Attributes

Attributes are used to store information about Patrons and Facilities. Some Attributes—such as patron First Name and Last Name—are “Core” system Attributes available by default. Users may also create custom Attributes to capture information about Patrons and Facilities. For example, Attributes could be created to store a Patron’s application date, facility choice, or study habits.

Attributes may be shared between Patrons and Facilities. Shared Attributes allow for comparing values when creating Automatic Assignment criteria—such as matching Patrons who are Honors students with Honors-only housing Facilities.

Besides storing information about Patrons and Facilities, Attributes may also be used in a variety of other ways:

•     Advanced Find: Use Attributes to create a list of Patrons or Facilities in the Advanced Find search.

•     Reports: Use Attributes to select information to be included in a report.

•     Room Selection: Use Attributes to define which Patrons are eligible to select a room, when the Patrons can access the Room Selection function, and what rooms are available to select.

•     Automatic Assignments: Use Attributes to match Patrons to other Patrons or Facilities when generating assignments.

When creating Attributes, a list of Attribute values can be defined. This can allow Patrons to select from a pre-defined list of Attribute values instead of entering one manually.

When entering Attribute values for Patrons or Facilities, start and end dates can be set to control when the values are effective. If an Attribute’s value has an unknown end date, the end date can be blank. An undefined end date sets the Attribute’s value to be effective in perpetuity.

If entering the same Attribute value for a group of patrons, use the Insert Patron Attribute task.