Circulation Transactions
General Information
- Description
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The records of which items were loaned to which patrons. Circulation transactions may be complete and include details about both the materials loaned and the individual to whom they are loaned or they may be partial records that only include details about the materials loaned. The latter, partial records are used for collection analysis purposes and have a less restrictive data classification.
- Purpose
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Circulation Transaction records are used to keep track of materials/items loaned to individuals.
Additionally, the records are used in analytics processes for managing collections. These records can inform a range of decision making from collection development activities for new purchases to operational decisions involving the where the physical materials are placed on campus.
- Quick Facts
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The circulation transactions stored in the UW-Madison Libraries' current Integrated Library System (ILS) totals approximately 1.3M records.
Anonymized circulation transactions from the previous ILS and stored in a reporting database totals approximately 11M records.
Data Classifications
- Campus
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- Restricted: See the Constraints section for Wisconsin State Statutes governing circulation records as well as the UW System retention schedules.
- Internal: Circulation transaction records and derivative statistics generated from them are considered to have the Internal classification when the such transaction records do not contain data that identifies individual patrons.
- Library
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Data Contacts
- Data Owner/Trustee
- Lesley Moyo lesley.moyo@wisc.edu
- Data Steward
- Circulation Working Group circwg-lib@lists.wisc.edu
- Data Custodian
- Ex Libris
- Data Steward
- UW System Discovery Fulfillment Expertise Group cuwldiscoveryfulfillment@uwsa.edu
- Data Manager
- Circulation Desk Managers
- Data Consumer
- Library Patrons
- Internal Data Client
- Library Circulation Staff
- Internal Data Client
- Library Collection Management Staff
- Security Officer
- Ex Libris
Risk Assessment
| Score | Risk Type | Details | Evaluation Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Library Impact | Loss of access to circulation transactions for active loans would imperil the Libraries ability to recover collection materials on loan. A breach of access of circulation transactions would violate WI state statutes. Additionally, unauthorized access would be a violation of professional values laid out by the American Library Association. | July 21, 2021 |
| 3 | Data | This data only exists in electronic format. The vendor that manages the system in which this data resides has backup and recovery processes. | July 21, 2021 |
| 3 | Institutional Knowledge | The anonymized historical circulation records that describe the use of library collections have medium-to-high long term value for collection assessment. | July 21, 2021 |
Technical Details
- Specifications
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Circulation transaction records are based on the internal data model of the ILS in which they are generated and have no standardized data model to which they conform.
- Correctness
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These records are correct if they accurately represent the state of items on loan to library patrons or the circulation history of materials. These records presently have no quality control or validation steps.
- Representative Record
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The authoritative data is stored in the Alma ILS. It is managed by circulation staff carrying out normal library activities loaning records to patrons.
Circulation records are also subject to the University of Wisconsin System Library, Archives and Museum General Records Schedule, specifically Retention/Disposition Authorization numbers UWLIB117, UWLIB122 and UWLIB147.
https://cms.library.wisc.edu/archives/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2018/12/UWSA_Library_Records_GRS_2018.pdf
- Dependencies
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Circulation records depend upon Library Patron records and item-level bibliographic description inventory records.
Access & Use
- Delivery Modalities
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Patrons: may view their active circulation history in the Libraries' account interface. Patrons may also request by email to receive a copy of their circulation history for any items that have been loaned in the current ILS. This request is routed to the head of circulation.
Circulation Staff: may lookup patron circulation history to assist patrons in managing their active loans.
Other Library Staff: may view reports of circulation history for items. Select staff who have been provided with training can view historical circulation history in the ILS's Analytics reporting tool.
- Lifecycle
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Circulation transactions records are created at the point when a library checks a book out to a patron. These records are kept indefinitely for analysis purposes. Patron records are purged 3 years after the patron's official relationship to the University ends. At this point the patron's circulation transaction records are anonymized to a reporting version of the record. Personally identifiable information is removed from the patron record and the transaction record retains only aggregate characteristics such as the patron's group.
- Disposition
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Data is stored in the cloud ILS system, Alma, for current circulation transaction records. Anonymized historical circulation records are stored in a local relational database maintained by the General Library System's IT departments.
- Relevant Processes
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The campus Libraries utilize the circulation functionality in its ILS and the corresponding data records.
- Constraints
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Patron circulation records are protected per Wisconsin Stat §43.30 (1)(m), (2):
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/43/30?view=section
Circulation records are also subject to the University of Wisconsin System Library, Archives and Museum General Records Schedule, specifically Retention/Disposition Authorization numbers UWLIB117, UWLIB122 and UWLIB147.
https://cms.library.wisc.edu/archives/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2018/12/UWSA_Library_Records_GRS_2018.pdf