1 = Borrowing items: who, what, for how long =
4 Circulation policies pull together user, library, and item data to determine how
5 library materials circulate, such as: which patrons, from what libraries can
6 borrow what types of materials, for how long, and with what overdue fines.
8 Individual elements of the circulation policies are configured using specific
9 interfaces, and should be configured prior to setting up the circulation
12 == Data elements that affect your circulation policies ==
14 There are a few data elements which must be considered when setting up your
19 Several fields set via the holdings editor are commonly used to affect the
20 circulation of an item.
22 * *Circulation modifier* - Circulation modifiers are fields used to control
23 circulation policies on specific groups of items. They can be added to items
24 during the cataloging process. New circulation modifiers can be created in the
25 staff client by navigating to *Administration -> Server Administration -> Circulation
27 * *Circulate?* flag - The circulate? flag in the holdings editor can be set to False
28 to disallow an item from circulating.
29 * *Reference?* flag - The reference? flag in the holdings editor can also be used as
30 a data element in circulation policies.
32 === Shelving location data ===
34 * To get to the Shelving Locations Editor, navigate to *Administration ->
35 Local Administration -> Shelving Locations Editor*.
36 * Set _OPAC Visible_ to "No" to hide all items in a shelving location from the
37 public catalog. (You can also hide individual items using the Copy Editor.)
38 * Set _Hold Verify_ to "Yes" if when an item checks in you want to always ask for
39 staff confirmation before capturing a hold.
40 * Set _Checkin Alert_ to "Yes" to allow routing alerts to display when items
42 * Set _Holdable_ to "No" to prevent items in an entire shelving location from
44 * Set _Circulate_ to "No" to disallow circulating items in an entire shelving
46 * If you delete a shelving location, it will be removed from display in the staff
47 client and the catalog, but it will remain in the database. This allows you to
48 treat a shelving location as deleted without losing statistical information for
49 circulations related to that shelving location.
51 image::media/copy_locations_editor.png[screenshot of Shelving Location Editor]
53 * Shelving locations can also be used as a data element in circulation policies.
57 Finally, several characteristics of specific patrons can affect circulation
58 policies. You can modify these characteristics in a patron's record (*Search ->
59 Search for Patrons*, select a patron, choose *Edit* tab) or when registering a
60 new patron (*Circulation -> Register Patron*).
62 * The user permission group is also commonly used as a data element in
64 * Other user data that can be used for circulation policies include the
65 *juvenile* flag in the user record.
67 == Circulation Rules ==
69 *Loan duration* describes the length of time for a checkout. You can also
70 identify the maximum renewals that can be placed on an item.
72 You can find Circulation Duration Rules by navigating to *Administration
73 -> Server Administration -> Circulation Duration Rules*.
75 image::media/circ_duration_rules.jpg[]
77 *Recurring fine* describes the amount assessed for daily and hourly fines as
78 well as fines set for other regular intervals. You can also identify any grace
79 periods that should be applied before the fine starts accruing.
81 You can find Recurring Fine Rules by navigating to *Administration -> Server
82 Administration -> Circulation Recurring Fine Rules*.
84 image::media/circ_recurring_fine_rules.jpg[]
86 *Max fine* describes the maximum amount of fines that will be assessed for a
87 specific circulation. Set the *Is Percent* field to True if the maximum fine
88 should be a percentage of the item's price.
90 You can find Circ Max Fine Rules by navigating to *Administration -> Server
91 Administration -> Circulation Max Fine Rules*.
93 image::media/circ_max_fine_rules.jpg[]
95 These rules generally cause the most variation between organizational units.
97 Loan duration and recurring fine rate are designed with 3 levels: short, normal,
98 and extended loan duration, and low, normal, and high recurring fine rate. These
99 values are applied to specific items, when item records are created.
101 When naming these rules, give them a name that clearly identifies what the rule
102 does. This will make it easier to select the correct rule when creating your
105 === Circulation Limit Sets ===
107 Circulation Limit Sets allow you to limit the maximum number of items for
108 different types of materials that a patron can check out at one time. Evergreen
109 supports creating these limits based on circulation modifiers, shelving locations,
110 or circulation limit groups, which allow you to create limits based on MARC data.
111 The below instructions will allow you to create limits based on circulation
114 * Configure the circulation limit sets by selecting *Administration -> Local
115 Administration -> Circulation Limit Sets*.
116 * *Items Out* - The maximum number of items circulated to a patron at the same
118 * *Min Depth* - Enter the minimum depth in the org tree that
119 Evergreen will consider as valid circulation libraries for counting items out.
120 The min depth is based on org unit type depths. For example, if you want the
121 items in all of the circulating libraries in your consortium to be eligible for
122 restriction by this limit set when it is applied to a circulation policy, then
123 enter a zero (0) in this field.
124 * *Global* - Check the box adjacent to Global if you want all of the org
125 units in your consortium to be restricted by this limit set when it is applied
126 to a circulation policy. Otherwise, Evergreen will only apply the limit to the
127 direct ancestors and descendants of the owning library.
128 * *Linked Limit Groups* - Add any circulation modifiers, shelving locations, or circ
129 limit groups that should be part of this limit set.
132 Your library (BR1) allows patrons to check out up to 5 videos at one time. This
133 checkout limit should apply when your library's videos are checked out at any
134 library in the consortium. Items with DVD, BLURAY, and VHS circ modifiers should
135 be included in this maximum checkout count.
137 To create this limit set, you would add 5 to the *Items Out* field, 0 to the
138 *Min Depth* field and select the *Global* flag. Add the DVD, BLURAY and VHS circ
139 modifiers to the limit set.
141 == Creating Circulation Policies ==
143 Once you have identified your data elements that will drive circulation policies
144 and have created your circulation rules, you are ready to begin creating your
145 circulation policies.
147 If you are managing a small number of rules, you can create and manage
148 circulation policies in the staff client via *Administration -> Local Administration ->
149 Circulation Policies*. However, if you are managing a large number of policies,
150 it is easier to create and locate rules directly in the database by updating
151 *config.circ_matrix_matchpoint*.
153 The *config.circ_matrix_matchpoint* table is central to the configuration of
154 circulation parameters. It collects the main set of data used to determine what
155 rules apply to any given circulation. It is useful for us to think of their
156 columns in terms of 'match' columns, those that are used to match the
157 particulars of a given circulation transaction, and 'result' columns, those that
158 return the various parameters that are applied to the matching transaction.
160 * Circulation policies by checkout library or owning library?
161 - If your policies should follow the rules of the library that checks out the
162 item, select the checkout library as the *Org Unit (org_unit)*.
163 - If your policies should follow the rules of the library that owns the item,
164 select the consortium as the *Org Unit (org_unit)* and select the owning library
165 as the *Item Circ Lib (copy_circ_lib)*.
166 * Renewal policies can be created by setting *Renewals? (is_renewal)* to True.
167 * You can apply the duration rules, recurring fine rules, maximum fine rules,
168 and circulation sets created in the above sets when creating the circulation
171 === Best practices for creating policies ===
173 * Start by replacing the default consortium-level circ policy with one that
174 contains a majority of your libraries' duration, recurring fine, and max fine
175 rules. This first rule will serve as a default for all materials and permission
177 * If many libraries in your consortium have rules that differ from the default
178 for particular materials or people, set a consortium-wide policy for that circ
179 modifier or that permission group.
180 * After setting these consortium defaults, if a library has a circulation rule
181 that differs from the default, you can then create a rule for that library. You
182 only need to change the parameters that are different from the default
183 parameters. The rule will inherit the values for the other parameters from that
184 default consortium rule.
185 * Try to avoid unnecessary repetition.
186 * Try to get as much agreement as possible among the libraries in your
191 image::media/circ_example1.png[]
193 In this example, the consortium has decided on a 21_day_2_renew loan rule for
194 general materials, i.e. books, etc. Most members do not charge overdue fines.
195 System 1 charges 25 cents per day to a maximum of $3.00, but otherwise uses the
196 default circulation duration.
200 image::media/circ_example2.png[]
202 This example includes a basic set of fields and creates a situation where items
203 with a circ modifier of "book" or "music" can be checked out, but "dvd" items
204 will not circulate. The associated rules would apply during checkouts.
208 image::media/circ_example3.png[]
210 This example builds on the earlier example and adds some more complicated
213 It is still true that "book" and "music" items can be checked out, while "dvd"
214 is not circulated. However, now we have added new rules that state that "Adult"
215 patrons of "SYS1" can circulate "dvd" items.
217 === Settings Relevant to Circulation ===
219 The following circulation settings, available via *Administration
220 -> Local Administration -> Library Settings Editor*, can
221 also affect your circulation duration, renewals and fine policy.
223 * *Auto-Extend Grace Periods* - When enabled, grace periods will auto-extend.
224 By default this will be only when they are a full day or more and end on a
225 closed date, though other options can alter this.
226 * *Auto-Extending Grace Periods extend for all closed dates* - If enabled and
227 Grace Periods auto-extending is turned on, grace periods will extend past all
228 closed dates they intersect, within hard-coded limits.
229 * *Auto-Extending Grace Periods include trailing closed dates* - If enabled and
230 Grace Periods auto-extending is turned on, grace periods will include closed
231 dates that directly follow the last day of the grace period.
232 * *Checkout auto renew age* - When an item has been checked out for at least
233 this amount of time, an attempt to check out the item to the patron that it is
234 already checked out to will simply renew the circulation.
235 * *Cap Max Fine at Item Price* - This prevents the system from charging more
236 than the item price in overdue fines.
237 * *Lost Item Billing: New Min/Max Price Settings* - Patrons will be billed
238 at least the Min Price and at most the Max price, even if the item's price
239 is outside that range. To set a fixed price for all lost items, set min and
240 max to the same amount.
241 * *Charge fines on overdue circulations when closed* - Normally, fines are not
242 charged when a library is closed. When set to True, fines will be charged during
243 scheduled closings and normal weekly closed days.