Courses

The Courses app allows you to create and manage course reserves.

Note: In order for the courses you create in the Courses app to be discoverable by your patrons, you need to have an external interface or discovery layer set up and capable of interacting with FOLIO.

Table of Contents

Permissions

FOLIO community documentation for Courses includes the permissions required to interact with the app, and that determine what you can or cannot do within the app.

You can assign permissions to users in the Users app. If none of these permissions are assigned to a user, then they will be unable to see the Courses app or any related information.

Searching for courses

You can search for courses in the Search & filter pane. All courses are shown and selected by default. To search for courses, enter your search terms into the box. Select the All fields drop-down list to search through one of the following fields: Course name, Course code, Section, Instructor, Registrar ID, and External ID. All fields is the default search.

You can also search for courses by selecting any of the filters in the Courses Search & filter pane: Department, Course type, Term, and Location. Additionally, you can apply the filters after you perform a search to limit your results.

You can choose which columns appear in your search results by clicking on the Action menu. Under Show columns, check or uncheck columns to change what you see in the results pane.

Searching for reserves

You can search for items on reserve in the Search & filter pane. Courses are shown and selected by default. Click Reserves at the top of the pane to start your search. To search for reserves, enter your search terms into the box. Select the All fields drop-down list to search through one of the following fields: Title, Barcode, or Call Number. All fields are searched by default.

You can also search for reserves by selecting any of the filters in the Search & filter pane: Processing status, Copyright status, Permanent location, Temporary location, and Term. Additionally, you can apply the filters after you perform a search to limit your results.

You can choose which columns appear in your search results by clicking on the Action menu. Under Show columns, check or uncheck columns to change what you see in the results pane.

To find items on a reserve for a specific course, first search for the course from the Search & filter pane. Click on the course you wish to view reserves for. Scroll down to the Items section to see all the items on reserve for that course.

Creating a course

When creating a course, you should keep the following in mind:

You must have the Courses window open in order to create a course.
Once a course is created, it can only be deleted if all reserve items are removed.
If you are adding one or more cross-listed courses to a course, the information you enter into Course listing information also applies to each cross-listed course.
Reserve items added to the course are automatically assigned with the Start Date and End Date of the Term you selected, as specified in the Term settings. If needed, you can edit the dates by editing the reserve item.
Any item assigned to a Course automatically has its temporary location set to the value specified in the Location field. If needed, you can change the temporary location by editing the reserve item.

Click Actions in the upper right-hand corner, then New.
In the Create course window, enter a Course Name.
Select the Department from the drop-down list (make sure you select the correct institutional code prefix).
Enter the Course code, making sure to match the registrar’s course number (e.g. MATH 101, ANTH-245, etc.) following your institution’s numbering convention.
Enter the Section number, if necessary.
Under Course listing information, select the appropriate Course type.
Select the Term (e.g. 2022 Fall).
IMPORTANT: Select the Location where the reserve collection is housed. Items added to the course will inherit this location by default. This also allows you to filter by location for only relevant courses AND controls display of courses in your institution’s Discover interface.
Click Save & close.
Next steps: Adding an instructor and Adding a cross-listed course (optional).

Editing a course

Find the course you want to edit and click on it in the Courses list.
In the course details window, select Actions > Edit.
Make your desired changes to the course and click Save & close.

Deleting a course

Courses can only be deleted once all items are removed from the course.

Find the course you want to delete and click on it in the Courses list.
In the course details window, select Actions > Edit.
Click Delete.
Click Really delete to delete the course. The course is deleted and removed from the Courses list.

Adding a cross-listed course

Cross-listed courses share instructors, course listing information, and reserve items. Once a course is created, cross-listed courses can be added to it. When you cross-list a course, the information you have in the original course’s Course listing information section also applies to the cross-listed course.

Find the course you want to add a cross-listed course to and click on it in the Courses list.
In the course details window, select Actions > Crosslist.
In the New course within listing window, enter a Course name and optionally fill in the other boxes under Basic course information. The Cross listing information section is populated with information from the original course.
Click Save & close. The course is saved and appears in the Cross-listed courses section of the original course. It also appears in the main course list.

Editing a cross-listed course

See Editing a course.

Deleting a cross-listed course

You are able to delete a cross-listed course with items as long as one course remains.

Find the cross-listed course you want to delete and click on it in the Courses list.
In the course details window, select Actions > Edit.
Click Delete.
Click Really delete to delete the course. The course is deleted and removed from the Courses list.

Adding an instructor to a course

Instructors can only be added once a course is created. The instructor does not need a user record in FOLIO, but adding an instructor with a user record facilitates reports.

Add an instructor with a FOLIO user record:

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
Under Instructors, click Add instructor.
In the Add instructor window, click Look up user.
In the Select User dialog, find the instructor you want to add, and click on them in the User Search Results list. The instructor’s name and barcode appears in the Name and Barcode boxes.
Click Save & close. The instructor appears in the Instructors section.

Add an instructor that does not have a FOLIO user record:

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
Under Instructors, click Add instructor.
In the Name box, enter the instructor’s name.
Click Save & close. The instructor appears in the Instructors section.

Editing an instructor

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
Under Instructors, find the instructor you want to edit.
Click the pencil icon to edit the instructor. [PLEASE NOTE: Instructors added via their User Account cannot be edited.]
In the Add instructor for [course] window, edit the Name or Barcode of the instructor.
Click Save & close.

Deleting an instructor

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
Under Instructors, find the instructor you want to delete.
Click the trash can icon to the right of the instructor.. The instructor is removed from the course.

Adding and removing notes

You can add and assign notes to courses. Assigning a note means you are reusing a previously created note.

Adding a new note to a course.

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
In the Notes pane, click New.
In the New note window, select the Note type from the drop-down list.
Enter a Note title in the box.
(Optional) Enter any Details about the note in the box.
Click Save & close.

Assigning an existing note to a course

Find the course to which you want to add a note and click on it in the Courses list.
In the Notes pane, click Assign/Unassign.
In the Assign / Unassign note dialog, search for the note(s) you wish to assign to the course.
Select the checkbox for the note(s) you wish to assign to the course and click Save.

Editing an existing note on a course.

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
In the Notes pane, find the note you wish to edit and click Edit.
Make your desired changes to the note.
Click Save & close.

If the note is assigned to multiple courses, any edits will apply to the note for all of its assigned courses. If you want to make a note with edits that apply just to the open course, you would need to make a new note with the desired text.

Unassign a note from a course.

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
Under Notes, click Assign / Unassign.
In the Assign / Unassign note modal, search for the note you wish to remove.
Uncheck the box(es) for the note(s) you wish to unassign.
Click Save.

Deleting a note

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
Under Notes, click the note you wish to delete.
In the Note window, click Actions > Delete.
In the Delete note dialog, click Delete. The note is deleted and removed from any records to which it was attached.

Adding a reserve item to a course when the item exists in Inventory

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
In the Items section, either scan the item barcode into the box, or enter the barcode and click Add item. The item is added to the course and appears in the Items section.

Note that when you put an item on reserve for a course, FOLIO copies information from Inventory into the reserve record in order to support searching within the Courses app.

This means that if any information about that reserve changes in Inventory after it was put on Reserve, you may need to remove and re-add the item record to bring over the information into the Courses app.

Information that is copied to support searching includes:

Title and contributor from the instance record;
Barcode, permanent location, call number, volume, copy, enumeration, and electronic access link from the item record

A reserve item’s start date and end date are maintained in the Reserve app. FOLIO will update the item’s temporary location in inventory when you first add it on reserve, based on the location listed on the course record.

Adding a reserve item to a course using Fast Add

You can use Fast Add to create an item in the Courses app and put it on reserve. The Fast Add option prompts you to create an instance, holding, and item in one pane with fewer fields. When you create the item, the Courses app creates the instance, holding, and item in Inventory for you, and then adds the item to the course.

The Fast Add workflow is meant to support putting personal copies, scanned articles, or other items on reserve that are not part of the library’s general circulating collection.

Note that Fast Add is not usually appropriate for re-adding an item to a course since it will create additional duplication of records in Inventory. If you need to re-add an item, you should use the function to add an item by barcode.

From the associated course, scroll to the bottom and click Add Fast Add item.
From the New fast add record, fill in the Instance, Holdings, and Item sections with the appropriate values.
Select Instance status term: “Temporary.”
Enter Resource title and Publication date.
Select Resource type. For books, use text.
Under Contributors, click the Add contributor button.
Enter Name - Last name, First name. Select Name type - Personal name. Click Primary.
Select Permanent location. Use the relevant reserves location.
If appropriate, select Call number type - Library of Congress classification or Shelved separately according to local practice. Use the Call number field (not the call number prefix or suffix) to enter the call number as indicated below.
1. For LC classifictation, enter Call number using capital letters and spaces between alphanumeric sections (e.g. BF575 .H27 G55 2006).
2. For separately shelved, follow local practice (e.g. Shelved by title or Shelved by Author)
In Barcode field, scan barcode.
Select Material type and Loan type.
Add a Check in note or Check out note, if desired. If not needed, click the trash can to the right of the note field.
Once you have included all of the information needed for the item, click Save and close to create your inventory records and add the item on reserve for the course.

Editing a reserve item

Note: If you add an item to a course and later make a change to the item (barcode, copy #, etc.) via the item record (in the Inventory app) after that item is added to the course, then the change will not be reflected in the reserve record. To update the course reserve record, you need to delete the item and then re-add the item to the course.

Editing a reserve item allows you to change or add information to the following fields:

Temporary location. The Temporary location is inherited from the course location by default. When you change the reserve item’s temporary location, once you save the changes, the selected Temporary location is added to the Item record in the Inventory app.
Temporary loan type. If you change the reserve item’s temporary loan type, once you save the changes, the selected Temporary loan type is added to the Item record in the Inventory app.
Processing status. This field only applies to the Courses app and is available as a Reserves search filter. This is NOT the same as the Item Status.
Start Date and End Date. When an item is placed on reserve, the start and end date are inherited from the selected Term.
Copyright information. This section facilitates copyright tracking.

Find the course with the item you want to edit and click on it in the Courses list.
In the Items section, find the reserve item and click the pencil icon to edit the reserve item.
In the Item title window, make your changes.
Click Save & close. The item is updated.

Removing a reserve item from a course

Note: Removing an item from a course does not remove it from the Inventory app.

Find the course with the item you want to remove and click on it in the Courses list.
In the Items section, find the reserve item and CTRL-click Item title to open the item record in the Inventory App in a new tab.
In the Courses app, click the trash can icon on the right-hand side of the banner. The item is removed from the course and the temporary location is removed. The Temporary Loan Type must be removed manually in the Inventory App you just opened in the new tab.
In the Inventory App tab, select Edit from the Actions menu.
Scroll to the Loan and availability section and change the Temporary loan type to Select loan type.
Click Save and close.

See the FOLIO community documentation here.