Claiming Items Returned

If a patron claims to have returned an item, but the item has not been checked in, you can claim the item returned. When you claim an item returned, the system does the following:

• Places a claimed returned note in both the item and patron records
• (Optional) Removes the check-out link between the patron and the item; this is equivalent to checking in the item without assessing a fine. If desired, the operator can generate a manual charge and apply it to the patron.
• (Optional) Flags the item as missing (STATUS = 'm') and cancels any outstanding holds on the item

To claim one or more items as returned by a patron:

1. If the patron's record is not already displaying, retrieve it.
2. View the Checked-Out Items tab:
   • Click on the Checked-Out Items tab, or
   • Choose Go | Circulation | Circulation Desk | Checked-Out Items
3. Select the item(s) to claim returned from the table of items checked out to the patron. If you select more than one item, all selected items will have the same claim returned date and will be checked in or left checked out together.
4. Choose the Claim Returned button. The system displays a dialog for choosing the claims returned date.
5. Select a date or, if the patron does not know when he/she returned the item, choose the Blank Date button at the bottom of the dialog. The claims returned notes will indicate an "Unknown Date," for example:

6. Choose one of the following options, depending on what you want the system to do to the item record:

When you choose any of the above three options, the system:

• Adds claims returned notes to both the item and patron records. For example:

NOTE Tue Jun 01 1999: Claimed returned on Tue Jun 01 1999 by .p1063529
(from item record)

NOTE Tue Jun 01 1999: Claimed returned .i1047539 on Tue Jun 01 1999
(from patron record)

• Increments the CL RTRND fixed-length field in the patron record.
• Adds the item record to the On Search file.

Clearing Status and Removing Claimed Returned Notes

When the item is checked in, the system asks if it should clear the item's status (i.e., change the STATUS of the item to '-' (AVAILABLE). If the user chooses not to clear the item's STATUS, the item will be checked in but its STATUS will remain 'z' (CLMS RTRND). For more information on checking in items that have been claimed returned, consult Checking In an Item whose STATUS is Not '-'.

In addition, when the item is checked in, the system uses the setting of the Remove claims returned notes for checked-in items Setup option to determine if it should remove the "claimed returned" note from the patron and item records. These notes are automatically removed if the item is placed in transit (that is, the item STATUS is set to 't'). For information on setting items in transit, consult Checking In an Item that Belongs to Another Location.