Patron Records

About Patron Records

User Types

Alma refers to external users and internal users. Perhaps counter-intuitively...

• External users are those loaded into Alma by Harvard’s student/staff/faculty databases. They are "external" because the patron record was created outside of Alma.
• Internal user records are created within Alma, such as Interlibrary Loan institutions

User Groups

Access policies vary according to user groups.  Valid user groups are:

Searching for Patrons

• All staff may search for patrons by HUID or other additional identifiers.
• Staff with sufficient Alma clearance will be able to search for patrons by name.

Working with Patron Records

• The Loan Display and Return Display each have two options: Loans/returns of this session or All Loans/Returns. The default is always the current session.
  • Note: If you leave a patron record and return, you're starting a new session, so the Loans of this session area will now be blank.
• Alma closes individual patron records after five minutes of inactivity. You are still logged in to Alma, but you will need to re-scan the patron's ID to continue working with the record.
• Patron return lists are purged after a period of time, approximately six months.

View a Patron Record

1. Verify your Current Location
2. Go to Fulfillment  >> Manage Patron Services
3. Scan or manually type patron ID number (if manually typing ID, click on Go)
4. To view the patron's loans:
   1. The Loans tab appears by default
   2. The Loan Display filter defaults to Loans of this session, showing items loaned to the patron in the current session
   3. To see all of the patron's loans, including the current session, click on Loan Display and select All Loans
   4. A green check mark next to a loan means there is a note on the record
      1. Click a green check mark to see the note.
      2. If you did this, return by clicking the < back button to the left of "Loan Notes"
   5. To change the details of the loans display, click on the Gear icon to the right of the "Renew" links
      
      1. Any changes you make persist for your login so you'll see them each time you log into Alma
      2. For example, check the box next to Call Numbers, scroll down and click the Done box.
5. To view a patron's requests:
   1. Click on the 'Requests" tab
6. Click on "ID" to go to User Details
   1. any dog-eared tabs contain information

View a Patron's Fines or Fees

1. Select/Verify current location
2. From the main menu bar click Fulfillment >> Manage Patron Services
3. Scan or manually type patron ID number (if manually typing ID, click on Go)
4. In the header area, click on the dollar value next to Active Balance, which takes you to User Details
5. Click the Fines/Fees tab if you are not already on that tab
6. For a long list of fines or fees, you can search or limit the list:
   • Use the list search bar to search by Title or Transaction ID (if available)
   • Choose a Fine/Fee type to filter to card renewals, lost item processing fees, etc.
   • Choose a Status to filter by fine/fee status (e.g., Closed)
     
     

Mark an Item Claimed Return, Lost, or Found

Definitions & Impacts

Claimed Return leaves the item charged to the patron's account, though not accruing fines from the date of marking it Claimed Return. It is used when a patron says they have returned an item but the library cannot find it.

Lost generates a fee for the item and leaves the item on the patron's record with the status of Lost. It is used when the patron tells staff that they have lost the item, or it is otherwise un-returnable.

You can reverse either of these designations by marking the item Found.

Marking Items in the Patron Record

1. Select/Verify current location
2. Go to Fulfillment >> Manage Patron Services
3. Scan or manually type patron ID number (if manually typing ID, click on Go)
4. From the Loan Display, choose All Loans
5. From the list, locate the item(s) the patron is claiming were returned, lost, or found
6. Click on the row action item list icon (the ellipsis) and select the appropriate action:
   
   1. If the item is still on loan, you will see Claimed Returned and Lost as options
   2. If the item is marked Claimed Return, you will see Lost and Found as options
   3. If the item is marked Lost, you will see only Found as an option

Notifications: Overdue Notices, Fine Notices, etc.

Patrons receive notifications about hold requests, overdue items, lost bills, and so forth on a regular schedule. These notifications are created and sent automatically by Alma processes.

To view the notices a patron has received, click on the patron's ID number in the righthand panel to bring up the User Details page. Next, click the tab labelled Attachments. This will bring up a list of all emails, and clicking the ellipses button and selecting View will bring up each individual email notification.

For some activities, such as cancelling a request, you have the option not to notify the user. In the cancel pop-up box, you would unclick the Notify the user checkbox.

Patron Loan History

Patron returns are anonymized 60 days after item return. Returns which incurred fines/fees for any reason are not anonymized.