LibraryWorld HIPPA Compliance

 What is HIPPA?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

HIPAA laws were enacted primarily to:

• Modernize the flow of healthcare information.

• Stipulate how personally identifiable information (PII) maintained by the healthcare and health insurance industries should be protected from fraud and theft.

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HIPAA mandated national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from disclosure without patient knowledge or consent. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the HIPAA Privacy Rule to implement this mandate.

Another key element of HIPAA compliance is the Security Rule, a subset of the Privacy Rule. This includes all individually identifiable health information that a covered entity creates, receives, maintains, or transmits electronically. 

Understanding which entities must comply with these regulations is crucial for maintaining data privacy and avoiding potential penalties. In general, there are two main categories of organizations that must be HIPAA-compliant:

• Covered Entities: Medical practitioners, Health plans, Healthcare clearinghouses.

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• Business Associates: Billing companies, Electronic health record (EHR) vendors, IT service providers,  Consultants and auditors.

How LibraryWorld Complies with HIPPA

About LibraryWorld Data:

First,  LibraryWorld is defined as a Business Associate. Second, it must be clear that LibraryWorld stores no health information at all.  It does store personal identifier information such as names, addresses, emails and phone numbers.  But many of those fields are optional.  They are simply used to identify who has a particular item (book) checked out.  

Security:

All LibraryWold data is stored in a ‘Level 3’ server farm with three levels of physical security including: keypad (front door), card reader (server room), and lock combination (cabinet) to access the servers.  The site is manned full time 24/7 with video surveillance.  There are also redundant power electrical systems in place. 

The data is stored on a set of primary and hot secondary servers.  Servers have RAID 5 SSD disk drives (all backed up all the time) and multiple power units.   

Backups:  All data is backed up nightly to rotational external disk drives for five nights.  Rotational weekly and monthly backups are also performed.   

Malware:  LibraryWorld is based on the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl), which historically have been well suited for secure commercial Web sites.  Virus protection software is additionally used to scan and protect against any infections from the outside.  All unnecessary ports are closed.  

Cybersecurity insurance provides up to $5 million per incident and the insurance firm activity scans our servers for vulnerabilities. 

Privacy:

Access to servers can only be performed through Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols (think modern SSL) providing data encryption from and to the servers from the clients. Data is also encrypted at rest in the databases.

Each Library database resides in its own MySQL database.  There is no sharing of data elements with any other library database. 

Each library is owned by a unique user_id that includes a username, password and a multi-factor-authentication process.   

Each server maintains activity logs that are reviewed daily for suspicious activity.  Logs are kept for six months. 

Policies and Procedures:

LibraryWorld performs risk analysis on a monthly basis to review security and privacy vulnerabilities.

All employees that handle personal information undergo training on best practices on handling sensitive personal  data.  Only employees with absolute need have access to personal information. 

Breach Notification Policy:

LibraryWorld’s Breach Policy is the following:  In case of any data breach involving personal information, all customers affected will be informed by email the nature and extent of the breach and what personal information that may have been disclosed. This action shall take place within 24 hours of the knowledge of  the breach occurring. 

Conclusion:

Even though LibraryWorld stores no health related information, we take our responsibility to secure and protect the customer’s information extremely seriously.

If you have any questions on LibraryWorld policies or procedures, please feel to call LibraryWorld at 1-800-852-2777.

New In-House Circulation Feature

To track items that have been used, but not formally checked out to a patron, you can now use the In-House button in the circulation module. A new In-house column has been added to the Circulation Activity Report to show the In-house use totals. The Weed report has a new option to ignore In-house data. Top Titles report automatically ignores In-house activity.

To use the feature, just gather up the material that has been used and scan them into the circulation module using the new In-House button. If an item was actually checked out, the process will automatically start the normal check in function.

New Maximum Holds Feature

LibraryWorld allows you to 'Hold' an item for a specific patron.  The Hold feature has become a very popular feature during these difficult times, where access to some libraries have been limited.   

To help enhance the use this feature,  a new maximum number of holds per patron has been added.   This prevents a specific patron from having more holds than allowed.  

To set the value, go to Settings->Policies and Edit Default Policies.  Edit the Default Maximum Holds field. 

Dashboard and Print Buttons

The Main page of your library now contains a Dashboard panel, which includes a count of the total catalog titles, patron records, number of holdings that are In, Out, on Hold and Lost.   Clicking on the highlighted number does a quick  search for those items.

A new Print button has been added to the Catalog and Patron module pages.  The button contains  a drop down menu providing quick access to frequently used reports.   These reports contain records in the current search.   You no longer have to go to the Reports module to run these reports.

Last, we added to icons to the various navigation commands to help identify them. 

New Circulation Email Options

LibraryWorld allows you to automatically send email notices to patrons when checking items out, checking items in, renewing items and placing items on hold. An email is sent out for each transaction stating the title, transaction date and due date if appropriate.  

The circulation email options are turned off by default. To turn them on, go to Settings-Policies and access the Circulation Email Options panel. You can turn them all on or just the ones you require. 

For example, you may want to use the Email Statement button in the checkout process to send one email for all current checkouts. Then you can use individual automatic emails for check ins, renews and holds. Or, you may just be concerned with automatically letting users know that an item was placed on hold.  

Checking Items In and Out Using Titles

Most libraries use barcode labels and scanners to perform circulation, because they are quick and accurate.  Each copy of an item has a unique number with a barcode that can be quickly scanned.  Patron's can also have a unique number placed on a library card.   Patron barcodes are less popular in smaller libraries and schools  because  patrons usually forget or misplace their cards.  

LibraryWorld, has always allowed circulating using  patron barcode numbers or patron names.  To insure accuracy and speed, a barcode number was required for items being circulated.

As a new alternative, you can now enter the first few words of the title and a list will appear allowing you to confirm the title by selecting the barcode number.  This also works for check in,  hold, clear hold and reserve. 

To keep the user interface as simple as possible there is only one entry text field, which is  active by default (blinking cursor).   For check out,  enter the patron's barcode number or name.  Next, type or scan the barcode of the item, or the first few words of the title.  If a barcode is found, the prompt confirms and the title is displayed along with other transactions for the patron. If you enter a title, a list of copy records associated with that title (or similar titles starting with those words) will appear.  You then click on the correct barcode number to confirm the checkout. Continue entering titles or item barcodes until done with that patron.

To start the the process over for a new patron, just enter the patron name or number. The program checks those first and if found, the process starts again.  In extremely rare cases, a patron name and a title of the book may be exactly same (think 'Kennedy'), you can force title searching by using the string 't:kennedy'.  Otherwise the program might start checking out to the patron Kennedy.   To prevent that issue, you can also  use the first few words of the title.  Checking out by title requires you to confirm the item by clicking on the barcode number, at which time you can correct any issues.   

Smaller libraries that do not want to barcode their collection can now circulate now without doing so.  However, we always recommend putting barcodes on your holdings to increase accuracy and to handle multiple copies.  Although you can now circulate by title, you will still need to add a copy to each title to create the unique barcode number.   These numbers and records are used not only for circulation, but also for inventory control and collection management reports. The only times you should catalog without adding a barcode is when the item is not physical; such as a web site or eBook. 

Use these features on a 'safe' patron to become familiar with the process. 

We hope you enjoy this new feature.

The LibraryWorld Team

 

Clearing Fines

Many libraries charge fines when items are overdue.

A new feature now allows you to clear all fines for all patrons.  Because of our current environment caused by the pandemic, it maybe necessary in some cases to clear all fines for all patrons.

Clearing a specific fine is done when an item is checked in or by bringing up a patron and clearing a specific fine.  You can also use the 'Pay All Fines' button for that specific patron.

To clear all fines for all patrons, click on the Setting module and the Policies link.  Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Begin link for clearing all fines.

You will be prompted for your username and you will need click on the checkbox that declares that you understand that the action can not be undone.    Only users with permissions to access Settings can execute this command.

Borrowing from Another Library

Inter-library Borrowing is when you are borrowing an item from another library to check out to a patron. Once you receive the item, quickly catalog it with the New Record button in the Catalog module. 

Use Option One, which allows you to briefly catalog the record.  Add a copy, but make sure you enter 'ILL' in the Location field and an abbreviated name of the other library in the call number field.  You will need to put a barcode on the item, or place the item in a sleeve or container with the barcode.  If the sleeve of envelope is misplaced, remember you can check it in by title. 

When checking in, the ILL in the location field will cause LibraryWorld to alert you that the item is from another library and will show you the call number field. displaying the library name In Settings-Policies you can set up a loan period for the  location 'ILL'  that is different than your default.

You can also search for Location 'ILL' in the Catalog module and then run various reports on that find set; such as lists, overdue notices, emails notices, etc. Now, check out the item to the patron as you would normally do. 

When the item is checked in, you'll be alerted that the item is from another library.

Exact procedures:

1. Briefly catalog the item using the New Record command in the catalog module.
2. Add a copy, making sure the location field contains 'ILL' and the call number field contains a brief name of the library the item came from.
3. Add the barcode to the item, either on the item or on a wrapper.
4. Check out the item as normal.
5. On check in, an alert will appear indicating the item is an ILL and should be set aside to be returned to the appropriate library.
6. Delete the catalog/holding record as it no longer is necessary for your collection.

Lending to Another Library

Inter-library Loan is the process whereby a patron of one library can borrow books, DVDs, music, etc. and/or receive photocopies of documents that are owned by another library.

This documents how you can use LibraryWorld to lend items to another library.

First, you need to set up policies for a new patron type 'Library' and then create a patron record for each library you want to lend to using the patron type 'Library'. Then check out to the patron (library) using the normal circulation procedures.

Detailed setup procedures:

1. Go to Settings->Policies, and add a new Patron Type Limit named 'Library'. Set Max Checkouts and Max Overdues as appropriate, probably higher than regular patrons. This will apply to all 'Library' patrons.
2. Add a new Loan Period and Fine policy, making sure the patron type field says 'Library'. The loan period should be longer than normal.
3. Go to the Patrons module and add a New Patron. Enter an abbreviated name for the library in the Name field. Enter the contact name in the Address 1 field and normal address information in the rest of the fields. Make sure the patron type field says 'Library'. Also, make sure you include an email address.

Checking the item out:

1. Go to Circulation and click Checkout (usually defaults).
2. Enter the abbreviated library name as entered in the patron record and press the Enter key.
3. Scan or type the barcode number for each item being checked out to that library, carefully reviewing the circulation due dates to verify that the patron type policies for 'Library' are taking effect.

To run a report of all items checked out to other libraries:

1. Go to the Patrons module, select 'Type' from the drop-down menu, enter 'Library' and press the Enter key.
2. View the list of patron records of type Library. This is your findset.
3. Go to Reports and run any of the Checked Out, Overdue or even Email reports being careful to choose the 'Patron Findset Only' option before executing. This will run the report for only those patrons included in the find set you created.

Overdues by Due Date Range

A new feature in LibraryWorld allows you to run overdue reports by a range of due dates.  Sometimes you just want to run overdue notices for patrons that have  seriously overdue items.  Now you can do a patron advanced range search to find patrons with items overdue between two dates.  Then you just run any of the patron overdue reports, choosing the patron find set option.  

Here are the step by step instructions.

Go to the Patron module and select the Advanced button.   Enter two dates in the Range search fields, say 2018-09-01 to 2018-12-31, and do the search.   You'll be shown all patrons with items with due dates between those two dates.  You may be able to just stop there and browse the find set; calling or talking directly to each patron.  Or, you can use one of the many reports.  

To use a report, go to the Reports page and select one of the reports dealing with items checked out or overdue; like notices, letters or even email.   Choose a report and then make sure you select the option to use the patron find set.  This will create a report with only those items that are out and due between the two dates you searched on.

There are occasions where items may have been  placed back on the shelf without being checked in.    These be will get discovered during an inventory, but that might not happen often.  So you can run a report to see if the seriously late overdue items may be on the shelf.  To do so, click on the Advanced button in the Catalog module.  Use the Range search to search on Due Date between two dates. The resulting find set will display catalog records with items due between those dates.  Now go to the Reports module and select the holdings report by call number.   This will display by call number the items overdue between the two dates you searched.  You can print this report and check the shelves for the items.

Range searching by due date can be a very handy method for focusing your time on  seriously overdue items.

Spine and Spine Pocket Label Printing by PDF

Printing spine labels can be frustrating if the text and labels do not line up.  Due to the increasing variables in computers, browsers and printers, that job has become more difficult using HTML pages.   We therefor implemented spine label printing using PDF files, similar to how local bar codes can be printed, which is highly accurate.    All the options are same.  The old HTML version will remain available.

To print spine labels or spine/pocket labels using PDF:

1. Go to the Reports Modules.
2. Select 'PDF Spine and Pockets Labels' under 'Other Reports' section. 
3. Select the Source and other options, then select the Print labels button.
4. A new tab or window will appear in your browser with a PDF document displaying the labels.  Use the Print command in the File menu to print.  
5. In the print dialog box make sure footers and headers are turned off and  'Actual Size' option set.   If you do not see the 'Actual Size' option, you may need to save the PDF to your desktop and print using Acrobat Reader with 'Actual Size' set.  

The special spine and spine/pocket label stock can be purchased from LibraryWorld using the 'Market' link at the top of any page.  The spine only stock is $40 for 3,000 labels.   The spine and pocket label stock is $40 for 1,000 label sets (1 spine and 2 pocket labels).

Shelflist Order Checking During Inventory

The inventory process has been enhanced to check for miss-shelved items during scanning. When you are scanning barcode numbers into the inventory module (this does not work for uploading a file) the service will provide several types of alerts.  An alert will appear if you are scanning an item from a new branch or location.  A warning will be displayed if an item being scanned should be before the last item scanned, indicating one of the items may be out of order.  This works for up to two parts of the call number: both LC and DEWEY standards are supported. An error will appear if the item does not have a status of 'IN'.  Last, an error will appear if the system can not recognize the number.

Checkout Button in Patron Module

A new checkout button has been added to the patron edit page.  If you are reviewing a patron, perhaps seeing what they may have out or due, you can now quickly checkout to that patron.  Also remember that you can check an item in by scrolling down and clicking on the status of an item that is checked out to that patron.

While we are in the 'hints' business, here is another one.  If you are checking an item out in the Circulation module,  you can use either the patron number or the patron name to identify a person.  We recently updated the prompt to make that clear.    Just enter the patron's name instead of their number.  If the name is not unique, a list will appear for you to choose from.

Using LibraryWorld for Textbook Management

At the request of our customers a few years ago, we implemented several features to help manage textbook distribution and tracking.   Although often used by schools to track textbooks being distributed to classrooms, it has also become popular in special libraries to track items being distributed to different departments.  Here is  a detailed description on how it works. 

First,  you need to catalog your textbooks.   Use the ‘New’ command in the Catalog module to create a new title.   Looking up textbooks from the built-in Z39.50 Web client may not be as successful as normal material, but worth a try.  If you do not get a hit, briefly enter bibliographic information.  Since the book will not be used in a normal library manner, the brief record should do well;  enter ISBN, title, author and perhaps publication information.  

Next, use the Add Copy command when viewing the record to add a copy.  Make sure you use a consistent location field such last ‘TEXTBOOK ROOM’ or even ’TBR’ or something similar to indicate the book is in the textbook collection area.   Place a barcode label on the book and make sure it matches the online barcode for the copy.   The call number can be simply the first eight characters of the title.  Again, this will not be shelved in a normal manner.  Last, use the ‘Save and Add Another Copy’ button to quickly add another copy to the same title and repeat. 

Now that you have all the titles and copies cataloged with the Location field consistent with the value ‘TBR’ or something similar, you are ready to start distributing your collection.    Take a set of copies, go to the circulation module and click on the Location button.   You will be prompted for a location. Enter the location the books will be sent to. This could be a classroom, teacher’s name, class subject or perhaps combination ‘SMITH 101 BIO’. Then simply using the scanner to scan each copy’s barcode.   The  location field in the copy record will be changed from ’TBR’ to ‘SMITH 101 BIO’.   There is  no due date, policies or other normal circulation activity done, you are simply changing the location field.   

So how does tracking work?  If  you go to the Reports module, there is a special report called ‘Textbook Summary by Location’ which if you run with a find set on the title,  you will  get a report displaying how many copies are in each location.  If all your titles in the library are textbook, then the report can display all titles with the number of copies in each location.   

Checking textbooks back in at the end of the school year or period is the reverse of signing them out.   Go to the Circulation module and click on the Location button.  Enter the ‘TBR’ name or what ever you used, and just start scanning.   The location of the scanned items will be updated to ‘TBR’.   After all the books are changed, you can then run the Textbook report and discover which copies are outstanding and their locations.  If there are copies outstanding you can find the catalog record and it will display which specific copies  (barcode numbers) are still missing.  

Taking it to the next level.  You can track not only which copies are assigned to a class, but also to a specific student.   After assigning the textbooks to a class, you can then checkout the book to a student.  Using the Temp Due date to assign the due date to the end of the school year or class period, will bypass the traditional circulation policies.    This might be difficult at the central textbook room, but the teacher could write down the barcode number of the copy next to a students name when distributing. They can simply send that back to you for the normal check out process.  This might be more control then necessary, but does provide two levels of tracking; by location and by student.  

We are pleased that the textbook tracking features in LibraryWorld are now being used by hundreds of school and special libraries.

Z39.50 Server Support is Now Available

Z39.50 is an international (ISO 23950) standard for computer-to-computer information retrieval. This makes it possible for a user in one system to search and retrieve information from other computer systems without knowing the search syntax used by those other systems. This is often done by a dedicated Z39.50 client program, a union catalog searching program, or even a cataloging program.
You can now allow Z39.50 clients to search your library by turning on the Z39.50 option. To do so:

1. Open your library.
2. Select the Settings link in the navigation bar.
3. Select General.
4. Click on an change the 'Allow Z39.50 client option to 'Y'.
5. Click on the Save button

Notice there is a path underneath the option. That path is used by the Z39.50 client application to open your library to search. The path looks like: z3950.libraryworld.com:210/[library_name]. The brackets should be removed when using the path and any spaces in the library name should be replaced with underlines.

New Maximum Fine Per Item Feature

You can now set a maximum fine per overdue item that overrides the library fine policies.

To set the maximum fine per item, go to the Settings->Policies page. Click on the 'Edit Default Values' link. A new field called 'Default Maximum Fine Per Overdue Item' appears. Leave it blank if you do not want a maximum fine. Enter a value to set a maximum fine. This amount will override any fines that are greater than that value when checking items in. Fines less than the value will not be effected. Fines already charged will also not be effected.

Here is a side benefit of the feature. If you want to check many books in without charging fines, you could set the Max Fine to '0.00' and check them in. Just make sure you go back and clear the value afterwards.

The LibraryWorld Team

New Delete Fields Command

Deleting multiple fields in a catalog record can take some time. We've improved the process by adding a delete fields mode.

When editing a catalog record, there is now a new 'Delete Fields' button right next to the 'Add Field' button. If you click on this button, you go into a special mode that displays a delete button next to each field. Delete fields fast by clicking on these buttons. Remember to click on the Save button at the top to save changes to the record.

We recommend keeping fields that may be important to the integrity of the catalog record. One cataloger's worthless field maybe important to the next cataloger. You can always hide fields from patron displays by using the field suppression feature in OPAC customization settings.

We hope this feature provides a more streamlined process for editing records.

Upgrades to Checkout and Patron Pages

We are always careful about adding new features, but we thought these requests from customers were worth implementing.

While checking out items, the Comments field of the patron record is now displayed. If there is information in that field that you do not want the checkout desk to see, you'll need to delete or move the data to another field. We have also included on the checkout page a summary line that displays the total items checked out, overdue, on hold and total amount of fines.

When searching for patrons, we have added the total out, overdue and on hold for each patron in the find set.

When viewing a patron record, we created a new button to 'Pay All Fines' at once; instead of clearing them one at a time. A total amount line has also been provided at the bottom of the fines table.

Again, we know our customers appreciate a clean user interface that is uncluttered, easy to learn and easy to use. With that in mind, we hope these additions add value to the circulation process.

Customize your Z39.50 Server List

LibraryWorld has a list of Z39.50 servers that you can search and pull catalog records from; including the Library of Congress. In the past, this list was a fixed list. Recently, we have upgraded the program to allow you to remove or add servers from a larger master list.

This feature allows you to remove servers that clearly are not useful to your cataloging operations and add those that are. Although the master list is limited to about 15 servers we have tested for quality and uptime, we'll be greatly expanding that list in the coming months.

To customize the list, go to the New Record page in the Catalog module and click on 'Customize Server List'. A larger master list will appear and you can select or unselect each one. The Library of Congress server always remains as the first option in your list and cannot be removed.

Digital Documents Enhancement

When we first developed the attachment feature in LibraryWorld, it was meant to supplement catalog records with small JPEG and PDF documents of 256k or less. A few years ago we increased it to 512k, but LibraryWorld’s latest update allows users to attach PDF and JPEG documents up to 2MB to their catalog.

The files are converted into thumbnails of a PDF or JPEG and can be used as book jacket covers for a catalog record, or pictures of inventoried equipment.

Several archives use their thumbnails to display pictures of camera equipment to quickly check which of their supplies have been loaned out. Others use the feature to document films, artwork, and school supplies. Some archive pictures of the lighting, automobile, or architectural products on and off their shelves. The pictures help these organizations know exactly which supplies have been rented out on the fly.

Libraries with Standard service subscriptions can store up to 1,000 files and each file can be up to 2MB in size. Patrons can view attached documents, thumbnails and fully expanded files through the online patron access catalog (OPAC) application.