Overdues And Exceptions

Use Circulation Manager > Overdues & Exceptions as the daily attention list for active circulation work. It uses circulation loans, due dates, copy conditions, reservations, and pending circulation-charge decisions—not general catalogue totals.

The count beside the page title belongs to the current view and filters. It resets while you move between circulation views, then updates with the newly loaded rows; an empty attention list shows 0.

What To Review

• Items due today and active loans already overdue.
• Lost, missing, damaged, repair, blocked, or other exception copy statuses.
• Lost-item responsibility that still needs payment, external settlement, or an authorized waiver.
• Loans affected by reservation or policy warnings.
• Pending rental or deposit decisions created during Issue.
• Rows whose current due date, member, copy, or transaction data needs correction.

When an item has been renewed, the renewed due date is the active due date. The old due date remains in Circulation History but must not keep the current loan in the overdue list or produce late calculations after a valid renewal.

Find Attention Rows

1. Open Overdues & Exceptions.
2. Use Smart List for Due today, Overdue, Lost, Damaged, or Attention needed.
3. Search by member, title, accession, barcode, or RFID.
4. Narrow the database-backed table by status, material type, library, or other available filters.
5. Open the single row action menu to view circulation history, member context, copy information, Return, Renew, charge decisions, or other permitted actions.

The selected library in the application header scopes the result. Staff see only libraries allowed by their account. Search, sorting, filters, and pagination run against the active data source rather than loading every circulation row into the screen.

Use the compact page-size selector and previous/next controls below the result to move through larger circulation lists.

Send Overdue Reminders

1. Select one or more genuinely overdue active loans.
2. Choose Send reminder in the selection bar, or use it from one row's action menu.
3. Review the selected members and confirm the action.
4. Wait for the queued/sent result; failed rows remain visible with a retryable explanation.

When several selected loans belong to the same member, Libcodesk prepares one combined reminder instead of one message per item. Returned rows, loans not yet due, and loans renewed to a future date are excluded automatically.

The reminder uses the active Overdue Reminder event rules and templates in Notification Management. Cloud setup can use its enabled cloud channels, including app notifications. Local setup uses only supported configured local channels and visibly marks OPAC app notification unavailable. Notification History records channel, time, recipient context, and delivery result; the audit event identifies the staff member who started the batch.

Pending Rental And Deposit Decisions

When the effective Membership Plan or Borrowing Rule requires rental or deposit handling, Issue records the circulation charge as pending for operational review. It does not silently finalize a payment.

• Use Mark collected after the amount has genuinely been received through the permitted counter workflow.
• Waive requires Circulation Override permission and a meaningful reason.
• Both decisions record the responsible staff member, time, amount, reason when applicable, member, item, library, and transaction context.
• Final invoice, tax, refund, payment allocation, regenerated Transaction Memo, and financial ledger remain Accounts responsibilities.

Return, Renew, And Condition Actions

Use a row action to open the relevant Return or Renew workflow. Returns remain allowed even when the member is expired or blocked. Renewals still respect current Membership Plan, Borrowing Rule, reservation, status, fine, and access restrictions.

Do not clear a lost, missing, damaged, or repair exception merely to remove it from this list. Use the proper copy-condition workflow and record the responsible decision. Circulation History remains the immutable sequence of earlier actions.

Report loss or damage while an item is on loan

For an active or overdue loan, open the row action menu in Circulation Desk and choose Report lost by member or Report damaged by member. Confirm the action only after checking the member and item shown in the row. The Standalone app closes the active loan, marks the copy lost or damaged, records the member as responsible, and preserves the acting librarian and time for audit.

Do not report an issued item from the Accession Register. The Accession Register rejects an on-loan copy so its member responsibility cannot be accidentally removed.

Check in a lost item that is found

1. Find the lost row in Overdues & Exceptions.
2. Open its single row action menu and choose Check in found item.
3. Confirm the accession number or title shown in the prompt.
4. Wait for the success message, then confirm that the row leaves the exception list.

This recovery action is available only to staff who can return items. It makes the physical copy available again and can activate the next queued reservation. It does not erase the earlier loss: the responsible member, loss report, acting staff member, recovery time, and recovery action remain in Circulation History and the audit trail. Do not use ordinary Return for a loan that was already closed as lost.

Do not use a general status editor to change a lost loan to Available. Check in found item is the safe recovery action because it updates the loan and physical copy together while retaining the original loss record.

Resolve a lost item that will not be returned

Use a lost row's action menu when the item remains lost but the member responsibility is ready to be completed. The available actions depend on the signed-in staff member's permissions:

• Collect cost records the replacement cost and overdue fine, then records the payment. Review the suggested replacement cost and edit it when the library's actual charge is different. Enter the amount manually when no cost is stored for the copy.
• Settle externally records a payment handled outside the normal counter workflow. Enter both the external reference and a clear note so another librarian can identify the source later.
• Waive / write off closes the member responsibility without collecting money. This requires Circulation Override permission and a meaningful reason.

To complete one of these actions:

1. Find the lost row in Overdues & Exceptions and open its single action menu.
2. Choose Collect cost, Settle externally, or Waive / write off.
3. Review the member, item, currency, replacement cost, and overdue fine shown in the dialog.
4. Complete the required payment details, external reference and note, or waiver reason.
5. Confirm the action and keep the dialog open while the progress message is visible.
6. After the success message, confirm that the row leaves the active exception list.

Resolving responsibility does not make the physical copy available. The copy remains Lost until it is actually found and Check in found item is used. The original loss, resolution type, amounts, reference or reason, responsible staff member, and completion time remain available in circulation history and the relevant reports.

Collecting or externally settling a lost-item charge requires permission to return items, create invoices, and record payments. A waiver requires permission to return items and override circulation blocks. If an action is not available, ask the library admin to review the staff role instead of using a general status editor.

Fine Estimates

Fine values on this screen are estimates for staff attention unless an Accounts workflow has produced an authoritative charge. The estimate should use the active loan's current due date, including a renewed date, and the effective calendar/fine policy.

Good Practices

• Review Due today and Overdue every working day.
• Confirm renewed dates before sending a reminder.
• Combine member reminders instead of sending repeated messages.
• Use condition workflows for lost or damaged copies and Accounts for money records.
• Confirm the stored replacement-cost suggestion before charging it; use the library's approved amount when the stored value is missing or outdated.
• Keep external settlement references and waiver reasons specific enough for a later audit.
• Never waive a pending charge without permission and a clear reason.
• Do not mark a lost copy Available merely because its financial responsibility was resolved.
• Use Circulation History before correcting incomplete legacy transactions.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
Renewed item remains overdue	Refresh and verify the active loan stores the new due date; the earlier date should exist only in history.
Send reminder is unavailable	Select at least one active overdue row and check notification permission and event configuration.
App notification is unavailable	App notifications require Cloud setup; use a supported configured channel in Local setup.
Reminder was not delivered	Review Notification History, member contact details, template, gateway, channel, and retry result.
Mark collected or Waive is unavailable	Check the pending charge status and the signed-in staff permissions; Waive requires Circulation Override.
Check in found item is unavailable	Confirm that both the loan and copy are still marked Lost and that the signed-in staff member has Return Items permission. Refresh if another staff member already resolved it.
A lost-item resolution action is unavailable	Check that the row is still an unresolved Lost record. Collection and external settlement require Return Items, Create Invoices, and Record Payments permissions; waiver requires Return Items and Circulation Override.
The replacement cost is blank or outdated	Enter the library-approved replacement amount before confirming. The suggested amount is editable and is not a substitute for staff review.
The row disappeared after settlement	This is expected. Resolved responsibility leaves the active Exceptions list but remains in Circulation History and reporting; the physical copy remains Lost.
Fine estimate looks wrong	Check the active due date, renewal history, library calendar/holidays, grace period, and effective fine rule.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does collecting or waiving the charge make the item available?

No. The copy remains Lost. Use Check in found item only if the physical item is later recovered.

Can a resolved lost item still be reviewed later?

Yes. Resolution removes it from the active attention list, not from circulation history, financial records, or lost-item reporting.

What should I do when no replacement cost is suggested?

Enter the amount approved by your library before confirming collection or external settlement. The dialog does not invent a replacement value.

Cloud setup and Local setup expose the same attention workflow but keep their circulation rows, notifications, charge decisions, histories, and audit records separate.