There are two types of messages that you may see when accessing and using a patron record. In Millennium Circulation, these will display on the screen in a small dialog box.
The first type of message will display when you retrieve a patron record. These will be generic or specific messages that were previously added to a patron record. For example, if a patron record with messages is retrieved, you will see this type of dialog box:
Click on the OK button to proceed to Check Out.
To view the messages for the same patron, click on the Messages button on the toolbar
to see this dialog box:
If a patron record has multiple messages, this would be the easiest way to view all the messages.
NOTE: The Messages button may be disabled on your library system.
The second type of messages are Patron Blocks and other warnings that will display as you attempt to check out items to a patron.
NOTE: These blocks may require authorization to override.
Following are several examples of patron blocks:
If a patron's registration has expired, this is the type of message that will display if today's date is later than the date in the patron's Expiration Date field in the patron record. Note that you can Override (if authorized) or choose not to override this block.
If a patron owes too much money, this is the type of message that will display. The maximum amount owed may vary depending on the type of patron.
Sometimes a patron will have more than one block. Here's an example of a patron that is blocked both because the registration has expired AND too much money is owed.
If a Manual Block was assigned to a patron record, Millennium Circulation displays the message associated with the value of the MBLOCK, or Manual Block, field in the patron record. For example, in this case the MBLOCK indicates the patron has an invalid address.
Millennium Circulation can notify you if an item is for library use only and/or the item is non-circulating.
If the STATUS code in the Item Record is set to Library Use Only, then the following dialog will display:
If the Loan Rule specifies that an item is non-circulating, the following dialog will display:
NOTE: If you get a "non-circulating" message for an item that should be allowed to circulate, it may mean that there is a problem with either the Item Record or Patron Record fields used to determine the Loan Rule.
If the item you are trying to check out is checked out to another patron (for example, if the previous patron returned the item and the item was re-shelved without having been checked in), Millennium Circulation warns you and offers to automatically check in the item ('clear that checkout').
If you answer Yes, Millennium Circulation first checks in the item before checking it out to the current patron.
Millennium Circulation notifies you if the patron has checked out more items than the MAX ITEMS element in the Automatic Patron Blocks table. The message indicates that the patron has exceeded a certain number of items limit.
Additionally, Millennium Circulation warns you if the patron is close to reaching the MAX ITEMS Limit of checked out items. If MAX ITEMS is greater than 25, the system produces a warning message whenever the patron is within 5 items of the maximum. If MAX ITEMS is less than or equal to 25, the warning message displays whenever the patron is within 2 items of the maximum.
