Items found on shelf and fines/fees

Greetings all,

Here is an email from Fred Schumacher regarding items found on shelf and fines.

Hello all.

When an item is missed at check in and is subsequently found on the shelf, all fines and fees that result from our error should be waived and an explanatory note added to the customer record. This includes Collection Agency Fees that result from items that are mistakenly reshelved before being checked in. It is not necessary to refer customers to managers, district LA Supervisors or Circulation Administration for these fines/fees to be waived. Every HPL public service employee is empowered to take the appropriate action in these situations. Referring customers to others to take the right action in these situations leads to unnecessary frustration for customers and colleagues and undermines the customers’ trust in our ability to competently perform our duties.

Accounts in collection remain so until the amount owed on the account is paid/settled to $0.00. When an item is found on the shelf and the account to which it is checked out is in collection, all charges on the account must be settled before the account will be removed from collection. As already stated, charges related to the item found on the shelf should be waived. If waiving the fines/fees associated with the item found on the shelf resolves all of the outstanding charges on the account, the update will be reported to UMS (our collection agency vendor) and the account will be removed from collection the following weekday morning when the III Collection Agency Module is run. If there are other legitimate charges on the customer record, you should politely inform the customer that the other charges remain due and that the account will be removed from collection and privileges restored once the other charges are settled.

In no instance should any staff member simply remove a “c” Collection Agency block from the MBLOCK field in the customer record. Doing so prevents updates and payments being reported to UMS and may lead to greater difficulty and frustration for the customer. Collection Agency blocks are automatically removed by the III Collection Agency Module once all fines/fees on the account are resolved and the amount owed is $0.00.

If you have any questions or uncertainty about any of what is communicated here, please do not hesitate to contact me, Connie Moore or Cynthia Howard. We will be happy to discuss your concerns with you and assist you in discovering the correct action to take.

Fred Schumacher
Circulation Administration, Manager
Houston Public Library


If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thanks,
Justine