Detailed information - rules

You find an overview of all rules here: Rules

Some tips and examples regarding how different rules can be used and how they relate follow below.

Rule type Circulation control

Checkout

A limitation can be set for example on Minimum age if there are items that only adult persons should be able to check out.

Note:
At checkout, rule settings for the organisation where the checkout is carried out are checked, that is, the branch that the user has signed into. When a renewal is carried out, the rule settings for the branch where the item was originally checked out are checked.

Enable debt reminder

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

General charges/Debt reminder fee
Counts/Minimum total amount for debt reminder
Patron control/Debt reminder block
Periods/Debt reminder period

Enable overdue reminder

There are 6 levels and bill to user for overdue reminders.

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

General charges/Overdue reminder fee
Patron control/Notification block
Periods/Overdue reminder

Enable overdue warning

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

General charges/Overdue warning fee
Periods/Overdue warning

Enable reservation notice

In general, reservation notices should be enabled, but exceptions for patron categories such as Home service, that do not visit the library themselves, may be needed.

Renewal

This makes it possible for the library not to allow renewal of some items of which they do not have plenty of holdings.

Rule type Counts

Maximum number of loans per patron

If different rules are configured for, for example item types, plus a general rule, the first rule that applies for a certain transaction will apply.

Example:

Max 10 CDs

Max 10 DVDs

Max 15 (general)

Depending on what and in which order the patron borrows different types of items, the total may vary. A recommendation is to be as general as possible if the total is of importance.

Maximum number of reservations per title

In general, more than one reservation per title is not allowed, but some exceptions for patron categories such as Staff and Teachers may be useful.

Minimum number of reservations to count as queue (renewals)

Depending on the setting for this rule, patrons might be allowed to renew items even if reservations exist.

This rule determines how long the reservation queue for a title should be before the rules Circulation control / Renewal of reserved items and Periods / Renewal period for reserved items are checked. If you always want these to be applied when there is a reservation, then set this rule to 0, or do not add this rule. If you want it once there are 2 active reservations, then set the rule to 2

Minimum number of reservations to count as queue (loans)

Depending on the setting for this rule, patrons might be allowed to loan items even if reservations exist.

This rule determines how long the reservation queue for a title should be before Periods / Loan period for reserved items are checked. If you always want this to be applied, then set this rule to 0, or do not add this rule. If you want it once there are 2 active reservations, then set the rule to 2

Minimum total amount for debt reminder

Example: If this rule is set to 100, then the debt reminder will be sent to the patron when the amount is reached after the number of days set under Periods/Debt reminder period/Debt reminder 1.

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

Circulation control/Enable debt reminder
General charges/Debt reminder fee
Patron control/Debt reminder block
Periods/Debt reminder period

Rule type General charges

Maximum overdue fee per item

You can configure that an overdue item can generate a maximum of a defined amount, no matter how late it is, for example one amount for children and another amount for the adult age group.

Debt reminder fee

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

Circulation control/Enable debt reminder
Counts/Minimum total amount for debt reminder
Patron control/Debt reminder block
Periods/Debt reminder period

Overdue warning fee

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

Circulation control/Enable overdue warning
Periods/Overdue warning

Overdue reminder fee

Please note that it is not possible to distinguish between notification methods. If a fee is configured, it will be generated for reminders sent by mail, email and SMS.

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

Circulation control/Enable overdue reminder
Patron control/Overdue reminder block
Periods/Overdue reminder

Fee for reservations not picked up

The fee is triggered if a reservation that is on the reservation shelf is cancelled, regardless of if it is cancelled by the staff, the patron, or automatically when the item is checked in and the shelf time has passed.

Rule type Patron control

Debt amount block

Note that you can select to exclude billed amounts from the debt amount block using the setting Organisation settings/ Exclude bills from patron account block.

Debt reminder block

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

Circulation control/Enable debt reminder
Counts/ Minimum total amount for debt reminder
General charges/Debt reminder fee
Periods/Debt reminder period

Notification block

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

Circulation control/Enable overdue reminder
General charges/Overdue reminder fee
Periods/Overdue reminder

Rule type Periods

Adjustment of due date because of closure

This rule can be used if you do not want all your items to be returned on the first day after a closure period such as Christmas or Easter. For example, if you have an adjustment period of 7 days, then items due on Good Friday would have their due date set to the following Friday, or items due on Easter Monday would have their due date set to the following Monday.

For mobile units, this can be used if a tour gets cancelled because of a bank holiday, in order to make the adjustment correspond to the time period between two tours. In a case where you visit a bus stop every 3 weeks, you set the value to 21.

Loan period

For smart handling of an increased number of days that patrons may keep items during summer time, you can work with expiry dates of the rules for this to be managed automatically.

Debt reminder period

The rule is based on the day that the amount for the debt reminder is reached. In order to send the first reminder after one week and the second after three weeks, you set the number of days to 7 and 21 respectively.

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

Circulation control/Enable debt reminder
Counts/Minimum total amount for debt reminder
General charges/Debt reminder fee
Patron control/Debt reminder block

Overdue grace period

You may want to allow for example 2 days after the due date before fines are generated. The grace period is always taken into account, also when an item is returned after the grace period has passed.

Overdue reminder

Overdue reminders are set per level and all levels are based on due date, which means that it is the total time since due date that is used, not the number of days between the reminders. If the generation of overdue reminders have been delayed for some reason, they will all start by level 1 regardless of the delays.

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

Circulation control/Enable overdue reminder
General charges/Overdue reminder fee
Patron control/Overdue reminder block

Overdue warning

The overdue warning can only be sent as email or SMS.

This rule depends on settings made for the following other rules:

Circulation control/Enable overdue warning
General charges/Overdue warning fee

Rule type Reservation control

Already on loan to the patron

This makes it possible to allow a patron to reserve a title that they already have on loan.

Item on shelf

This rules makes it possible to allow or prevent reservations of items on shelf.

Item reservable

This rule sets what items should be reservable. The settings can be done by organisation, patron category, item type etc.

Rule type Self-service control

Checkout

This rule is item-based only and can be used for item types that a library may wish not to be checked out on a self-service machine. If this rule allows the transaction, then the other rules are checked normally.

Check-in

This rule is item-based only and can be used for item types that a library may wish not to be checked in on a self-service machine. If this rule allows the transaction, then the other rules are checked normally.

Renewal

This rule is item-based only and can be used for item types that a library may wish not to be renewed on a self-service machine. If this rule allows the transaction, then the other rules are checked normally.

Rule flows

You find information about some more advanced rule flows here:

Example - overdue notifications

Examples - overdue fees

Examples - reservation rules

Age group transition