Date: April 5, 2006
To: RCPL Trustees
From: RCPL Board Committee
Maria McCarthy-Anderson, Chair
Re: Online Payment Update
Date: 2-14-06
To: Terri Davis
From: Jennifer Irwin
Re: Online payment update
Recommendation: Retain the fines policy as it exists until the online payments are functioning. We will work with the city to be a pilot project to establish online payments.
Raising the maximum fine as was recommended by the Board was investigated. However, doing so would have no effect on when people receive their notifications for overdue materials; it would allow patrons to accrue more fines before their card was blocked. This would not address the request from patrons that they receive earlier notification about overdue materials; the two-week block that was previously recommended would allow for a face-to-face intervention with the patron sooner in the overdue process.
When patrons have overdue fines on their library cards, those cards are blocked when the fines accumulate to an identified amount; that amount is currently set at $8.00, per the Loan Period Fines and Fees policy.
In November, the Staff Policy Committee sent forward a
recommendation to the Library Board to start blocking patron cards when
materials on the card are two weeks overdue, rather than blocking them at an $8
fine accumulation level. This was in response to patron complaints that they
expected this sort of notification and, because Aleph does not calculate fines
until the item is returned, we were unable to set an automatic block based on
accumulating fines on items that have not yet been returned.
The Board asked the Staff Policy Committee to investigate other ways to help patrons resolve their overdue issues, particularly to explore the possibility of online payment of fines. This avenue was reviewed, and it was found that in order to offer this service, there would need to be a designated bank account set up for online transactions. In follow up conversation with the City Finance Office there is an initial agreement for the Library to be a pilot project in working through the probability of this service. The first step agreed upon is determining the amount of use compared to monthly charges and if what banks provide the service with already established city accounts.
Part of the process also includes mediation with Aleph since
Aleph will not accept payments directly. Staff will mediate transactions by
entering the information forwarded from an online payment system into the Aleph
interface. This will mean that although patrons may be able to make payments online,
posting those payments on the patron record will be a delay depending upon the
time of day. Hours open to the public will accommodate a manual change.
However, after hours would be the next working day. This may defeat part of the
purpose of online payments for instant access once a fine is paid but only
during the closed hours.
