Recalling an Item

If your library set the Recalls: Authorization required to alter due date of recall circulation option to "YES," you need to be assigned permission 99 ("Override recall date") to select the Recall item with NEW due date option. Any overrides to alter the recall date are logged to the circulation overrides file.

When you place a hold on an item that is checked out, Sierra displays when it was checked out, which patron checked it out, and when it is due. Contact Innovative to display the barcode of the patron who checked out the item rather than the patron name.

When you place an item-level hold on a checked-out item, Sierra can offer you the option of recalling the item from the patron. When you recall an item, the system allows you to specify a new, earlier due date for the current loan and generate a recall notice to be sent to the patron. The system does not issue recalls for items with hourly loan periods (that is, the loan rule's Code value is 'H', 'I', 'J', or 'K').

If your library has enabled title-level recalls, you can also recall items when placing title-level holds.

When you place an item-level hold on a checked-out item:

  1. The system determines whether the item is eligible for recall. An item is eligible for recall if one of the following conditions is true:
    • The item is overdue.
    • Sufficient time is left in the original loan period to make the recall meaningful; that is, the number of days left in the original loan period is greater than the Eligib To Recall parameter in the loan rule under which the item was checked out.

Note that the item is not eligible for recall if another hold exists at the item level.

  1. If the item is eligible for recall, the system calculates a new due date by comparing the following two dates:
    • The minimum number of days that the current patron is allowed undisturbed use of the item, which is equal to the item's OUT DATE plus the number of days in the Minimum Use loan rule element.
    • The number of days the patron has to return the item once a recall has been issued, which is equal to the date the hold was placed plus the number of days in the Time Return Recall loan rule element.

The system uses the later of the two dates calculated above as the new due date. Note that the due date is never extended by this feature; if the system-calculated recall due date is greater than the original due date for the item, the recall due date remains the original due date.

If you are placing multiple item-level holds at the same time, Sierra does not calculate a new due date. However, you can select a new due date from the Recall Item(s) dialog.

  1. The system checks the new due date against the library calendar to determine if the library is closed on the new date. If the library is closed on this date, the system extends the new due date to the next day the library is open.
  2. Sierra displays the Recall Item(s) dialog containing the following options:
    • (Single item-level holds only) If you want to recall the item using the system-calculated recall date, click Recall item with due date of <date>.
    • If you want to set a recall date that is different from the system-calculated recall date, click Recall item with NEW due date.
    • If your library does not have a policy of recalling items (that is, Eligib To Recall is set to a large value), click Place hold without recall.
  3. If you choose Recall item with due date of <date> or Recall item with NEW due date, the system makes the following updates:
    • Sets the RECAL DATE fixed-length field in the item record to today's date.
    • Adds the new hold to the item's hold queue.
    • Generates a recall notice for the patron who currently has the item checked out. The system does not generate a recall notice if the due date for the item falls within the number of days specified by the loan rule's Time Return Recall or Eligib To Recall elements; the patron is expected to return the item within that time. If you always want the system to generate recall notices, set the Time Return Recall and Eligib To Recall loan rule elements to zero.
  4. Additionally, Sierra does the following for overdue items:
  • If the patron does not return the item by the new due date, the system generates overdue notices using the notice texts specified in the Text First OdueR through Text Fifth OdueR loan rule elements.
  • If the patron returns the item late, fines or penalties are increased by the amount specified in the Fine Incr If Recall and Penalty Incr If Recall loan rule elements.
See also:
Recalling an INN-Reach Item