Patrons

Before importing and/or adding patrons be sure to set up your patron categories.

Add a new patron

Patrons are added by going to the ‘Patrons’ module.

  • Get there: Patrons

Once there you can add a new patron.

  • Click ‘New patron’

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  • The fields that appear on the patron add form can be controlled by editing the BorrowerUnwantedField system preference.

  • First enter the identifying information regarding your patron

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    • Required fields are defined in the BorrowerMandatoryField system preference

    • Salutation is populated by the BorrowersTitles system preference

    • Note

      If you’d like to prevent full names from printing on slips and you’re not using the Initials or Other name fields for anything else, you can use them for shortened versions of the name to then be printed on the slip.

      For example:

      Firstname: Nicole C.
      Surname: Engard
      Initials: NCE
      

      Then on the slip you can have it print the <<borrowers.initials>> instead of the full name (NCE).

      Or you could do something like this:

      Firstname: Nicole
      Surname: Engard
      Initials: E
      

      Then on the slip you can have it print the <<borrowers.initials>>, <<borrowers.firstname>> instead of the full name (E, Nicole).

  • Next enter the contact information

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    • For contact information, note that the primary phone and email addresses are the ones that appear on notices and slips printed during circulation (receipts, transfer slips and hold slips). The primary email is also the one that overdue notices and other messages go to.
  • If this patron is a child, you will be asked to attach the child patron to an adult patron

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    • Click ‘Set to Patron’ to search your system for an existing patron
    • If the Guarantor is not in the system, you can enter the first and last name in the fields available
    • The relationships are set using the borrowerRelationship system preference
  • If this patron is a professional, you will be asked to attach the patron to an organizational patron

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    • Click ‘Set to Patron to search your system for an existing patron
  • Each patron can have an alternate contact

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    • An alternate contact could be a parent or guardian. It can also be used in academic settings to store the patron’s home address.
  • The library management section includes values that are used within the library

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    • The card number field is automatically calculated if you have the autoMemberNum system preference set that way

      • Note

        For a newly installed system this preference will start at 1 and increment by 1 each time after. To have it start with the starting number of your barcodes, enter the first barcode by hand in the patron record and save the patron. After that the field will increment that number by 1.

    • If you accidentally chose the wrong patron category at the beginning you can fix that here

    • Sort 1 and 2 are used for statistical purposes within your library

  • Next, the Library Setup section includes additional library settings

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    • The registration date will automatically be filled in with today’s date

    • If your patron cards expire (based on your patron category settings) the Expiry date will automatically be calculated

    • The OPAC Note is a note for the patron - it will appear in the OPAC on the patron’s record

    • The Circulation Note is meant solely for your library staff and will appear when the circulation staff goes to check an item out to the patron

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    • The Staff/OPAC asks for the username and password to be used by the patron (and/or staff member) to log into their account in the OPAC and for staff to log in to the staff client.

      • Staff will only be able to use this log in info to log in to the staff client if they have the necessary permissions.
  • If you have set additional patron attributes up, these will appear next

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  • Finally, if you have EnhancedMessagingPreferences set to ‘allow,’ you can choose the messaging preferences for this patron.

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    • These notices are:

      • Advanced notice : A notice in advance of the patron’s items being due (The patron can choose the number of days in advance)
      • Item checkout : A notice that lists all the of the items the patron has just checked out and/or renewed, this is an electronic form of the checkout receipt
      • Hold filled : A notice when you have confirmed the hold is waiting for the patron
      • Item due : A notice on the day and item is due back at the library
      • Item check-in : A notice that lists all the of the items the patron has just checked in
    • Patrons can choose to receive their notices as a digest by checking the ‘Digest only?’ box along with the delivery method. A digest is a combination of all the messages of that type (so all items due in 3 days in one email) in to one email instead of multiple emails for each alert.

    • Important

      These preferences will override any you set via the patron categories

    • Important

      These preference can be altered by the patron via the OPAC

  • Once finished, click ‘Save’

If the system suspects this patron is a duplicate of another it will warn you.

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Note

A duplicate patron is detected if first and last names match and there is no date of birth populated or if first name, last name and date of birth fields are all populated. If two patrons have matching names, but one has a date of birth and the other does not they will not match as duplicates.

If you have set a minimum or upper age limit on the patron category and are requiring that the birth date be filled in, Koha will warn you if the patron you’re adding is too old or young for the patron category you have selected:

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Add a Staff Patron

All staff members must be entered into Koha as patrons of the ‘Staff’ type. Follow the steps in Add a Patron to add a staff member. To give the staff member permissions to access the staff client, follow the steps in Patron Permissions

Important

Remember to assign your staff secure usernames and passwords since these will be used to log into the staff client.

Add a Statistical Patron

One way to track use of in house items is to “check out” the materials to a statistical patron. The “check out” process doesn’t check the book out, but instead tracks an in house use of the item. To use this method for tracking in house use you first will need a patron category set up for your Statistical patron.

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Next, you will need to create a new patron of the statistical type

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Next, follow the steps put forth in the ‘Add a new Patron’ section of this manual. Since this patron is not a real person, simply fill in the required fields, the correct library and nothing else.

To learn about other methods of tracking in house use visit the Tracking inhouse use section of this manual.

Duplicate a Patron

Sometimes when you’re adding a new family to your system you don’t want to type the contact information over and over. Koha allows for you to duplicate a patron and change only the parts you want to (or need to) change.

  • Open the patron you want to use as your base (the patron you want to duplicate information from)

  • Click the ‘Duplicate’ button at the top of their record

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  • All of the fields with the exception of first name, card number, username and password have been duplicated. Fill in the missing pieces and click ‘Save’

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    • Note

      Clicking in a field that is already populated with data will clear that field of all information (making it easier for you to type in something different)

  • You will be brought to your new patron

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Add Patron Images

If you would like you can add patron images to help identify patrons. To enable this feature you must first set the patronimages preference to ‘Allow’.

If the preference is set to ‘Allow’ you will see a placeholder image under the patron’s name and box to upload a patron image below the basic contact information.

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In the ‘Upload Patron Image’ box click ‘Browse’ to find the image on your computer and ‘Upload’ to load the image on to the patron record.

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Important

There is a limit of 100K on the size of the picture uploaded and it is recommended that the image be 200x300 pixels, but smaller images will work as well.

Editing Patrons

Patrons in Koha can be edited using one of many edit buttons.

  • To edit the entire patron record simply click the ‘Edit’ button at the top of the patron record.

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  • Patron passwords are not recoverable. The stars show on the patron detail next to the Password label are always there even if a password isn’t set. If a patron forgets their password the only option is to reset their password. To change the patron’s password, click the ‘Change Password’ button

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    • Koha cannot display existing passwords. Leave the field blank to leave password unchanged.
    • This form can automatically generate a random password if you click the link labeled “Click to fill with a randomly generated suggestion. Passwords will be displayed as text.”
  • To edit a specific section of the patron record (for example the Library Use section) click the ‘Edit’ link below the section

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  • A patron image can be added by browsing for the image on your machine from the ‘Manage Patron Image’ section

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    • This form will not appear if you have the patronimages system preference to not allow patron images
    • To add patron images in bulk, use the Upload Patron Images Tool
  • Patrons can also be blocked from checking items out by setting Patron Flags

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    • If you would like your circulation staff to confirm a patron’s address before checking items out to the patron, you can see the ‘Gone no Address’ flag

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    • If the patron reports that they have lost their card you can set the ‘Lost Card’ flag to prevent someone else from using that card to check items out

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    • If you would like to bar a patron from the library you can add a manual restriction

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    • If you enter in a date and/or note related to the restriction you will see that in the restricted message as well

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  • Children patrons do not become adults automatically in Koha unless you have Juvenile to Adult cron job running. To upgrade a child patron to and adult patron category manually go to the ‘More’ menu and choose ‘Update Child to Adult Patron’

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    • You will then be presented with a pop up window asking which one of your adult patron categories this Child should be updated to

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Managing Patron Self Edits

If you are allowing patrons to edit their accounts via the OPAC with the OPACPatronDetails preference then you will need to approve all changes via the staff client before they’re applied. If there are patron edits awaiting action they will appear on the staff client dashboard below the modules list (along with other items awaiting action).

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Note

Superlibrarians will see modifications for any branch, other staff will only see modifications for patrons who belong to their logged in branch.

When you click the ‘Patrons requesting modifications’ link you will be brought to a list of patrons with requested changes.

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From here you can ‘Approve’ and apply the changes to the patron record, ‘Delete’ and remove the changes or ‘Ignore’ and keep the changes pending to review later.

If you would like to see the entire patron record you can click the ‘Patron details’ links to the right of the buttons. This will open in a new tab.

Merging Patron Records

If you accidentally end up with one patron with two cards it is possible to merge their records together so that you don’t lose their loan history or holds.

  • In the patron list, check the boxes next to the records you want to merge and click on the ‘Merge selected patrons’ button.

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Note

It is possible to merge more than two records at a time.

  • Select the patron record you want to keep and click on the ‘Merge patrons’ button.

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The checkouts and statistics will be transferred to the right record and the other one will be deleted.

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Patron Permissions

Patron Permissions are used to allow staff members access to the staff client.

Important

In order for a staff member to log into the staff interface they must have (at the very least) ‘catalogue’ permissions which allow them to view the staff interface.

Setting Patron Permissions

  • On the patron record click ‘More’ and choose ‘Set permissions’ to alter patron permissions

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  • You will be presented with a list of preferences, some of which can be expanded by clicking the plus sign to the left of the section title.

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Patron permissions defined

  • superlibrarian

    • Access to all librarian functions

      Note

      With this selected there is no need to choose any other permissions

  • circulate

    • Check out and check in items
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)
  • catalogue

    • Required for staff login. Staff access, allows viewing the catalogue in staff client

      Important

      Must be given to all staff members to allow them to login to the staff client

  • parameters

    • Manage Koha system settings (Administration panel)
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)
  • borrowers

    • Add or modify patrons
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)
  • permissions

    • Set user permissions
  • reserveforothers

    • Place and modify holds for patrons
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)
  • editcatalogue

    • Edit Catalog (Modify bibliographic/holdings data)
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)
  • updatecharges

    • Manage patrons fines and fees
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)
  • acquisition

    • Acquisition and/or suggestion management
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)
  • management

    • Set library management params (deprecated)

      Important

      This permission level no longer controls anything.

  • tools

    • Use all tools
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)
  • editauthorities

    • Edit Authorities
  • serials

    • Manage serial subscriptions
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)
  • reports

    • Allow access to the reports module
    • Reports found on the Circulation page are not controlled by this permission
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)
  • staffaccess

    • Allow staff members to modify permissions for other staff members

      Important

      Requires the borrowers permission above

  • coursereserves

  • plugins

    • Koha plugins
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)
  • lists

    • Lists

      Important

      All staff have permission to create and modify their own lists, this permission is only necessary if you’d like to give a staff member permission to delete public lists that they have not created.

    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)

  • clubs

  • ill

    • Create and modify interlibrary loan requests
  • self_check

    • Self check modules
    • Used for self checkin/self checkout kiosks
    • This section can be expanded (Learn more)

Granular circulate permissions

If the staff member has ‘circulate’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control circulation permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • circulate_remaining_permissions
    • Remaining circulation permissions
    • All circulation rights except those covered by permissions listed below
  • force_checkout
    • Force checkout if a limitation exists
    • With this permission a librarian will be allowed to override a check out restriction in the following cases:
      • age restriction
      • the item is issued to another patron
      • the item is not for loan
      • the patron has overdue items
      • the item is lost
      • the item is a high demand item
      • the item is on hold
  • manage_restrictions
    • Manage restrictions for accounts
    • Grants permission to the staff member to lift a restriction that might be on the patron’s record
  • overdues_report
    • Execute overdue items report
    • The permission to run the overdues reports found under Circulation
  • override_renewals
    • Override blocked renewals
    • Requires that the staff member also has circulate_remaining_permissions

Granular parameters permissions

If the staff member has ‘parameters’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control parameter permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • manage_circ_rules
  • parameters_remaining_permissions
    • Remaining system parameters permissions
    • The ability to access all areas in Administration (other than the Circulation and fines rules)

Granular borrowers permissions

If the staff member has ‘borrowers’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control borrowers permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • edit_borrowers
    • Add, modify and view patron information
    • The ability to access the Patrons module to view patron files, as well as adding new patrons and editing patron files
  • view_borrower_infos_from_any_libraries
    • View patron infos from any libraries. If not set the logged in user could only access patron infos from its own library or group of libraries.

Granular holds permissions

If the staff member has ‘reserveforothers’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control holds permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • modify_holds_priority
    • Modify holds priority
    • Allow staff members to alter the holds priority (moving patrons up and down the queue)
  • place_holds
    • Place holds for patrons

Granular cataloging permissions

If the staff member has ‘editcatalogue’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control cataloging permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • delete_all_items

    • Delete all items at once
    • Ability to use the ‘Delete all items’ option found under the ‘Edit’ menu in cataloging
  • edit_catalogue

    • Edit catalog (Modify bibliographic/holdings data)
    • Ability to access all cataloging functions via the Cataloging page
  • edit_items

  • edit_items_restricted

  • fast_cataloging

Granular fines and charges permissions

If a staff member has ‘updatecharges’ permission they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control fines and charges permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • remaining_permissions
    • Remaining permissions for managing fines and fees other than the ability to write off charges
  • writeoff
    • Write off fines and fees

Granular acquisitions permissions

If the staff member has ‘acquisition’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control acquisitions permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • budget_add_del

    • Add and delete budgets (but can’t modify budgets)
  • budget_manage

    • Manage budgets
  • budget_manage_all

    • Manage all budgets

    budget_modify

    • Modify budget (can’t create lines, but can modify existing ones)
  • contracts_manage

    • Manage contracts
  • group_manage

    • Manage orders and basket groups
  • order_manage

    • Manage orders and baskets
  • order_manage_all

    • Manage all orders and baskets, regardless of restrictions on them
  • order_receive

    • Manage orders and baskets
  • period_manage

    • Manage periods
  • planning_manage

    • Manage budget planning
  • vendors_manage

    • Manage vendors

Granular serials permissions

If the staff member has ‘serials’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control serials permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • check_expiration
  • claim_serials
  • create_subscription
  • delete_subscription
    • Delete an existing subscription
  • edit_subscription
    • Edit an existing subscription
    • This permission does not include the ability to delete or create a subscription
  • receive_serials
    • Serials receiving
    • Receive serials on existing subscriptions
  • renew_subscription
    • Renew a subscription
  • routing
  • superserials

Granular tools permissions

If the staff member has ‘tools’ permissions they have the ability to access and use all items under the Tools menu. If you would like to control which tools staff members have access to on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • access_files
    • Access to the files stored on the server
    • Access to the Upload tool
  • batch_upload_patron_images
  • delete_anonymize_patrons
    • Delete old borrowers and anonymize circulation/reading history (deletes borrower reading history)
    • Access to the Anonymize patron tool
  • edit_calendar
  • edit_news
    • Write news for the OPAC and staff interfaces
    • Access to the News tool
  • edit_notice_status_triggers
  • edit_notices

Granular reports permissions

If the staff member has ‘reports’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control reports permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • create_reports
    • Create SQL reports
    • The ability to create and edit but not run SQL reports
  • delete_reports
    • Delete SQL reports
  • execute_reports
    • Execute SQL reports
    • The ability to run but not create or edit SQL reports

Granular course reserves permissions

If the staff member has ‘course reserves’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control course reserves permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • add_reserves
    • Add course reserves
  • delete_reserves
    • Remove course reserves
  • manage_courses
    • Add, edit and delete courses

Granular plugins permissions

If the staff member has ‘plugins’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control plugins permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • configure
    • Configure plugins
    • The ability to run the ‘configure’ section of a plugin if it has one
  • manage
    • Manage plugins
    • The ability to install or uninstall plugins
  • report
    • Use report plugins
    • The ability to use report plugins
  • tool
    • Use tool plugins
    • The ability to use tool plugins

Granular lists permissions

All staff members have permission to access lists. This section only needs to be checked off if you want to give permission to a staff member to delete public lists that they have no created themselves.

  • delete_public_lists
    • Delete public lists
    • The ability to delete public lists created by someone else

Granular patron clubs permissions

If the staff member has ‘clubs’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control patron clubs permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • edit_clubs
  • edit_templates
    • Create and edit club templates
    • Create and edit club templates using the Patron clubs tool
  • enroll
    • Enroll patrons in clubs
    • Enroll patrons from the patron file

Granular self check permissions

If the user has ‘self check’ permissions they have the ability to perform all of these actions. If you would like to control self check permissions on a more granular level choose from these options:

  • self_checkin_module

    • Log into the self check-in module.

      ** Note**

      This permission prevents the patron from using any other OPAC functionality

  • self_checkout_module

    • Perform self checkout at the OPAC.

      Note

      This permission should be used for the patron matching the AutoSelfCheckID system preference

Patron Information

When viewing a patron record you have the option to view information from one of many tabs found on the left hand side of the record.

  • Get there: Patrons > Browse or search for patron > Click patron name

Check Out

For instruction on checking items out, view the Checking Out section of this manual.

Staff members can access their own check out screen by clicking their username in the top right of the staff client and choosing ‘My checkouts’

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Details

Staff members can access their own account details by clicking their username in the top right of the staff client and choosing ‘My account’

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All patron information will appear on the Details tab. This includes all the contact information, notes, custom patron attributes, messaging preferences, etc entered when adding the patron.

In the case of patrons who are marked as ‘Child’ or ‘Professional’ and their Guarantors additional information will appear on their record.

  • A child patron will list their Guarantor

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  • On the Guarantor’s record, all children and/or professionals will be listed

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Circulation Summary

Below the patron’s information on the details screen is a tabbed display of the items they have checked out, overdue, and on hold.

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If they have family at the library staff can see what the other family members have checked out.

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The Restrictions tab will show for all patrons. If the patron has no restrictions you will see that on the tab.

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If the patron has restrictions on their account the tab will show the number and the description.

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Using the ‘Add manual restriction’ button you can add a restriction to the patron record from here.

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Fines

The patron’s complete accounting history will appear on the Fines tab. Contrary to its name, the Fines tab does not just show fine data, it also shows membership fees, rental fees, reserve fees and any other charge you may have for patrons.

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The table will show you the following columns:

  • Date: the date the charge/payment was posted

    • In the case of fines this will be the last day that the fine was accrued
  • Description: a description of the charges including the due date for overdue items and a link to the item record where one is available

  • Note: any notes about this charge/payment

    • If you’re allowing patrons to pay fines via the OPAC with PayPal (EnablePayPalOpacPayments) you will see a Note that says ‘PayPal’ for items paid this way

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  • Amount: the total amount of the payment or charge

  • Outstanding: the amount still due on charge

  • The ability to reverse a payment

  • The ability to void a payment

  • A link to print a receipt for that line item

At the top of the table you can click the ‘Filter paid transaction’ to hide all completed transaction and above that you can use the search box to find a specific charge or payment.

Charging Fines/Fees

Most fees and fines will be charged automatically if the fines cron job is running:

  • Fines will be charged based on your Circulation & Fines Rules
  • Hold fees will be charged based on the rules you set in the Patron Types & Categories administration area
  • Rental fees will be charged based on the settings in your Item Types administration area
  • Marking an item ‘Lost’ via the cataloging module will automatically charge the patron the replacement cost for that item

Pay/Reverse Fines

Each line item can be paid in full (or written off) using the ‘Pay Fines’ tab.

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  • Each line item can be paid in full, partially paid, or written off.

  • Pay a fine in full

    • If you have a note about the payment please type that first then move on

    • Click “Pay” next to the fine you want to pay in full

    • The full amount of the fine will be populated for you in the “Collect From Patron” box

    • If one or more values are defined under the PAYMENT_TYPE authorized value category a dropdown selection box will be displayed to specify a custom payment type

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    • Click “Confirm”

    • The fine will be removed from outstanding fines, and displayed as fully paid.

  • Pay a partial fine

    • Click “Pay” next to the fine you want to partially pay

    • Enter the amount you are collecting from the patron in the “Collect From Patron” box

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    • Click “Confirm”

    • The fine will be updated to show the original Amount, and the current Amount Outstanding

  • Pay an amount towards all fines

    • Click the “Pay Amount” button

    • Enter the amount you are collecting from the patron in “Collect from Patron.” The sum of all fines is shown in “Total Amount Outstanding”

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    • Click “Confirm”

    • The fine totals will be updated with the payment applied to oldest fines first.

  • Pay Selected fines

    • Check the selection boxes next to the fines you wish to pay, click “Pay Selected”

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    • Enter an amount to pay towards the fines.

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    • Click “Confirm”

    • The fine totals will be updated with the payment applied to the oldest selected fines first.

  • Writeoff a single fine

    • Click “Writeoff” next to the fine you wish to writeoff.
    • A confirmation box will appear to specify a total amount to writeoff. This box allows a partial writeoff of fines.
    • The fine will be removed from outstanding fines, and displayed as written off.
  • Writeoff All fines

    • Click the “Writeoff All” button
    • All fines will be removed from outstanding fines, and displayed as written off.
  • If you accidentally mark and item as paid, you can reverse that line item by clicking ‘Reverse’ to the right of the line

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    • Once clicked a new line item will be added to the account, showing the payment as reversed

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Creating Manual Invoices

For fees that are not automatically charged, librarians can create a manual invoice

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  • First choose the type of invoice you would like to create

    • To add additional values to the manual invoice type pull down menu, add them to the MANUAL_INV Authorized Value

    • Important

      The value set as the Authorized Value for the MANUAL_INV authorized value category will appear as the Description and the Authorized Value Description will be used as the amount.

  • If the fee is associated with an item you can enter its barcode so that the line item shows a link to that item

  • The description field is where you will enter the description of the charge

  • In the amount field, do not enter currency symbols, only numbers and decimals

Creating Manual Credits

Manual credits can be used to pay off parts of fines, or to forgive a fine amount.

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  • First choose the type of credit you’d like to apply
  • If this credit is associated with an item you can enter that item’s barcode so that the line item links to the right item
  • The description field is where you will enter the description of the credit
  • In the amount field, do not enter currency symbols, only numbers and decimals

Printing Invoices

To the right of each account line there is a print link. Clicking that link will print an invoice for the line item that includes the date and description of the line item along with the total outstanding on the account.

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Routing Lists

A list of all of the serial routing lists the patron belongs to will be accessible via the ‘Routing Lists’ tab on the patron record.

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On this tab you will be able to see and edit all of the routing lists that this patron is on.

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Circulation History

The circulation history tab will appear if you have set the intranetreadinghistory preference to allow it to appear. If you have the OPACPrivacy system preference set to ‘Allow’ and the patron has decided that the library cannot keep this information this tab will only show currently checked out items.

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If you would like to export a list of barcodes for the items checked in today you can find that option under the More menu on the top right of the page.

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This will generate a text file with one barcode per line.

Modification Log

If you have set your BorrowersLog to track changes to patron records, then this tab will appear. The Modification Log will show when changes were made to the patron record. If you also have turned on the IssueLog and ReturnLog you will see checkins and outs on this screen as well.

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  • The Librarian field shows the patron number for the librarian who made the changes
  • The module lists ‘MEMBERS’ for the patron module
  • The action will tell you what action was being logged
  • The Object field lists the borrowernumber that is being modified (in the example above, it was my changing my own record)

Notices

The patron’s messaging preferences are set when adding or editing the patron. This tab will show the messages that have been sent and those that are queued to be sent:

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Clicking on the message title will expand the view to show you the full text of the message that was sent.

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If the message has a status of sent or failed you will have the option to ‘resend’ the message to the patron by clicking the ‘resentd button found under the status.

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Statistics

Depending on what you set for the values of your StatisticsFields system preference, you can see statistics for one patron’s circulation actions.

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Files

If you set the EnableBorrowerFiles preference to ‘Do’ the Files tab will be visible on the patron information page.

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From here you can upload files to attach to the patron record.

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All files that are uploaded will appear above a form where additional files can be uploaded from.

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Purchase Suggestions

If the patron has made any purchase suggestions you will see a purchase suggestions tab on the patron record.

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From here you can see all suggestions made by the patron and their status, you can also create a purchase suggestion on the patron’s behalf by clicking the ‘New purchase suggestion’ button at the top.

Learn more about Purchase suggestions in the Acquisitions chapter of this manual.

Patron discharges

A discharge is a certificate that says the patron has no current checkouts, no holds and owe no money. To enable this option on the patron record you need to set the useDischarge system preference to ‘Allow’.

Note

In France a “quitus” (“discharge”) is needed if you want to register for an account in a library or a university).

Note

Academic libraries often require that you have a clear record at the library before you can graduate.

Patrons can request discharges via the OPAC. Any pending discharges will be listed below the menu buttons on the main staff client page

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Clicking the pending requests will open a screen where you can allow those discharges

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To generate a discharge for a specific patron click the ‘Discharge’ tab on the left of the patron record

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If the patron can have a discharge generated then it will have a button that says ‘Generate discharge’

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If not then you’ll see an error explaining why you can’t discharge the patron.

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Once the letter is generated you will have a PDF to download

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Note

You can style the PDF using the NoticeCSS preference.

The patron will have a restriction added to their account

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And a history of discharges will be added to the ‘Discharge’ tab

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