Often key cards are lost and need to be billed in Alma and replaced. This While most of the references are to study rooms, this page covers the process from start to finish for key cards for all types of rooms including study rooms, research rooms, and classrooms.

Checking for Lost Study Room and Classroom Key Cards

Key cards are automatically marked as lost by Alma when they're 6 days overdue. Because of their high circulation rate, it is important to stay on top of study room key cards that have been lost. Once a week, check for Circulation desk checks for missing study room key cards marked as lost automatically. You should get a follow up form for key cards that are manually marked as lost by staff.

1. In Alma, in the search bar at the top of the screen, search for Valley Rooms
2. Click on Items under Valley Rooms - Group Study. You may need to click the button with three dots on the right side of the screen.
3. Sort by Process type to group all the billed ones together. They will have a status of "lost."
4. Look for study room entries that don't have "Billed" in the description field. That means a replacement copy 1 hasn't been made yet. The "Billed" description is manually entered when the key card has been replaced.
5. For each lost key card, copy the barcode from Alma and paste it into the "Check In" field in Open Room. Hit the "enter" key. Otherwise the patron will not be able to make room reservations in Open Room.
   
6. Make replacement cards for all cards marked as "lost".

Cards Reported Lost by Patrons

Front desk staff should:

1. Fill out a follow up form with the patron's name, room number, and barcode of the key card marked as lost. 
2. If it has been less than 6 days, mark the key card as lost in the patron's record. 
3. For Study Rooms: copy the barcode from Alma and paste it into the "Check In" field in Open Room. Hit the "enter" key. Otherwise the patron will not be able to make room reservations in Open Room.
   

Marking a lost key card as "Billed" in Alma

1. Make sure you are in the items list for study rooms (or research or classroom).
2. Click on the barcode on the missing key card. This will take you to the "Physical Item Editor" page. 
3. Click on the description field to change it to "(Room #) billed on date."
4. Add a Fullfillment note to the item
   1. Click on the "Notes" tab.
   2. Under the "Functional Notes" box there is a field titled "Fullfillment Note"
   3. In this field type "Key card has been billed and replaced. If returned, please give to the study room coordinator. Your initials/date"
   4. Click "Save" in the upper right corner of the screen.
5. You should be back in the items list. On this same key card, click the three dot button and select work order. Do not use "Scan In Items," which will check in the item, which is not what we want. 
   
   1. For Process Type select Circulation Maintenance 
   2. Leave Do not pick from shelf checked. 
   3. For the Managing Department, select Main Circulation Desk 
   4. Use the notes field as appropriate. If there is something that I know about with the reason why the key card hasn't come back, I will include that information. 
   5. Click Submit

Replacing the Lost key card

1. Create a replacement key card.
   
2. In Alma, get to the items list for Study rooms.
3. Find the lost key card you are replacing.
4. Click the 3 dot button and select "Duplicate"
5. Change the receiving date to today's date.
6. Verify the other fields are correct.
7. Scan the barcode in the barcode field. 
8. Click save if it doesn't automatically save.
9. Update the bar code in Open Room. Verify you are replacing the correct barcode by checking Alma.

Withdrawing a key card record from Alma

After approximately 15 months, the process type  on the key card will change from "Lost" to "Missing"

1. Once a key card has changed to "Missing" you can purge the record.
2. Get into the item list for Study rooms.
   
3. Click the button with the three dots for the missing card record
4. Select "Withdraw"
5. Alma will confirm that you want to do this. Verify you are on the correct record and confirm. This will remove the record from Alma.
6. You follow this same process for missing research room key cards.

Lost key cards that get returned 

If a key card is returned before it has been lost for 15 months, they will be refunded the replacement cost but still be charged for the maximum late fees ($20). The problem is you now have two copy 1 item records for that study room. So one of the records needs to be deleted.

1. When the lost key card is returned to the Circulation desk, it should have been put into a Circulation Maintenance work order. You will need to take it out of that process.
   1. Under the Fullfillment menu, select "Scan In Items" 
   2. From the "Work Order Type" drop down menu select "Circulation Maintenance".
   3. A "Done" option will appear. Check "yes".
   4. Scan in the barcode in the barcode field.
2. Withdraw the item record in Alma following the instructions above. 
3. The key card was removed from the lock when it was billed. If you want to save time in the future, program the key card back into the lock and store the key card at the Room Coordinator's desk. Next time this key card is lost, you already have a replacement card ready to go. Just create a new item record and add it to Open Room.

Lost Research Room key cards and Room Requests

Alma doesn't allow patrons to have a request and a key card at the same time. Even though the key is lost, it is still checked out to the patron. The only way for the patron to request another research room is for the loan to be removed from their account. 

1. Let the patron know that if you delete the loan, they are forfeiting any refund they may get if they later find the key. Realistically, the refund will be $5. (Replacement cost - maximum fine)
2. Look for the replacement charge on their account. If you can't find it, then the charge has already been sent to Banner. You can only delete the loan after the charge has been sent to Banner. If you delete the loan before it goes to Banner, they won't be charged. 
   
3. Open the patron's account and bring up "All Loans".
4. Next the key card, click the 3 dot button and select delete loan.
5. The status of the key card will change to missing. The record can be deleted after 15 months.
6. Follow the steps listed above for putting the card in a work order and replacing the key card.

Claimed Returned

Claimed returned status shouldn't ever be used, but sometimes it does marked by staff at the front desk who don't know to not use this feature. 

If a key card (study room or research room) gets marked as claimed returned, get the patron's information (name, ID number), and then delete the loan from their record. Mark the key card as missing and the patron's information as an internal note to the record.as part of the daily opening procedures.

• Valley Circ will
  • Send a Slack message to the Electronic Locks Coordinator each morning listing the missing key cards.
  • Email the last patron to use the key card and remind them to return the key card. They use a spreadsheet with barcodes for all of the key cards to help locate the latest booking in LibCal.
• Electronic Locks Coordinator will
  • Update Asana by adding the missing key cards as a subtask to the "Study room key card replacement" task. This task is on the Library Maintenance Request Project Board under Building Maintenance.
  • Add a due date for 3 days out
  • Delete any subtasks for key cards that are no longer being reported as missing
  • Create replacement key cards for subtasks due that day
  • Update the barcode in both Alma and the Circulation desk barcode spreadsheet. If you do not have access to the spreadsheet, request access from Circulation.
  • Bring the replacement key cards to the Circulation desk.
• Returned key cards will be
  • Reported to Library Maintenance via the Circulation follow-up form
  • Placed in the Circulation Inbox
  • Picked up by the Electronic Locks Coordinator

Lost Research Room key cards

Lost key cards for research rooms are more complicated because the rooms have a patron's personal belongings in them.

Loaning Copy 2

1. Only give copy 2 of a research room key card to the patron who has copy 1 checked out. Verify identity first.
2. Keep copy 1 checked out to the patron in Alma for the time being.
3. Program the lock and remove copy 1's access to the lock. Don't delete the credential from the program.

Lost key cards that are returned

1. Check the key card back into Alma.
2. Program the lock and add give copy 1 access to the lock again.

Replacing lost key cards for Research Rooms

If it becomes clear a lost key card is not going to be returned before it is needed for the following term, do the following:

1. Check the key card back into Alma.
2. Create a replacement key card.