Patryk Wesołowski
Desiderata - a new opening
The word desiderata comes from the ancient Latin desideratum, which means “something desirable that must be possessed.” In the PROLIB system, this means requesting specific titles by readers or librarians.
The option to submit purchase proposals has been available in the PROLIB system since version 2016.1.00. It’s been a long time since the first version of this functionality. A lot has also changed in the tool itself over the last few years. Times and the needs of readers have also changed. The PROLIB team always works closely with libraries and is open to their needs, which is why this solution has been quite heavily evaluated recently. Our goal was to support librarians and improve communication between the reader and the library.
The first form for submitting purchase proposals was available to our customers and readers in the then OPAC WWW catalogue. Currently, the reader can report desiderata using the INTEGRO search engine and/or the mPROLIB mobile application. The condition is that the library owns these products, has an active account in the PROLIB system and logs in to the catalog or application.
The basic principles of operation are unchanged. The reader submits a proposal to purchase the document by completing the form and sending it to the library. Authorized librarians handle the application by assigning it an appropriate status at various stages of implementation, e.g.: analyzed, accepted, rejected, completed. The reporting reader is informed on an ongoing basis what is happening with his proposals. From the account level, he has access to all sent applications along with information about their current status. In addition, it can receive e-mail messages and, if the library has active functionality, notifications (e.g. sms, push).
The system librarian has the ability to independently set up the form along with indicating the required fields. The reader’s contact details are collected from his account after the application is activated. From version 2020.2.00, it is possible to automatically notify readers about the implementation of the desideratum at the time of submitting the document to circulation. This change has been well received by librarians as it frees them from manually changing this status.
From version 2022.2.01, in response to the voices of libraries and their great interest, we have introduced further changes to desiderata. First of all, it was possible to submit desiderata by librarians from other agencies (branches, departments) directly in the PROLIB system. The option is additionally available from the Gathering module with the option of linking desiderata with orders or accessions. We have introduced additional filtering options and new statuses. Distinguishing desiderata with colors according to status allowed for better orientation on the list of proposals.
From version 2023.1.01, we gave the possibility of submitting purchase proposals by the librarian on behalf of the reader from the PROLIB system. The condition is that the applicant has an account. We have created one parameter to manage desiderata and extended the possibilities of granting permissions to operators to individual options.
More and more libraries working in the PROLIB system decide to launch the option of submitting purchase proposals by readers, and the above changes will encourage the use of this option even more, especially since it is a widely available function of the PROLIB system for Libraries that have the INTEGRO catalogue.
We invite you to use the desiderata in libraries using the PROLIB system, both from the side of the Reader and the Librarian, and we wish you the implementation of as many purchase proposals as possible.
