Emergency Closing Handler Should Adjust "All" Associated Fines

Hi John,

That behavior is intentional. In order to keep the development targeted and avoid getting stuck in extreme edge cases with fines, the code only looks at circs due within the closing window and holds with a shelf expire time within the window.

The prescribed method for making sure that fines are addressed during an unexpected closing has always been to use backdated (amnesty mode) check-in set to the beginning of the closure. That remains the case even with the emergency closing handler.

I think possibly voiding fines during the closing might be a good enhancement, though.

FWIW, relying on backdating/amnesty mode checkins doesn't work so well if one has an automated return system.

Especially if the drop hasn't been closed/locked, patrons happen to return things while the library is still closed.

We closed for Covid-19 on March 18. Items due in February are now six weeks overdue, the status is changing to LOST, and patrons have bills that prevent them from using our online resources. This is a big problem. We will be closed for six more weeks.

Diane - is your library system doing the change to Lost via an action trigger? If so, you can temporarily disable it through Local Admin > Notification / Action Triggers. (We have two related action triggers that we temporarily disabled - one for the action of changing the item status / creating the bill, and one that sends a message to the patron when that happens.) We'll re-enable it after we are able to reopen.

Terran - I don't know what is controlling the behavior. Our org unit isn't listed for anything in Notification / Action Triggers. Equinox had to turn off our courtesy notices.

Never mind! I figured it out with some help from my friends.

This is causing problems with our libraries. The documentation does not match the actual behavior and even if the documentation were updated to match the behavior, having it void only some of the fines doesn't make any practical sense to patrons or to library staff.

*****************

In 3.4 and 3.6:

The current Emergency Closing Handler documentation says "Overdue fines will be automatically voided for the day(s) the library is marked closed" and "By selecting the Emergency checkbox, the system will void any overdue fines incurred for that emergency closed day or days," but that is misleading.

It is only actually voiding fines on items that were due on a closed day, but it does not void fines on items that were due *before* the first closed day.

For example, John Doe has two overdue items - one that was due on January 7 and another that was due on January 12. Both are getting daily fines on every day that the library is open, but not on days the library is closed. On January 15, an emergency closure is entered for January 10-14. This changes the due date on the second item and voids the overdue fines for the 10th-14th, but it skips over the item that was due on January 7 and leaves the fines for the 10th-14th.