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Princeton University Order Division Documentation
 
Approvals

Approval Plan Processing Overview
  Plans with Bulk-Loading
  Plans without Bulk-Loading
  PO Default Values
  Approval Vendor Table

Approval training checklist

Approval Returns Purchase Order

Using the Ordering Macro
  Description
  Acquisitions Defaults
  Using Macro

Using the Multiline Purchase Order Macro


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Approval Plan Training Checklist
 Processing of approval plan receipts, once fairly straightforwad, has become more complex with the advent of bulkloaded records for material sent on approval. Some plans have bibliographic records loaded ; some also have approval orders loaded. Complete and correct processing of the invoices depends on an understanding of the particular details of a plan being processed.

What is bulk-loading? Simply, it is the loading of a file provided by the vendor of bibliographic records, sometimes with embedded order data, into the Voyager system. Depending on the manner in which the vendor is able to send us such information, it may load as bibliographic records only, or bibliographic records with orders attached. The deduping profile for bulk-loaded records is not as complex as that for records individually imported into Voyager.

While processing approvals is greatly facilitated by receiving such files from the vendor, bulk-loaded plans have problems also. For example, a record in the vendor's file may be a duplicate of a record already in Voyager. The bulk-load deduping profile may or may not recognize the record as a duplicate. If it does recognize the duplication, it will not load a duplicate record and will not add a line to the approval purchase order for that book. If it does not recognize the duplication, it will load a duplicate bibliographic record which will need to be deleted.

Another concept about approval plans that is tricky is the necessity to add or retain bibliographic records (suppressed from the OPAC) for books being returned to the vendor when they are rejected by the appropriate selector. This is necessary because in order to pay an invoice, the book must exist on a purchase order ; in order for the book to be listed on a purchase order, there must be a pre-existing bibliographic record.

In order to train students or staff in any parts of the approval process, it is important to convey the details of the plan they deal with. Even if they are only doing a small part of the procedure, they must follow guidelines below.

Cataloging module - Preferences and Procedures

  1. Set preferences in Cataloging and default values in Acquisitions (if staff are doing Acquisitions work).

Catalog module > Options > Preferences : on the General tab, be sure the Bibliographic Import/Replace Profile is set to OCLC Add Conditional if you will be adding new records to the database. It may be set to BBID merge only if you expect to be overlaying bulk-loaded records.

Acquisitions module > Defaults (red, white & blue icon) : on the Purchase Order tab, set all values according to procedure down though Order Type. Be sure to choose the appropriate Approval account if there is one. On the Line Item Copies/Funds tab,set location, copies and fund. If you need to change the previously set defaults, remember you must first click on Clear.

          Remember that appropriate values as well as specific processing guidelines for different plans are listed on the Approval Vendor table.  

  2. Searching

Search each title using the general processing guidelines in Approval Plan Processing Overview. It is not appropriate to search using specific numbers such as ISBN or LC control number. Not only may there be a pre-existing order with a brief bibliographic record lacking these specific points, but identical editions of titles published by different publishers/in different countries or in different format will have different ISBN numbers.

Depending on the approval plan being processed, you may or may not expect to find some kind of bibliographic record and/or order record in the system.

  • If there are no bulkloaded records for the plan being processed, any record found during searching must be examined. Is it a firm order, a standing order? Who is the vendor? Is it received ? (Check the record hierarchy to see the status and location.)
    • An open order (hierarchy display "1 copy ordered as of mm/dd/yyyy") must be referred to Order Division for decision on possible cancellation, or return of the approval copy, as appropriate.
    • A received order (hierarchy display "1 copy received as of mm/dd/yyyy") means that the approval copy should be treated as a duplicate or an added copy, depending on the location.
    • A record showing a hierarchy display that has neither call number nor order status may be a cancelled order. Check the mfhd for a note regarding order cancellation, or expected approval status.

  • If there are bulkloaded records for the plan, verify that the record in question is actually the bulkloaded record and not a preexisting order. Orders or items previously received as standing orders or on other approval plans have 904 records and orders attached. Check the record hierarchy to see the status and location. You may find that a copy has already been processed (for example, a Micawber copy may have been cataloged on a Blackwell’s loaded record, making the Blackwell’s copy a duplicate). Bulkloaded records that load approval orders as well as bibliographic records have the status "in the preorder process" in the hierarchy display.Use the Record menu>View line items in Acquisitions (or Alt-r-q) to verify the purchase order number. Check to see that the vendor on the order matches your invoice.

  • Be sure to resolve all cataloging problems before sending on the invoice for payment. For example, if you have a book on the invoice that might be cataloged as a set or as a separate volume of a monographic series, resolve that problem and update the bibliographic record as appropriate. It is crucial that the bibliographic record not be changed in nature after the invoice is sent on , because you are not only changing the bibliographic record in the catalog, you are also changing it on the approval order and on the invoice, compromising our audit trail. While an update with a better record is appropriate, an update that changes it, for example from a volume of a set to a mongraph, or vice versa, is not.

 

[Approval Plan Processing Overview]  [Plans with Bulk-Loading] [Plans without Bulk-Loading]  [PO Default Values]  [Approval Vendor Table]