Understanding Shared Borrower Databases

If your library is a member of a consortium, the member libraries may share borrower information from a single shared database rather than copying borrower information to the local database of each library. The Shared Borrower database resides on a single server to which all consortium libraries connect. You can share a borrower database only if each member library’s bibliographic database resides on the same server as the Shared Borrower database. However, each library’s bibliographic database can be maintained separately.

To set up a Shared Borrower database, contact your Horizon implementation team.

During Shared Borrower setup, the consortium determines the parameters for the shared BTYPE, including its name. The shared BTYPE settings establish circulation rules for borrowers who check out items from member libraries other than the library they use most often. Once Shared Borrower databases are set up, Horizon automatically assigns a shared BTYPE to each borrower record created by any member library.

Here is an example of a Shared Borrower borrower record:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to the shared BTYPE, each borrower record includes a Local BTYPE group. The library that the borrower uses most often can create a local BTYPE that establishes general circulation rules for that BTYPE for their library. These local BTYPE rules override the shared BTYPE rules.

For example, if the shared BTYPE gives a three-day checkout period but you want to let out-of-area borrowers check out items for a full week, you can override the circulation parameters defined by the shared BTYPE. You do this by creating and assigning a local BTYPE of your own that sets the checkout period for seven days for the shared BTYPE. (For more information, see Defining a Borrower Circulation Type (BTYPE). For more information on adding new borrowers, see “Adding a New Borrower to a Shared Borrower Database” in the “Borrower and Item Records” chapter of the Circulation Guide.)

 


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