Add General Data to a Patron Record

The patron record contains general data that may be used for statistical purposes and any user-defined fields that are determined by the library at installation. This section of the patron record also allows you to exempt a patron from overdue notices, hold request notices, or collection agency processing. You also set the patron’s password and language preference in this section.

Note:
For more information on setting up patron records, see Create a Patron Record.

To add general data to a patron record:

Select Patron Services > Patron Records to find and open the patron’s record. See Find Patron Services and Related Records.

Tip:
You can press CTRL+TAB to change views.

Select View > General or click to display the General view.
Select Gender from the drop down menu. All drop down menus start with a (None) option followed by a list of genders specified for the specific organization. The (None) option is selected by default unless a patron has already selected a gender. Selecting (None) sets the patron's gender to "null" in the database as if they have opted out of a gender selection. Use N/A to register a group or an organization as a patron. Your library may require you to choose Gender. If so, the word Gender appears in bold type. Your library many choose to not track Gender by suppressing that choice.
Select the appropriate statistical code in the Statistical class box. These codes are defined by your library for statistical or reporting purposes.

Note:
If you change the patron’s registration branch and the statistical class is valid at the new branch, the statistical class remains in the edited record. Otherwise, the statistical class is set to None.

Type the patron’s password in the Password box.

The patron uses this password, together with the patron barcode or user name, to access the account or place holds in the PAC. The password must be a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 16 alphanumeric characters. Passwords are case-sensitive. Do not include spaces or special characters such as %, @, and $. Polaris displays the password as a series of asterisks (*) for security purposes. For additional information, see Patron Passwords and User Names.

Note:
Your library may limit the number of times a patron can try to sign in to the PAC without success. At the first attempt, the system starts timing the sign in attempts. When the limit has been reached and five minutes have passed from the first unsuccessful attempt, a message appears and the patron must wait five minutes before trying to sign in again. If you reset the patron’s password from the staff client after at least one sign in attempt, the patron may have to wait five minutes before attempting to sign in with the new password.

Select the patron’s primary language in the Language box.

Note:
If your library has purchased the Polaris multilingual option, and the language you select is supported for notices, the patron can receive notices in this language. For more information, see Managing Notification.

If appropriate, scan the patron’s previous ID (the barcode found on the patron’s old library card) in the Former barcode box or type the barcode and press Enter.
Enter the patron’s birth date in the Birth date box using one of these methods:

Note:
You can enter a birth year in the patron record that is earlier than 1900. For example, if you do not ask patrons their birth year at registration, you can enter 1776 as a placeholder. You can save dates as early as 1753.

Tip:
You can select the check box with the space bar. This is convenient if you prefer to use the keyboard instead of the mouse.

Type a specific date - Select the box in the Birth date field, then type the birth date in the format shown. Use the right arrow key to move from one segment of the date to the next.

Note:
If you clear the check box, the date may be gray or it may not be visible. It reappears when you select the check box again. The date is not saved with the patron record unless the check box is selected.

Select a date from a calendar - Click the down arrow in the Birth date field and select the birth date from the calendar.

Verify the date of registration in the Date of original registration box.

Note:
If you clear the check box, the date may be gray or it not be visible. It reappears when you select the check box again. The date is not saved with the patron record unless the check box is selected.

If you want Polaris to track a reading history for the patron, select the Maintain permanent reading list check box. See Working with Reading Histories.
If the patron will receive email notices or reminders from the library, and prefers plain text email, select Email notices in plain text. If a patron is experiencing problems with the display of HTML email notices or reminders, setting the email format to plain text may improve the display of information.

Plain text email notices have the following limitations:

Detail content is displayed in separate lines instead of in one line or one group.
Claimed items are included even if Include claimed items is not selected for overdue notices (Notification Options dialog box > Overdue tab).
Combined notices may include some fields that are correctly suppressed in HTML notices.

To prevent this patron record from being deleted, select the Do not delete patron record check box.
To prevent this patron from being reported to the collection agency, select the Exclude from collection agency check box.
To prevent this patron from receiving certain notices and reminders, select the appropriate check boxes below Exclude from notices and reminders.

Tip:
If your library uses Polaris outreach services processing, you may want to select the Hold option. This prevents an outreach services patron from receiving a hold notice when a selection list item becomes held for delivery to the patron. See Outreach Services Processing.

Note:
To prevent the patron from receiving any notices at all, set the notification option to None on the Addresses view. See Add Notification Data to a Patron Record.

If your library requires additional patron information, type or select the appropriate data in the User defined fields boxes.

Your library may use free text user defined fields, drop-menu fields with specific options, or both. The user defined fields are indexed for searching. Your library may choose not to use all five available user defined fields.

Select File > Save to save the record.