Library Answers: Los Rios Common Questions

For items that are lost, damaged, or never returned to the library, patrons will be charged the replacement cost of the material. These replacement cost fees are assessed automatically by the Change-to-lost-type Overdue and Lost Loan Profiles in Alma. The fees will show in Manage Patron Services or in the User Details of the patron record.

Viewing Patron Fees

The Fine/Fees tab on the User Details page list all fines and fees for a patron.

In Manage Patron Services view, the user details will show the balance of fees owed by a patron.

An active balance is a fee that has just been assessed. 

A transferred balance has been sent to PeopleSoft (eServices) for payment. 

A closed fee has been paid or waived.

Adding Library Fees

To add a fee to a patron's account manually, view the User Details and select the Fine/Fee tab. 

1. Click + Add Fine or Fee
2. Using the drop-down menu, choose the Fee Type and add the Fee Amount 
3. Add additional information as necessary. 
4. Click the Add and Close button.

Paying for Library Fees

Library fees are exported to PeopleSoft (eServices) on a daily basis. Students may pay library fees through the self-service portal (eServices), or they may visit a Business Services Office (BSO) to make a payment. 

Waiving Fees

Library staff must waive fees in full (100%). Fees may be waived when lost loans are returned, based on a library appeal, or in certain other circumstances. Waived fees are exported from Alma daily and updated in PeopleSoft. To waive a fee, view the User Details and select the Fine/Fee tab. 

1. Select the more actions menu to the right of the fee.
2. Click Waive. 
3. Select Waiving Reason from the drop-down menu then click the Waive button.
4. Select the appropriate waiving reason.
   1. Lost item was found should only be used in cases where you have received the item back from the patron, or if you are extending the patron's loan
   2. Lost loan expired should not be selected manually
   3. Please add notes in the Comment box when you select the Other as the Waiving Reason or if any explanation is needed.
5. View the dialog box and click the Confirm button.

If a library chooses to waive a fee in part, they should

1. Direct the student to pay the agreed upon portion of the fee through the BSO.
2. After the payment is credited to Alma, the library staff can then waive the remaining fee balance.

Temporarily removing lost fees

There may be times that library staff need to temporarily remove lost fees to facilitate student enrollment. View instructions for temporarily removing lost fees (requires Los Rios login, restricted to library personnel).

Returned Lost Loans

When lost loans are returned to the library, the lost item fee will be waived by staff.

When processing the return, staff should

• Select Return Items and scan in the barcode.
  • Make note of the user's ID number when scanning in the return.
• Open the User record.
• Follow the steps listed above to waive the fee. The waiving reason should be "Lost item was found."

Systems librarians generate a daily Analytics report of patrons with lost item fees for items that are no longer on loan. Access Services librarians/staff review this daily report and waive any lingering fees. Waived fees are transmitted to PeopleSoft to be cleared in that system.

Removing blocks

Once the patron's charges are resolved, you will need to manually remove any Alma blocks remaining on their account. See How do we handle circulation blocks in Alma?