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Resource Access (Circulation)

In FOLIO, resource access includes essential circulation functions. These functions include:

  • Checking out and discharging library materials
  • Checking in materials
  • Managing hold requests
  • Managing course reserves
  • Managing circulation logs

Circulation Settings

The circulation of library materials is governed by a set of rules and policies. These rules and policies are defined by the library and implemented in the Circulation and the Courses areas of the FOLIO Settings app.

1 - Check in

The Check in app allows you to process items at a service point, including items a patron returns to the library, items requested by a patron, or in process items. You can also use the Check in app to record in-house usage.

To configure any of the staff slips you encounter when checking in an item, like the Hold slip, see Staff slips for more information.

Permissions

The permission listed below allows you to interact with the Check in app. You can assign permissions to users in the Users app. If this permission is not assigned to a user, then they will be unable to see the Check in app or any related information.

  • Check in: all permissions. This permission allows the user to scan items in the Check in app and backdate Check in. However, this permission does not include being able to see details for items or patrons.

Checking in an item

Once a patron returns an item, check it in to remove it from the patron’s account and charge any applicable fees/fines. An item checked in at its effective location is marked as available if no patron has requested it.

To check in an item, either scan the barcode of the item, or enter the barcode and click Enter. The item appears in the Scanned Items table and its status changes. Fees/fines owed are noted in the Time returned column, if applicable.

Pop-ups that can occur when checking in an item

While checking in an item, you may encounter one of the following pop-ups:

  • Item status
  • Check in notes
  • Multiple and/or missing pieces

There is no option to turn off pop-ups.

Columns in the Scanned Items table

Once you check in an item, the following columns appear in the Scanned Items table:

  • Time returned. The “processed as” time the item was returned. Click the information icon to view the actual (non-backdated) check in time, if backdating the item. Additionally, if any fees/fines are owed, they are noted here.
  • Title. The title of the item.
  • Barcode. The barcode of the item.
  • Effective call number string. The full call number of the item, which includes the call number prefix, suffix, and copy number, as configured in the Inventory app.
  • Location. The permanent location of the item.
  • In-house use. If you are recording in-house use of an item, a house icon appears here. Otherwise, it appears blank. See Recording in-house use of an item for more information.
  • Status. The item status once checked in.
  • Actions. Click to view additional item information or see the actions you can take on the item. See Getting additional item information for more information.

Getting additional item information

If you have appropriate permissions, you can learn more information about the item or loan through the Actions column:

  • Click …> Print transit slip to print an item transit slip if needed. If the item did not go in transit when checked in, this option does not appear.
  • Click … > Loan details to open the Users app and view the loan details.
  • Click … > Patron details to open the Users app and view the patron’s user account.
  • Click … > Item details to open the Inventory app and get additional item details.
  • Click … > Fee/fine details to open fee/fine details in the Users app. In fee/fine details you can pay, waive, refund, transfer, cancel as an error, or export fees/fines. If there are no fees/fines associated with the checked in item, this option does not appear.
  • Click … > New Fee/Fine to open the Users app and create a new fee/fine associated with the item.
  • Click … > Check in Notes to view the check in notes. If there are no check in notes associated with the checked in item, this option does not appear.

Checking in an item on route to another service point

There are two scenarios in which an item may need to be routed to another service point:

  • a patron returns an item and the service point used at check in is not assigned to its effective location.
  • an item is requested by another patron to be picked up at a different service point.
  1. Either scan the barcode of the item, or enter the barcode and click Enter. If the item needs to be sent to another location, an In transit dialog appears noting the item is in transit and needs to be routed to a different service point.
  2. If you do not want to print a routing slip, clear the Print slip checkbox if it is checked.
  3. Click Close to exit and print a routing slip, if selected. The item appears in the Scanned Items table and its status changes to In transit.

Checking in an item with a request (hold shelf fulfillment)

When a patron requests an item, checking the item in at its requested pickup service point triggers the hold.

  1. Either scan the barcode of the item, or enter the barcode and click Enter. An Awaiting pickup for a request dialog appears noting the item is awaiting pickup and lists its pickup service point.
  2. If you do not want to print a hold slip, clear the Print slip checkbox if it is checked.
  3. Click Close to exit and print a hold slip, if selected. The item appears in the Scanned Items table and its status changes to Awaiting pickup. FOLIO automatically sets the hold shelf expiration date/time on the request record, following the settings for date management for the pickup service point. If configured in the notice policy, a pickup notice is sent to the patron once the check in session ends.

Checking in an item with a request (delivery fulfillment)

Delivery requests are not treated any differently from items being routed to the hold shelf. The delivery request is triggered once the item is checked in at any location. See Processing delivery requests for more information.

When checking in a delivery request, you have two options: check the item out to the patron or wait to process the request.

To check the item out to the patron:

  1. Either scan the barcode of the item, or enter the barcode and click Enter.
  2. In the Route for delivery request dialog, if you do not want to print a request delivery slip, clear the Print slip checkbox if it is checked.
  3. To check out the item to the patron, click Close and check out. The check out window appears and the item is automatically checked out to the patron.
  4. To end the check out session, click End Session.

To wait to process the request:

  1. Either scan the barcode of the item, or enter the barcode and click Enter.
  2. In the Route for delivery request dialog, if you do not want to print a hold slip, clear the Print slip checkbox if it is checked.
  3. Click Close. The Route for delivery request dialog closes, and the Item status changes to Awaiting delivery.

Checking in and backdating an item

You may need to backdate a returned item if your library was closed on the date the patron returned the item and you do not want to have any fees/fines charged to the patron’s user record.

For example, if your library was closed because of an emergency, you can mark all items returned the day your library was closed with the previous day’s date so that fees/fines will not accrue on patrons’ user records.

  1. Click the pencil icon under Date Returned or Time returned.
  2. Change the date and/or time.
  3. Either scan the barcode of the item, or enter the barcode and click Enter. The item appears in the Scanned Items table and the backdated time is listed in the Time returned column. To view the actual check in time, click the information icon in the Time returned column.

Anonymizing a loan that has been checked in

A library can configure FOLIO to anonymize loans after they have been checked in. Anonymizing removes the link between the loan record and the user record of the patron who borrowed the item. Your library can configure anonymization options in Settings > Circulation > Loan anonymization.

If you select Anonymize closed loans immediately after loan closes, anonymization will occur after the check in session ends. The anonymization process is scheduled by your system administrator or hosting provider.

Recording in-house use of an item

If you find an available item (not on loan) in the library away from its shelving location, you can check it in to mark the item as used. For example, you may want to use this feature for items in your reference collection or items on reserve if you’d like to track that the items were used even though they were not checked out.

In order to record in-house usage, the item must be checked in at a service point assigned to its effective location. Additionally, the item must be available and have no open requests.

To mark an item as used, either scan the barcode of the item, or enter the barcode and click Enter. A house icon appears in the In-house use column to indicate the statistic has been recorded.

Printing a transit slip

If you forget to print a transit slip, you can print a transit slip after checking in an item. Transit slips are configured in the Settings app.

  1. Check in the item.
  2. In the Actions column, click … > Print transit slip.

Creating a new fee/fine

You can manually create a new fee/fine for an item after checking it in.

  1. Check in the item.
  2. In the Actions column, click … > New Fee/Fine.
  3. In the New fee/fine screen, select a Fee/fine owner.
  4. Select a Fee/fine type.
  5. Enter a Fee/fine amount in the box.
  6. Optional: Enter Additional information for staff in the box.
  7. Optional: If you do not want to notify the patron about the fee/fine, clear the Notify patron checkbox.
  8. To submit the fee/fine, click Charge only.

Ending a check in session

Once you are done checking in items, you can end your check in session manually. To end your session and clear the Scanned Items table, click End session. Once you end the session, any applicable notices are sent to patrons.

By default, the Check in session is configured to end automatically after a 3 minute period of inactivity. You can turn this setting off or edit the number of minutes of inactivity the session will end after in the Settings app.

2 - Check out

The Check Out app allows you to check out items to patrons. To check out an item, first locate a patron in the system and then scan/enter an item to borrow.

Permissions

The permissions listed below allow you to interact with the Check out app and determine what you can or cannot do within the app. You can assign permissions to users in the Users app. If none of these permissions are assigned to a user, then they will be unable to see the Check out app or any related information.

  • Check out: All permissions. This permission allows the user to check out items to patrons (create new loans). However, this permission does not include seeing open loans or requests or seeing the entirety of the user record.
  • Check out: Check out circulating items. This permission allows the user to check out items, but they cannot override non-circulating loan policies.
  • Check out: View fees/fines. This permission allows users to click the fee in the Scan patron card pane to view the patron’s fees/fines in the Users app. The user must have permission to view fees/fines in the Users app for the link to work – for example the permission Users: Can view fees/fines and loans (see Users > Permissions). A user who has Check out: all permissions but does not have Check out: View fees/fines will see a patron’s fee/fine amount in the Scan patron card pane as text (not a link).
  • Check out: View loans. This permission allows users to click the number of open loans in the Scan patron card pane to view the patron’s current loans in the Users app. The user must have permission to view loans in the Users app in order for the link to work – for example the permission Users: User loans view (see Users > Permissions). A user who has Check out: all permissions but does not have Check out: View loans will see how many loans a patron has in the Scan patron card pane as text (not a link).
  • Check out: View requests. This permission allows users to be able to click the number of open requests in the Scan patron card pane to view the patron’s current requests in the Requests app. The user must have permission to view requests in the Requests app in order for the link to work – for example the permission Requests: View (see Requests > Permissions). A user who has Check out: all permissions but does not have Check out: View requests will see how many requests a patron has in the Scan patron card pane as text (not a link).

Locating a patron in the system

You can find the patron by either:

  • Scanning / entering the barcode provided by the patron.
  • Using the Patron Look-up function.

Locate the patron using a barcode:

  1. Either scan the barcode on the patron’s library card, or enter the patron barcode number.
  2. Click Enter. Patron details are displayed.

Locate the patron using the Patron Look-up function:

  1. In the Scan patron card pane, click Patron look-up.
  2. In the Select User dialog, in the User search box, enter part or all of the patron’s name, email, or username.
  3. Optional: Filter results by Status (active/inactive), or by Patron group.
  4. Click Search.
  5. Click the patron to use. The Select User dialog closes, the barcode appears in the Scan patron card pane, and the patron details are displayed.

If a patron has a note on their record that is checked to display in the Check out app, the note will appear as a pop-up window after the patron details are displayed.

Assessing the patron’s data

Within the patron details area, note that you can access additional information related to the user. Clicking on any linked information opens the appropriate app and displays the associated information. For example, if the FOLIO user has the appropriate permissions, clicking the number beneath Open requests will open a list of the patron’s open requests in the Requests app.

Review the available information to determine if you can continue with check out. For example, fees or fines may be owed, and may need to be handled before proceeding.

Checking out to a proxy borrower

Proxy borrowers are patrons who are checking out items on the behalf of another patron. For example, a graduate assistant may act as a proxy for a professor.

Note: A patron must first be assigned as a proxy for the borrower in their user record in the Users app.

  1. Locate the proxy borrower in the system.
  2. In the Who are you acting as? dialog, select the name of the user they will be acting as a proxy for and click Continue. The Who are you acting as? dialog closes and patron and proxy details are displayed.

Scanning the item to check out

Make sure you have looked up the user record prior to scanning items.

To select the item for check out, scan or enter the barcode of the item and click Enter. The item is displayed in the Scan Items area with the Due date and Time and the total number of items scanned is incremented.

If the item is going to be due sooner than expected, a flag icon will appear next to the item due date after checkout. This can happen if a service point is going to be closed when the item would normally be due, if there is a recall on the item, or if the patron’s account is set to expire sooner than the expected due date/time.

Pop-ups that can occur when checking out an item

While checking an item out to a patron, you may encounter one of the following pop-ups:

  • Item status
  • Check out notes
  • Multiple and/or missing pieces
  • Patron block
  • Item block
  • Override circulation policy

Getting additional item information

To access more information about each item:

  • Click … > Item details to open the Inventory app and get additional item details.
  • Click … > Loan details to open the Users app and access options including renewals, claiming the item was returned, changing the due date, and declaring the item lost. You can also view or add patron info or staff info comments.
  • Click … > Loan policy to open the Settings app for more loan policy information.

Changing the due date of an item

To change the due date:

  1. Click … > Change due date.
  2. In the Change Due Date dialog, enter the date and/or time for the new due date.
  3. Click Save and Close. The new due date is saved.

Adding a loan comment

Loan comments can be used to store ILL transaction numbers, record a reason why a due date was changed, or track how many times a claimed returned item was searched for. Patron info comments can be included as a token in patron notices (only the most recent comment is included in the token). You need to have the appropriate permissions to be able to add patron or staff info loan comments – see Users > Permissions.

To add a patron info loan comment:

  1. Click … > Add patron info to add a patron info note.
  2. In the Add patron information dialog, enter a comment in the box.
  3. Click Save and Close. The new comment is saved and any previous patron loan comment is superseded. The comment will appear in the Comment column in Loan details in the checkout app, and will also be recorded in the Circulation Log.
  4. Patron info loan comments can also be added in Loan details – see Getting additional item information.

To add a staff info loan comment:

  1. Click … > Add staff info to add a staff info note.
  2. In the Add staff information dialog, enter a comment in the box.
  3. Click Save and Close. The new comment is saved. The comment will appear in the Comment column in Loan details in the checkout app, and will also be recorded in the Circulation Log. Old staff info comments cannot be edited; add a new staff info comment instead.
  4. Staff info loan comments can also be added in Loan details – see Getting additional item information.

Ending the check out session

Once you have completed checking out items for a patron, you can end the session manually. To end your session and clear the Scanned Items table, click End session. Once you end the session, any applicable notices are sent to patrons.

By default, the Check out session is configured to end automatically after a 3 minute period of inactivity. You can turn this setting off or edit the number of minutes of inactivity the session will end after in the Settings app.

3 - Circulation log

The Circulation log app allows you to view and search for some circulation actions. Circulation actions are actions performed by the system or a user within the following Circulation apps: Check in, Check out, and Requests. Notices and fee/fine actions are also included.

Permissions

You can assign permissions to users in the Users app. The permissions described below allow you to interact with the Circulation log app and determine what you can and cannot do within the app. If you don’t assign any of these permissions to a user, the user will be unable to see the Circulation log app or any related information. The following are all the Circulation log permissions:

  • Circulation log: All. This permission allows the user all circulation log functions.
  • Circulation log: View. This permission allows the user to search and filter the circulation log, but does not allow exporting the circulation log or using the menu items in the Action column.

Generating a circulation log

You can generate a log based on any of the query parameters or filters you select.

Note: Panes are resizable throughout FOLIO and in the Circulation log. Resize the Search & filter pane to see more or less of the circulation log at once.

Generating circulation actions associated with a user barcode

In the Search & filter pane, type or paste a User barcode into the box.

If you don’t know the user’s barcode, click Patron look-up to open the user search box and search for that user’s record.

Generating circulation actions associated with an item barcode

In the Search & filter pane, type or paste an Item barcode into the box.

Generating circulation actions by description

In the Search & filter pane, enter your search terms into the Description box.

Generating circulation actions by date

  1. In the Search & filter pane, under Date, enter a start date in the From box and an end date in the To box.

  2. Click Apply. Your results appear in the Circulation log.

Generating circulation actions by service point

In the Search & filter pane, type or select the Service point from the box. You are able to apply more than one Service point to your search, if needed.

Loan filter options

In the Search & filter pane, click Loan and select any applicable filters:

  • Changed due date. Include manual due date change actions.
  • Patron info added. Include patron info loan comment added actions.
  • Staff info added. Include staff info loan comment added actions.
  • Checked out. Include checked out actions.
  • Checked out through override. Include checked out using an override actions.
  • Checked in. Include checked in actions. The checked in items may or may not have been out on loan.
  • Anonymized. Include anonymized loan actions.
  • Claimed returned. Include claimed returned actions.
  • Closed loan. Include closed loan actions. Closed loan actions include: Item is returned and checked in; Item is lost and paid; Claimed returned item is resolved by marking as missing (via loan detail).
  • Declared lost. Include declared lost actions.
  • Marked as missing. Include marked as missing actions.
  • Recall requested. Include requested as recall actions.
  • Renewed. Include renewed actions.
  • Renewed through override. Include renewed using an override actions.
  • Aged to lost. Include aged to lost actions. The time in which an overdue item ages to lost is set up in the Settings > Circulation > Lost item fee policies.

The Circulation log app records some user block functionality, but it is not available through filters. To find when manual user blocks were created or deleted, search the description field for “Block” and apply other search/filter options as needed.

Notice filter options

In the Search & filter pane, click Notice and select any applicable filters:

  • Send. Include send notice actions.
  • Send error. Include send notice actions that generated an error message.

Fee/fine filter options

In the Search & filter pane, click Fee/fine and select any applicable filters:

  • Billed. Include billed fee/fine actions.
  • Credited fully. Include fully credited fee/fine actions.
  • Paid fully. Include fully paid fee/fine actions.
  • Paid partially. Include partially paid fee/fine actions.
  • Refunded fully. Include fully refunded fee/fine actions.
  • Refunded partially. Include partially refunded fee/fine actions.
  • Staff information only added. Include fee/fine actions that had staff information added.
  • Transferred fully. Include fully transferred fee/fine actions.
  • Transferred partially. Include partially transferred fee/fine actions.
  • Waived fully. Include fully waived fee/fine actions.
  • Waived partially. Include partially waived fee/fine actions.
  • Cancelled as error. Include cancelled as error fee/fine actions.

Request filter options

In the Search & filter pane, click Request and select any applicable filters:

Columns in the circulation log

Once you generate a circulation log, these columns appear:

  • User barcode. The user barcode associated with the action.
  • Item barcode. The item barcode associated with the action.
  • Object. The object associated with the action: Fee/fine, Loan, Manual block, Notice, or Request.
  • Circ action. The action that occurred.
  • Date. The date and time the action occurred.
  • Service point. The service point where the action occurred.
  • Source. The source of the action: System, user, or none (blank).
  • Description. A description of the action.
  • Action. Click to see more information about the action. See Getting additional circulation action information for more information.

Getting additional circulation action information

Clicking the in the Action column displays a menu that enables access to additional information. The menu options that appear differ depending upon the Object (Fee/fine, Loan, Manual block, Notice, or Request). For example, clicking … > Item details opens the Inventory app for more information. In some cases the may not appear, e.g., when a loan has been anonymized.

Exporting circulation log search results

If your search for circulation log records returns results, you can export those results to a CSV file.

  1. Click the Actions menu.
  2. Select Export results (CSV).

A green success toast message informs you that you have generated the export file. Once generated, the file downloads automatically.

If you do not receive the download file, check that your browser did not block the pop-up window. If the pop-up was blocked, change your browser to allow pop-ups, and export your circulation log search results again. You may also be able to access your download through the Export Manager app if you have permission to view that app.

4 - Courses

This section of the documentation contains links to external sites. Please be advised that these sites are not maintained by the FOLIO Documentation Group and may be aligned with a different FOLIO release.

The Courses app allows you to create and manage course reserves.

Note: To enable library patrons to discover the courses you create in the Courses app you need an external interface or discovery layer set up and capable of interacting with FOLIO.

Permissions

You can assign permissions to users in the Users app. The permissions described below allow you to interact with the Courses app and determine what you can and cannot do within the app. If you don’t assign any of these permissions to a user, the user will be unable to see the Courses app or any related information.

The following are all the Courses permissions:

  • Courses: All permissions. This permission allows users to maintain (view, add, edit, and delete) courses, items, instructors, cross-listed courses and all course settings.
  • Courses: Read, add, edit, and delete courses. This permission allows users to view, add, edit and delete a course.
  • Courses: Read, add, and edit courses. This permission allows users to view, add, and edit a course. They cannot delete a course.
  • Courses: Add and edit courses’ reserved items. This permission allows users to add and edit items associated with a course. They cannot remove items from a course.
  • Courses: Add, edit, and remove courses’ reserved items. This permission allows users to view, add, edit, and remove items associated with a course.
  • Courses: Read All. This permission allows users to see all courses and item information.
  • Settings (Courses): Can create, edit and delete course settings. This permission allows users to maintain (view, add, edit, and delete) all course settings.
  • Settings (Courses): Can view course settings. This permission allows users to view course settings. They cannot add, edit or delete course settings.

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts allow you to perform actions in this app using the keyboard. See Platform essentials > Keyboard shortcuts for more information.

Implementation considerations

Before you implement the Courses app, make sure you have completed the following:

If you are configuring the Courses app for the first time, you need first to set up the following features in the Settings app, if applicable:

Once you configure the above settings, you can:

Integrations

You can choose to integrate the Courses app with these applications:

  • EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS)
  • VuFind

In addition, you can connect the Courses app to your learning management system using the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) protocol. There is a separate module to install for LTI support. For more information, see Course Reserves - LTI connectivity.

Each of these integrations has specific features to consider in regards to the migration of courses, sections, cross-listings, and separate courses and how they interact with FOLIO.

Searching for courses

You can search for courses in the Search & filter pane. All courses are shown and selected by default. To search for courses, enter your search terms into the box. Select the All fields drop-down list to search through one of the following fields: Course name, Course code, Section, Instructor, Registrar ID, and External ID. All fields is the default search.

You can also search for courses by selecting any of the filters in the Search & filter pane: Department, Course type, Term, and Location. Additionally, you can apply the filters after you perform a search to limit your results.

You can choose which columns appear in your search results by clicking on the Actions menu. Under Show columns, check or uncheck columns to change what you see in the results pane.

Searching for reserves

You can search for items on reserve in the Search & filter pane. Click Reserves to start your search. All reserves are shown and selected by default. To search for reserves, enter your search terms into the box. Select the All fields drop-down list to search through one of the following fields: Title, Barcode, or Call Number. All fields is the default search.

You can also search for reserves by selecting any of the filters in the Search & filter pane: Processing status, Copyright status, Permanent location, Temporary location, and Term. Additionally, you can apply the filters after you perform a search to limit your results.

You can choose which columns appear in your search results by clicking on the Actions menu. Under Show columns, check or uncheck columns to change what you see in the results pane.

Use the Search & filter pane to find items on reserve for a specific course. Find the course you wish to view reserves for and click on it in the Courses list. Then scroll down to the Items section to see all the items on reserve for that course.

Creating a course

To create a course, you must have the Courses window open. Then:

  1. Click Actions > New.
  2. In the Create course window, enter a Course Name and select a Term. All other fields are optional.
  3. Click Save & close.

Creating a course - reminders

  • Once a course is created, it can only be deleted if all reserve items are removed.
  • Department, Course Type, and Term are configured in Settings. See Settings > Courses for more information.
  • If you are adding one or more cross-listed courses to a course, the information you enter into Course listing information also applies to each cross-listed course.
  • Reserve items added to the course are automatically assigned with the Start Date and End Date of the Term you selected, as specified in the Term settings. If needed, you can edit the dates by editing the reserve item.
  • Any item assigned to a Course automatically has its temporary location set to the value specified in the Location field. If needed, you can change the temporary location by editing the reserve item.
  • When completing the course information, make sure you understand how the fields correspond to your discovery interface.

Editing a course

  1. Find the course you want to edit and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. In the course details window, click Actions > Edit.
  3. Make your desired changes to the course and click Save & close.

Deleting a course

To delete a course, you must first remove all items from the course.

  1. Find the course you want to delete and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. In the course details window, click Actions > Edit.
  3. Click Delete.
  4. Click Really delete to delete the course. The course is deleted and removed from the Courses list.

Adding a cross-listed course

Cross-listed courses share instructors, course listing information, and reserve items. Once a course is created, you can add cross-listed courses to it. When you cross-list a course, the information you have in the original course’s Course listing information section also applies to the cross-listed course.

  1. Find the course you want to add a cross-listed course to and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. In the course details window, click Actions > Crosslist.
  3. In the New course within listing window, enter a Course name and optionally fill in the other boxes under Basic course information. The Cross listing information section is populated with information from the original course.
  4. Click Save & close. The course is saved and appears in the Cross-listed courses section of the original course. It also appears in the main course list.

Editing a cross-listed course

See Editing a course.

Deleting a cross-listed course

You are able to delete a cross-listed course with items as long as one course remains.

  1. Find the cross-listed course you want to delete and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. In the course details window, click Actions > Edit.
  3. Click Delete.
  4. Click Really delete to delete the course. The course is deleted and removed from the Courses list.

Duplicating a course

  1. Find the course you want to duplicate and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. In the course details window, click Actions > Duplicate. A pop-up window will appear.
  3. In the pop-up window, select the term for the duplicate course.
  4. If the course has cross-listings, and you want the cross-listed courses to be duplicated also, check Duplicate all cross-listed courses.
  5. Click Create duplicate course(s).

The new duplicated course will appear, with “- Duplicate” added to the end of the course name. Click Actions > Edit to edit the course to update the name and other information.

Adding an instructor to a course

Instructors can only be added once a course is created. The instructor does not need a user record in FOLIO, but adding an instructor with a user record facilitates reports.

Add an instructor that has a FOLIO user record:

  1. Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. Under Instructors, click Add instructor.
  3. In the Add instructor window, click Look up user.
  4. In the Select User dialog, find the instructor you want to add, and click on them in the User Search Results list. The instructor’s name and barcode appears in the Name and Barcode boxes.
  5. Click Save & close. The instructor appears in the Instructors section.

Add an instructor that does not have a FOLIO user record:

  1. Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. Under Instructors, click Add instructor.
  3. In the Name box, enter the instructor’s name.
  4. Click Save & close. The instructor appears in the Instructors section.

Editing an instructor

Note: If an instructor has a FOLIO user record, you cannot edit that instructor’s information.

  1. Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. Under Instructors, find the instructor you want to edit.
  3. Click the pencil icon.
  4. In the Add instructor for [course] window, edit the Name or Barcode of the instructor.
  5. Click Save & close.

Deleting an instructor

  1. Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. Under Instructors, find the instructor you want to delete.
  3. Click the trash icon. The instructor is removed from the course.

Adding and removing notes

You can add and assign notes to courses. Assigning a note means you are reusing a previously created note. To be able to add or assign notes, you need the appropriate Notes permissions.

Adding a new note to a course

  1. Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. In the Notes pane, click New.
  3. In the New note window, select the Note type from the drop-down list.
  4. Enter a Note title in the box.
  5. (Optional) Enter any Details about the note in the box.
  6. Click Save & close.

Assigning an existing note to a course

  1. Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. In the Notes pane, click Assign/Unassign.
  3. In the Assign / Unassign note dialog, search for the note(s) you wish to assign to the course.
    1. You can search by title or description in the box.
    2. You can filter by Note type.
    3. The Note assignment status refers to whether the note is assigned or unassigned to the course you have open.
  4. Select the checkbox for the note(s) you wish to assign to the course and click Save.

Editing an existing note on a course.

  1. Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. In the Notes pane, find the note you wish to edit and click Edit.
  3. Make your desired changes to the note.
  4. Click Save & close.

If the note is assigned to multiple courses, any edits will apply to the note for all of its assigned courses. If you want to make a note with edits that apply just to the open course, you would need to make a new note with the desired text.

Unassign a note from a course.

  1. Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. Under Notes, click Assign / Unassign.
  3. In the Assign / Unassign note modal, select assigned in the Note assignment status filter.
  4. Uncheck the box(es) for the note(s) you wish to unassign.
  5. Click Save.

You cannot unassign a note that is assigned to only one course - delete the note instead.

Deleting a note

  1. Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. Under Notes, click the note you wish to delete.
  3. In the Note window, click Actions > Delete.
  4. In the Delete note dialog, click Delete. The note is deleted and removed from any records to which it was attached.

Adding a reserve item to a course when the item exists in Inventory

  1. Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. In the Items section, either scan the item barcode into the box, or enter the barcode and click Add item. The item is added to the course and appears in the Items section.

Note that when you put an item on reserve for a course, FOLIO copies information from Inventory into the reserve record in order to support searching within the Courses app.

This means that if any information about that reserve item changes in Inventory after it was put on Reserve, you may need to remove and re-add the item record to bring over the information into the Courses app.

Information that is copied to support searching includes:

  • Title and contributor from the instance record
  • Barcode, permanent location, call number, volume, copy, enumeration, and electronic access link from the item record

A reserve item’s start date and end date are maintained in the Reserve app. FOLIO will update the item’s temporary location in inventory when you first add it on reserve, based on the location listed on the course record.

Adding a reserve item to a course using Fast Add

If you have the Fast add: Create permission, you can use Fast Add to create an item in the Courses app and put it on reserve. The Fast Add option prompts you to create an instance, holding, and item in one pane with fewer fields. When you create the item, the Courses app creates the instance, holding, and item in Inventory for you, and then adds the item to the course.

The Fast Add workflow is meant to support putting personal copies, scanned articles, or other items on reserve that are not part of the library’s general circulating collection.

  1. From the associated course, scroll to the bottom and click Add Fast Add item.
  2. From the New fast add record, fill in the Instance, Holdings, and Item sections with the appropriate values.
  3. Once you have included all of the information needed for the item, click Save and close to create your inventory records and add the item on reserve for the course.

Note that Fast Add is not usually appropriate for re-adding an item to a course since it will create duplication of records in Inventory. If you need to re-add an item, you should use the function to add an item by barcode.

Editing a reserve item

Note: If you add an item to a course and later make a change to that item via the item record (in the Inventory app), the change will not be reflected in the reserve record. To update the course reserve record, you need to delete the item and then re-add the item to the course.

Editing a reserve item allows you to change or add information to the following fields:

  • Temporary location. If you change the reserve item’s temporary location, once you save the changes, the selected Temporary location is added to the Item record in the Inventory app.
  • Temporary loan type. If you change the reserve item’s temporary loan type, once you save the changes, the selected Temporary loan type is added to the Item record in the Inventory app.
  • Processing status. This field only applies to the Courses app and is available as a Reserves search filter.
  • Start Date and End Date. When an item is placed on reserve, the start and end dates are inherited from the selected Term.
  • Copyright information. This section facilitates copyright tracking.
  1. Find the course with the item you want to edit and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. In the Items section, find the reserve item and click the pencil icon.
  3. In the Item title window, make your changes.
  4. Click Save & close. The item is updated.

Each reserve item contains a section to track copyright information. This allows libraries that need to track this information to keep it as part of the reserve for later reporting and payment purposes.

The most common use case for these fields is when an electronic item is put on reserve, but there is no built-in restriction on using it for other items. There are no automated workflows that use these fields. They are all optional.

  • Copyright status. This is a drop-down. Your library can configure the drop-down values in Settings > Courses.
  • Total number of pages in item. Since most copyright tracking is on scans of physical items, you can track the pages for the entire item here.
  • Total number of pages used. With this field, you can track the number of scanned pages as part of the reserve.
  • Total % of pages used. This number must be calculated by the library staff member. Libraries that owe copyright payment can in some cases determine what they owe based off of the percentage of the work used.
  • Payment based on. This is a free-text field. Most libraries will put one of two values - Usage or Enrollment.
  • Additional sections of this item used. For some items, libraries will put multiple scans from the same book on reserve - for example, a book with ten scholarly articles, of which three articles are scanned and put on reserve as distinct items. In those cases, libraries can check this box to indicate that the items should be linked together in order to facilitate proper copyright payment calculation.

Removing a reserve item from a course

Note: Removing an item from a course does not remove it from the Inventory app. If the item on reserve had a temporary location inherited from the course, removing the item from the course will remove the temporary location from the item in inventory. If the item had a temporary loan type inherited from the course, removing the item from the course will not remove the temporary loan type from the item in inventory.

  1. Find the course with the item you want to remove and click on it in the Courses list.
  2. In the Items section, find the reserve item and click the trash icon. The item is removed.
  3. If you added a temporary loan type, remove the temporary loan type in the inventory app. Alternatively, use Bulk Edit to clear temporary loan types at the end of the semester.

5 - Requests

The Requests app allows you to create and manage requests.

FOLIO supports two kinds of requests - item level, and title level.

Item level requests are the default type of request for FOLIO and are made on an individual item record.

Title level requests are made on the instance level. FOLIO chooses the item from the holdings on that instance to fill the request, whether the item is available immediately or becomes available when the item is returned.

Libraries can turn on title-level requests in Settings > Circulation > Title level requests.

Libraries that want to use title level requests should consider:

  • You will not be able to turn off title level requesting while there are any open title level requests.
  • To avoid issues with queue ordering, you should first close open item level requests before turning on title level requesting.
  • Check Settings > Circulation > Title level requests > Fail to create title level hold when request is blocked by circulation rule if you want title level hold requests to follow circulation rules. If you do not choose this option, then title level hold requests will go through even when hold requests are blocked by the circulation rule. The title level hold request will remain Open - not yet filled as the circulation rule will prevent the request from being associated with an item.
  • Title level requests are not yet supported for multi-volume sets - e.g., “any copy of volume D of the Longman Anthology of World Literature.” Those requests must continue to be handled as item-level requests.
  • Items newly added to FOLIO via the Receiving app, Inventory, or Data Import must be checked in in order to be made available to fill open title level requests.

Permissions

You can assign permissions to users in the Users app. The permissions described below allow you to interact with the Requests app and determine what you can and cannot do within the app. If you don’t assign any of these permissions to a user, the user will be unable to see the Requests app or any related information.

The following are all the Requests permissions:

  • Requests: All permissions. This permission allows the user all request functions.
  • Requests: Move to new item, reorder queue. This permission allows the user to move requests from one item to another (subject to request policies).
  • Requests, Reorder queue. This permission allows the user to access the dedicated request queue page with reorder capabilities. It is only needed for users who need to reorder the queue. You do not need this permission to view the queue.
  • Requests: View. This permission allows the user to search and view requests.
  • Requests: View, create. This permission allows the user to create new requests and view existing requests.
  • Requests: View, edit, cancel. This permission allows the user to view, edit and cancel requests.

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts allow you to perform actions in this app using the keyboard. See Platform essentials > Keyboard shortcuts for more information.

Request Types and Statuses

Requests are assigned one of three Request Types:

  • Hold. Items currently not available but wanted when available.
  • Page. Items available to be pulled off the shelf.
  • Recall. Items currently not available, but needed immediately.

Note that FOLIO allows items in some statuses to be recalled even if they are not on loan to a patron, but there is currently no difference in FOLIO workflows between a recall and a page when that occurs. If a loan is recalled, the original loan period may be shortened.

After a request has been created, requests are set in progress by checking the item in with the Check in app.

Open requests have one of the following statuses:

  • Open - Awaiting delivery: The request is a Delivery request, and the requested item has been checked in, but the item has not yet been checked out to the requester.
  • Open - Awaiting pickup: The requested item has been checked in at the requested pickup point, waiting for the requester to pick it up.
  • Open - In transit: The request has been set in progress and the item is being delivered to the patron’s requested pickup service point.
  • Open - Not yet filled: The request has not yet been set in progress, and the Request expiration date, if it exists, is in the future.

Closed requests have one of the following statuses:

  • Closed - Cancelled: The request was cancelled either prior to an item being available for pickup, or after the item became available for pickup, but before the pickup expired.
  • Closed - Filled: The item was placed on hold for the patron, and the patron checked the item out. This also includes Delivery requests where the item was checked in and the Close and check out option was selected.
  • Closed - Pickup expired: The item was placed on hold for the patron, but the patron did not pick up the item before the Hold shelf expiration date passed.
  • Closed - Unfilled: The request was still open when the Request expiration date passed. If the Request expiration date field is empty, the request will never be moved to this status. Exception: Open - Awaiting pickup requests remain open until the Hold shelf expiration date is passed.

Searching for requests

To search for requests, enter your search terms into the box on the Search & filter pane. You can keyword search by title, or “starts with” search by item barcode, requester barcode, or item call number.

You can also use the Request type, Request status, Request level, Tags, and Pickup service point filters to find requests or further limit your search.

You can choose which columns appear in your search results by clicking on the Actions menu. Under Show columns, you can check or uncheck columns to change what you see in the results pane.

Exporting your search results to CSV

After you perform a search for requests, you can save your results to a comma-separated values (CSV) file. The fields visible in the Requests results list appear in the CSV file, along with additional request and item information.

  1. Search for requests.
  2. In the Requests pane, select Actions > Export search results to CSV. Depending on your browser and its configurations, the file either automatically downloads or you are prompted to save it.

Item level requesting

Creating a request

Library staff create requests in the Requests app. They also can start the request process from a user record in Users, or an item record in Inventory; those apps will route you into the Requests app to create the request. Note: You must have permission to create requests in the Requests app in order to see the option to create a request from Inventory. You can request items lacking a barcode by starting in the Inventory app – see Inventory > Creating a new request.

Requesting is controlled by circulation rules and item statuses. You cannot request some item statuses and some only allow holds and recalls. See Platform Essentials > Item Status for more information.

  1. In the Requests pane, select Actions > New.
  2. If you have title level requesting turned on, make sure Create title level request is not checked.
  3. In the Item barcode box, either scan the barcode of the requested item or enter the barcode and click Enter. The item is added to the request and its item information appears.
  4. In the Requester barcode box, either scan the requester’s barcode or enter the barcode and click Enter.
  5. If you do not have the requester’s barcode, click Requester look-up to search for the patron:
    1. Use the Select User dialog to find the requester.
    2. Once found, select the requester from the User Search Results list. The requester’s information will then appear on the request.
  6. Select a Request type. The options that appear depend on the Item status of the item you are requesting.
  7. Optional: Enter a Request expiration date. If the request is still open by the selected date, it closes and its status changes to Closed - Unfilled.
  8. Optional: Enter any Patron comments. For example, if the patron needs the item immediately, you can note it here. Patron comments show up in the CSV report and can be included in pick slips.
  9. Select the Fulfillment preference.
  10. Select the Pickup service point or Delivery address, depending on your selection in the previous step.
  11. Click Save & close. The request is saved and the Request Detail pane appears. The patron receives an email notification saying their request was received by the library, if you have this notification configured.

Editing an item level request

You can only edit open requests. Once a request is closed, it cannot be edited.

  1. Find the request you want to edit.
  2. In the Request Detail pane, select Actions > Edit.
  3. Edit the request.
  4. Click Save & close. The request is updated.

Duplicating an item level request

You can duplicate open requests but you will need to change either the requester or the item in order to save the request, as there cannot be two requests on the same item by the same requester. Closed requests can be duplicated, but you will need to enter a requester barcode.

  1. Find the request you want to duplicate.

  2. In the Request Detail pane, select Actions > Duplicate. A New request window appears with the same Item information, Requester information, and Request information as the request you chose to duplicate.

  3. Edit any of the request information before submitting the request.

  4. Select a Pickup service point.

  5. Click Save & close. The new request appears in the Request Detail pane.

Moving an item-level request to another item on the same instance

You can move a request from one item to another on the same instance. You may want to do this if a request item goes missing or if you need to balance request queues.

Note: If a recall request is moved to a loan item that wasn’t previously recalled, the loan will be recalled–the patron gets a recall notice, if configured, and the loan’s due date may be truncated or extended, depending on the associated loan policy.

  1. Find the request you want to move.
  2. In the Request Detail pane, select Actions > Move request.
  3. In the Select item window, select the item you want to move the request to.
  4. If the current request type is not allowed you will need to choose an allowed type in the Select request type dialog and click Confirm to allow the request to be converted.

Reordering the request queue for an item

You can change a patron’s location in the request queue for an item by reordering the queue.

  1. Find the request with the queue you want to reorder.
  2. In the Request Detail pane, select Actions > Reorder queue.
  3. In the Request queue window, reorder the requests by dragging them into their new positions. Requests cannot be moved above Page requests, even if fulfillment has not begun.
  4. Once you are done moving the requests, click the X to exit the Request queue window. The revised queue order is saved.

Canceling an item level request

You can only cancel open requests. Once a request is closed, it cannot be cancelled.

Note: When cancelling a request, you should consider the following:

  • When you cancel a page request and there are no other requests in the queue, the item’s status changes back to Available.
  • If you cancel a request that has begun fulfillment (it has a Request status of Open - In transit or Open - Awaiting pickup), the Request status changes to Closed - Cancelled, but the Item status will not change until the item is checked in.
  • If you cancel a requested item that is awaiting pickup, it appears on the Hold shelf clearance report.
  1. Find the request you want to cancel.
  2. In the Request Detail pane, select Actions > Cancel request.
  3. In the Confirm request cancellation dialog, select the Reason for cancellation.
  4. Optional: Enter any additional notes on the cancellation in the Additional information for patron box. If you selected Other as the reason, then you must supply additional information.
  5. Click Confirm. The dialog closes and the request is cancelled. The Request status is updated to Closed - Cancelled and the patron receives a cancellation notification email, if you have this notification configured.

Title level requesting

Creating a title-level request

Although library staff create requests in the Requests app, they can initiate the request process from a user record in Users, or an item record in Inventory. Those apps will route the user to the Requests app to create the request.

Note: You must have permission to create requests in the Requests app in order to see the option to create a request from Inventory. If you do not have the Settings > Circulation option Fail to create title level hold when request is blocked by circulation rule selected, then an item record is not required to create the request, but it is required to fill the request.

  1. In the Requests pane, select Actions > New.
  2. To create a title level request, make sure Create title level request is checked.
  3. Title information may already be filled in (if you started your request from the Inventory app). If not, you need to search for the title:
    1. Click Title look-up.
    2. In the modal that appears, search for the title you wish to place the request on.
    3. Click the title to select it; the modal will close, and the title information will populate in the request form.
  4. In the Requester barcode box, either scan the requester’s barcode or enter the barcode and click Enter.
  5. If you do not have the requester’s barcode, click Requester look-up to search for the patron:
    1. Use the Select User dialog to find the requester.
    2. Once found, select the requester from the User Search Results list. The requester’s information will then appear on the request.
  6. Select a Request type. The options that appear depend on the Item status of the item you are requesting.
  7. Optional: Enter a Request expiration date. If the request is still open by the selected date, it closes and its status changes to Closed - Unfilled.
  8. Optional: Enter any Patron comments. For example, if the patron needs the item immediately, you can note it here. Patron comments show up in the CSV report and can be included in pick slips.
  9. Select the Fulfillment preference.
  10. Select the Pickup service point or Delivery address, depending on your selection in the previous step.
  11. Click Save & close. The request is saved and the Request Detail pane appears. The patron receives an email notification saying their request was received by the library, if you have this notification configured.

How FOLIO decides which item will fill a title-level request

FOLIO first checks for an available item on the instance. If an item is available, FOLIO then looks at the circulation rules to decide what to do next.

If an item is available, and the FOLIO circulation rule allows paging, then the title-level request becomes a page for the item.

If several items are available, FOLIO will first choose an item that has the effective location at the chosen pickup service point. If there is no available item at an effective location associated with the pickup service point, FOLIO will attempt to choose one from another location associated with that service point.

If there is no matching item at an effective location with a primary service point that corresponds to the requester’s pick-up service point, then FOLIO looks for items in the next closest location.

If the instance has no available items when the request is created, the request will become either a Hold or a Recall, depending on the choice made in the requests app.

If the request is a hold, it will remain in the request queue for the title, but it will not be associated with an item until the request is first in the queue and an item is returned.

If the request is a recall, the recall will apply to the loan with the earliest due date. When the item is returned, it goes to the first open request, regardless of whether that request is the recall that triggered the item’s return.

Viewing Title Level Requests

When you view a title level request, the request view displays Title information in the top accordion, including the number of open title level requests on that instance.

Once a title level request becomes a page or a recall, the Item information accordion will also display, including the number of the open requests on the item.

For recalls, the item information indicates the item that was recalled, but when that item is returned, it will fill the first request in the queue, even if it was not associated with that particular request.

Editing a title-level request

You can only edit open requests. Once a request is closed, it cannot be edited.

  1. Find the request you want to edit.
  2. In the Request Detail pane, select Actions > Edit.
  3. Edit the request.
  4. Click Save & close. The request is updated.

Duplicating a title level request

You can duplicate any open title level request. When you duplicate the request, you will need to change the instance or the requester, because a patron cannot have more than one open title level request on the same instance.

  1. Find the request you wish to duplicate.

  2. In the Request Detail pane, select Actions > Duplicate. A New request window appears with the same Item information, Requester information, and Request information as the request you chose to duplicate.

  3. Edit any of the request information before submitting the request.

  4. Select a Pickup service point.

  5. Click Save & close. The new request appears in the Request Detail pane.

Reordering Request Queues with Title Level Requests

To view a request queue from the instance record in Inventory, select Actions > View requests & reorder.

To view a request queue from the request record, search for the request in the Requests app, and then select Actions > Reorder queue.

Fulfillment in progress shows requests that are in progress and have an assigned item. These requests include:

  • Page requests, regardless of the request status. That means that you will see page requests in this section with a status of Open - Not yet filled.
  • Requests that are Open - Awaiting pickup.
  • Requests that are Open - Awaiting delivery.
  • Requests that are Open - In transit.

Open - Not yet filled shows hold and recall requests that are not yet being processed. These requests can be reordered using drag-and-drop. These requests all have a status of Open - Not yet filled.

In this section, the Item barcode column may contain item information, or it may be blank.

  • Item level request - you will see the barcode of the requested item.
  • Title level recall - you will see the barcode of the item that was recalled. Note that if the item is returned and it could fill a request that is higher in the queue, it will fill that request, not the request that triggered the recall.
  • Title level hold request - the Item barcode column will be empty.

Canceling a title level request

You can only cancel open requests.

Before you cancel a request, consider:

  • When a page request is canceled and there are no other requests in the queue, the item’s status changes back to Available.
  • If you cancel a request that has begun fulfillment (it has a Request status of Open - In transit or Open - Awaiting pickup), the Request status changes to Closed - Canceled, but the Item status will not change until the item is checked in.
  • If a requested item is awaiting pickup and its request is canceled, it appears on the Hold shelf clearance report.
  • If there are other open title level requests on the instance that are not in progress, the item needs to be checked in to fulfill the next request in the queue.
  1. Find the request you want to cancel.
  2. In the Request Detail pane, select Actions > Cancel request.
  3. In the Confirm request cancellation dialog, select the Reason for cancellation.
  4. Optional: Enter any additional notes on the cancellation in the Additional information for patron box. If you selected Other as the reason, then you must supply additional information.
  5. Click Confirm. The dialog closes and the request is canceled. The Request status is updated to Closed - Canceled and the patron receives a cancellation notification email, if that option is configured.

Exporting a hold shelf clearance report

The hold shelf clearance report contains Awaiting pickup items where the item did not get checked out to the requester before the hold shelf expiration period expired. Check in these items to clear them from the hold shelf.

Hold shelf clearance reports are specific to individual service points. Therefore, you must be signed in to the service point you want to generate the report for.

The Hold shelf expiration period for a service point is set in Settings > Tenants > Service points.

Awaiting pickup items whose requests were cancelled are also included in the hold shelf clearance report.

To export a hold shelf clearance report, in the Requests pane, select Actions > Export hold shelf clearance report for [your service point].

The hold shelf clearance report includes requests that simultaneously meet all the following conditions:

  • the associated item has a status of Awaiting pickup;
  • the request has a status of Closed - Cancelled or Closed - Pickup expired;
  • the item’s request queue is empty OR the top request in the queue does NOT have the status “Open - Awaiting pickup”.

The third condition covers the case where an Awaiting pickup item has the hold shelf expiration period expired, but there is another request for the item. The item will appear on the hold shelf clearance report, but if the item is then checked in at its pickup service point for the second request, then the first two conditions are satisfied (with regards to the first request) but the item will not be on the report.

Collecting page requests

Page requests are requests for items currently available at the library. In order to fulfill the request, you need to find the item in your library and check it in using the Check in app. This begins the request process in FOLIO. Depending on your library’s workflow, you can identify the page requests that need to be collected using one of two reports: CSV export or pick slips.

Generating a page requests CSV export

The CSV export report can be used as a pick report. A pick report shows all paged items that need to be pulled from the shelves. The CSV export report includes, and can be sorted by, effective call number.

To create a pick report, follow these steps:

  1. In the Search & filter pane, select Request type > Pages and Request status > Open - Not yet filled to filter the items down to open page requests.
  2. In the Requests pane, select Actions > Export search results to CSV.
  3. Open the file in a spreadsheet application.
  4. Optional: Filter the report by Effective location to see available items within your area of responsibility.

Printing pick slips

The pick slips report generates a single slip for every paged item that needs to be pulled from the shelf. Because this report automatically prints only those items whose Effective location is associated with the currently selected service point, you must be signed in to the service point you want to generate the slips for. If no items match the report’s criteria, the option is grayed out.

You can configure the information that appears on the pick slips in the Settings app.

To print pick slips, in the Requests pane, select Actions > Print pick slips for [your service point]. A print dialog appears.

Printing Hold request search slips

Libraries can choose to use search slips if they have many copies of a title (instance), but not all copies have been cataloged. When a patron requests an item from that instance, a search slip can be printed so a staff member can look for the item. Libraries must enable Allow print hold requests (Open - Not yet filled) in Settings > Circulation > Print hold requests in order to use this feature.

The search slips report generates a single slip for every item level hold request with request status Open - Not yet filled. The report only prints hold requests for items that are shelved nearest the currently selected service point (i.e., those items whose Effective location is associated with the currently selected service point). You must be signed in to the service point you want to generate the search slips for. If no items match the report’s criteria, the option is grayed out.

You can configure the information that appears on the pick slips in the Settings app.

To print search slips, in the Requests pane, select Actions > Print search slips for [your service point]. A print dialog appears.

Adding a tag to a request

You can add a tag to any open request. Tags are included in the CSV export report, in case you want to use them for your workflow. For example, you can tag requests that were not found.

  1. Find the request you want to tag.
  2. In the Request Detail pane, click the tag icon.
  3. In the Tag pane, either select a tag from the box or enter a tag.
  4. Click the X on the Tag window to close the pane and save the tag. The tag number updates to the number of tags applied to the request.

Requesting items from remote storage

Some libraries store items at a remote, off-campus storage facility. These facilities often have their own inventory system in addition to FOLIO to manage high-capacity storage and facilitate requests of items to be brought back to campus. FOLIO supports connections to two types of remote storage systems: CAIASoft and Dematic.

If your library integrates FOLIO with a remote storage system, you will be able to request items from remote storage through the FOLIO Requests app. The basic workflows in the Requests app will be the same as for on-campus items.

For more information on FOLIO’s remote storage functionality, see the Settings documentation for Remote Storage.

Processing delivery requests

You may want to set up delivery requests if your library delivers items to certain patrons. For example, if your library sends items requested by faculty to their office, delivery requests will provide you with the patron’s address and the option to check the item out to the patron upon fulfillment.

Delivery must first be turned on in a patron’s user record, and they must have a default delivery address listed in their account. You can configure this setting manually or through a batch load. The steps below detail how to manually turn on delivery and process a delivery request.

Manually turning on delivery in a patron’s user record

  1. Find the patron in the Users app.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. In the User record window, select Delivery under Request preferences to turn on delivery.
  4. Select a default Fulfillment preference for the patron.
  5. Select a Default delivery address that will be used when the patron has a delivery request. If the patron does not have an address in their user record you need to add one.
  6. Click Save & close.

Creating a delivery request

  1. Create a request.
  2. If the patron does not have delivery as their default Fulfillment preference, select Delivery.
  3. Select a Delivery address.
  4. Click Save & close to start the request process.

Checking in a delivery request

Delivery requests are not treated any differently from items being routed to the hold shelf. The delivery request will trigger once the item is checked in at any location.

When checking in a delivery request, you have two options: check the item out to the patron or wait to process the request.

To check the item out to the patron, follow these steps:

  1. Check in the item with the Check in app.
  2. Optional: In the Route for delivery request dialog, if you do not want to print a request delivery slip, clear the Print slip checkbox.
  3. To check out the item to the patron, click Close and check out. The check out window appears and the item is automatically checked out to the patron.
  4. To end the check out session, click End Session.

To wait to process the request, follow these steps:

  1. Check in the item with the Check in app.
  2. Optional: In the Route for delivery request dialog, if you do not want to print a hold slip, clear the Print slip checkbox.
  3. Click Close. The Route for delivery request dialog closes, and the Item status changes to Awaiting delivery.

6 - Additional topics (Resource Access)

In addition to workflows that take place in a single app, library staff will also want to know about workflows that cross multiple apps, such as managing fees and fines, and managing loans and circulation rules together.

6.1 - Fees and fines

FOLIO allows libraries to charge fees and fines to patron library accounts. Charges can be for various reasons like room rentals; overdue return of a book; or replacing an item that the patron never returned. In FOLIO these are generally categorized together as Fees and fines or Fees/fines.

Libraries can charge fees/fines manually or automatically.

Automatic fines fall in three categories:

  • Lost item fee
  • Lost item processing fee
  • Overdue fine

They are charged automatically by FOLIO when items are loaned and not returned on time, according to the loan’s overdue policy and lost item policy.

Manual fees/fines, by contrast, are set up as categories in Settings > Users. They can be used for a wide variety of library charges, such as replacing a damaged item, renting a facility, or paying for a borrower card. Manual charges are always connected to a specific patron; they may be connected to a library item, but they are not connected to a library loan.

Fee/fine data structures

In FOLIO, fee/fine information is stored in two related objects: accounts and actions.

An account is the parent object. When a fee/fine is charged, an account object is always created.

An action is the child object where a transaction on an account is stored.

One account will have one or more actions associated with it.

Example: A patron does not return a book

Suppose Julia Smith is a patron at Normal University Library. She borrows a book and fails to return it to the library before it ages to lost.

When the item ages to lost, Julia is charged $100 as a set cost lost item fee, and $25 as a lost item processing fee.

The $100 replacement fee and $25 processing fee are each separate accounts charged to Julia.

Suppose that Julia can’t return the book and decides to pay for the item. She comes into the library and pays $50 in cash. For the $100 replacement fee, the library elects to waive $75 and accept $25 in payment. They apply the other $25 to pay her processing fee.

In FOLIO, the underlying account and action data would appear as follows.

Account #1: This represents the $100 charge to Julia as the set cost lost item fee. There would be three associated actions:

  • Action 1 represents the initial charge to Julia, with an action type in the underlying data of “Outstanding.” The action type in the user interface displays as “Lost item fee.” At this point, the account has a status of “Open.”
  • Action 2 represents Julia paying $25, with an action type of “Paid partially.”
  • Action 3 represents the library waiving the remaining $75, with an action type of “Waived partially.” When Action 3 is applied, the status of the account becomes Closed.

The Library could choose to waive the $75 first and then mark $25 as paid, in which case action 2 and action 3 would flip in order, but the result would still be the same - paying and closing the account, closing the loan, and changing the item status to Lost and paid.

Account #2: This represents the $25 processing fee, and it has two associated actions.

  • Action 1 represents the $25 processing fee charge, with an action type of “Outstanding” in the underlying data. The action type in the User Interface would display as “Lost item processing fee.”
  • Action 2 represents the library accepting $25 in cash to pay the fee, with an action type of “Paid fully.” When Action 2 is applied, the status of the account would become Closed.

Fee/fine owners

In FOLIO, a fee/fine owner represents the agent or office that manages fines for FOLIO transactions.

If you plan to charge any fines, you need to set up at least one fee/fine owner. FOLIO does not require that a fee/fine owner represent a specific office or part of a library system. A fee/fine owner could represent an individual, a specific office, or a specific library.

Fee/fine owners are configured in Settings > Users > Fee/fine > Owners

FOLIO libraries should configure a fee/fine owner for every service point in their FOLIO tenant, even if they don’t expect items attached to a particular service point to be loaned and generate fines. This is because if such a loan does occur, and no fee/fine owner is attached to the service point, the fine transaction will fail. Libraries may wish to create one fee/fine owner to attach to those service points as a backup in case fine transactions occur.

How are fee/fine owners connected to locations?

Most libraries want to collect overdue and lost fines according to an item’s owning location, so FOLIO uses the item’s location to determine which fee/fine owner to link to the fine. FOLIO does this by looking up the primary service point for the item location, and then looking up the fee/fine owner for that service point.

For an overdue fine, FOLIO uses an item’s effective location to determine the fee/fine owner.

For a lost item fee or lost item processing fee, FOLIO uses the item permanent location to determine the fee/fine owner. If the item permanent location is not set, FOLIO uses the permanent holdings location instead.

Fines always accrue this way even if an item’s location is not part of the circulation rule that was used for the loan that accrued a fine.

Example: accruing lost item fines to fee/fine owners

Julia Smith wants to borrow a book that is on the shelf at the Science Library, for pickup at the Law Library.

The book’s location information looks like this:

  • Item temporary location: empty
  • Item permanent location: empty
  • Holdings temporary location: empty
  • Holdings permanent location: “Science Library Stacks”
  • Item effective location: “Science Library Stacks”

Julie borrows the book from the Law Library service point and doesn’t return it. The item ages to lost, with a $100 set cost lost item fee and a $25 lost item processing fee.

When the item is aged to lost:

  • FOLIO first checks the item record for an item permanent location.
  • Since that value isn’t set, FOLIO next checks the holdings permanent location and finds the value “Science Library Stacks.”
  • FOLIO then checks the location record for “Science Library Stacks” and finds that the location has a primary service point of “Science Library Desk”.
  • Finally, FOLIO checks the fee/fine owner records for the service point “Science Library Desk” and finds it connected to the fee/fine owner “Science and Engineering Business Office”.

FOLIO charges both the $100 lost item fee and the $25 lost item processing fee and associates them to “Science and Engineering Business Office” as the owner.

Fee/fine notices

Notices function differently for fees/fines that are charged manually, versus fees/fines that are charged automatically.

Manual fee/fine notices

For a manual fee/fine, you have two types of notices that you can use - the charge notice and the action notice.

You can create templates for both types of notices in Settings>Circulation>Patron Notices>Patron notice templates. For a charge notice, choose the notice category “Manual fee/fine charge.” For an action notice, choose “Manual fee/fine action (pay, waive, refund, transfer, or cancel/error)”.

In Settings>Users>Fee/fine>Manual charges, you can select the appropriate fee/fine owner, and associate a charge notice and an action notice to that manual charge. You can select default charge and/or action notice templates for the owner, or specify different charge notice templates for individual fee/fine types.

When you create a manual charge on a patron’s account, or apply an action to an existing charge, if there is an associated notice template, a checkbox option will allow you to choose if the patron should be notified.

Automatic fee/fine notices

Notices for automatic fees/fines are determined by the associated circulation rule.

The notice policy of an item determines whether patrons will be sent fee/fine notices for overdue or lost item charges..

Overdue fine, returned and Overdue fine, renewed notices always bundle multiple fees/fines. In both cases, the associated template must include the {{#feeCharges}} {{/feeCharges}} token for multiple loans.

  • Overdue fine, returned: if you choose the Send after option, every patron notice will include all open overdue fines.
  • Overdue fine, renewed: if you choose the Send after option, each renew action will send separate patron notices.

You can send Lost item fee(s) charged notices throughout the day (typically processed every five minutes, with a separate notice for each fee/fine charged). You can also choose to bunch and send them overnight in one email (processed at 11:59pm). See Settings > Circulation > Fee/ fine notices triggering events.

Send overnight is good for long-term loans, while Send throughout the day is a good option for short-term loans. If you choose Send overnight then the associated template must include the {{#feeCharges}} {{/feeCharges}} token for multiple loans. If you choose Send throughout the day then the associated template must not include the {{#feeCharges}} {{/feeCharges}} token for multiple loans. Lost item fee(s) charged notices will be sent for both set cost and actual cost fees/fines and any applicable processing fees.

Lost item returned - fee(s) adjusted notices are always sent when the event is triggered, i.e. when the lost item is checked in. Lost item returned - fee(s) adjusted notices will be sent for both set cost and actual cost fees/fines, and any applicable processing fees.

How are overdue and overdue recall fees/fines calculated?

FOLIO’s fee/fine system is very dynamic and allows for many different configuration options of loan length and fee/fine settings. It can be helpful to know how the underlying logic works when FOLIO computes an overdue or overdue recall fine amount.

The factors that are used when calculating overdue fines are

  • The loaning service point calendar
  • Whether there is a grace period for a late returned, as defined in the loan policy
  • The stated overdue charge, as defined in the overdue policy
  • Whether overdue fines should be charged when the service desk is closed, as defined in the overdue policy

Because you can define fine rates and loan lengths in different intervals - minutes, hours, days, weeks or months - FOLIO’s approach is to take the length of time an item was overdue, convert it to minutes, and then compare that date/time to the fine interval - also in minutes - to determine how much to charge. This is fairly simple when a library charges fines for all hours, but can become much more complicated when charging fines only when an associated service point is open.

Note that FOLIO does not do calculations for overdue fees until the overdue or overdue recalled item is returned. Use reminder fees to have overdue items billed, and overdue notices sent, when an item becomes overdue.

Example: A patron returns an overdue item at a 24/7 service point

Suppose a patron borrows an item that has a three hour loan period, with an overdue charge of $3/day. They borrow the item at 2 PM on September 1. The item is due back at 5 PM on September 1, but they don’t return it until 6 PM on September 2nd.

The factors that are used in the overdue fine calculation include:

  • The loaning service point calendar - in this example, suppose the service point is open 24/7
  • The stated overdue charge, defined in the overdue policy - in this example, $3/day
  • Whether there is a grace period for a late return, defined in the loan policy - in this example, suppose there is no grace period
  • Whether they should charge the overdue fine during closed hours, defined in the overdue policy - in this example, suppose it is Yes

So, once the item is returned, FOLIO computes the overdue fine like this:

  • The item was overdue by one day and one hour - 25 hours - which it then converts to minutes - 1500 minutes
  • The fee/fine rate is $3/day. There are 1440 minutes in a day, so it’s $3/1440 minutes.
  • FOLIO computes the number of time “units” that the item was overdue for - in this case, dividing 1500/1440 = ~1.07 “units” of overdue time.
  • FOLIO rounds the number of overdue time “units” up to the next integer - in this case, 2.
  • FOLIO multiplies the number of overdue time “units” by the amount of the fine per interval - 3 - to get a total fine of $6.00

Example: A patron returns an overdue item at a service point that closes overnight

Suppose a patron borrows an item that has a seven day loan period, with an overdue fine of $3/day. They borrow the item at 2 PM on May 1st. The item is due back at 11:59:59 PM on May 8th. The patron returns the item at 2 PM on May 11th.

The factors that are used in the overdue fine calculation include:

  • The loaning service point calendar - in this example, suppose the service point is open 8 AM to midnight from May 1st to May 11th.
  • The stated overdue charge, defined in the overdue policy - in this example, $3/day
  • Whether there is a grace period for a late return, defined in the loan policy - in this example, a grace period of one day.
  • Whether they should charge the overdue fine during closed hours, defined in the overdue policy - in this example, that option is set to No.

So, once the item is returned, FOLIO computes the overdue fine like this:

  • The item was overdue by 2 days and 14 hours strictly looking at the calendar. That is 62 hours, which is 3720 minutes.
  • There is a grace period, but because the grace period is one day / 1440 minutes, and the item was returned after the grace period, the grace period does not factor into the calculation.
  • FOLIO sees that the overdue policy says to not charge overdue fines during closed hours. The associated loaning service point calendar shows it closed from midnight to 8 AM on three relevant days - the morning of the 9th, 10th, and 11th. The closed period is 8 hours each day - so 24 hours total, or 1440 minutes.
  • FOLIO subtracts the closed minutes from the total overdue period - 3720 - 1440 = 2280 minutes. That is the amount of overdue time FOLIO will charge for.
  • The fine rate is $3/day, or $3/1440 minutes. FOLIO computes the number of time “units” the item was overdue for - 2280/1440 = ~1.58 “units” of overdue time.
  • FOLIO rounds that up to the next integer - 2 - and charges for 2 intervals. So it would be 2 * 3 = 6, for a $6 fine.

It is important to notice that the patron was charged for 2 days even though the item was returned on the 3rd day after it became overdue.

There is development planned to better handle calculating fines for closed periods, but it is not currently scheduled.

Reminder fees

Reminder fees differ from overdue fines in that reminder fees are billed when an item becomes overdue, whereas overdue fines are billed when the item is returned.

A Reminder fee example

Sequence Interval Frequency After Fee Notice method Notice template Block template
1 0 Day(s) Overdue 3 Email 1st reminder noblock
2 3 Day(s) Previous reminder 3 Email 2nd reminder noblock
3 3 Day(s) Previous reminder 6 Email 3rd reminder noblock

Preconditions:

  • Notices are sent out once per day (shortly after midnight).
  • An item with the associated reminder fee policy in the above example becomes overdue at 11:59 PM on Monday.
  • The item is not returned to the library and the loan is not renewed.

Reminder process:

  • The first sequence will create a first reminder with an email using the selected notice template. The email is sent out shortly after midnight on the first day after the overdue date (12:05 AM on Tuesday in the example). A 3.00 fee is charged.
  • The second sequence will create a second reminder with an email using the selected notice template. The email is sent out three plus one equals four days after the previous reminder (Saturday in the example). A 3.00 fee is charged.
  • The third sequence will create a third reminder with an email using the selected notice template. The email is sent out three plus one equals four days after the previous reminder (Wednesday in the example). A 6.00 fee is charged.

Reminder fee examples with closed days

Create on closed days set to Yes

A reminder fee policy has Create on closed days set to Yes, and the following schedule of fees:

Sequence Interval Frequency After Fee Notice method Notice template Block template
1 0 Day(s) Overdue 3 Email 1st reminder noblock

Preconditions:

  • Notices are sent out once per day (shortly after midnight).
  • The calendar of the service point where the item is checked out is open on Monday, closed all day Tuesday, and open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
  • An item with the associated reminder fee policy in the above example becomes overdue at 11:59 PM on Tuesday.
  • The item is not returned to the library and the loan is not renewed.

Reminder process:

  • The sequence will create a reminder with an email using the “1st reminder” notice template. The email is sent out shortly after midnight on Wednesday. A 3.00 fee is charged.

Create on closed days set to No

A reminder fee policy has Create on closed days set to No, and the following schedule of fees:

Sequence Interval Frequency After Fee Notice method Notice template Block template
1 0 Day(s) Overdue 3 Email 1st reminder noblock

Preconditions:

  • Notices are sent out once per day (shortly after midnight).
  • The calendar of the service point where the item is checked out is open on Monday, closed all day Tuesday, and open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
  • An item with the associated reminder fee policy in the above example becomes overdue at 11:59 PM on Tuesday.
  • The item is not returned to the library and the loan is not renewed.

Reminder process:

  • Because the service point is closed on Tuesday, no reminder fee is created on Tuesday. The 1st reminder email is sent out shortly after midnight on Thursday. A 3.00 fee is charged.

What happens to a loan when the fine is resolved?

When an item is declared lost, or an item ages to lost, the associated loan remains open, whether it is a set cost or actual cost fee/fine.

If the item is returned, and all associated fees/fines are removed, the loan is closed and the item’s status changes to either “Available” or “In Transit”, depending on where it was returned.

If the library resolves all fees/fines via payment, cancellation, or waiving, FOLIO automatically closes the fee/fine, closes the loan, and changes the item’s status to Lost and paid, even if no money is actually accepted by the library.

How should I configure our lost item rules if I want an item to age to lost but I want to be able to decide whether the patron should be charged?

Some libraries have guidelines where they want items to age to lost, but they don’t want to assess a monetary penalty - for example, if they are not able to charge faculty, but they still want faculty borrowing to be blocked because lost items were not returned.

If you want FOLIO to age items to lost but not charge a fine, the recommendation is to use a lost item policy that charges Actual cost and does not charge a lost item processing fee.

When the item ages to lost, the loan remains open, the item has a status of Aged to lost, and no fines are charged. The loan can remain in this state for as long as your library defines it in the setting For lost items not charged a fee/fine, close the loan after in the lost item policy.

If you wish to resolve the loan without charging the patron a fine, go to the Lost items requiring actual cost pane in the Users app. Locate the fine transaction, and choose Do not bill in the actions menu. That will close the loan and move the item to a status of Lost and paid without charging the patron.

What happens to a fine if the item record is deleted?

An item can be deleted even if an unpaid fee/fine is attached to the item record. This is a known issue, but development to address this has not yet been scheduled.

If an item is deleted, the underlying account record will remain. Deleting an item does not delete a fee/fine, and the fine record includes some item information stored directly, such as title, barcode, and item effective location. However, you will not be able to see the fine in the FOLIO user interface; instead you will see an error message.

Because of this issue, we recommend that libraries do not delete items with attached fees/fines. Checking for attached records can be done with a reporting or API query tool.

If you are using an API tool like Postman, a query like this will work, sent to your tenant instance of Okapi:

GET /accounts?query=itemId=="[Insert item UUID]"&limit=1000

Lost items - charging set cost versus actual cost

FOLIO defines two types of automated fine charging: Set cost and Actual cost.

For Set cost charges, libraries specify a standard charge for a lost item in the associated lost item policy, and FOLIO charges the patron that amount when the item is declared lost or ages to lost.

For Actual cost charges, the item ages to lost automatically, but the library must specify the amount to charge the patron manually. In the Users app, there is a reporting view that lists items that have aged to lost and need to have a charge applied. Libraries can also choose to not charge the patron for the lost item by choosing “Do not bill” when processing the actual cost charge.

Note that if the lost policy has an associated processing fee, the processing fee will be charged when the item ages to lost, regardless of whether the policy uses set cost or actual cost.

Timing considerations for when an item ages to lost

FOLIO uses a system-managed process to age an item to a lost status and apply any associated charges. The process has two pieces to it. The first is a process that moves the item status from Checked out to Aged to lost. The second process applies any associated fees/fines

By default, FOLIO runs the Aged to lost process every thirty minutes, and the fines process five minutes later. Hosting providers may choose to change this schedule to meet a specific library’s needs.

Here is how aging an item to lost might look in practice. Note that this example also works for actual cost, but if the lost item policy is set to actual cost, the only charge that is automatically applied is the processing fee.

Example: A long-term loan ages to lost

Consider the following scenario:

  • A patron borrowed a book and never returned it.
  • The loan had a due date of May 1, 2022. Because the item has a fixed due date, the actual due date/time is May 1, 2022 at 11:59 PM.
  • The associated lost item policy says that the item ages to lost after 28 days. When that happens, the patron is charged a $100 set lost item fee, with no lost processing fee.

The “aged to lost” time counter would begin on May 2nd. The 28-day overdue period would end on May 29th at 11:59 PM

  • After 5/29 at 11:59 PM has passed, the next run of the Aged to lost process will change the item status to Aged to lost.
  • After the item status changes to Aged to lost, the next run of the fine process will charge any associated fines.

The timing might look something like this:

  • May 29th 11:59 PM - the age of the loan goes past the overdue time frame and becomes eligible to be aged to lost
  • May 30th 12:00 AM - the Aged to lost process begins and changes the item status to Aged to lost
  • May 30th 12:05 AM - the Aged to lost fee charging process begins, takes in the aged-to-lost loan information, and applies the $100 charge to the borrower’s library account

Both steps of this process can take time to run, so if you have a large number of loans waiting to be aged to lost, the timing on this may not be exact, and it may take longer to see all of the loans be processed. Delays depend on the number of loans your library has to process.

Example: A short-term loan goes lost

Suppose a patron borrows a laptop charger with a four hour loan time. They borrow the item at 2:05 PM, and it’s due at 6:05 PM. The library has a lost loan policy for chargers that says that you must bring it back within three hours of the due date/time or it will be declared lost, and the borrower will be charged $75.

If the patron doesn’t return the charger, it would be eligible to be aged to lost at 9:05 PM. The timing might look something like this:

  • 9:00 PM - the Aged to lost begins, but there are no loans to process.
  • 9:05 PM - the charger goes past the lost time frame and is able to be aged to lost
  • 9:05 PM - the Aged to lost fee charging process begins, but there are no loans to process
  • 9:30 PM - the Aged to lost process begins and changes the item status to aged to lost
  • 9:35 PM - the Aged to lost fee charging process begins, takes in the aged to lost loan information, and applies the $75 charge.

So functionally that means that there is a time period between 9:05 PM and 9:35 PM (at the earliest) where an item may be past the expected time frame but still look like it is only overdue, or look like it has aged to lost but without the expected lost item fee.

6.2 - Loans

This section of the documentation contains links to external sites. Please be advised that these sites are not maintained by the FOLIO Documentation Group and may be aligned with a different FOLIO release.

Library staff manage patron loans in FOLIO through three primary apps - Check in, Check out, and Users. Staff also can view information about loans in the Circulation log and Inventory apps.

The terms of a loan - who can borrow, how long they can borrow the item for, whether it can be renewed, what notices patrons receive, and whether any charges are accrued if the item is late - are determined by the circulation rule that is applied when the item is loaned, renewed, or has a due date change.

Loans data structure

In FOLIO, a loan object contains specific information that supports circulation functions and reporting.

  • userId: The UUID of the patron who borrowed the item. If the loan is closed and anonymized, the userId is removed from the loan record.
  • proxyUserId: If the item is borrowed by someone on behalf of another borrower using FOLIO’s proxy function, the proxy’s UUID is stored.
  • itemId: The inventory UUID of the item that was loaned.
  • itemEffectiveLocationIdAtCheckOut: The effective location of the item when it was checked out.
  • status: The status of the loan - usually open or closed.
  • loanDate: The date/time the item was loaned.
  • dueDate: The date/time that the item is due back. This date can change if the item is successfully renewed, recalled, or if a FOLIO user changes the loan due date.
  • returnDate: If the item has been returned, this is the return date/time. Returning the item may or may not change the loan status to closed - it depends on whether a fee/fine was charged.
  • systemReturnDate: If the return was backdated, the return date is the backdated date/time, and the systemReturnDate is the actual date/time the item was returned in the Check in app.
  • action: The last action performed on a loan - values include declaredLost, renewed, renewedThroughOverride, checkedin, checkedout, checkedOutThroughOverride, recallrequested, holdrequested, claimedReturned, markedMissing, closedLoan.itemAgedToLost, dueDateChanged, checkedInReturnedByPatron, checkedInFoundByLibrary.
  • itemStatus: The last item status in relation to this loan. This may or may not be the item’s current status in Inventory. For example, if a loan has been checked back in and put in transit back to its home location, the loan itemStatus field is In transit, but the item in Inventory may be Checked out if the item has since been loaned to another patron.
  • renewalCount: The number of times the loan has been renewed.
  • loanPolicyId: The UUID for the applicable loan policy.
  • checkoutServicePointId: The UUID of the service point where the FOLIO user was logged in when the item was loaned to the patron.
  • checkinServicePointId: If the item has been returned, this is the UUID of the service point where the FOLIO user who returned the item was logged in.
  • patronGroupIdAtCheckout: The UUID of the patron’s patron group at the time of checkout.
  • dueDateChangedByRecall: This is a true/false value indicating if the item’s due date has been changed by a recall for another patron.
  • declaredLostDate: If the loan is declared lost, the date of that declaration is stored in this attribute.
  • claimedReturnedDate: If the loan has been marked claimed returned, the date it was marked claimed returned is stored in this attribute.
  • overdueFinePolicyId: The UUID for the associated overdue fine policy, assigned when the loan is created. It is not updated when the loan is renewed.
  • lostItemPolicyId: The UUID for the associated lost item policy, assigned when the loan is created. It is not updated when the loan is renewed.
  • agedToLostDelayedBilling: FOLIO declares an item lost, and then bills the patron, in separate processes. These attributes on the loan object support that process.

What does FOLIO consider a short-term loan? What is considered a long-term loan?

FOLIO treats loan activity differently depending on whether it is a short-term or a long-term loan. The distinction depends on the time interval of the loan.

  • If an item is loaned for minutes or hours, the loan is a short-term loan.
  • If an item is loaned for days, weeks, or months, the loan is a long-term loan.

Differences between the two types of loans include:

  • The time a loan is due. A short-term loan sets its due date based on the loan date/time and the loan policy; a long-term loan sets its due date based on the loan policy and the loan date, but the due time is always 11:59 PM.
    • For example: suppose a patron borrows an item from a service point open 9 AM to 10 PM seven days a week. If they borrow the item at 11 AM on April 1st, and the loan policy says they can borrow it for 48 hours, it will be due at 11 AM on April 3rd. But, if the loan policy said they could borrow the item for 2 days, it would instead be due at 11:59 PM on April 3rd, even though the service point is closed.

When a loan is renewed, or a loan due date is changed, what circulation rule applies and what policies are used?

When a patron or FOLIO user requests to renew a loan, or a FOLIO user changes a loan’s due date, FOLIO reviews the circulation rule file and may do several things, depending on what it finds (and not necessarily in the order listed below).

  • FOLIO checks to see if the patron is blocked from renewal (either manually or automatically). If they are not blocked, the process can continue.
  • FOLIO checks the patron record to make sure the record is not inactive or expired. If the record is not inactive or expired, the process can continue.
  • FOLIO will find the loan policy that applies and use that policy to determine if or how the loan can be changed. If the circulation rule file hasn’t changed, and the patron and item information hasn’t changed, FOLIO will retrieve and apply the same loan policy used the last time the loan was created or updated.
  • No request policy updates occur, because request policies aren’t stored on the loan. Since request policies only apply before the loan is created, there is no reason to keep a reference on the loan record.
  • FOLIO will not update the associated overdue policy and lost item policy, because it could cause the patron to be liable for more money than they had expected when they first borrowed the item.
  • FOLIO will update scheduled notices. The notice policy UUID is not stored on the loan. Instead, FOLIO reads the applicable notice policy from the circulation rule, removes the previous notices, and then creates the appropriate notices to run on the new dates.
  • FOLIO will create an entry in the circulation log to show that the item was renewed, or that the due date changed.

Example: An undergraduate becomes a graduate student

Suppose Sofia Cruz is an undergraduate at Main University.

Main University has a circulation rule file that has different rules for patron groups. Main allows undergraduates to borrow books for 28 days with unlimited renewals, and allows graduate students to borrow books for 90 days with unlimited renewals. Two circulation rules in FOLIO make that happen:

g undergrad: l 28-day-loan r hold-only n standard-notice o standard-overdue i standard-lost
g grad-student: l 90-day-loan r allow-all n standard-notice o standard-overdue i standard-lost

Sofia’s FOLIO account has a user group of ‘undergrad’, so the first line in this rule applies. They are able to borrow books for a 28 day rolling loan with unlimited renewals.

Suppose Sofia borrows several books in February and continues to use them, so they continue renewing their loans. Over the summer, they start a graduate program at Main University, and the patron group on their FOLIO record changes from ‘undergrad’ to ‘grad-student’.

The next time Sofia renews their books, the second line of the circulation rule file applies:

g grad-student: l 90-day-loan r allow-all n standard-notice o standard-overdue i standard-lost

This is what FOLIO does when renewing Sofia’s items:

  • FOLIO checks the circulation rule file and determines that it should use the circ rule line that begins g grad-student ….
  • FOLIO updates the loan policy UUID stored on Sofia’s loans to the UUID for the policy 90-day-loan and gives Sofia the new, 90-day rolling loan period.
  • There is no request policy stored on the loan record, so nothing changes there.
  • The overdue policy ID and lost item policy ID are stored on the loan record, but they are not updated when the loan is renewed or has the due date changed. That’s because a new overdue or lost item policy could potentially mean the patron owed more money than they were expecting if the item became overdue or aged to lost.
  • FOLIO reads in the notice policy from the circ rule. FOLIO then creates the scheduled notices in the notice database according to the policy and deletes previously scheduled notices that now don’t need to be sent.

What happens with circulation rules and policies if you change item information after an item is loaned (e.g., change a loan type for an item that is checked out)?

If you change information about an item that is currently on loan, nothing happens to the loan record. The loan may change if the item is renewed or if the loan due date is changed, and the change in the item information means a different circulation rule applies. See When a loan is renewed, or a loan due date is changed, what circulation rule applies and what policies are used?

What happens in FOLIO when an item is checked in?

When an item is checked in in FOLIO, the following steps happen (not necessarily in this order).

  • FOLIO checks the item status.
  • If an item has a status of Available and is checked in at a service point assigned to its effective location, FOLIO will count it as in-house use.
  • If an item has a status of In transit, FOLIO will check the logged-in service point to see if it is the primary service point for the item’s effective location. If the logged-in service point does not match, the item status remains In transit. If the logged-in service point does match, FOLIO changes the item status to Available.
  • FOLIO checks the loan policy, overdue policy and lost item policy to determine if any actions need to be taken.
  • If the item is determined to be overdue but has not been recalled, FOLIO calculates overdue fines based on the associated policy, and applies them to the patron’s account if the fine is greater than zero.
  • If the item is recalled and overdue, FOLIO calculates overdue recall fines based on the associated policy, and applies them to the patron’s account if the fine is greater than zero.
  • If an item status is Declared lost or Aged to lost, FOLIO presents a warning message, and staff must select from the prompt to continue check in.
  • When check in proceeds, FOLIO then references the lost item policy to determine if any fees should be credited back to the patron, and applies them to the patron’s account.
  • If the associated notice policy to the loan says that any fee/fine notices should be sent, those notices are generated and sent.

How is in-house use tracked in FOLIO data?

FOLIO does not track an explicit data attribute for in-house use of an item. Instead, FOLIO considers an item to be used “in-house” based on how the item status changes when it is checked in. If the item has a status of “Available” and is checked in at a service point assigned to its effective location, FOLIO considers that to be in-house use.

There is currently no way to generate a report of in-house use with an in-app report. One way to get at in-house use data is to use a tool like Postman to query the FOLIO API to return check-in records. Sending a GET request to your FOLIO instance like this:

/check-in-storage/check-ins?query=itemStatusPriorToCheckIn==“Available”

will return check-in records for in-house use.

What happens if/when you delete a circulation policy?

Loan policy

You are prevented from deleting a loan policy through Settings > Circulation > Loan Policies if there are open loans associated with the loan policy.

Request policy

You cannot delete a request policy through Settings > Circulation > Request policies that is part of circulation rules.

Request policies are only referenced when a request is placed, and are not stored on a subsequent loan, so they are fairly simple to delete, with the recommendation that you review your circ rules first.

For example, suppose you need to delete the request policy allow-all. The recommendation is to review your existing circulation rules and replace any references to allow-all with another request policy. Once you’ve done that, you can delete ‘allow-all’ from Settings > Circulation > Request Policies.

Notice policy

You cannot delete a notice policy through Settings > Circulation > Patron notice policies that is part of circulation rules.

Notice policies are only referenced when a loan is created, renewed, or a due-date is changed. They are fairly simple to delete, with the recommendation that you remove references to them in your circulation rules first.

For example, suppose you need to delete the notice policy faculty-semester-notice. First, you would review your circulation rules and update any references to faculty-semester-notice with another notice policy. Once you’ve done that, you can delete faculty-semester-notice from Settings > Circulation > Patron notice policies.

Overdue policy

You are prevented from deleting an overdue fine policy through Settings > Circulation > Fee/Fine if there are open loans associated with the policy.

Lost item policy

You are prevented from deleting a lost item policy through Settings > Circulation > Fee/Fine if there are open loans associated with the policy.

What happens if/when you delete a circulation rule?

If you remove a circulation rule from your circulation rule file, nothing happens to existing loans that used that circulation rule.

If a user tries to renew a loan that would have been renewed with the circulation rule that was removed from the file, FOLIO will review the circ rules for another matching rule. If it does not find at least one other matching rule remaining in the file, it will use the fallback rule.

How does FOLIO work with self-check stations?

FOLIO supports SIP2, an industry standard protocol for connecting self-service stations to library systems.

Patron self-service systems can connect to FOLIO with SIP2 using FOLIO’s SIP2 edge module. Setting this up generally requires working with your FOLIO administrator and/or hosting provider.

More information on SIP2 configuration can be found in the edge module documentation in Github - https://github.com/folio-org/edge-sip2.

Common errors when loaning items

Error message: “Calendar timetable is absent for requested date”

When an item is loaned, FOLIO needs to be able to calculate the item’s due date. It uses information from the patron record, the loan policy, and the calendar for the service point where the library staff member is logged in.

The error message “Calendar timetable is absent for requested date” means that FOLIO can’t find calendar information up to and including the calculated due date of the item.

The first troubleshooting step is to review the calendar for the service point in Settings > Calendar to ensure that you have provided a calendar for the length of time necessary.

This error message can be confusing when you consider how due dates are truncated to a user’s expiration date. Suppose you have the following scenario:

  • A patron comes to the desk on July 1 and wants to borrow an item;
  • According to the circulation rules, the patron should get a due date of December 15th. However, the patron’s user account is set to expire on August 15th, so they can only borrow the book until August 14th.
  • The calendar for the service point where the check out is occurring has dates inputted until September 1.

The calculated due date of August 14th is inclusive of the calendar information stored in FOLIO. However, the checkout will still fail with “Calendar timetable is absent for requested date.”

That is because FOLIO first calculates the due date without considering the patron expiration, and then checks the patron expiration date to see if the item should be due sooner. So because there is no calendar information extending out to December 15th, FOLIO can’t do the full calculation and presents an error.