[Koha] Work-around for fees?

[Joelle Hannert]

Hi Myka,

Thanks for the sound advice! When you lay it out like that, it doesn't seem
so bad to have these fees show up sometimes. I hadn't considered the auto
renew option, but it's a good one, since that can be set in the circ
policies, so can apply to specific item/patron combos. That's something to
look into, as well.

Thank you,
Joelle

On Fri, Mar 15, 2019 at 10:59 AM Myka Kennedy Stephens <
mkstephens at lancasterseminary.edu> wrote:

> Hi Joelle,
>
> We are a small academic library and it sounds like our fine structure is
> similar to yours. We do not charge faculty fines, but once their items roll
> over to long overdue (lost) their accounts are charged the replacement fee.
> When long overdue (lost) items are returned, we've noticed that the
> replacement fee is removed from the account. For that reason, we do not
> write-off these replacement fees. If we do, when the items are returned the
> patron account has a positive balance, which creates a whole new set of
> problems.
>
> Our solution is to just handle it on a case-by-case basis. Certain staff
> can override automatic restrictions on an account with a high balance due
> because of replacement fees. When the items come back, the fees disappear.
> Yes, this means our ILL account and some of our faculty often have a
> balance due on their account. We've accepted that this is just how it is.
> For faculty, it can also serve as a reminder of sorts that they do have
> items they need to return.
>
> One thing additional you could try is the automatic renewal option. That
> is in the circulation and fine rules table. It looks like you can set auto
> renewals to apply to specific item types and patron categories. For
> example, you could auto renew all books for faculty patrons. This might cut
> down on the number of items rolling over to long overdue (lost) - or maybe
> it would just delay the process. We don't use auto renew, but it might be
> something we try in the future.
>
> Feel free to contact me off list if you want to discuss further.
>
> Regards,
> Myka
>
> On Fri, Mar 15, 2019 at 10:14 AM Joelle Hannert <jhannert at nmc.edu> wrote:
>
>> Hello!
>>
>> I've been surprised to find that Koha's settings for lost item fees are
>> not
>> as flexible as I'd have hoped. I'd like to be able to apply them based on
>> Patron Category, and also based on item type, but I'm finding that it's an
>> all-or-nothing setting with no granular options. Has anyone found a
>> work-around for this? And, if not, would it be something worth considering
>> as an enhancement? I'm a fairly new Koha user and haven't been involved in
>> the enhancement process yet.
>>
>> Here are a couple examples specific to our library, in case it helps to
>> have some context:
>>
>> Patron Categories and lost item fees:
>> We are a college library, and we don't charge fines to faculty/staff. We
>> also have an ILL profile type that we don't charge fines to. We do want to
>> charge students the replacement fees for long-overdue items.
>>
>> Item types and lost item fees:
>> There are some items that we charge $1/day overdue up to the cost of
>> replacement. For higher-priced items, they hit the long-overdue threshold
>> (28 days) long before the full cost of replacement overdue charge is up
>> (example: $300 for laptops). In our system, at 28 days overdue the lost
>> item replacement charge is put on their account and the daily overdue fine
>> stops accruing. If the item was an overdue laptop that isn't returned
>> until, say, 200 days overdue, the person wouldn't be charged a $200
>> overdue
>> fine as intended, but a $28 overdue fine, and the $300 replacement fee
>> would be refunded. This is why we'd like granular control, to exclude
>> these
>> item types that accrue overdues up to the cost of replacement from the
>> long
>> overdue process.
>>
>> Thanks for any insight you can provide!
>>
>> --
>> Joelle Hannert
>> Library Technical Services Coordinator
>> Northwestern Michigan College
>> (231) 995-1684
>> Work days: M, W, Th evening, F
>> _______________________________________________
>> Koha mailing list  http://koha-community.org
>> Koha at lists.katipo.co.nz
>> https://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha
>>
>
>
> --
> Deaconess Myka Kennedy Stephens, MDiv, MSLIS
> Seminary Librarian and Assistant Professor of Theological Bibliography
> Lancaster Theological Seminary
> 555 West James Street
> Lancaster, PA 17603
> 717-290-8704
> mkstephens at lancasterseminary.edu
> https://library.lancasterseminary.edu
>
>

-- 
Joelle Hannert
Library Technical Services Coordinator
Northwestern Michigan College
(231) 995-1684
Work days: M, W, Th evening, F