My cooperative has been on Koha less than year, but my experience so far has been that what you want to do isn't possible without creating library-specific patron types. The standard rules for all libraries would be set for "all" patron categories, and then each individual library would have the more generous rules listed, specifying the local patron categories. You could limit each patron category so that only the relevant ones show up for each logged in library, but the circ rules on the back end will be a headache to manage, I imagine. On Thu, Oct 9, 2025 at 2:52 PM Noah Brubaker <nbrubaker@palni.edu> wrote:
Hello,
We are a consortium of libraries and trying to grasp circulation for Koha in a group scenario as we are having some challenges understanding what is possible. We are separate libraries in a shared instance and with a shared patron/bib database. What we would like to have happen is:
1. A patron from one institution can borrow from another (either walk in person or via placing a hold) using fixed consortial borrowing rules. For example 60 days for a book. This should be separate from the lending library's own local patrons which may get more generous terms.
2. We would like to have a single set of patron categories that are standard across the group. For example Faculty, Student, etc.
The issue seems to be that Koha views the patron as "local" rather than from another library. Is there a way for Koha to be configured to take into account a patron's home library when determining rules?
We would like to have the default most general rule be our reciprocal lending terms (60 days for a book), but it seems that Koha always lends the item as if the patron is part of the library lending it - rather than a patron not affiliated directly with that library.
Please let me know if I can clarify, but it seems there should be a setting somewhere or something in the rules definitions we are missing. We noticed in the rules definition there is the term "same library" which is considered by the system but it doesn't seem to be doing that in regards to the patron and their home library.
We were hoping to avoid needing separate patron types for all of our libraries to make this work, if possible.
Thanks so much!
---Noah
Noah Brubaker
PALNI Associate Director
(317)721-8198 | nbrubaker@palni.edu | www.palni.edu
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