Managing Patron Services at a Circulation Desk

Registering Patrons

1. On the Patron Identification page (Fulfillment > Checkout/Check-in > Manage Patron Services), first check to see if the patron was already registered. Search for the patron ID.
   
   Search for Patron in Local Institution
   If the patron’s ID is found, proceed with the loan on the Patron Services page. Otherwise, continue to the next step.
2. Search for the ID at the patron’s home institution:
   1. Select Find user in other institution to open the Fulfillment Network search fields.
      Note that check box only appears if your institution is part of a fulfillment network.
      
      Search for Patron at Another Institution
   2. Select the patron's home institution in Institution.
   3. Enter patron search criteria in the field labeled Scan patron’s ID or search for patron. Valid search criteria include patron ID, first name, last name, or email address. The searchable identifiers can be configured by an admin; see Configuring Searchable User Identifiers. The search must be an exact match. If the search yields more than one result, an error is returned. If the search is successful, the available fields are populated. The patron's local ID will be their primary ID at their home institution.
      • To search for a patron by fields other than patron ID, ensure that fulfillment_network_search_by_all is set to true.
      • If an institution has defined hidden identifiers, these identifiers are not used for searches in a fulfillment network unless fulfillment_network_search_by_all is set to true. For more information, see Configuring Other Settings.
      • Your network may be set up not to require selecting an institution from a ‘Find user in other institution’ drop down. Instead, a "Find user in all network institutions" option causes Alma to search for the ID first in the local institution and if not found then in all other participating institutions. Alma automatically finds the user record at any of the network institutions and pulls its information from its institution. Of course, this option should be activated only if the patron used IDs that are unique across the entire network. For this option, set the network_users_unique_identifiers parameter to FULL.
   4. Select Find User.
   5. The Quick User Management page appears and displays the patron’s contact information, which was retrieved from the patron's home institution. Enter the patron’s ID in Primary identifier. For more information, see Adding Users.
      In a fulfillment network containing members of a Network Zone, Alma may be configured to copy automatically primary identifiers (and other identifiers, such as barcode) from the user’s home institution.
3. Select Update User to create the register the patron for your local institution.
   The Patron Services page appears, allowing you to manage patron services.

1. Configure the integration profile with the online import fields as detailed on the Student Information Systems page.
2. When the integration profile is configured, Import user from User Management System appears on the Patron Identification page (Fulfillment > Checkout/Check-in > Manage Patron Services). Search for a patron's ID on the Patron Services page. If the ID is not found, select this field.
   
   Online Import
3. Scan or type the patron’s ID from the the student management system in the User Identifier field.
4. Select Find User.
5. If the ID is found in the student management system, the Quick User Management page appears and displays the patron’s information that was retrieved.
6. Select Update User to create the patron in the local institution’s Alma. The Patron Services page appears, enabling you to manage patron services.
7. If the patron’s ID does not exist in the external system, select Save to locally register the patron. The new patron information will be transmitted to the student management system.

Editing Patron Information

1. On the Patron Identification page, select the patron account that you want to modify (see Selecting a Patron). The Patron Services page opens.
2. On the Patron Services page, select the Edit info link. The Quick User Management page opens. Follow the instructions in Adding Users, or select Full Information and follow the instructions in Editing Users. You cannot edit the primary identifier or any other user identifier.
3. Select Save. The changes are saved and the Patron Services page opens.

Configuring Patron Information (User Registration Form)

It is possible to configure which fields appear in the User Registration, Patron Registration and the Edit User forms (from the Manage Patron Services page) forms in Alma. This option makes it possible to configure forms that are fine-tuned to the library's needs and handle only the information that the library requires. Accessing this option enables users to select the fields in the user registration form that they want to be visible in the form, with the exception of the mandatory fields.

1. Access the User Registration Form (Configuration menu > User Management > User Details > User Registration Form).
2. In the table, select the fields to be displayed to the various audiences (such as, public, staff).
3. Click Save.

Managing Loans

You can view and manage existing loans in the Patron Services page, in the Loans tab.

If the loan status or the due date of a loan is changed, a Loan Status Notice letter is sent to the patron immediately. If the circulation desk is configured to send Loan Receipt letters automatically, when you select Done to close the current session, a Loan Receipt letter is also sent automatically for the updated loan. (If multiple loans were initiated or modified during the session, a single letter listing all of the changes is sent.)

Managing Lost Loans

• Manually, when a patron notifies the circulation desk that the item is lost
• Automatically, if the system is configured to automatically change an item’s status to Lost when it is overdue for a specified number of days

1. You mark an item as lost in one of the following ways:
   • On the Patron Services page (Fulfillment > Checkout/Checkin > Manage Patron Services), locate the patron that borrowed the item and select Lost from the row actions list for the relevant item.
   • Configure an item to automatically be marked as lost after it is overdue for a a specified number of days. This is done on the Lost Loan Profile Record page (Configuration Menu > Fulfillment > Physical Fulfillment > Overdue and Lost Loan Profile, select Add Overdue and Lost Loan Profile). For details, see Configuring Overdue and Lost Loan Profiles.
2. If a lost item is subsequently found, you can mark it as found in one of the following ways:
   • On the Patron Services page (Fulfillment > Checkout/Checkin > Manage Patron Services), locate the patron that borrowed the item and select Found Item from the row actions list for the relevant item. The loan status reverts to Normal, and the item remains checked out to the patron. Depending on the lost-item fee policies configured for the item, some or all of the lost-item fees charged to the patron may be returned (for information about configuring fine and fee policies, see below).
   • Scan the barcode of the item as a return (see Returning Items below). When you do so, the item is marked as found and returned. Depending on the lost-item fee policies configured for the item, some or all of the lost-item fees charged to the patron may be returned (for information about configuring fine and fee policies, see below).
3. You can search for items marked as lost by performing an advanced search in the repository. Select the Advanced Search link and in the Physical Items column, select Process Type. On the Advanced Search page, select Equals and Lost in the drop-down lists and select Go. For details on advanced searches, see Performing an Advanced Search.
   You can also configure the following:
   • Lost items can be excluded from appearing in Primo (configurable in Configuration Menu > Resources > Record Export > Exclude Process Types from Publishing). For details, see Excluding Resources with Specific Process Types from Publishing.
   • Lost items can be configured as searchable but not as requestable. This is done on the Fulfillment Rules Editor page (Configuration Menu > Fulfillment > Physical Fulfillment > Fulfillment Units, select Edit from the row actions list for a Fulfillment Unit and select the Fulfillment Unit Rules tab). For details on configuring Fulfillment Unit Rules, see To add fulfillment unit rules:.
4. You can configure policy types for lost loans which determine how lost loans are handled. Parameters are configured in Fulfillment Configuration (Configuration Menu > Fulfillment > Physical Fulfillment > Advanced Policy Configuration > Add Fulfillment Policy) by selecting the following fulfillment policy types:
   A lost item fine cannot be refunded.
   For details on selecting policy types, see Configuring Policies.
   • Lost Item Fine – The fine which the patron is required to pay for losing the item.
   • Lost Item Replacement Fee – The amount charged to the patron for the institution to replace the item.
   • Lost Item Replacement Fee Refund Ratio – The percentage of the lost item replacement fee that the institution is willing to refund to the patron if the lost item is found.
5. You can create a fulfillment set that displays a list of all items lost from a specific date (Fulfillment > Advanced Tools > Create Fulfillment Sets, and configure the Loan status value as Lost). For details on configuring fulfillment sets, see Managing Fulfillment Sets. You can then view the fulfillment set on the Manage Sets page (see Managing Search Queries and Sets).
6. If the close_paid_lost_loan parameter is set to true, when an on-loan item's status is changed to Lost and the last lost or replacement fee is closed, the loan status is changed to Lost and paid and the loan is removed from the active loans list. The loan will be considered complete and not accrue further fines or be counted in patron limits (see Configuring Other Settings (Fulfillment)). You can close Lost and Lost and paid loans by running the Close lost loans job (see Running Manual Jobs on Defined Sets). This job closes all loans in the fulfillment set, regardless of status. Any fines or fees associated with the loan remain on the patron's record. If a lost item is returned after the loan has been closed by the job, the patron is not refunded for the replacement fee. When the parameter is set to false, the loan remains active in the loan list until the Close Lost Loans job is executed and the item process type is changed to Lost even if the patron paid the lost fees.

Returning an Individual Item

You can return a single item by entering its barcode. 

Managing Returns

You can view and manage returned loans in the Patron Services page, in the Returns tab.

Returning Multiple Items

To speed up the process of handling returns when you have multiple returns to perform, you can use the Manage Item Returns page.

1. Open the Manage Item Returns page (Fulfillment > Checkout/Checkin > Return Items).
   
   Manage Item Returns Page
   If your institution is part of a fulfillment network and has a Circulate For relationship with another institution, an item for that institution may be scanned in from this page as well. In this case, a check box, Item from another institution, will be displayed. Select the check box and select the item's originating institution from the Institution drop-down list.
2. Scan or enter the item barcode in the Scan item barcode field, or select and select the item from the displayed list.
3. In the Place directly on hold shelf field, select the relevant option, as follows:
   • Yes – The item is to be placed directly on the hold shelf. An On Hold Shelf Letter is sent to the patron, indicating that the item is ready for pickup at the hold shelf (see Configuring Alma Letters).
   • No – The item is not yet ready for the hold shelf and is to be designated for hold shelf processing (that is, preparing the item for the hold shelf, such as checking the item’s condition). After hold shelf processing is complete, scan the item into the relevant circulation desk. The item is placed on the circulation desk’s hold shelf, and an On Hold Shelf Letter is sent to the patron, indicating that the item is ready for pickup at the hold shelf (see Configuring Alma Letters).
   This field is displayed only when the Has hold shelf processing option is selected when configuring a circulation desk (see Configuring Circulation Desks).
4. Select OK. The item details are displayed on the Manage Item Returns page.
   
   Manage Item Returns Page
   You can use the following keyboard shortcuts on the Manage Item Returns page:
   • Alt + Ctrl + L – Opens the patron identification page (see Selecting a Patron)
   • Alt + Ctrl + C – Clears the list of returned items
   • Alt + Shift + X – Returns to the Alma homepage
5. If needed, modify the return date. One reason to modify the return date would be for items that were returned in an overnight drop box during the prior day. The date is modified as follows:
   The return date defaults to the current date. The date should only be set to current date or a date in the past.
   1. On the Manage Item Returns page, select Override return date and time and select the return date and time..
   2. Select Apply. The return date and time is changed on the Manage Item Returns page.
   To reset the return date to the current date, select Reset Return Date.
6. If required, select one of the following options from the row actions list:
   • Work order – Creates a request; you can select a work order or other request (see step 2 in To create a request:)
   • Loan history – Displays an audit trail of an item’s loan history see Viewing Loan History)
   • View notes – Displays notes on the loan (see To view loan notes)
7. Select Exit to exit the page, or select Go to Patron Services to open the Patron Identification page.

Viewing a Patron’s Fines and Fees

1. On the Patron Identification page (Fulfillment > Checkout/Checkin > Manage Patron Services), enter the patron’s name in the Scan patron’s ID or search for patron field and select Go.
   The Patron Services page appears.
2. Select the value in the Active balance link.
   The Fines/Fees tab on the User Details page appears, which lists all fines and fees for a patron.
   For institutions in a fulfillment network, fines and fees for loans belonging to another institution may be seen in the Network Activity tab. For more information, see Viewing Network Activity.
   
   User Details Page – Fines/Fees Tab
   The Fines and Fees Summary area displays amounts for:
   • Active balance
   • Disputed balance
   • Transferred balance
   • Currently filtered balance
   • Currently filtered disputed balance
   For details on adding fines and fees, see Assigning Fines/Fees to Users.
3. Select Save or Cancel to return to the Patron Services page.

Sending Patron Notifications for Fines and Fees

Receiving Payments for Fines and Fees

• Self-check machines – If the self-check integration profile has been set up with the Extended Fines and Fees extension type, the SIP2 Fee Paid action can receive the following field pairs:
  • BZ – Payment transaction number, to attach to payment section
  • EK – Fee to be paid
  For details on self-check machines, see Self-Check Machines.
• Web service – See https://developers.exlibrisgroup.com/alma/apis/users.

Recording Online Payments Manually

1. On the Patron Identification page (Fulfillment > Checkout/Check-in > Manage Patron Services), enter the patron’s name in the Scan patron’s ID or search for patron field and select Go.
   The Patron Services page appears.
   
   Pay Link on Patron Services Page
2. Select the Pay link. The Payment Details dialog box appears.
3. Select Online from the Payment method drop-down list.
4. Enter the payment amount and transaction ID, which are both listed in the user’s transaction confirmation email.
5. Select Send.