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Request Troubleshooting

Patron Lookup Problems

Without the proper patron information, ReShare requests can be generated without the proper patron information. While these requests will prompt staff to investigate further and will not be sent to partnering ReShare libraries for fulfillment without staff intervention, steps can still be taken to avoid or eliminate this issue.

For intermittent issues:

  1. Does the patron have a patron record in your ILS? An active patron record is necessary to request via ReShare.

  2. Does the User ID/Requesting User ID on the request match the Patron ID/barcode on the patron’s record in the ILS? If the numbers do not match, the patron may have two accounts in the ILS or have been issued a different ID/barcode value at some time. You may need to either provide the patron with the most recent credentials or update that patron account with the most recent information.

  3. Is the patron’s Group/Patron Type one of the authorized types for ReShare at your library? The latest version of ReShare allows libraries to manage which group/patron types are eligible to use ReShare. Check to ensure the patron’s type is listed as authorized in your ReShare settings.

For more widespread issues:

  1. Do the affected patrons share the same Group/Patron Type in your ILS? If so, check to ensure the patron’s type is listed as authorized in your ReShare settings.

  2. Are requests consistently being created in ReShare with an incorrect/missing User ID or Requesting User ID?

    1. If your library uses SSO to authorize patrons prior to submitting a ReShare request, make sure your authorization system is releasing the proper information to ReShare.

    2. If your library uses APIs or a 3rd-party addon to submit ReShare requests (e.g. the ILLiad ReShare Server Addon), check the configuration of the API or the addon in use to ensure it is pulling the patron ID/barcode from the correct field.

Operated as a Community Resource by the Open Library Foundation