Marking Items as Damaged

To mark an item damaged, you must be authorized for the following functions:

  • To view the Checked-Out Items tab, you must be assigned permission 94 (View patron record in check-out).

  • If your library set the Authorization required to view checked out items for patron circulation option to "YES", you also must be assigned permission 167 (View items checked out to patron) to see all the items checked out to a patron. If this circulation option is set to "YES" and you are not assigned permission 167, you are able to view overdue items only.

  • To add a manual fine to a patron's record, you must be assigned permission 359 (Manual Fines).

See Permissions Used by Sierra for more information.

Sierra's Mark Items as Damaged feature provides different options for marking an item as damaged. One option also bills the patron for the replacement item in a single workflow.

For more information on this feature, see:

Note on INN-Reach Items

Patron sites cannot use this functionality to mark INN-Reach items as damaged.

Enabling the Mark Items as Damaged Feature

To enable the Mark Items as Damaged functionality, you must:

Marking Items as Damaged

To mark one or more items as damaged:

  1. Retrieve the patron's record.

  2. Click the Checked-Out Items tab or, alternately, click Go | Circulation Desk | Checked-Out Items.

  3. In the table of items checked out to the patron, select the item(s) to mark as damaged.

  4. Click Mark Damaged Items. Sierra Circulation displays the selected items in the Mark Damaged Items window. By default, the first item is highlighted.

  5. Select one of the following options, depending on what you want the system to do with the damaged items.

    Mark Damaged - Use this option for items that are damaged, but will remain in circulation. When you select this option, Sierra:

    • Changes the item's STATUS to the code your library has specified for damaged items (for example, "d") and leaves the item checked out to the patron.

    Mark Damaged And Add Charge - Use this option for items that are damaged, will remain in circulation, and for which you want to charge the patron a fine. When you select this option, Sierra:

    • Displays the Add Charge dialog box, allowing you to add a manual charge to the patron's record. For more information on the Add Charge input fields, see Adding a Manual Charge.
    • Once you click OK to add a charge to the patron's record, changes the item's STATUS to the code your library has specified for damaged items (for example, "d").

    Mark Damaged And Add Bill - (Sierra 5.5 and later) Use this option for items that are damaged enough to remove from circulation and for which you want to bill the patron. When you select this option, Sierra:

    • Generates a bill, as follows:
      • Calculates the amount of the bill using the same method for lost items. See How Sierra Calculates the Amount to Bill for more information.
      • Adds a bill to the patron's record using the charge type of Replacement.
      • Links the charge to the item record and adds an INT NOTE field containing the date, the billed amount, and the patron record number. For example: "Thu Aug 19 2021: Bill $35.00, damaged by .p21850410".
    • Checks in the item.
    • Changes the item's STATUS to "n" (BILLED). (This status later changes to "DAMAGED" when the patron pays the fine.)

The patron is notified of the charge when you prepare and send bills. When the patron pays the bill, Sierra does the following:

  • Changes the item's STATUS to the code your library has specified for damaged items (for example, "d").
  • Adds an INT NOTE field to the item record containing the date, the billed amount, and the patron record number. For example: "Fri Aug 20 2021: Paid $35.00 and damaged by .p21850410".
  1. If you chose multiple items to mark as damaged, select the next item listed in the Mark Items Damaged window, and repeat step 5.
  2. When you are done marking the item(s) as damaged, click Close to close the Mark Damaged Items window.