Staff and researchers can submit loan requests for fulfillment on a specific date using the Schedule Retrieval / Scheduled Date field. This allows researchers to place requests for items they would like to view or receive at a future time.
Future Request Handling for Appointment Scheduling Configurations
Note that the settings configured in the FutureRoutingDays customization key will no longer apply if Aeon has been configured to use appointment scheduling functionality in place of the Scheduled Date field. Once appointment scheduling features have been configured for Aeon, requests associated with an appointment will be routed from Awaiting Future Request Processing to Awaiting Request Processing once the current date has passed the timeframe allowed by the Request Min Lead Days setting configured for the associated reading room in the Aeon Customization Manager. For more information, see Configuring Reading Room Calendars.
Note: Request processing functionality is currently only supported in the Aeon Desktop Client and cannot be performed from the Aeon Web Client. Request information, including the value in the Scheduled Date field, can be viewed in Transactions grids in the Aeon Web Client, however, this value cannot be modified from the web client.
The Scheduled Date Field
The Scheduled Date field is included by default on the Request form in the Aeon Desktop Client, Transactions grids in the Aeon Web Client, and on all loan request web pages. A future date entry in this field places the request in the default status queue Awaiting Future Request Processing. It is possible to add a time value to the Scheduled Date field in the desktop client (but not in the web interface). If no time is specified, the time value will be set to midnight. In the desktop client, enter the values into the Scheduled Date field by typing the values into the field or using the drop-down and selecting the values.
On the web pages, enter the values into the Scheduled Date field by using the popup calendar. The web pages are customized to use a JavaScript calendar that can be edited to reflect your site's schedule. The Scheduled Date field is controlled by the FutureRoutingDays key, which sets the number of days prior to the scheduled date when future requests are moved to Awaiting Request Processing. Validation of the field on the Aeon web pages displays an error message controlled by the SLInvalidScheduledDate key.
Staff can also manually place requests in the Awaiting Future Request Processing queue. If the request does not specify a Scheduled Date, it will remain in this queue indefinitely.
Submitting Requests with Today's Date
Requests can be submitted for same-day fulfillment by entering the current date and either leaving the time value blank or entering a time in the future (time values can only be entered in the desktop client). Same-day requests with a date or time value in the past (between midnight and the current time) will return an error message.
The FutureRoutingDays Key
The Scheduled Date field is controlled by the FutureRoutingDays key. The system looks at the date supplied by the researcher or staff, and decides when to make the request active based on the settings of this key. When the criteria are met, the request moves automatically to the Awaiting Request Processing queue.
The criteria for the FutureRoutingDays key:
- Future dates only: The release date or number of days before the release date must be in the future; negative numbers are not allowed.
- A release date of 0: The request moves to Awaiting Request Processing on the date specified in the Scheduled Date field.
- A release date of 1 or more: The request moves to Awaiting Request Processing this number of days before the date specified in the Scheduled Date field.
The FutureRoutingDays key is located in the System | General section of the Aeon Customization Manager.
Validating the Scheduled Date Field
The Scheduled Date field is validated to ensure that it is properly formatted in numeric M/D/YYYY format and is a date in the future. Scheduled Date validation happens as part of the usual client and web validation processes. If the field is filled out incorrectly, an error message displays.
The SLInvalidScheduledDate Key
The error message displayed on the web pages is controlled by the SLInvalidScheduledDate key; the default value for the error message is, "Scheduled Date is Invalid." By default, if the field is left blank, the field will pass validation. No value will be stored for the scheduled date, and the request will be sent to Awaiting Request Processing. If you are editing a request and leave the field blank, this will remove any previous value. The SLInvalidScheduledDate key is located in the Web Interface | Status Lines section of the Customization Manager.
Separate Validation Rules
If a site has a separate validation rule configured for the Scheduled Date field, for instance, a WebValidation rule stating that the field is a required field, the validation rule from the WebValidation table will take precedence. The message defined in the SLInvalidScheduledDate key will not display because the DLL's scheduled date validation uses the same Error Tag found in the WebValidation table. If that tag is already set, the DLL will not further validate the field. If the value satisfies the WebValidation table, (e.g., entering a value when the field is a required field) but fails the DLL validation, (e.g., entering the date in the wrong format) the SLInvalidScheduledDate message will appear. This DLL validation applies to submitting new requests and editing requests. It does not presently apply to submitting new EAD requests. Validation for the ScheduledDate field for EAD requests is handled in the EADRequest.js file.
The Future Scheduled Date field will not work with photoduplication requests and is not included the photoduplication request web page.