RE: Problem with LONG OVERDUE items - solution unsatis factory

["Schumacher, Fred - HPL" <Fred.Schumacher@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings all.

Add Houston Public Library to the list of those who find this "fix"
completely unacceptable.  I tried all weekend to find a way to make III's
idea work for us and only discovered that it is ridiculously labor
intensive. Also, when I went to the patron records reported, I couldn't find
any record of the waived fine in the archive, so we won't even have that
information to refer to when the customer disputes the fine.  We make a
strong effort to preserve customer good will while still complying with our
policies and local ordinance regarding the collection of fines. This
solution appears to only offer us the opportunity to invest time we can't
afford in an endeavor that is likely to create ill will among customers when
they find that fines are being added to their records after they appear to
have been forgiven.  What a mess!  

Also, it is my understanding that the system has always waived these fines
and that the only change offered by III's "fix" is that the records are now
reported in the system messages.  Since we never experienced the freezing
that apparently gave rise to this, we were also completely unaware of that
there was a problem.  I guess ignorance really is bliss. 

This really does deserve more consideration by III than they appear to have
given so far.  We have to have a system that can take care of assessing
fines accurately for overdue items -- even when they're long overdue!  This
seems to me to be a basic function for any circ system, and this  "fix"
doesn't really cut it for us.

Fred Schumacher
Circulation Department Manager
Houston Public Library


-----Original Message-----
From: S. D'Angelico [mailto:dangelic@xxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2002 9:30 AM
To: innopac@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Problem with LONG OVERDUE items - solution unsatis factory


To all,

    We also are a public library, and had NEVER had this "so-called"
problem.
However, the fix is legitimately a problem.  We get books overdue by a year
or more
returned all the time - and a 0.00 fine is not acceptable.  And they had
never hung
up our system.  Personally, I don't think circumventing the loan rules is a
fix -
it is a <shrug, we can't make it stop, so let's just avoid the situation.>
This
shouldn't even require an enhancement - it requires a proper fix, and a
return to
correct check-in procedures for everyone adversely affected.

    Stephanie D'Angelico


Jim Gingery wrote:

> ListServ,
>
> We were told that the following was introduced with Release 2001, Update
> A.  We were not experiencing any freezing and this new "Fix" is really a
> bad idea for us, and I believe compromises the integrity of the LOAN
> RULES. We are too busy to catch these, backtrack and create a manual fine.
> This is totally unsatisfactory se.  I think this is a terrible solution
for
> a busy public library environment and basically is a "FIX" that takes away
> the integrity of the LOAN RULES. Do others agree ?
>
> Here is the problem that I reported :
>
> We are experiencing problems with items that have are long overdue (gone
to
> bill) and then are returned (say after 1 year). This is a check-in of a
> billed item. We have System Option set as :
>
> 35 > Check-in of billed item. Reduce bill to:............LARGER: FINE,BILL
FEE
>
> When the item is returned, instead of the reduced fine being 10cents x 50
> days = $5.00, which was the fine calculated on basis of the following
lines
> in the Loan Rule
>
> 37 > NUMBER OF D/HR 1st F PER    50
> 38 > AMOUNT OF FINE 1st F PER    $0.10
>
> We get
>
> BARCODE: 13830520003
> PATRON NAME: MCCOMB STEVEN D
> AMOUNT DUE: 0.00
> STATUS: 0 hours overdue.
>
> This should have been billed $5.00. Instead it is billed as 0 and the
> patron is forgiven of any fine.
>
> Here is the response I received from III :
>
> "Thank you for reporting this issue, long overdue items not accruing fines
> upon checkin. This issue has been reported by multiple libraries and we
are
> in the process of creating a new FAQ to help explain the situation.
> Basically, prior to Release 2001 Update A, items that were overdue for
more
> than a year, would cause the system to freeze of hang. Ultimately, the
> transaction would not be processed and library staff would need to
> contact Innovative to alleviate the issue. A new system message has been
> developed to report the item to the user and checkin the item.
> V > VIEW system messages
> tty23954 milcirc: 0321114250 Item 1154263 (patron:1972842) is more than 1
> year overdue, cannot calculate fine. Due to the possibility of changes of
> the loanrule, the system does not generate any fine, and therefore the
> informational message can be used to alert staff and a manual fine can be
> added when desired.
> Please look forward to further information on CSDIRECT, FAQs. If you have
> any additional questions, please contact either myself or the helpdesk."
>
> I do not agree with this solution and we should not have to backtrack to
> system messages to correct these.
>
> ___________________________________________________________________
>
> Jim Gingery                    Technology Coordinator
> jim.gingery@xxxxxxxxxx   Milwaukee County Federated Library System
> (414) 286-5934          709 North Eighth St.
> (414) 286-3209 fax             Milwaukee, WI  53233-2414
> ___________________________________________________________________
>
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--
______________________________________________________________

Stephanie D'Angelico,  Reference & System Admin. Librarian
Pennsauken Free Public Library
5605 Crescent Blvd.
Pennsauken, NJ  08110
Phone: 856-665-5959 x.18
Fax: 856-486-0142
Email: dangelic@xxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________


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