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DRAFT PAGE

Overdue fines are assessed and registered when the item is returned or renewed. Fines are calculated by the hour or day, depending on the loan parameters.

All details of the patron’s transactions relating to fines and fees are stored in the patron record. From the patron record, an authorized staff user can manually add, dispute, or waive library fines and fees.

https://duke.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/LIB/pages/109969434/Advanced+Circulation#Fines-and-Fees

We will continue to transfer fines to the Bursar’s office for undergraduates and graduate students. Fines will transfer once a week on an automated schedule. https://duke.atlassian.net/wiki/x/AgA7Bw

 Automatic and Manual Generation of Fines and Fees

Alma supports both automatically generated charges and manually added charges.

Automatic fines and fees include:

  • Lost Item Replacement Fee

  • Lost Item Process Fee

  • Recall Overdue Fee

  • Overdue Fines (for short loans)

Manual fines, fees, and credits can also be assigned for the above categories, as well as a Damaged Item Fee or a Credit. Manual fines and fees should always be associated with an item barcode.

Remember that a scanned barcode includes the automatic “enter/return” function, which will trigger the “Add” button on a manually added fine or fee. If you need to add a Comment, make sure to do so before scanning the item barcode.

For each fine or fee, Alma records information including Creation Date, Status (Active, Closed, In Dispute), Status Date, Comment (if added), Fee Owner, Title, Barcode, Original Amount, and Remaining Balance.

 Payment of Fines and Fees

Once a fine or fee has been exported to the external Bursar system, it will display as Closed in Alma.

Fines can also be paid via check or the online system, in which case details related to the manual Payment can be recorded in Alma. https://duke.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/LIB/pages/109969434/Advanced+Circulation#Fines-and-Fees These transactions can then be viewed by clicking the patron’s Active Balance from Manage Patron Services or from the Fines and fees tab of the patron record. Select Remaining Balance for any Closed fine.

alma user details active balance.pngalma user details closed fines.png

The staff member who registered the payment is recorded, as well as the Transaction Date and Payment Method, and any Comments added at the time of the transaction.

alma closed fine comment.png

This information can also be generated by a report in Alma Analytics.

 Fines and Fees Report

The Fines and Fees Report is a downloadable Excel file that includes a report of the fines and fees transactions that have been performed over a 1- to 7-day period.

alma fees fines report.png

This report allows you to specify the following filters:

  • Received by library – Filters by the library at which the fine/fees were paid. This filter cannot be used for reporting waive actions.

  • Received by circulation desk – If a library is specified, filters by the circulation desk at which the fine/fees were paid. This filter cannot be used for reporting waive actions.

  • Transaction types – Filters by the type of transaction:

    • Payment and Waive – includes both payments and waivers

    • Payment – includes only payments

    • Waive – includes only waivers

    • Fine owner – Filters by the owner of the fine/fee, which may or may not be the same location where the fine or fee was paid or waived.

Reports can be sent to a specific user or printer.

In addition, by using the Fines and Fees area, the Design Analytics user is able to create customized reports/dashboards for the Fine and Fees area. The user is able to display the following information:

  • A list of all a user's cash transactions

  • A list of all the open cash transactions by patron group

  • A list of users that have fines and fees with their preferred address, phone, and email information

  • A list of all the transaction types and amounts per library

Disputed Fines

It is possible to dispute or waive a fine. Fines and fees can be waived or disputed on the Fines and Fees tab of the user record. Click on the Actions button […] or on the hyperlinked fine amount to Waive or Dispute, and add Comments as needed.

2018-09-20_1346.png

Disputed fines do not count towards a patron’s Active Balance and also will not be included in the scheduled transfer to the Bursar. These should be cleared - either by waiving or restoring the fine - as soon as communication with the patron has been concluded. Restore re-charges the fine to the patron’s account, while Waive removes the fine from the patron’s balance.

alma fines disputed.png

Note that comments persist in the item history, and cannot be changed or edited after the fact.

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