A report is run monthly for each library that owns items with a status of Claims Returned set one year prior. As part of the ongoing cleanup of the database for the migration to Koha, we are asking every library to review the next report they receive (scheduled to be printed on June 16) and delete the older items. Items with a status of Claims Returned are not deleted automatically during the annual batch deletion process. They must be cleaned up and deleted manually. Deciding whether or not to charge patrons for Claims Returned items is a local library policy; there is no system-wide policy. Once the Claims Returned status has been cleared, the item can be deleted.
If it is not your policy to charge patrons for Claims Returned items, follow this procedure:
- Access the patron record.
- At the PURF Summary screen, select the line item containing the item you are working on.
- When the PURF detail screen is up, enter “L” at the command line at the bottom of the screen. This will convert the Claims Returned status to Lost and charge the patron for the Lost item.
- Next, at the command line, type “W” to waive the lost charge.
- At the “Amount” prompt, enter the entire Lost charge to be waived.
- In the “Comment” prompt, enter information you would want to read in the patron’s PURF History for this item. You could enter something like this, “CR item to Lost and charge waived. hjo/scls”. You are not prompted to enter your initials after the comment so it is best to include them in the comment.
- Once you have waived the charge, the PURF becomes **RESOLVED**. The system will move the block into PURF History after the next Day End Processing occurs.
- Immediately delete the item as usual.
If it is your policy to charge patrons for Claims Returned items, only follow steps 1-3 and 8 above.
Thank you,
Heidi Oliversen and Vicki Teal Lovely