Enable patron account access - PowerPAC

To allow patrons to view their accounts from Polaris PowerPAC, and to specify the available account features:

Note:
Separate Mobile PAC profiles control patron account access, navigation, and features in Mobile PAC. See Patron Account (My Account) in Mobile PAC.

1. In the Administration Explorer tree view, open the Profiles folder for the organization, and click the PowerPAC tab in the details view.
2. Double-click Navigation: Patron Account, and set the value to Yes. When this profile is set to Yes, the My Account option is displayed on the Polaris PowerPAC menu bar.
3. Set the following PowerPAC profiles to control what features you offer when patrons access their accounts:

• Navigation: Fines & Fees - Specifies whether patrons can view the fines and fees associated with their library accounts. When the profile is set to Yes, the Fines & Fees option is displayed on the My Account menu. The system uses the setting for the patron’s registered branch.

Note:
Patrons can select an information icon  to see detailed information about an individual fine or fee. The history section on the details page includes the date, type, amount, payment, and staff name associated with the fine or fee. If you prefer to suppress the history section, set the PAC profile Fines & Fees: Show history in detailed view to No.

Note:
If you plan to accept online credit card payments, set Navigation: Fines & Fees to Yes. See Setting Up E-Commerce.

• Navigation: Items Out - Specifies whether patrons can view a list of the items checked out to their account. When the profile is set to Yes, the Items Out option is displayed on the My Account menu and summary information is displayed in the patron account page dashboard. The system uses the setting for the patron’s registered branch.

Note:
If you want to allow patrons to renew items from the Items Out page, set this option using the PAC profile Patron Access: Renewal Permitted. See step 4.

• Navigation: My Record - Specifies whether patrons can view their library registration information. When the profile is set to Yes, the My Record option is displayed on the My Account menu.

• Navigation: Requests - Specifies whether patrons can view a list of the titles they have requested. When the profile is set to Yes, the Requests option is displayed on the My Account menu, summary information is displayed in the patron account page dashboard, and a link to the list of requests is displayed when a request is placed. The system uses the setting for the patron’s registered branch. The page shows the status of each request, and allows the patron to cancel, suspend and reactivate requests. From the Requests page, the patron can also see detailed information about each request.

• Patron access: Display hold queue information - Specifies whether the position of a patron’s request in the holds queue is displayed on the Requests page of the patron account, and whether the patron receives a message about the current number of active requests for the material when she places a hold. The profile setting for the patron’s registered branch controls whether the holds queue information is displayed.

Note:
You may want to suppress the holds queue information because it can be confusing in certain circumstances. For example, a request may be first in the queue, but if it is overridden for some reason, it may not be filled first. Also, if a branch uses primary and secondary routing groups, the queue position of a request may change if the request is sent to the secondary routing group. For more information about holds processing, see Setting Up Hold and ILL Loan Request Processing.

4. To allow patrons to renew items from Polaris PowerPAC and Mobile PAC, do these steps:

1. Click the PAC tab in the details view of the Administration Explorer.
2. Double-click Patron Access: Renewal, and select Renewal permitted.

When this option is checked, patrons can renew all or selected items from the Items Out page in the patron account. (When the profile is set to No, the renewal links are not displayed on the Items Out page.)

Note:
Even when you permit renewals, renewal options are not displayed for items that cannot be renewed.

3. To allow renewals where the patron registration will expire before the renewal due date, select Allow renewal if patron registration will expire.

If this option is selected, the patron sees the expiration message in PAC but the renewal is allowed. The system uses the setting of the governing library for patron blocks.

5. Select File > Save.

Related Information

• Patron messages - You can allow staff to post library-defined or free-text messages to patron accounts. Patrons can then read and delete the messages from the PowerPAC or Mobile PAC patron account. For more information about setting up patron messages, see Setting Up Patron Messages. For more information about posting patron messages in the staff client, see Posting Patron Messages.
• Blocks on renewals and ebook circulation - You can set blocking conditions that apply to renewals and ebook circulation from the PAC or renewals by telephone. See Defining Patron-Initiated Circulation Blocks. You can also block renewal from PAC if an associated patron has exceeded the 2nd level fine amount as determined by the governing library for patron blocks, or if the associated patron has exceeded the maximum overdue limit as determined by the governing library for patron blocks. For more information about setting up blocking relationships, see Patron Associations.
• Hold/ILL requests - You set conditions for requests from PAC with Requests parameters. See Setting Up Hold and ILL Loan Request Processing.
• Online registration, password changes, and account updates - See Setting Patron Account Options.
• Setting a staff override password - See Set patron password and user name options.
• Allowing credit card payments - See Setting Up E-Commerce.
• Search agent (saved searches) - If you offer search agent functionality, patrons can view and work with their saved searches from the patron account pages. See Setting Public Access Profiles and Parameters.
• Ask Us - Using Ask Us, registered patrons can log in and send an email message to designated library staff members. See Set up and start Ask Us. You can optionally offer this feature to guest users (no logon required).
• 3M PAMS - 3M™ Public Access Management System “smart cards” allow patrons to log in by placing a smart card in a reader. See Set up Polaris PowerPAC.
• Polaris® ExpressCheck™ - Use the SelfCheck Unit parameter Polaris ExpressCheck: Options to control access to the patron account from ExpressCheck.