Visitor Desk

The Refresh button uses a teal circular-arrow icon and a visible label on Visitor Desk, Currently Inside and Visit History.

Visitor Desk records who enters and leaves a selected library. It supports member scans, quick guest entry, a live list of people currently inside, and a searchable visit history without replacing earlier visits.

Across Visitor Desk, Currently Inside, and Visit History, the Inside and Completed badges make visit status easy to identify. An inside row has a direct orange Exit action; details, correction, and deletion remain in the row menu. Narrow screens keep the same Exit action on the visit card. Choose Refresh to reload the active library's records while keeping your filters and page. The button shows progress and prevents repeated clicks while loading.

Before you start

• Select the correct library in the main header. Visitor records belong to that library.
• Your staff role needs Visitor Desk view permission. Entry, exit, correction, deletion, and reports use separate permissions.
• Member cards, Member IDs, and RFID values must already belong to a member who has access to the selected library.
• In a Local setup, visitor information stays in that local data set. A Cloud setup uses the same visible workflow through the Libcodesk WebApp or Standalone app.

Record a member visit

1. Open Visitor Desk.
2. In the Visitor Desk header, scan the member card, RFID, or Member ID in Member scan. You can also type the value. When one member is identified, the action shows green Entry when the member is outside or orange Exit when the member is already inside.
3. Choose the contextual action or press Enter. If exactly one member matches, the visit is recorded immediately. If several members match, choose the correct row from the selection popup.
4. The first scan records entry. A later scan records exit. A quick accidental repeat is ignored and shown as a duplicate scan.
5. Keep the scan field focused for the next member.

Entry, exit, duplicate, and error banners follow the active light or dark appearance. Their message and close action remain readable on desktop, mobile, Libcodesk WebApp, and the Standalone app.

An exact card or Member ID match is recorded as Card scan. Choosing a member from search is recorded as Manual, while issue and return associations are shown as Circulation. These methods make later review easier without changing the entrance-desk flow.

An inactive or suspended membership does not silently disappear from the lookup. Visitor presence and borrowing eligibility are separate; follow the status shown for the member and your library's access policy.

Every later visit creates another history record. The product does not overwrite the member's previous visit.

Assign an item for use inside the library

Visitor Desk includes the same In-House Lending workspace used for Reading Room sessions. Use it for reference-only or non-circulating items that remain inside the library:

1. Confirm that the member is currently checked in to a Reading Room position. When Visitor integration is enabled for Reading Room, that session remains associated with the member's active visit.
2. Search or scan the member. Only members with an active Reading Room session can be selected.
3. Search or scan an eligible item by accession number, barcode, RFID, call number, or title. Add one or more results to the queue.
4. Review the cover, accession number, shelf location, status, and return timing, then choose Assign item.
5. When the item is returned, choose Return / clear item before ending the Reading Room session.

Use Clear queue to discard items that have not been assigned. This does not return items already assigned. Search and display preferences are saved for the current staff account. A Cloud setup and a Local setup keep their own records; the workspace does not silently copy data between them.

Record a guest

1. Choose Guest entry in the Visitor Desk header, beside the page title on a wide screen. On a phone or narrow window, the action appears in the same header below the title.
2. Enter the guest name and choose the visit purpose.
3. Add a phone number or note only when it helps the library identify or assist the guest.
4. Click Record entry.
5. When the guest leaves, open Currently Inside and choose the direct Exit action on the row or visit card.

The action is available only to staff who can record visitor entries, and it is disabled while the desk is loading or recording an action. On a small screen, scroll the page to reach the visit list and pagination; the Guest entry action does not cover the records. Keyboard users can Tab to Guest entry and press Enter to open it, then use Escape to close the popup without recording an entry.

See who is inside

Open Visitor Desk > Currently Inside. Search by member name, Member ID, guest name, or phone number. Active guests are prioritized, and the entry time, phone, and purpose help distinguish guests who share a name. Choose the direct orange Exit action for a one-tap checkout; it is shown only to staff who can record exits. Long-running visits remain visible until an authorized staff member records their exit. The compact Long stay count highlights visits open for more than eight hours; it does not invent an automatic checkout time.

Issue and return work can associate the circulation activity with the member's open visit. If no visit is open, the system records one for that circulation visit. Repeating the same circulation action does not create a second association.

Search visit history

Open Visitor Desk > Visit History. The newest records appear first. Use search, visitor type, purpose, status, and date filters together. Quick date choices are available for Today, Yesterday, This week, and This month, with a custom range for other periods. Results are loaded in pages, so the screen remains usable when the library has a large history.

Use View details from a row to review the visit and its linked issue or return activities. These activity links are informational; the original circulation transaction remains the source record for the circulation work.

Entry and exit times are shown in the library's configured time context. Date filters use the organization date settings visible in the application.

Correct or delete a record

Correction and deletion are restricted actions.

1. Open the row action menu in Visit History.
2. Choose Correct record to change entry or exit time, purpose, notes, and guest identity details. A mistaken exit may be cleared to restore the person to Currently Inside. Choose Delete record only when the entire entry is invalid.
3. Enter a meaningful reason.
4. Save or confirm the action.

The reason and responsible staff account are retained for review. Deletion removes the record from normal lists but does not remove its accountability trail.

Troubleshooting

Message or symptom	What to do
No matching member found	Check the selected library and Member ID. Use Guest entry only when the person is not a registered member.
Duplicate scan ignored	Wait briefly, then scan again only if you intended to record the opposite action.
Member is not attached to this library	Select a library the member may use, or ask an administrator to review the member's library access.
Visitor Desk is missing	Ask the organization administrator to review your role and library access.
The page opens before a library is selected	Select or switch to a library from the main header. The page stays usable instead of showing an endless loading indicator and loads the records when the library context is available.
Exit cannot be recorded	Refresh Currently Inside. Another staff member may already have recorded it.
History looks incomplete	Clear restrictive filters and confirm the selected library and date range.

Do and don'ts

Do

• Confirm the selected library before scanning.
• Use a specific purpose when it helps reporting.
• Record exits promptly and review unusually long open visits.
• Give a clear reason when correcting or deleting a record.

Don't

• Don't scan repeatedly when the first scan is still processing.
• Don't use guest entry for an existing member merely because the member card is unavailable; search the member instead.
• Don't delete a visit to hide a genuine entry or exit mistake. Correct it with a reason.
• Don't share correction or deletion permissions more widely than needed.

FAQ

Does scanning the same member erase the old visit?

No. Entry and exit complete one visit. The next entry starts a new visit, so earlier history remains available.

Why did an issue or return create a visitor entry?

Circulation activity confirms that the member used the selected library. It is associated with an existing open visit where possible and does not create duplicate associations for the same transaction.

Can a librarian see visits from another library?

Only when the staff account has access to that library and selects it in the header. Visitor lists are always scoped to the active library.

Can I fix a forgotten exit later?

An authorized staff member can correct the visit and must provide a reason. The correction remains attributable to that staff account.

Screenshot to add: Visitor Desk on desktop and narrow tablet, the member selection popup, Currently Inside, Guest entry, and filtered Visit History. Use this page for Visitor Desk work. For searching, reviewing, and correcting previous entries, see Visitor History.