Library Information, Hours, and Closed Dates

Contact information, hours, and closed dates for each PINES library are displayed in the OPAC on each PINES branch page. The URL for each library's information page is https://gapines.org/eg/opac/library/ followed by the library's short policy code. For example, https://gapines.org/eg/opac/library/ARL-ATH.

How to Update Library and Contact Information

To update branch names, addressess, contact emails, and contact phone numbers, please submit a ticket to the Help Desk.

To update a library's URL, Local Admins can do so through the “Library information URL” setting in the Library Settings Editor.

How to Set Library Hours

There are two locations within the Evergreen client to control which days that the system sees a library as being closed - the Hours of Operation settings and the Closed Dates Editor. These are important for each library system to set and maintain because any day that the library is marked is closed will not generate fines for the library's patrons and the library's books will not be targeted for holds.

A short class on this topic is available at: https://my.nicheacademy.com/pines/course/13634

Hours of Operation

As of the January 2023 Evergreen upgrade, Local Admins have the capability to update library hours for their system. The hours appear in the library information pages in the OPAC. Please note that the Hours of Operation can be used for changes to the normal hours, not closures for holidays or emergencies, which should still be entered in the Closed Dates Editor.

If your library is closed temporarily, please do not mark all days as 'Closed' in the Hours of Operation tab, or circulations will be blocked.

To update hours, go to Administration > Server Administration > Organizational Units.

In the left sidebar, find your system and click the arrow to expand the list. Click the appropriate branch name and make sure the name within the bar at the top of the screen populates with the correct branch name.

Click on the Hours of Operation tab and enter the updated hours for the Open Time and Close Time fields. To indicate that a branch is closed on a certain day, click the “Closed” button next to that day. The hours will default to 12:00 AM in both fields. If a library is already listed as closed on a certain day, the “Closed” button will be grayed out.

After you have finished making your changes, click “Apply Changes.” A popup will appear noting that the update has succeeded.

Please note, the “Clear Hours of Operation” function is not available to Local Admins. If you click this button, it will appear to reset the library hours, but if you refresh the page, the changes will not carry through. For any updates to Main Settings or Addresses, please submit a Help Desk ticket and the PINES staff will make the necessary changes for you.

Hours of Operation Note Field

New feature as of January 2023 upgrade to Evergreen 3.10

There is also the capability to add notes to each day’s hours to record split hours or other service-related information. The notes will appear enclosed in parentheses next to each day’s hours on the library’s PINES information page.

Within the Hours of Operation Tab, click the checkbox under “Edit Note Field?” Note that all subsequent boxes will be checked and a notes field will appear under each day.

Type in the note for the corresponding day and then click “Apply Changes.” A popup will appear noting that the update has succeeded

The note will now appear on the branch’s PINES information page. You may need to clear cache or refresh the page for the updated information to appear.

About Closed Dates

Adding a closing has the following consequences:

During the closed dates (inclusive), books will not be due. If a closing is added on a day when books are already due, the emergency closure option should be used to adjust those due dates.

Holds will not target copies in a closed library. If you wish to pull holds while a library is closed, the “Target copies for a hold even if the copy's circ lib is closed” setting can be enabled.

In addition to the setting above, there are a few other settings that control holds targeting and hold pickup selections that PINES needs to update. When closing your library for an extended period, please submit a Helpdesk ticket with the start and end date, so we can apply the settings and then revert them back once the library has reopened.

Patrons will not be charged fines on closed dates. If the closing is added after the closed date has occurred, the closing should use the emergency closure option to void those fines.

How to Set Library Closed Dates

Please note - a 'Closed Date' should only be used for days that the library is entirely closed. These dates do not currently appear to the public anywhere, but overdue fines will not be applied, due dates will be pushed back to the next open day, and items will not be targeted by the holds targeter on days marked closed.

Log in as a Local Admin.

Click on Admin > Local Administration > Closed Dates Editor.

Select the relevant library location from the drop-down list.

Click the Add closing button.

A popup form will open (see below). Choose either One Full Day or Multiple Days for the Closing Type.

Choose the date(s).

Type in a reason (this is currently only available to staff, and not visible to the public).

Click OK.

If incorrect dates are entered, for example, the start date is in 2010 but the end date for the closing is in 2009, the dates will not work at all. Please check these carefully since the system does not alert you if you make this kind of mistake, and it causes great confusion!

How to Apply Closed Dates to All Branches in a System

On the popup, select the system rather than the branch (ARL rather than ARL-ATH) and check the “Apply to all of my libraries” box.

Unexpected / Emergency Closures

If you need to mark a closed date either after a closure (for example, for an unexpected weather closure) or within two weeks of an upcoming closure (for example, if you did not get an upcoming holiday entered in time, so items are showing due dates of a date you are closed), then please enter an Emergency Closure.

The emergency closure will change the due dates of any items that are set to be due within the closure date range. If you are entering an emergency closure for a date in the past, the process will void any fines that were already charged for the items that it changed the due dates on.

Note that it will NOT void fines on items that were due before the closure.

The process also updates hold shelf expiration dates for any holds that were set to expire off of the holds shelf on a closed date.

Video: https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cYfootzl9h

Delete any previously entered closures that overlap the emergency closure you wish to enter. (Editing a previous closure to extend the closure dates will NOT work to change existing due dates that fall within that time period.)

Enter the new closure date range. Note: There is an existing bug that pushes the due dates to the first day after the emergency closure even if that day is normally closed. So, if you need to enter an emergency closure for a Friday, but you are normally closed on Saturday and Sunday, be sure to enter the emergency closure for Friday-Sunday.

Check the “Emergency” box and the “Process Immediately” box. This will reset due dates for all items that had been due within the date range, and will void overdue fines that had already accrued if the date range includes dates in the past.

This process is very slow - let it run and check back later to make sure that all circulations and holds processed. When it is successfully completed, it should look like this:

If the closing looks to have processed but the bar in the Emergency Closing Processing Summary column is blue (instead of green), this means the processing did not complete correctly. The entry will need to be deleted and re-entered to process correctly.

If you are unable to log in, please contact the Help Desk with a request to mark your library closed. In the event that your network is down, keep in mind that you may submit Helpdesk tickets via any mobile device that has Internet access or by email to help@help.georgialibraries.org.

Don't forget to inform your courier driver about changes!If you are unable to reach the courier, contact the Help Desk and the PINES staff will contact the courier for you.