Question

Why can expired patrons place requests, although they cannot checkout materials? Is there a way to disable this functionality?

Answer

No, it is not possible to prevent an expired patron from requesting materials.  When a User's Patron Role has expired, they still can place a request in Primo (or Alma) if the User Expiration Date is blank or in the future. The assumption is that the patron will arrive or call the circulation desk and renew or establish their card (e.g. for future research visitors).

It is possible to disable the ability for Users with a User Expiration Date in the past from making requests.  This should not be confused with a User with an Expired Patron Role.  Alma does not check the expiration date of the Patron Role.  It checks the field at User Detail>General Information>Expiration Date.  If this field is blank, it assumes there is not an expiration date.

To prevent Users with an Expiration Date in the past from placing requests the check_for_expired_account  must be set to true.  When true, requests or resource sharing requests cannot be placed in Primo (or Alma) by expired users.  The parameter check_for_expired_account  only checks the field at User Detail>General Information>Expiration Date.  If this field is blank, it assumes there is not an expiration date.

To change this parameter navigate to Configuration Menu > User Management > General > Other Settings>check_for_expired_account and set to true

Additional Information

Find out more in "Configuring Other Settings (User Management)". 

Regarding the implication of Expiration Date for the User record - find "Expiration Date", in: "Managing Users".

• Article last edited: 20-NOV-2019