FAQs: Renewing a User’s Checkouts
How do I renew materials by phone?
Libraries may allow users to renew materials over the phone.
To renew materials by phone
|
1
|
Click the Renew User wizard. |
|
2
|
Search for the user using the User Search helper or if the user knows his or her ID, type the ID in the User ID field. |
|
3
|
If only renewing items with a specific due date or items due by a certain date, click the Limit List by Due Date helper, and enter that date. |
|
4
|
Review the list of items that are eligible to be renewed. |
|
5
|
Do one of the following. |
|
•
|
Select the Select All check box to automatically select the Renew check box for every item in the list of items. |
|
•
|
In the list of items, select the Renew check box for each item you want to renew. |
|
6
|
Click Renew Selected Items. |
How do I renew a user’s checkouts if the user is BLOCKED?
If a user with a BLOCKED status tries to renew materials, you can determine the reason for the status and take actions to change the user’s status (if desired). Then you can continue with the renewal process.
To renew checkouts for a BLOCKED user
|
1
|
Click the Renew User wizard. |
|
2
|
In the User ID box, scan the user’s ID. |
If the user is blocked from renewing items, the User BLOCKED message appears.
|
3
|
Do one of the following. |
|
•
|
If you want to determine the cause of the block, click Investigate. Generally, a user is blocked because of overdue items or excessive bills. |
When you have finished viewing the information, click OK.
|
•
|
If the user is blocked because of bills and he or she wants to make a payment before renewing items, click Pay Bills. |
Enter the payment amount, select a payment type, and click Pay Bills.
Click Renew to go to the Renew User window.
|
•
|
Click Enter Override & Renew Items to display a User Block Override field. |
Type the override code and continue the renewal process.
Alternatively, if you are renewing materials for users in a user group and at least one of the users has a status of BLOCKED, WorkFlows displays a list of the users in the group and their statuses. You can then decide to renew items for users in the group on an individual basis.
To renew checkouts for blocked users in a user group
|
1
|
Click the Renew User wizard. |
|
2
|
In the User ID box, scan the user’s ID. |
If a user in the user group is blocked from renewing items, a dialog appears, which contains a list of the users in the group and their respective statuses. One or more of the group users has a status of BLOCKED.
|
3
|
Do one of the following. |
|
•
|
If you want to determine the cause of the block, click Investigate. Generally, a user is blocked because of overdue items or excessive bills. |
A dialog containing a list of user group members and any bills displays. When you have finished viewing the information, click OK.
|
•
|
If a user is blocked because of bills and he or she wants to make a payment before renewing items, click Pay Bills. |
Enter the payment amount, select a payment type, and click Pay Bills.
Note: If the current user does not have bills but other users in the user group have bills, the following message displays:
The current user has no bills, but other users in the user group may have bills. Use the Pay User Group Bills helper to pay bills belonging to other members of this user group.
In this case, click the Pay User Group Bills helper within the Pay Bills helper to pay bills for other group members.
Click Renew to go to the Renew User window.
|
•
|
If the current user is blocked but the other user group members are able to renew items, click Enter Override & Renew Items to display a User Block Override field. Type the override code and continue the renewal process. |
|
•
|
If the current user is not blocked and there are other user group members that are blocked, click Renew Items for Non-Blocked Users to renew items for the current user and any user group members whose status is not BLOCKED. |
|
•
|
Click Override Blocked Group Members to renew items to blocked user group members of your choosing. WorkFlows displays a dialog containing a list of blocked users in the user group from which you can choose which users to renew. Type the override code and continue the renewal process. |
Note: If the current user is blocked, WorkFlows automatically selects that user to be included in the lists of users to which the override applies.
Note: Some of these options may or may not be available depending on the combination of blocked and non-blocked users in the user group and on the current user's status.
How do I renew checkouts for a user whose library privileges have expired?
You can renew a user’s expired library privileges automatically while renewing checked out items for a user.
To renew checkouts for a user with expired library privileges
|
1
|
Click the Renew User wizard. |
If a user’s library privileges have expired, the Extend Privilege dialog box appears.
|
2
|
Do one of the following. |
|
•
|
Click Extend Privilege to automatically renew the user’s privilege based on the user’s profile. |
|
•
|
Under Extend User’s Library Privilege, click Special to set the privilege date. |
|
3
|
Continue with the renewal process. |
Important Considerations When Renewing Privileges
|
•
|
You can renew a user’s expired library privileges during the renew user checkouts process only if the Extend User’s Library Privilege check box is selected in the Renew User wizard properties. |
|
•
|
If SirsiDynix Symphony is configured to charge a fee when the user’s privilege is extended, a bill is only created if the privilege is extended based on policy settings. If a special privilege date is set, a bill will not be assessed. |
|
•
|
If the user has a credit account and policies are configured to automatically pay privilege fees with money from the credit account, fees created when renewing a user’s privilege may be paid automatically with funds from the user’s credit account. For more information, see FAQs: Credit User Accounts. |
|
•
|
You can also use the Renew Privilege wizard to renew a user’s library privileges. |
How do I renew a user’s checkout if the item has holds?
You can renew materials with holds for the user by entering an override code to continue the renewal process.
How do I specify a different due date when I renew items?
If a user is going on an extended vacation, a renewal period may need to be extended.
To renew items using a special due date
|
1
|
Click the Renew User wizard. |
|
2
|
Use the Special Due Date helper and an override to extend the item’s renewal period. |
Specify whether this special due date will be used from now on or only for the current renewal, and then click OK.
|
3
|
Review the list of checkouts that are eligible to be renewed. |
|
4
|
Select either all items or specific items to be renewed. |
|
5
|
Continue the renewal process. |
How do I renew items and record the transactions as “seen” renewals?
A seen renewal means the item is physically present for library staff to inspect it at the time of renewal. (An unseen renewal means the item is renewed by telephone, by the user in the e-Library, or by the user at a self-check workstation.)
To renew items and record the renewals as “seen” renewals
|
1
|
Click the Renew User wizard. |
|
2
|
In the User ID box, scan the user’s ID. |
|
3
|
Do one of the following. |
|
•
|
To renew all eligible items as “seen” renewals, select the Select All check box and the Select All Seen check box above the list of items. |
The Renew check box and Seen check box for each item in the list is selected automatically.
|
•
|
To renew only selected items as “seen” renewals, select the Renew check box and the Seen check box for each item in the list that you want to renew. |
|
4
|
Click Renew Selected Items. |
The Select All Seen check box in the Renew User wizard properties can be selected so the Select All Seen check box above the list of items in the Renew User window is selected by default. The Unseen Renew Limit attribute in the Circulation Rule policy should be configured if the number of “unseen” renewals is to be limited.
If the renewal is recorded as a seen renewal, the unseen renewal counter is reset to 0. The unseen renewal counter records the number of consecutive unseen renewals, and determines when the number of consecutive unseen renewals permitted by the Unseen Renew Limit attribute in the Circulation Rule policy is reached. Therefore, when a renewal is recorded as a seen renewal, the unseen renewal counter is reset to 0.
How do I renew circulation sets checked out to a user?
If the Circulation Sets feature is configured for your system, you can renew circulation sets checked out to a user using the Renew User wizard. Select the items in the set from the list of checkouts that display in the Renew User wizard.
How do I renew reserved items?
The setting of the Renew Reserve Desk Items property for the Renew User wizard determines how items on reserve are handled.
|
•
|
If the Renew Reserve Desk Items property check box is cleared, check boxes do not display to the left of items in the Current User Checkouts list, and you cannot renew those items. |
|
•
|
If the Renew Reserve Desk Items property is selected, the reserved item is renewed as usual. |
When the reserved item is renewed, the Renew User wizard looks up the item’s Reserve Desk. If the Reserve Desk is closed or about to close, the wizard asks the staff member to enter an alternate due date (if one has not been selected already).
The renewed items display in the Item(s) Renewed list, which lists the title of each item, the Reserve Desk for the item, and the new due date.
How do I renew accountable items?
You can renew accountable materials for the user by entering an override code to continue the renewal process.
How do I display item information before I decide to renew items?
The Review Items Before Renewing wizard property allows you to see information about the item before you renew it.
If the Review Items Before Renewing check box is selected, the Renew This Item? window displays information about the item you want to renew, such as author, title, item type, number of holds on the item, and the user ID of the user to whom the item is checked out.
Do one of the following.
|
•
|
Click Renew This Item to continue the renewal process. |
|
•
|
Click Do Not Renew to return to the wizard. |
Can item renewal fees be paid automatically?
If your library charges a fee for renewing items, users can pay the renewal fees automatically if the following conditions are met:
|
•
|
The user renewing the items has a credit account with a balance that is sufficient to pay the renewal fees. |
|
•
|
Your library’s policies are configured to automatically pay item renewal fees with money from a patron credit account. |
|
•
|
The automatic payment defaults are configured in the Renew User wizard properties. |
For more information, see FAQs: Credit User Accounts.
What do I do if I see the “Warning!! This item was reported as lost or assumed to be lost” message?
The following message appears if the user tries to renew an item that he or she had checked out and was marked as Lost by the Mark Item Lost wizard or the Assumed Lost report.
Warning!! This item was reported as lost or assumed to be lost.
Do one of the following:
|
•
|
To renew the item for the user, type the override code in the Lost Item Override box, and click Override & Renew Item. |
|
•
|
To cancel the renewal, click Do Not Renew Item. |
The message will appear for each item that had been marked Lost. For example, if the user wants to renew three items that had been marked as Lost, the message will appear three times and prompt you to enter the override code before continuing to the next item to be renewed.
Can I configure a warning for when a user has only one renewal left for an item?
Yes. In the Renew Item, Renew User, and Checkout wizard Behavior properties, there is the Display an Alert for the Next to Last Renewal property. When this property is selected, an alert will display at renewal when the second to the last renewal is reached. This alert displays for “seen” and “unseen” renewals. A count of remaining renewals displays in the checkout glossary in the Checkout wizard and in the e-Library’s My Account page. If the item has unlimited renewals, the remaining renewals will display as UNLIMITED.
Related topics
Renew User Wizard
Renew User Wizard Properties