2.5 Long Overdue Penalty

This feature will be available in Evergreen version 2.5.

Abstract

Libraries can now configure a penalty for unpaid, long overdue items in Evergreen. When a patron exceeds the allowed number of long overdue items, a penalty will be applied to his or her account. The threshold for the long overdue penalty is configurable by user group. Libraries can set the maximum number of unpaid, long overdue items that a patron can have on his or her account. The threshold can be configured through Admin → Local Administration → Group Penalty Thresholds. Libraries can also configure the actions that are blocked by the long overdue penalty. This can be configured in Admin → Local Administration → Standing Penalties.

As long overdue items are checked in, paid for, or marked lost, the penalty on the patron’s account will be adjusted. If the number of unpaid, long overdue circulations falls below the threshold, the penalty will be removed from the account.

Configure Standing Penalty

The Long-Overdue Penalty can be found and configured in Admin → Local Administration → Standing Penalties. This allows you to configure the actions that are blocked by the penalty. Here you will see a penalty with the name PATRON_EXCEEDS_LONGOVERDUE_COUNT and label Patron Exceeds Max Long-Overdue Threshold.

To edit:

1. Double click on the penalty. A box will pop up that allows you to configure the penalty.
2. If desired, you can change the label of this penalty.
   1. The id and name of the penalty are linked to the database and cannot be changed.
3. The block list defines the actions that a patron will be prevented from performing should this penalty be applied to their account. A patron can be blocked from:
   1. CIRC- circulating an item
   2. FULFILL- checking out an item that is on hold
   3. HOLD- placing a hold on a title
   4. CAPTURE- prevents a patron’s hold from being captured
   5. RENEW- renewing an item
4. Check the box next to staff_alert if you would like an alert to appear on a patron account when the penalty is applied.
5. Click Save.

Configure Group Thresholds

The threshold for the Long-Overdue Threshold Penalty can be configured in Admin → Local Administration → Group Penalty Thresholds. Here you can configure the maximum number of long overdue items a patron may have. If a patron exceeds this threshold, the penalty configured in Standing Penalties will be applied.

To configure a new penalty threshold:

1. Click on New Penalty Threshold. A box will pop up that allows you to configure the threshold.
2. From the Group dropdown menu, select the user group for which you would like to configure a threshold.
3. From the Org Unit dropdown menu, select the library that will use this threshold.
4. From the Penalty dropdown menu, select PATRON_EXCEEDS_LONGOVERDUE_COUNT.
5. Configure the threshold in the Threshold field.
6. Click Save to create this Group Penalty Threshold.

Author: Angela Kilsdonk, Equinox Software