Patron Associations

You can create associations between two or more patron records so that when one record is open, all records associated with it are conveniently accessible. For example, you might associate all members of a family, so when checking out items to parents, you can quickly renew items or pay fines for their children.

If record A is associated with records B and C, then records B and C are automatically associated with record A, but records B and C are not automatically associated with each other. However, you can manually associate records B and C. Associated patron records remain individual records. If a notice is generated for a single patron record, notices are not generated for associated records. For hold requests, items trap for the patron who made the request. You can block a patron from checkout or renewal if an associated patron record is blocked. You can also allow patrons to pick up items held for their associated patrons. Defaults for these settings are defined in Polaris Administration. Setting Options for Associated Patrons.

From a patron record, you can access associated records in the following ways:

Patron Registration workform - Select Links, Associations. If there is one associated record, the record opens. If there are more than one, a list opens. You can work with the associated records directly from the list.
Patron Status workform - Associations view - Right-click an associated patron record. From the context menu, you can open the record or do circulation functions and other activities for the associated patron.
Find Tool results list - Right-click a patron in the results list and select Links, Associations from the context menu. If there is one associated record, the record opens. If there are more than one, a list opens. You can work with the associated records directly from the list.

Associated Patron Groups Report

The toolbar report Associated Patron Groups lists all patron records that are linked in associations (whether or not these are blocking relationships). In the Polaris Reports Manager, select Public Services, Patron Services to access the report. For details, see Using Polaris Standard Reports.