Patron groups

Under Admin > Patron settings > Patron groups you can set up the patron groups your library system needs. Patrons can subsequently be linked to the patron groups, and the patron groups can be linked to the loan profiles of material groups in order to define loan rules for a given patron group. Furthermore, you can set up branch permissions for these patron groups, where you can control which permissions a given patron group should have at the various branches in your library system.

It is also possible to configure automatic assignment of patrons to the created patron groups (see Automatic assignment of patron groups).

Create/delete patron groups

Patron groups are structured in a hierarchy. Patrons who are linked to a patron group are automatically linked to all groups above it in the hierarchy. In the example below, a patron who is linked to ”Foreign libraries” will thus also be linked to ”Libraries” and ”All”.

1. A new subgroup can be created in the settings under the "Patrons" tab by clicking the create icon next to an existing patron group. 
    
2. An existing patron group can be deleted by clicking the delete icon . Note that any subgroups will also be deleted. If there are subgroups, patrons or loan profiles linked to the patron group, a warning will appear before the patron group is deleted.
    
3. The top group, which represents all patrons at the library, cannot be deleted.

Setting up patron groups

Clicking on a patron group opens a patron group's detail page, where the patron group can be configured.

Rules that affect subgroups

If one or more of the following rules is enabled, it will not be possible to edit it for the patron group's subgroups:

• Exempt from fees: Patrons in the group will not automatically be charged a fee. Fees can be created manually for a patron who is exempt from fees.
• Exempt from compensations: Patrons in the group will not automatically have a compensation created for non-returned materials. If the patron is exempt from compensation, no fee will be charged to the patron either, even if the patron is not exempt from fees. Compensations can be created manually for a patron who is exempt.
• Exempt from automatic blocking due to balance: Patrons in the group will not automatically be blocked based on the rules set up in the "Automatic blocking of patron" configuration. Note that if a patron is later moved to another patron group that is not exempt from blocking, and still has unpaid balances above the blocking limit, the patron will be blocked. This can happen, for example, if patron groups for children are exempt from blocking, and the patron is later moved via automatic assignment of patron groups to a patron group for adults that is not exempt from blocking.
• Exempt from auto-sending of balance statement: Patrons in the group will not receive automatically sent balance statements. If a patron is a member of several patron groups, they are exempt from balance statements if just one of these patron groups is marked as exempt.
• Exempt from email verification of email addresses: If a patron is a member (either directly or inherited) of a patron group that is exempt from email verification, the patron's email addresses (as well as the email addresses of any financial responsible) will automatically be set as verified. This also applies if one of the patron's patron groups is set as exempt after the patron has received a verification email. The patron will not have to verify existing email addresses if the exemption is later removed – only new email addresses.
• Exempt from notifications: Patrons in the group will not receive notifications from the library. If a patron is a member of several patron groups, they are exempt from notifications if just one of these patron groups is marked as exempt. A patron who is exempt from notifications will also not receive manually sent messages. When a patron group is exempt from notifications, the patron group will also automatically be exempt from auto-sending of balance statement and email verification of email addresses.
• Max number of reservations: It is possible to set the ”Maximum number of reservations per patron” that is allowed for patrons in a patron group. If a patron is a member of several patron groups, the most lenient rule applies. It is possible for a staff member to force through reservations that exceed the reservation limit.
• Max number of loans per patron: It is possible to set the "Maximum number of loans per patron" that is allowed for patrons in a patron group. If a patron is a member of several patron groups, the most lenient rule applies. If the material's material group has also set a maximum, the least lenient rule between the patron group and the material group will apply – read more here: Material groups and loan profiles. It is possible for a staff member to force through loans that exceed the loan limit.
• Cicero Surf - Allow patrons to change PIN code: If a patron is in a patron group where this is enabled, the patron has the option to change their PIN code in Cicero Surf. If the patron is in several patron groups, the patron can change their PIN code in Cicero Surf if just one of the patron groups allows changing the PIN code.

NOTE! If the patron is a member of several patron groups, of which some are exempt from fee/compensation and others are not, the exemption depends on which patron group was used at checkout, i.e. which loan profile on the material's patron group matched the patron's patron groups.

You can also set up an expiry date for a patron group. If an expiry date is set, the patron group will be deleted after the expiry date and the patrons will thereby lose their link to this patron group.

Rules that do not affect subgroups

The following rules only affect patrons who are directly linked to this patron group:

• School class: Patrons in this group have their patron group displayed together with the patron's name in selected tables and menus, where normally only the patron's name is displayed. Note that this functionality requires that ”Display of school class for patron” is set to TRUE under Admin > General settings.
• Special handling: A patron group can be set up with ”Special handling”. This means that all reservations for patrons in this patron group will be marked with ”special handling” in the database. This marking can be used in sorting rules, and the marking is sent to IMS for the reservation in question. If a patron is in several patron groups, the patron's reservations are marked with ”special handling” if just one of these patron groups is marked with ”Special handling”.
• Auto-checkout: It is possible to have reserved materials automatically checked out for patrons in certain patron groups. The functionality is typically used in situations where a material is reserved for initial internal handling related to reading circles, material maintenance, logistics, interlibrary loan etc. This may, for example, be materials that need to be transported between libraries or departments, reservations for reading circles or homebound patrons. An auto-checkout occurs when a material matches a reservation at check-in/scanning, which results in the material being automatically checked out.
• Permissions in external resources: Patrons in the patron group can be granted permissions in external resources.

Setting up branch permissions on patron groups

Under the ”Branch permissions” tab for a given patron group, you can set up rules for which branches a patron may borrow, reserve and book at. These rules only apply to the creation of loans, reservations and bookings.

• May loan at: This applies to loans that are made without a preceding reservation.
• May pick up reservations at: This refers to whether patrons in the patron group may pick up reservations at a given branch.
• May book at: This refers to whether patrons in the patron group may book at a given branch.

If no branch permissions are set up for the patron group, the patron is by default permitted to make loans, reservations and bookings at all linked branches.

When creating a patron group, the branch permissions will be inherited from the patron group one level above. If you want the same branch permissions on all subgroups of a patron group, you can click ”Copy branch permissions to subgroups” to copy the branch permissions to all the patron group's subgroups.