Overdue Fines on Lost Items

An item may be declared lost in the following situations:

A patron notifies the library that a checked-out item is lost. Then a staff member manually declares the item lost.
Billed items may be declared lost automatically, a system-level decision. (If they are not automatically declared lost, a staff member may manually declare a billed item lost.)

The Patron Services parameter Lost item charge options determines how overdue fines are handled at the time an item is billed and automatically set to lost, or when a staff member declares the item lost.

Most options controlled by the Lost item charge options parameter are available at the system, library, and branch levels. The governing library setting for fine calculation determines which library’s settings rule lost item charges. For more information about governing library settings, see Governing Library for Circulation Transactions.

Settings for Lost Item Charge Options

The Lost item charge options parameter offers the following settings:

Overdues: billed items set to lost - System level only. Setting the item status to Lost at the time the item is billed will ensure the most consistent results for lost item recovery. However, leave this option unchecked if libraries in your system prefer to declare the item lost manually.
Charge overdue with bill - For best results, check this option if it is available (not grayed out). When this option is selected, the overdue charge is included in the bill regardless of whether the billed items are set to lost. If you prefer not to charge overdues with the bill, select the option Charge overdue when returned. The replacement fee and optional processing fee will still be billed. If your library has set a system-wide limit for the maximum fine balance, it is recommended that you do not select this option.
Charge overdue when declared lost - Like Charge overdue with bill, this option is available only if Charge overdue when returned is not set. For best results, check this option if it is available. If the library does not charge overdues when items go to Lost as a matter of policy, the option Charge overdue when returned should be checked instead.
Charge overdue when returned - Select this option if the library policy is to charge the overdue fine only if and when the lost item is returned. If you select this option but do not set Overdues: billed items set to lost, the library charges the overdue fine when a lost item is recovered but does not assume an item is lost until the patron comes in and says he cannot find it. In this situation, you will see the following effects:
- No automatic lost item recovery options are possible because the item’s status is not Lost.
- The patron is billed for the replacement cost and optional processing fee. However, the overdue fine remains uncharged and unresolved.
- If the patron brings the item back, a staff member checks the item in and waives the replacement and optional processing fees. The overdue fine is calculated at that time and the staff member pays, waives, or charges the overdue fine.
- If the patron says he cannot find the item, the staff member declares the item lost on the Patron Status workform - Items out view, then pays, waives or leaves the replacement and optional processing fees; the overdue is calculated at that time. The item is now lost, so lost item recovery options may apply (see Setting Lost Item Recovery Defaults). (If the staff member does not declare the item lost, it stays out to the patron until checked in and the overdue fine is calculated at that time.)

Policy Decisions for Lost Item Charge Options

Different combinations of settings reflect your library’s policy:

If you want to include overdue fines with the bill, and billed items are automatically set to lost, select the following options:
- Overdues: billed items set to lost (system level only)
- Charge overdue with bill
- Charge overdue when declared lost

If you want to include overdue fines with the bill, and billed items are not automatically set to lost, select the following options:
- Charge overdue with bill - This option should not be selected if your library specifies a maximum overdue fine balance amount.
- Charge overdue when declared lost

If you want to charge overdue fines when an item is returned, and billed items are not automatically set to lost, select Charge overdue when returned.

If you want to charge overdue fines when an item is returned, and billed items are automatically set to lost, select the following options:
- Overdues: billed items set to lost (system level only)
- Charge overdue when returned