Date: October 14, 2005
To: RCPL Trustees
From:
Policy Committee
Date: 19 September 2005
To: Board Policy Committee
From: G. Chapman
Re: Blocking overdue cards
Recommendation: To set our circulation system to block patron cards when a patron has received a second overdue notice.
Background: Current policy blocks patrons’ cards when their fines reach $8.00. Our previous system was able to fully implement this policy, but the current automated system (Aleph) works differently: an overdue fine is not recognized until the overdue item is returned and the final overdue amount is calculated. This means that Aleph is unable to fully implement the policy, and patrons may accumulate large fines by the time they are aware of them.
By adopting this policy change, we will be able to modify Aleph to more closely follow the intent of the policy – to block the patron when they are moderately overdue.
Prior to bringing this policy recommendation forward, we worked with SDLN and the Aleph vendor to find other ways to implement our overdue policy; however, we have been repeatedly told that this is not possible with the current system configuration. The recommendation made here has been identified by staff as the best solution to this issue.
Policy change: The full policy identifying the recommended changes is linked. Change is listed in blue at the end of document.
Reasoning: All patrons receive notices for overdue materials. The second notice is generated when an item is two weeks overdue. Two weeks was determined to be sufficient time for a patron to recognize they have overdue items and return them, but is short enough that fines will not have reached their maximum of $8.00 per item.