Fine Notices

To print fine notices, you must be assigned permissions 360 (Fines) and 359 (Manual Fines). See Permissions Used by Sierra for more information.

Sierra generates fine notices when patrons owe money for any reason other than item replacement, such as the following:

The system sends fine notices when you prepare and send the following notice types:

For more information, see the following:

Setup and Functionality Information

Customizing the Text of Fine Notices
The following settings control which text from the Text of Circulation Notices table prints on each type of fine notice:
Type of Fine Notice   How Text is Configured
Overdue fines   Msg Fines loan rule element
Fine adjustments   Circulation option Fines/Bills: Text # for bill for charge adjustments
Manual charges   Circulation option Manual Charge: Text #
Request charges   OPAC option Requests: Amount to charge
Immediate rental charges   Rental Circtext loan rule element

If you have not defined a notice text for a particular type of fine notice, the system does not generate that type of notice.

Limiting the Maximum Fine
If the LIMIT FINE TO PRICE element of the Loan Rule is set to "YES," the system limits the maximum fine (excluding manual fines and rental charges) for the item to the amount specified in its PRICE fixed-length field or the DEFAULT ITEM COST element of the Loan Rule.
Limiting Fine Notices by Location
If you choose to generate statements for a single branch location or set of locations served, the notice includes fines associated with those location(s) only. The system uses different criteria for different charge types to determine whether the notice belongs to the selected location:
  • For manual fines, the selected location must match the location selected by staff when adding the fine to the patron's record.
  • For all other charge types, the LOCATION fixed-length field in the fined item must match the selected location.
Positioning Item Information on the Notice
The setting of the Fines/Bills: Where to print Bill Info circulation option determines the positioning of the item information on a fine notice.
Printing Single or Multiple Items per Fine Notice
The setting of the Fines/Bills: Number of Items per Bill circulation option determines whether the system prints a single item or multiple items per fine notice.
Setting a Minimum Fine Amount for Printing
The setting of the Fines/Bills: Minimum charge for fines notice to print circulation option specifies the minimum charge required for the system to print a fine notice. Sierra does not print fine notices for amounts lower than this value.
Suppressing Fine Notices
If you have not specified a notice text for a particular type of fine notice, the system does not generate that type of notice. In addition, if the Fines/Bills: Library itself collects fines circulation option is set to "NO", the system does not generate notices for adjusted fine amounts.

Customizing Fine Notices

Your library can customize fine notices as follows:

Default Fine Notice

The default fine notice is composed of the following elements:

Library Information
The library's mailing address. The system obtains this information from the Address element of an entry in the Branch Addresses table. The system selects the entry that corresponds to the first item on the notice.
Date
The date on which the bill is printed.
Patron Information
Patron information includes the patron name and mailing address.
Notice Text
Text from the Text of Circulation Notices table. For information about how Sierra determines which text to print on a notice, see Customizing the Text of Fine Notices.
ITEM
Information about the unreturned item, including the title, author, reason for charge (for example, "OVERDUE"), and the name of the branch to which the item belongs.
Amount
The fine amount for the individual item.
TOTAL
The total amount owed for the fines listed in this notice.
Text of Circulation Notices Number
The number of the Notice Text in the Text of Circulation Notices table.
Print Sequence Number
Indicates sequential position of notice in print job. Each print job begins with sequence number 1.

Example Default Fine Notice

The following is an example default fine notice:

  Main Library                                         03-12-10
  5850 Main St.
  Emeryville, CA 94608



          Cass Kim
          5850 Shellmound Way
          Emeryville, CA  94608

   
   The following fines are now due and payable. Please make payment to the 
   cashier's office.

   ITEM                                                                Amount
   German guided missiles of the Second World War / Pocock, Rowland F.
     OVERDUE Main-Nonfiction 1110001442009..............................$4.00
   German pronunciation and phonology. / Bithell, Jethro,
     OVERDUE Main-Nonfiction 1110001924328..............................$4.00
   German raiders of World War II / Muggenthaler, August
     OVERDUE Main-Nonfiction 1110001571495..............................$4.00
   German surface vessels / Lenton, H. T.
     OVERDUE Main-Nonfiction 1110001490929..............................$4.00
   German surface vessels / Lenton, H. T.
     OVERDUE Main-Nonfiction 1110001442214..............................$4.00
                                                               TOTAL   $20.00

   13:5
See also:
Using Circulation Notices
Text of Circulation Notices Table