The 2024 AAR Zoom Call was April 17, at 2pm!

Follow-up questions can be submitted here, or emailed to the RSF Program Manager. Tutorial videos were removed due to the demise of Flash. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Step-by-Step AAR Procedures

1. Review the generated problem list
2. Generate a list of lost/damaged items (lending library)
3. Search the stacks
4. Check First Draft of Master List
5. The final master list is distributed for billing
6. Patron and item record cleanup
7. Billing

1. Review the generated problem list

In late April, a list of problem lending requests is released. Items in “Returned by Partner” and “Shipped Physically” statuses are not eligible for AAR, but Borrowing and Lending libraries should still work together to resolve items stuck in these statuses and file courier claims, if appropriate.

The following tutorials are designed to help you troubleshoot these items with other partner libraries. You may also wish to check the FAQ for common questions that arise during this process.

Tutorials

• Troubleshooting the AAR Problem List
• Courier Claims: Missing/Lost Materials and Damaged Materials Procedures

2. Generate a list of lost/damaged items (lending library)

After member institutions have done troubleshooting to resolve as many items as possible on the Problems list, it’s time to make sure all the items owned by your library that are truly lost or irreparably damaged make it onto the Master List for Billing. To check items at your own library, start by running the analytics reports for borrowing and lending. You will also need to check your damaged items and make sure they are updated properly. They may not show up on the Analytics reports, so be sure to report any non-repairably damaged items to the Program Manager for inclusion on the Master List. This page includes details and tutorials to help you through this process.

Rapido

I have looked for ways that Rapido implementations might impact AAR for the 8 institutions using Rapido, but have not found reporting differences. If you are at a Rapido institution and are finding anomalies between your reports and mine, please alert me to issues you identify so I can update procedures and documentation.

Tutorials

• Key Analytics Reports to Run Locally
• What To Do with Damaged Items

3. Search the stacks

Institutions should search their own stacks, across all library locations and branches for all items on both their Borrowing and Lending lists. If any items are found:

• Contact the resource sharing partner to let the other library know that you have found the item, so they don’t have to continue searching.
• Scan In any found items to make sure they are returned/completed.
• Return any items owned by other libraries to their home institutions.

4. Check First Draft of Master List

After the Draft Master List is released in mid June (June 18, 2024) libraries have until early July (July 8, 2024) to verify that all items are included or resolved. Be sure to double-check that any irreparably damaged items that you have manually reported are included on the Master List and that all resolvable issues are worked out between your borrowing and lending partners.

If you have any unresolved questions and would like to make manual changes or you need extra help during this time – check with the Resource Sharing and Fulfillment Program Manager for further assistance.

2024 AAR Draft Master List

NOTE: If any additional items are returned to your library between 6/18/24 and 7/8/24, update the requests to Completed by July 14, 2024 and they will not come through in the Analytics Report that generates the Final Draft of the Master List.

Do I need to do anything else after I have reported an item to be manually added to the AAR Master List?

The short answer is all you have to do (after you’ve done all your searching, communicated with your borrowing or lending partner, and reported the item to the RSF Program Manager) is confirm the item is on the Draft Master List.

Below is an OPTIONAL workflow that might help you track the status of the requests more easily than leaving in the current request status. If this interferes with existing workflows at your institution, you do not need to follow these instructions.

You may wish to manually change the status of the Resource Sharing Request. This will only affect the request on your side – not your borrowing or lending partner’s view of the request. Your borrowing or lending partner will not be able to see the change you have made. To communicate with your borrowing or lending partner, you can also add a Note to the resource sharing request.

Borrowing Partners

• If an item was irreparably damaged, you can manually change the request status to “Reported Damaged Item to Partner”.
• If a request was stuck in “Returned to Partner” by mistake with no record of it being sent through courier and you reported it as lost to be included in the AAR Master List for reimbursement, you may wish to manually change the request to “Reported Lost to Partner”.

Lending Partners

• If an item you lent was irreparably damaged and you have reported it for inclusion in the AAR Master List for Reimbursement, you may wish to manually update the status of the request to “Damaged”.
• If your borrowing partner has notified you that an item was mistakenly updated to “Returned to Partner” and they have reported it for inclusion in the AAR Master List for reimbursement, you may wish to manually update the status of the request to “Lost”.

5. The final master list is distributed for billing

The Final Master List for Billing will be released in mid-July. (Monday July 15, 2024). You have until Monday July 22, 2024 to do a final check of the list. If you have any unresolved problems, notify the Resource Sharing and Fulfillment Program Manager immediately.

The Final Master List for Billing is distributed on Wednesday July 24, 2024.

ABSOLUTELY NO CHANGES WILL BE MADE ONCE THAT LIST IS RELEASED.

6. Patron and item record cleanup

After the Final Master List for Billing is released, libraries have until mid-August (August 15, 2024) to complete Borrowing patron record cleanup.

Do not start Patron Record cleanup until the final list and balance sheet are released.

After all Patron Record cleanup is completed by the Borrowing Partner, the Lending Partner will see a note in the Resource Sharing Request that reads “Summit AAR [Year]“, this indicates that the request is now ready for Item Record cleanup. Do not proceed with Lending Cleanup on a request until Borrowing Cleanup is completed! Lending cleanup should be completed by the end of August. (August 31, 2024)

This document provides tutorials to help you through the Patron and Item Record cleanup processes: AAR Patron and Item Cleanup

7. Billing

The Alliance serves as the bank for its members during the AAR invoicing process. Payments are collected from all the libraries that owe money and then redistributed as reimbursements to the libraries that are due money.

Once you receive the Master List for Billing and you have done all necessary patron and item record cleanup, the last step is to either create an invoice if your institution is owed replacement fees or to wait to receive an invoice and send payment to Alliance Accounting if your institution owes replacement costs. Replacement per Item: $75 plus $15 service charge.

The information below will help walk you through the process for creating an invoice if you need to bill for replacement costs.

Note: Invoices will be sent to institutions owing replacement costs in electronic form, unless specially requested in another format. If your institution requires a paper invoice – please contact the Resource Sharing and Fulfillment Program Manager by August 16, 2024.

Invoicing and Billing Workflow

The Balance Sheet will be linked here with the day it was released.

Balance Sheet, July 2024

The Alliance will send out invoices to the libraries who owe (amounts in column F)

Owning libraries who need to be paid (amounts in column E) will send an invoice to the Alliance as soon as possible – we strongly encourage you to get them to us electronically.

If you are able to generate electronic bills (or you will send us print bills but can scan them before they are sent), email those to accounting@orbiscascade.org with the subject line “AAR 2024,” and copy lhilterbrand@orbiscascade.org. If you need assistance creating a bill, please use this Invoice Template.

If you are unable to submit an electronic bill, a print bill can be mailed to the Orbis Cascade Alliance office:

Orbis Cascade Alliance
PO Box 6007
Portland OR 97228

Libraries will be paid in the order we receive the bills.