Loan Due Date beyond Patron Expiry

Loan Due Date beyond Patron Expiry

What is it?

For expiring patrons, it's now possible to configure Alma so staff can override the automatic shortening of an item's loan, allowing a due date past a patron's expiry date.  This feature only works from the Patron Services page and does not affect renewals. Configuration granularity lets administrators control access to this feature. 
If enabled, the Shortened Due Date Letter sends for each item in all cases. See instructions below to disable the notice completely or only when caused by patron expiry.

How does it work?

Staff receive an alert indicating that the loan for an expiring patron is shortened and given the option to extend the loan to the expected due date.  

Examples

Occurring only when a patron's expiry date is before the end of the full-length loan, staff see a pop-up when loaning items.

Screenshot of the pop-up alert informing staff when a loan's due date is shortened for an expiring patron with the option to extend the due date or allow the shortened due date. Shortened due date alert, pop-up is seen on the Patron Services page for associated roles after the feature is enabled.

When presented with the pop-up, staff have two options: they can assign the full-length loan using the Extend due date button or leave the due date shortened by clicking Ok. 

Screenshot showing patron services page after loaning items to an expiring patron illustrating the using the two due dates resulting from staff options on the pop-up. Patron Services page showing the due dates that result when selecting between the two options, Extend due date or Ok, for a patron expiring before the full-length of the loan.

For expiring patrons, when the parameter is not enabled or for roles without permission, Alma automatically shortens the loan periods to the patron's expiration date. There is no alert or pop-up to inform staff this is occurring.

To configure:

Enabling the Parameter

Roles Required: Fulfillment Administrator or General Services Administrator. Scoped to the institution not at the library level.
  1. Navigate to Other Settings in the Fulfillment Configuration Menu.
    Alma Configuration > Fulfillment > General > Other Settings
  2. Locate the extend_due_date_beyond_user_expiry parameter ~#39
  3. Use the ellipsis on the right to select customize
  4. Fill in the field with the parameter determining which circulation desk role/s will see the feature. The options for enabling the feature are:
    1. MANAGER - Only circulation desk managers can extend the loan period and alerted to a shortened due date.
    2. OPERATOR - Only circulation desk operators and circulation desk operators - limited can extend the loan period and are alerted to a shortened due date.
    3. ALL - All circulation desk roles (manager and operators) are able to extend the loan period and are alerted to a shortened due date.
    4. I recommend matching this staff role parameter to the staff who can override block preferences at your circulation desk.
  5. Click Save

Stopping the Shortened Due Date Letter:

Turning the notice off completely

The notice is not sent at all when a shortened due date occurs on a loan.

Role Required: Letter Administrator, scoped to the institution not the library level.
  1. Navigate to the Letters Configuration Menu
    Alma Configuration > General > Letters > Letters Configuration
  2. Locate the Shortened Due Date Letter
  3. Toggle Switch to disable
  4. Save

Stopping notice only for short due dates from patron expiry

This disables the notice only  when the short due date is caused by a patron expiry. To achieve this result including a terminate clause to the Shortened Due Date Letter's xsl.

Role Required: Letter Administrator, scoped to the institution not at the library level.
  1. Navigate to the Letters Configuration Menu
    Alma Configuration > General > Letters > Letters Configuration
  2. Locate the Shortened Due Date Letter
  3. Click the hyperlink or select edit under the ellipsis
  4. Insert the xsl for the terminate clause below after the line "<xsl:call-template name="toWhomIsConcerned" /> <!-- mailReason.xsl -->"
  5. Save

Terminate Clause XSL:

<!-- TERMINATE when due to patron expiry --> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="0"><tr><td><xsl:for-each select="notification_data">
<xsl:if test="/notification_data/item_loan/due_date_shortened_reason='PATRON_EXPIRATION'">
<xsl:message terminate="yes"> </xsl:message>
</xsl:if></xsl:for-each></td></tr>
</table>

For assistance configuring, please submit a ticket  to the PALS office.

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