Use the Patron Assist feature

The Patron Assist feature allows authorized staff to act on behalf of a patron in Vega Discover when it comes to performing the following tasks:

  • viewing and managing checkouts and holds

  • placing, modifying, canceling or freezing requests

  • accessing and updating patron account information

  • viewing and taking action upon fines and fees

  • creating and managing staff-generated lists and saved searches for the patron

You may perform some or all of these tasks depending on what has previously been set up in Vega Discover administration.

To use the Patron Assist feature:

  1. Select your name in the upper right corner of the screen.

  2. Select Patron assist.
    The Log in assist pop-up window is displayed.

  3. Enter the barcode associated with the patron, and select Start Session.
    When in patron assist mode, an orange border appears around the browser window. When performing actions on behalf of a patron in the Catalog, the patron's name appears at the top of workflows. The session times out after 10 minutes of inactivity. You can continue the session if needed.

  4. Select the patron's name, then select Account Portal.
    You can now assist the patron with the tasks outlined in the topic introduction.

Limitations

Patron assist sessions can't be created for patrons who have a Catalog preference set that will redirect the user to a different collection site. You must use the patron's configured collection site to start an assist session for them in this case.

When you are assisting a patron you aren't able to see the following information:

  • Patron Reading History

  • Patron-created ListsYou can only see lists created by any staff member.

  • Patron-created Saved SearchesYou can only see saved searches created by any staff member.

  • Linked Account drop-down menus to view transactions for linked accounts in overview page, checkouts, holds, or fines views.