the field is set to “P”. |
|
E-Mail Notify Format |
Profile returned is used to lookup the Message Format in the Relais NCIP Profile. If not found use the default set in the relaisWeb.ini [System Default] -> DefaultMessageFormat. If still not found the field is set to “T”. |
|
Billing Type |
Profile returned is used to lookup the Billing Type in the Relais NCIP Profile. If not found use the default set in the relaisWeb.ini [System Default] -> DefaultBillingType. If still not found the field is left empty. |
|
Billing Rate |
Profile returned is used to lookup the Billing Rate in the Relais NCIP Profile. If not found use the default set in the relaisWeb.ini [System Default] -> DefaultBillingRate. If still not found the field is left empty. |
|
Loan Code |
Profile returned is used to lookup the Loan Code in the Relais NCIP Profile. If not found use the default set in the relaisWeb.ini [System Default] -> DefaultLoanCode. If still not found the field is set to the first record in the Loan Code table in Relais. |
|
Language |
The first value from of the OpenURL PL tag followed by the browser language. If browser language isn’t supported the field defaults to 'ENG' if valid. If 'ENG' is not valid then the field is left empty. |
Note: Patron Privacy **
Libraries can control whether any or all of the following fields: patron name, address, phone number and email are stored as part of the skeletal patron record in Relais.
For Relais Hosted customers contact Support and submit a ticket for a Configuration Change
Fields updated for an existing patron record
Once a patron record is created in the system via NCIP, any changes to the fields above would be updated in the patron record. The Date Last Updated field is also populated using the current date/time.
After the NCIP Lookup User message is enabled, the first time a patron uses Relais a new patron record is created. This happens because the patron's system id (or internal record key) from your library system is used as the Patron ID in the Relais patron record. This new patron record in Relais will be updated when information such as the patron's email address, etc. changes.
The major advantage to using NCIP to access patron records in your library system is that any changes to the patron's core information is updated in real-time as they use Relais. In addition, any blocks placed on the patron are accessed in real-time and can be used to prevent a patron from submitting ILL requests.
Caution: NCIP generated patron records contain at most the fields listed above. If your current patron records include additional information for statistical purposes, for example statistical categories, those fields will not be maintained when the newly generated NCIP record is created for a patron. If it is important for you to maintain that information in your patron records you will need to use the Relais patron load to perform periodic overlays of your patron data to include these fields. The match point for the patron load will need to match the field used to populate the patron id field in the NCIP generated records.
Caution:
If you enable NCIP after you have already been using Relais and have existing patron records, your existing patron records WILL NOT be automatically overlaid by those generated by the NCIP Lookup. The result is two records existing for the same patron in Relais.
In addition, requests associated with the original patron record are separate from requests submitted after NCIP is enabled. Patron lose the ability to see any requests placed prior to the switch to using NCIP. However, staff who can access records and requests via other search fields such as patron name can use those fields to search for and see prior request activity for a patron.
If you are interested, Relais can run, as a professional service, a utility to merge existing patron records into your NCIP generated patron records thus preserving access to all requests for patrons. Please contact Support for more information.
Further information on profiling patrons for NCIP can be found on the Patron Profiling page.