Slow patron lookup in checkout

ForumTinyCat

Melde dich bei LibraryThing an, um Nachrichten zu schreiben.

Slow patron lookup in checkout

1hefclibrary
Jan. 5, 2020, 10:28 am

Anyone else having problems with the patron lookup in checkout? I type in part of the name and tap enter, and sometimes the drop-down menu pops up right away and other times it takes as much as 20 seconds. I don't think it's our internet, because we never have to wait that long for the item lookup to work after scanning the barcode (and that's a MUCH bigger database!) It's frustrating for my librarians, who get flustered and feel like they did something wrong.

2queerist
Jan. 9, 2020, 8:35 am

Yes, we sometimes experience this scenario exactly as described. We just resort to patron id when the search does not seem to work.

3ptalibrary
Jan. 28, 2020, 9:13 pm

We definitely have the same problem: the name will not show up and if we type it, it will not find a match and at the end, after doing the date due , it will ask if we should add the patron. Then if we add the patron, we end up with doulbe records and have to merge them later. So it gets frustrating! I believe there is a bug in there...

4kristilabrie
Jan. 29, 2020, 8:39 am

>3 ptalibrary: your case might be something else going on. I'd have to see specific examples of how you're entering the patron's name (for ones you don't find quickly but already exist in the system), to investigate further.

That said, can you all post with how many patrons you have in TinyCat? I need to pinpoint if this is server slowness or something else.

Also, if you're keen on it, you can always email me (at tinycat@librarything.com) with specific examples of patrons taking awhile to be found in the patron search on the Check in/out page—please give me the exact text you're searching and what patron/s you wish to find—and I can test this more specifically. Thanks!

5kjp692
Jan. 30, 2020, 9:16 am

Having the same issue more and more the last few weeks. There is a lag time in the drop down, if it ever appears at all. We have the kiddos names printed on their cards exactly as they are entered in the database, so our workaround is to just type the name in and continue. Not ideal but at least it keeps things flowing (important with 3yos in a "line" lol) Unless someone makes a typo, we never get a patron not found message, so it IS successfully finding them.

It depends on the day, but when it happens, it happens for every single patron of ours that day. we are using the same process we have for the last few years.

If I had to call it, it feels more like a server thing than a bug.

Oh yes.... we only have 55 patrons

6kristilabrie
Jan. 30, 2020, 11:59 am

Okay, I'm going to dig into this where I can. Would welcome specific reports (with names) in emails, if any of you are able and willing, thanks!

7kjp692
Feb. 3, 2020, 12:08 pm

Just adding that today, I have been inputting and editing books, and this feature has been running extremely slowly. Not sure if it's just me. Nothing else slow on my end (no other sites).

8kristilabrie
Feb. 4, 2020, 9:28 am

Thanks for the update, and sorry for the trouble! I've alerted developers of the issue, and they'll take a look when they can. I'll be sure to post here with any updates, thanks for your patience in the meantime.

9kristilabrie
Feb. 4, 2020, 10:03 am

>7 kjp692: Just to clarify, "this feature" that's being slow is still the patron search on the Check in/out page, or are you talking about another feature? If so, I'm having trouble reproducing this on my end.

Can you email me (tinycat@librarything.com) with specific examples of what you're doing so I can test this further?

10ptalibrary
Feb. 6, 2020, 11:47 pm

Patrons: we have 78. I will check if the trouble is continuing. We also have problems when 2 librarians are working simultaneously on check out/in on TC but over different books. Books have been showed up as checked out under completely unrelated names. We will see if that happens again. Thanks!

11kristilabrie
Feb. 7, 2020, 9:27 am

>10 ptalibrary: That's because the TinyCat Admin login is not session-based, but user-based. If more than one person is making changes on the account, then edits are likely to get overwritten and mixed up. Sorry for the trouble here, but you'll want to make sure only one person is checking books out at the same time on the Admin side.

As for the patron search slowness, thanks for checking back on that. I'll be happy to test any specific examples you find (privately to protect patron information, of course). Thanks!

12kjp692
Feb. 7, 2020, 11:14 am

just wanted to report in that we did checkout today and saw dropdowns for the first time in a while, tho there still was a lag time. Interestingly, they did not come up by typing first name, only last (usually we type first last so that if it doesn't come up, we can just hit save).

Of note, the system seems to be running slowly today with everything, even loading the admin home page... not sure if that is something on our end.

13kristilabrie
Feb. 7, 2020, 1:31 pm

Okay, again, if you can give me specific examples of patrons' first names that were not being brought up in the system, I can test them out on my end and confirm a proper bug to fix if there is one.

Are you still experiencing slowness? I'm not seeing anything on my end for TinyCat, at least (thought there could have been slowness at the time you posted).

Thanks,
Kristi

14SAIGONSTAR
Mrz. 16, 2020, 1:48 am

Just on the side, we have 200 patrons. For older students I let them memorise their patron IDs. They use the front-end and not the admin to self-check out their books. This way, their parents get an email of their loans and so do I. I only use admin to return all books. For younger children, i print out the students name and IDs and the teachers and teaching assistants loan books out using the patron ID. Yes, i have had conflicts returning and borrowing using admin if more than one person does a transaction but have not seen it happen when we have used the front end.

15hefclibrary
Jun. 3, 2020, 2:49 pm

I just wanted to update this thread to say that we haven't had a problem with this in a few months. Somebody fixed it! The names populate very quickly now when entering patron names. Thank you!