Every summer a membership "purge" should be undertaken to remove from the Kesler mailing list those members who have not made use of our services for over two years. Mail in early May, with a response date of 1 July. The purpose of this procedure is not to exclude folks from membership, but to ensure that Kesler resources are being wisely used and are not being spent on postage fees for folks who may view our mailings as "junk mail." Typically, a purge will reveal a number addresses that are no longer correct, a few patrons who are no longer interested, and other patrons who wish to remain on the mailing list (which wish we gladly fulfill).
- Gathering possible purge records
Method A
Run a User report in SIRSI (ACORN).
Method B
First, go through the membership file, and pull all the cards that show no activity (charges or updates) in the two complete preceding calendar years. (For example, in the summer of 1993, pull cards that show no activity in 1991, 1992, or 1993.) We look for address changes as well as charges because we presume that a patron who bothers to send an address change note is interested in the RAL mailing even if they are not borrowing. Paperclip the bookslips to their respective membership cards.
As a double-check, look at the last charge recorded on each patron record in ACORN. To do this, in ACORN, use DISPLAY 1 USER. Look under the status information in the middle of the screen. See when their last activity was. Also look to see if the address has been updated by doing EDIT USER and checking their address information against the card.
- Create the mailing lables for the Kesler mailing. In Microsoft Access database open:
- Click on the Microsoft Access 97 Icon in the NAL window.
- A dialog box appears with the default set to "Open exisiting Database." Click on the database that is named: E:/data/Access97/KCLdata and click the "ok" button.
- In the Group Field, put a "P" in front of "RAL" or "WWW" for each record on your purge list above.
- Filter out the "PRAL" and "PWWW" records:
- In a field on a form, subform, or datasheet, find one instance of the value you want records to contain in order to be included in the filter's results. In this case, we want to select or highlight "PRAL" and "PWWW."
- Click Filter By Selection on the toolbar. How you select the value determines what records the filter returns.
- Click on the Zipcode label and select the Sort option on the toolbar. Sort in either Ascending or Descending order so that the mailing labels are in order for the mailing.
- Create mailing labels
- In the Database window, click the Reports tab.
- Click New.
- In the New Report dialog box, click Label Wizard
- Click the table or query that contains the data for the labels, and then click OK.
- Follow the directions in the wizard dialog boxes.
- If the resulting label report doesn't look the way you want, you can delete the report and run the Label Wizard again.
- Watch out for the labels that don't fit right and write in the information.
- Print a test copy on the back of the label sheed to make sure that the labels fit. Put the label paper in the printer tray right side up. Print one sheet.
- If all goes well, print the whole batch. Place several sheets in the tray wrong side up.
Assemble the mailing:
Find the purge notice G:Divinity/Kesler/masters/purgeltr.doc. Make necessary date changes, and have it copied (on stiff paper) and cut at Kinko's.
Mail the postcards, using the Access generated labels. The cards can be left in the Div Library outgoing mail basket, as you want them to be mailed first class (so undeliverable items are returned and items are forwarded as necessary).
Purging/Keeping Records
Cards will trickle back in over a series of weeks; separate them by type.
Some will be returned by patrons wishing to remain on the mailing list. Clearly mark these KEEP, or some such note.
Some will be returned by patrons wishing to be removed from the mailing list. Clearly mark these PURGE PER PATRON REQUEST. Some will be returned by the Post Office as undeliverable, most commonly because the forwarding time has expired. They will have bright yellow labels on them. Mark the membership cards PURGED mm/yy NO RESPONSE TO NOTICE or NOTICE UNDELIVERABLE and your initials.
Update records in
ACORN, and
Return to KCL INDEX
Documentation by Julie Owen
Last Updated: March 29, 2002