Patron Status Workform

The Patron Status workform displays patron account information such as circulation data, blocks, items out, requests, claims and lost items, reading history, financial transactions, and associated patron records. If your library system includes Polaris Outreach Services, you also use this workform to set up profiles and generate pick lists for an outreach services patron. Use the toolbar and top part of the workform to:

• Print information from this workform - Select File, Print, Current View; File, Print, All Views; or File, Print, List View, or click the down arrow by the print button .
• Delete this record - Select File, Delete, or click . Certain conditions may prevent deleting this record. See Deleting Patron Records.
• Place a hold request for this patron - Select Tools, Place Hold, or click . See Placing Hold Requests.
• Check out items to this patron - Select Tools, Check Out, or click . See Patron Registration Workform.
• Set up printing for receipts and hold slips - Select Tools, Options. The Tools Options dialog box appears, where you set the printer type and which receipts should print from this workform. See Setting Up Receipt Printing from Workforms.
• Switch to the Patron Registration workform for this patron - The Patron Registration workform contains address and notification information. Select Links, Registration, or press F9.
• Check for blocks on the patron record based on associated patron blocks - Select Tools, Check Associated Patron Blocks.
• Work with associated course reserve records - Select Links, Course Reserve to access the course reserve records for which this patron is an instructor. See Setting Up Course Reserve Records.
• Secure a patron's record so that no library activity can take place - Select Tools, Secure a patron record. See Secure and Release Patron Records.
• Release a secured patron record so that library activity can resume - Select Tools, Release. See Secure and Release Patron Records.
• Go to another view - Select View:
  • General, or click to view summary information and notification history, work with blocks. See Patron Status Workform - General View.
  •  Items Out, or click to renew items, make claims, declare items lost. See Patron Status Workform - Items Out View.
  • Account, or click to manage charges, payments, deposits, and credits. See Patron Status Workform - Account View.
  • Claims, or click to review a patron’s claims. Select View, See Patron Status Workform - Claims View.
  • Holds, or click to work with holds and ILL requests. See Patron Status Workform - Requests View.
  • Reader Services, or click to view reading history, set outreach services profiles - . See Patron Status Workform - Reader Services View.
  • Associations, click , or select Links, Associations. See Patron Status Workform - Associations View.
  • Notes, or click to enter a blocking or non-blocking note, or post a patron message - See Patron Status Workform - Notes View.

Patron Status Workform - General View

The Patron Status workform - General view summarizes any amount owed, items checked out, items overdue and long overdue, items on hold, current and lifetime claims, lost items, whether the patron’s account contains notes, and the account expiration date. This view also lists any blocks (stops) on the patron’s account. See Working with Blocks (Stops). The view includes a list of the most recent notices that have been sent to the patron for a particular transaction (double-click an item to see the complete notice history). Use this view to:

• Add a block - Click Add Block. The New Block dialog box appears. Select a library-defined block, or type a free-text block. See Add a patron block.

Note:
Polaris automatically blocks patrons for conditions such as overdue and long overdue items, money owed over a library-specified amount, and an excessive number of items claimed, according to Polaris Administration settings. You cannot add or delete these types of blocks manually.

• Delete a block - Select a block, and click Delete Block. See Delete a patron block.

• Print an item’s notice history - Double-click an item in the Notices list to open the Notice History dialog box. This dialog box shows detailed notification history for the item. From the dialog box, you can print the notice history for an item.

• Open an item record - Right-click an item in the Notices list to open the item record.

Patron Status Workform - Items Out View

This view lists the items the patron has currently checked out.

Tip:
You can right-click any item to check it in, place a hold on it, or work with other options related to the item record.

Use this view to:

• Print a packing list for reader ratings - Select the item or items, and click  above the Items Out list. See Working with Reader Ratings.

• Print the list of items out - Click  above the Items Out list, or press CTRL+ALT+P. See Display and print the Items Out list.

• Renew one or multiple items - Select the item or items, and click  above the Items Out list. See Renew items from the Patron Status workform.

• Renew all items - Click  above the Items Out list. See Renew items from the Patron Status workform.

• Assign a special loan renewal period - Select the item, and click  above the Items Out list. The Special Loan dialog box appears, where you can select any due date from a calendar. See Assign a special loan period.

• Change the due date of items without renewal - Select the items and click  above the Items Out list. See Reset due dates of checked-out items.

• Estimate fines - Click  above the Items Out list to estimate fines on overdue items currently checked out. See Estimate fines on currently checked out items.

• Make a claim - Select the item, and click  above the Items Out list. The Make Claim dialog box appears, where you can select the patron’s reason for the claim (Claim Returned or Claim Never Had). See Make a claim.

• Declare an item lost - Select the item, and click  above the Items Out list. The Declare lost item dialog box appears, where you can declare an item lost and manage the replacement amount and overdue amount, if any. See Declare an item lost.

• Print an item’s notice history - Select the item, and click .  The Notice History dialog box opens, which shows detailed notification history for the item. From the dialog box, you can print the notice history for an item.

Patron Status Workform - Account View

This view displays a patron’s open financial transactions with the library. See Viewing Patron Financial Accounts.

Use the account view to:

• Create a charge and optionally bill for the charge - Click  above the transactions list. The Charge dialog box appears, where you can set the amount and reason for the charge. See Create a charge from the Account view.

• Bill the patron manually for an existing unbilled charge - Select a charge that has not been billed to the patron, and click above the list. See Bill a Charge Manually to a Patron Account.

• Pay one or multiple charges - Select the charges, and click  above the transactions list. The Pay dialog box appears, where you specify the amount and payment method. See Pay charges from the Account view.

• Pay all charges - Click  above the transactions list. See Pay charges from the Account view.

• Waive one or multiple charges - Select charges, and click  above the transactions list. The Waive dialog box appears, where you can specify the amount and reason for the waiver. See Waive charges from the Account view.

• Waive all charges - Click  above the transactions list. See Waive charges from the Account view. The library may make this feature unavailable. See Waive All Option in the Patron Status Workform - Account View.

• Make a deposit - Click  above the transactions list. The Deposit dialog box appears, where you can specify the amount and payment method. See Make a deposit in a patron’s account.

• Return one or multiple deposits - Select deposits, and click  above the transactions list. See Return, forfeit, or credit deposits.

• Forfeit one or multiple deposits - Select deposits, and click  above the transactions list. See Return, forfeit, or credit deposits.

• Credit one or multiple deposits - Select deposits, and click  above the transactions list. See Return, forfeit, or credit deposits.

• Create a credit on the patron’s account - Click  above the transactions list. See Create a credit manually.

• Refund a credit amount from the patron’s account - Select credit transactions, and click  above the transactions list. See Refund a credit amount.

• View the most recent collection report information - This option applies to libraries that use a collection agency. Click  above the transactions list. See Display a collection summary and history.

• View the patron’s reconciled transactions - Click  above the transactions list.
  
  The Transaction Summary dialog box lists completed transactions. See Display completed account transactions. You can issue a credit card account refund from the Transaction Summary dialog box. See Refund a credit card payment from Patron Status - Account view.

• View the history of a transaction - Right-click a line item in the transactions list or Transaction Summary dialog box, and select History from the context menu. See Display a transaction’s history.

• Print an item’s notice history - Select the item, and click .  The Notice History dialog box opens, which shows detailed notification history for the item. From the dialog box, you can print the notice history for an item.

Patron Status Workform - Claims View

The Patron Status workform - Claims view shows the patron’s open claims and lost items. See Working with Claims and Managing Lost Items. Use this view to:

• Print the Claims list - Right-click in the Claims list, and select Print from the context menu.
• Link to an item record - Right-click an item in the Claims list, and select Links, Item Record from the context menu. The Item Record workform opens.
• Estimate fines - Click above the Claims list to estimate fines on overdue items currently checked out. This option is available if your library has opted to include claimed and/or lost items in estimated accrued fine calculations. See Estimate fines on currently checked out items.
• Print an item’s notice history - Select the item, and click .  The Notice History dialog box opens, which shows detailed notification history for the item. From the dialog box, you can print the notice history for an item.

Patron Status Workform - Requests View

On this view, the Polaris requests list displays the patron’s system holds requests. The ILL requests list displays the patron’s interlibrary loan requests. See Working with Interlibrary Loans. If your library is licensed to use INN-Reach, ILL requests placed through INN-Reach appear in this view. See INN-Reach ILL hold request created in Polaris. Use this view to:

• Group hold requests - Select the hold requests, and click . When one request in the group is filled, the others are canceled. See Group a patron’s hold requests.
• Remove one or more hold requests from a group - Select the grouped hold requests, and click . See Ungroup a patron’s hold requests.
• Edit a request - For example, you can change the activation date for a hold request. Right-click a line item, and select Open or Edit from the context menu. The appropriate request workform opens. See Edit hold request data or Edit an ILL request.
• Suspend/Reactivate - Right-click the request, and select Suspend/Reactivate from the context menu. See Suspend/Reactivate Holds in Bulk from Patron Account.
• Convert a hold request to an interlibrary loan request - Right-click the request, and select Convert to ILL Request from the context menu. See Convert hold requests to ILL requests.
• Cancel a request - Right-click the request, and select Cancel Hold or Cancel from the context menu. See Cancel hold requests or Cancel interlibrary loan requests.
• Check out a Borrow by Mail item - Licensed feature. Right-click the item, and select Bulk checkout from the context menu. See Process individual Borrow by Mail items.
• Print a Borrow by Mail item mailer - Licensed feature. Select the Borrow by Mail request, and click  above the Requests list. See Process individual Borrow by Mail items.
• Export an ILL request - Right-click the request, and select Export from the context menu. See Export ILL requests to OCLC.
• Receive an ILL item - Right-click the request, and select Receive from the context menu. See Receive an ILL item.
• Return an ILL item - Right-click the request, and select Return from the context menu. See Return ILL items.

Patron Status Workform - Reader Services View

The Patron Status workform - Reader Services view displays the patron’s reading history, if any. See Working with Reading Histories. Also, if your library provides outreach services, use this view to set up outreach services profiles for this patron. For details, see Creating Outreach Patron Profiles.

Patron Status Workform - Associations View

The Patron Status workform - Associations view lists the associated patrons with columns showing the barcode, patron name, branch, note, whether the patron is blocked when the associated patron is blocked, and whether the patron is allowed to pick up held items for the associated patron. See Patron Associations.

Use this view to:

• Create an association between patron records - Click  above the Associations list. The Add Associations dialog box appears, where you can search for the patron record to link. See Create and edit patron associations.

• Edit notes about an association or change a blocking relationship - Select the associated patron in the Associations list, and click  above the list.

• Delete an association - Select the associated patron in the Associations list, and click  above the list. You are deleting the relationship between the two records, not the records themselves.

• Work with an associated patron record - Right-click an associated patron record. From the context menu, you can open the record or do circulation functions and other activities for the associated patron.

Patron Status Workform - Notes View

The Patron Status workform - Notes view provides free-text boxes for notes about a patron’s status. You can create two types of notes, non-blocking and blocking. Non-blocking notes do not block circulation or hold requests. Blocking notes block a patron at normal check-out or renewal. However, blocking notes do not affect offline circulation, Polaris ExpressCheck circulation, SIP/NCIP circulation, or renewal from the PAC. Neither type of note appears in the PAC. Use the Notes view to:

• Create a note - Type a note in the Non-blocking or Blocking box, and click Save.

• Delete notes - Select the text, and press BACKSPACE or DELETE.

This view also has a section for patron messages. These are predefined or free-text messages that you can post for specific patrons. The patrons can read and delete them from the PAC patron account.

• Post a message - Click Add Message by the Message area. The Patron Message dialog box opens, where you can select a Library-assigned message from the drop-down list. The message options are those set in Polaris Administration for the staff member’s log-on branch. Or click Free text , and type a message. When you click OK, the dialog box closes, and the message is added to the Message Text column. The Patron Has Read column indicates whether the patron has marked the message as read in the PAC patron account.

• View message properties - Right-click the message in the Patron Status workform - Notes view, and select Properties from the context menu. The Properties dialog box lists the creator’s user name, workstation, branch, and the creation date and time. If the message has been modified, the modifier, modification date, and time are listed.

• Modify a message - Select the message in the Patron Status workform - Notes view, and click Modify Message. You need the permission Post patron message: Allow to modify messages.

• Delete a message or multiple messages - Select them in the Patron Status workform - Notes view, and click Delete Message. You need the permission Delete patron message: Allow to delete messages.