Background

Management of a patron database is not always an easy task. There are times when patron records need to be blocked from further transactions. There are times when patrons leave institutions and their records need to be de-activated. The recommendations in this document pertain to a library’s management of their own patrons’ HOME records.

NOTE: There will be times when a patron from another I-Share library becomes delinquent in your library’s database, such that their activity in your database should be blocked. Libraries should use the same procedures outlined below to suspend the STUB record of that patron.

Recommendations

The following recommendations have been developed for workflows when you need either to block a problem patron record or expire a record when a patron leaves your institution.

1. BLOCKING PROBLEM PATRON RECORDS

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

Workflow to suspend a patron record:

Bring up the patron record.
Press 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.
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 (2025) and click OK under the calendar.
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.
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.

Note: You will not be able to suspend (or clear a suspension) on a patron with an expired record or barcode. To do so, you must edit the patron record so that the patron is not expired, suspend (or un-suspend) the patron, and change the expiration date back.

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.

2. EXPIRING PATRON RECORDS

When you wish to expire a patron’s record because they are not currently enrolled or have left the institution, it is important to expire the “record,” not the “barcode.” If records for patrons no longer affiliated with your institution are left active, patrons are able to keep and repeatedly renew items you may have no idea they have on their account. Some schools allow a large number or unlimited renewals. It may be impossible to locate a patron by the time you find out they’ve had something for a year or more after they left the institution. This would also allow expired patrons to continue charging materials as reciprocal borrowers by presenting their card at other I-Share libraries to borrow materials on site.

Workflow to Expire a Patron Record:

Bring up the patron record.
Press on the word Patron on the top tool bar or right click in the patron record and choose “edit patron” from the drop-down list.
When the Edit Patron Record box opens you will see “Expires:” in the lower left corner. Click on the ellipsis in the small square to bring up the calendar and use the arrows to change the month, and/or year and click on the day of the month to set the day of the expiration date. Click OK. Click Save. You have changed the expiration date, effectively blocking their ability to renew or charge out additional items, but notices will still print and the patron will still be able to view their “My Account.”