Forget-Me-NOT!!!

Yes, the old catalog had it's limits, but it did have at least one nice feature, the "Remember me until I quit" checkbox. It put a cookie on the patron's computer that remembered their barcode and password whenever they used a My Account-related feature. This info was deleted when the user clicked the Quit button.

The new catalog does not have this exact feature. Instead, it has a "reverify" option, which we have turned on, which remembers the patron's barcode and password for requests (holds) placed in succession. It is not remembered when the patron clicks the My Account link, however. It also causes an interesting problem on the catalog stations in the library.

I'd like to share a work-around that you can share with patrons and use yourself and also important details about the interesting problem I mentioned above.

A work-around
Patrons can use a common web browser feature to remember their barcode number and password. These features are usually called something like "auto complete" or "auto form fill". They save the usernames and passwords you enter in the web browser so you can select and use them quickly in the future. You can often delete individual entries or indicate that you do not want some entries saved. These are the instructions Jane Trump wrote for the Help pages of the catalog.

Here's how you turn AutoComplete on in Internet Explorer. And here are links for instructions for Firefox users and Safari users.

• How can I avoid typing my entire barcode number and password every time I access my account from my home computer?
  You can set your browser to remember logins and passwords in all the sites you use, including Cook’s catalog. You will only have to do this once. In Internet Explorer:
  1. Choose Tools from the browser toolbar at the top of the page.
  2. From the dropdown menu choose Internet Options.
  3. Click the Content tab in the box that appears.
  4. Click the Settings button to the right of the AutoComplete description.
  5. Click the box for “User names and passwords on forms.”

An interesting problem.
As I mentioned above, the Reverify option we turned on automatically remembers the patron barcode and password for successive holds. A problem occurs when a patron using the catalog to place a hold leaves and someone else walks up and uses the catalog to place another hold before the timeout at 10 minutes occurs. The second patron can accidentally place a hold for the previous patron without realizing what has happened.

Here's the solution for this problem. After a patron places their last hold, they should click the Log Out link to log out of their account, then close the New Search window that appears. This clears their account information from the catalog so another request can be made. The Web PAC Pro Customization Committee will try to find a way to make this more obvious for patrons.


Keep those patron comments and questions coming! You can use the new #Millennium Comments and #Millennium Problems email accounts to report patron raves and rants (#Millennium Comments) or system problems (#Millennium Problems) you're experiencing.