Overdue 'Notice/Status Triggers'
This tool lets you define triggers for overdue notices. You can send a borrower up to three notices and also tell Koha how many days should pass between the day a book was due and the sending of each of these notices. Koha lets you define a different notice schedule for each branch, and different schedules for each patron type you've defined within those branches. Finally you can set a notice to trigger a 'debar' on the borrower's account during any of the three triggers.
- Go to the 'Tools' module (usually under 'More' in your Global Nav)
- Choose 'Overdue notice/status triggers'
- 'Select a library' to define an overdue schedule for
- TIP: If you would like to define one overdue schedule for ALL branches at once, select 'Default'. This will apply the schedule you define to all the branches in your system
- For each patron type (left most column), enter a number under the columns labeled 'Delay'. The number you enter represents DAYS.
- Each number you enter indicates the days after an issue is due before an action is triggered.
- For each 'Delay' you choose a notice type (or 'letter') that will go to the borrower.
- TIP: You will need to set up your library's notices to populate this pull down
- Get there: More > Tools > Notices
- When you are finished, click 'Save changes'
Help! I've gotten an error message!
If the numbers you've entered in a give row beneath the 'delay' columns are logically inconsistent, Koha will give you an alert, and explain the inconsistency.
What happens if I leave the row for an patron type blank? (ie, no 'delays' have been defined)
If you want Koha to trigger an action (send a letter or debar member), a delay value is required. No delays means no actions will be performed.
Where do I define overdue schedules? (ie, how many days pass before an item becomes 'overdue')
When an item becomes overdue (ie, duration of checkout) is defined in Koha's 'Administration' module:
- Get there: More > Administration > Circulation Rules (under 'Patrons and Circulation')
Where do I define fines?
- Get there: More > Administration > Fines Rules (under 'Patrons and Circulation')
What type of notice gets sent when a 'trigger' occurs in the 'Notice/Status Triggers' module? Email? Printed Notice?
Koha handles overdue notices in one of two automated ways: by email or by printed labels.
If a borrower has an email defined in their patron account, overdue notices automatically get sent to the patron's email account according to the schedule defined in the 'Notice/Status Triggers' Tool.
TIP: Patrons can alter their notification setting using the Messaging tool on their account.Borrowers that have no email defined will have their notices sent via email to the library for printing. The email is sent to the branch admin email, or failing that to the address set in the system preference as the 'KohaAdminEmailAddress'. This email is generated by the misc/cronjobs/overdue_notices.pl cron job. Contact your system administrator for help with this setting.
IMPORTANT: The email notice report that is compiled and sent to the admin (for borrowers with no email in Koha) rely on the 'delays' to determine when/how often that email gets sent as well. Where are notices defined? (ie, what information will appear in the notice)
- Get there: More > Tools > Notices