Marking Items Lost and Claimed Returned

Lost Items

1) To mark items Lost, retrieve patron record and click Items Out.

2) Select the item. Click on Actions for Selected ItemsMark Lost (by Patron).

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3) The lost item now displays in the *Other/Special Circulations section of the patron record, unless otherwise customized through the Items Out display setting available in the Library Settings Editor.

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4) The lost item also adds to the count of Lost items in the patron summary on the left (or top) of the screen.

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Lost Item Billing

  • Marking an item Lost will automatically bill the patron the replacement cost of the item as recorded in the price field in the item record, and a processing fee as determined by your local policy. If the lost item has overdue charges, the overdue charges may be voided or retained based on local policy.
  • A lost-then-returned item will disappear from the Items Out screen only when all bills linked to this particular circulation have been resolved. Bills may include replacement charges, processing fees, and manual charges added to the existing bills.
  • The replacement fee and processing fee for lost-then-returned items may be voided if set by local policy. Overdue fines may be reinstated on lost-then-returned items if set by local policy.

Refunds for Lost Items

If an item is returned after a lost bill has been paid and the library’s policy is to void the replacement fee for lost-then-returned items, there will be a negative balance in the bill. A refund needs to be made to close the bill and the circulation record. Once the outstanding amount has been refunded, the bill and circulation record will be closed and the item will disappear from the Items Out screen.

More on Negative Balances

Evergreen sites can prevent negative balances from occurring on fully-paid transactions with the Do not change fines/fees on zero-balance LOST transaction setting available through the Library Settings Editor. It will also prevent negative balances due to fully-paid, long overdue materials being returned. Negative balances will continue to occur when partially-paid lost items are reutnred.

If you need to balance a bill with a negative amount and close the linked lost circulation record without making a refund (removing the item from the Lost, Claimed Returned, Long Overdue, Has Unpaid Bills panel on the Items Out screen), you need to add a dummy bill to the existing bill equal to the absolute value of the negative amount. To do so:

1) Select the billing with the negative balance.

2) Choose Actions for Selected Transactions -→ Add Billing.

3) Click Yes.

4) Enter the absolute value of the negative balance.

Claimed Returned Items

1) To mark an item Claimed Returned, retrieve the patron record and go to the Items Out screen.

2) Select the item, then select Actions for Selected ItemsMark Claimed Returned from the dropdown menu.

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3) Select a date and click Apply.

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4) Any overdue fines associated with the transaction will now be based on the Claimed Returned date.

5) The Claimed Returned item now displays in the Other/Special Circulations section of the patron record, unless otherwise customized through the Items Out display setting available in the Library Settings Editor.

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6) The Claimed Returned item adds to the count of Check Outs that are Claimed Returned in the patron summary on the left (or top) of the screen. It also adds to the total Claims-returned Count (including those that are current Check Outs and those that have since been returned) that is displayed when editing the patron’s record.

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More on Claimed Returned Items

  • The date entered for a Claimed Returned item establishes the fine. If the date given has passed, bills will be adjusted accordingly.
  • When a Claimed Returned item is returned, if there is an outstanding bill associated with it, the item will not disappear from the Items Out screen. It will disappear when the outstanding bills are resolved.
  • When an item is marked Claimed Returned, the value in Claims-returned Count field in the patron record is automatically increased. Staff can manually adjust this count by editing the patron record.
  • Marking a lost transaction Claimed Returned will not remove a lost item billing or lost item processing fee unless the Void lost item billing when claims returned and/or the Void lost item processing fee when claims returned settings are enabled. Both settings are available via the Library Settings editor.

Enhancements to Items Out

By default, the Items Out interface in the patron’s account is divided into two sections beneath the patron information: Items Out and Other/Special Circulations. In previous versions of Evergreen, all circulations appeared in the Items Out portion of the interface except for those marked LOST, LONGOVERDUE, or CLAIMSRETURNED, which appeared in the Other/Special Circulations portion of the interface.

This enhancement enables you to customize the placement of items in the LOST, LONGOVERDUE, or CLAIMSRETURNED statuses in the top or bottom list. The value of this enhancement includes increased control over and organization of the Items Out interface.

1) Three new org unit settings enable you to control the placement of these items. To access these settings, click AdminLocal AdministrationLibrary Settings Editor, and search for the following settings:

  • Items Out Lost Display Setting
  • Items Out Long-Overdue Display Setting
  • Items Out Claims Returned Display Setting

The value for each setting is a numeric code describing the list in which the circulation should be placed when the item is checked out, and whether the circulation should appear in the bottom list when checked in, regardless of the state of the transaction. For example, an item may be checked in but the circulation may remain open because fees or fines are owed by the patron.

2) Enter the appropriate value, and click Update setting.

1 = Top list, then bottom list 2 = Bottom list, then bottom list 5 = Top list, then do not display 6 = Bottom list, then do not display

To Hide the bottom list entirely, set the value for all special statuses to "5".

Note that if all of the special statuses are hidden, then the interface more accurately represents a patron’s items out instead of a combination of items out and items with special circumstances. Alternatively, if all items out and items with special statuses display in the top list, then the bottom list is hidden, and more screen space exists to display a patron’s items out.