The Check Out app allows you to check out items to patrons. To check out an item, first locate a patron in the system and then scan/enter an item to borrow.
Permissions
The permissions listed below allow you to interact with the Check out app and determine what you can or cannot do within the app. You can assign permissions to users in the Users app. If none of these permissions are assigned to a user, then they will be unable to see the Check out app or any related information.
Check out: All permissions. This permission allows the user to check out items to patrons (create new loans) and view open loans and loan details. However, this permission does not include seeing the entirety of the user record.
Check out: Check out circulating items. This permission allows the user to check out items, but they cannot override non-circulating loan policies.
Locating a patron in the system
You can find the patron by either:
Scanning / entering the barcode provided by the patron
Using the Patron Look-up function
Locate the patron using a barcode:
Either scan the barcode on the patron’s library card, or enter the patron barcode number.
Click Enter. Patron details are displayed.
Locate the patron using the Patron Lookup function:
In the Scan patron card pane, click Patron Look-up.
In the Select User dialog, in the User search box, enter part or all of the patron’s name, email, or username.
Optional: Filter results by Status (active/inactive), or by Patron group.
Click Search.
Click the patron to use. The Select User dialog closes, the barcode appears in the Scan patron card pane, and the patron details are displayed.
Assessing the patron’s data
Within the patron details area, note that you can access additional information related to the user. Clicking on any linked information opens the appropriate app and displays the associated information. For example, clicking the number beneath Open requests opens the Requests app.
Review the information available to determine if you can continue with check out. For example, fees or fines may be owed, and may need to be handled before proceeding.
Checking out to a proxy borrower
Proxy borrowers are patrons who are checking out items on the behalf of another patron. For example, a graduate assistant may act as a proxy for a professor.
Note: A patron must first be assigned as a proxy for the borrower in their user record in the Users app.
In the Who are you acting as? dialog, select the name of the user they will be acting as a proxy for and click Continue. The Who are you acting as? dialog closes and patron and proxy details are displayed.
Scanning the item to check out
To select the item for check out, scan or enter the barcode of the item and click Enter. The item is displayed in the Scan Items area and the total number of items scanned is incremented.
Pop-ups that can occur when checking out an item
While checking an item out to a patron, you may encounter one of the following pop-ups:
Item status
Check out notes
Multiple and/or missing pieces
Patron block
Item block
Override circulation policy
Getting additional item information
To access more information about each item:
Click … > Item details to open the Inventory app and get additional item details.
Click … > Loan details to open the Users app and access options including renewals, claiming the item was returned, changing the due date, and declaring the item lost.
Click … > Loan policy to open the Settings app for more loan policy information.
Changing the due date of an item
To change the due date:
Click … > Change due date.
In the Change Due Date dialog, enter the date and /or time for the new due date.
Click Save and Close. The new due date is saved.
Ending the check out session
Once you have completed checking out items for a patron, you can end the session manually. To end your session and clear the Scanned Items table, click End session. Once you end the session, any applicable notices are sent to patrons.
By default, the Check out session is configured to end automatically after a 3 minute period of inactivity. You can turn this setting off or edit the number of minutes of inactivity the session will end after in the Settings app.
See FOLIO community documentation here.