Question

Need a workflow to suspend a patron record in Voyager.

Answer

When it is necessary to block a patron’s borrowing privileges, it may be preferable to use the “Suspend” function in Voyager, instead of changing the barcode status to “other” or “expired.”

Workflow to suspend a patron record:

1. Bring up the patron record.
2. Click on the word Patron on the top tool bar or right click in the patron record and choose “Suspend Patron” from the drop-down list.
3. When the Suspend Patron box comes up, click on the ellipsis in the small square in the small box above Suspension End Date.  When the calendar pops up, use the far right arrow to change the year to some far future time (e.g., 2035) and click OK under the calendar.
4. Click on OK above the word cancel and a patron suspension box will pop up stating the patron is suspended until (date you entered).  Click on OK and the patron is suspended.
5. To remove a suspension from a patron’s record, repeat the same steps changing the suspension end date to the day before the date you are clearing the suspension.  You will get the message that the suspension has been removed.

Recommendation - Use the Patron Record Notes Field:

Libraries may wish to use the patron record notes field to add information about why the patron is suspended, who to contact, etc.  If the patron looks at their account, they will see a message stating that their library privileges are suspended and to contact the library for further information.  The notes field can be quite helpful if the patron contacts the library since anyone with access to the circulation module will be able to communicate the basic information, even when staff member(s) managing suspensions, etc. are not available.

Additional Information

See also: Expiring patron records in Voyager

• Article last edited: 05-Nov-2020