[wactclc-alma] Questions about your current practice re: fines and Ctclink

[Thomas, Kirsti]

tldr; Seattle Colleges are handling everything within the library system and not reporting to ctcLink at this point in time

Details:

At Seattle we no longer charge overdue fines. It causes too much stress for staff and creates too much ill will with financially-stressed students.

We do charge replacement costs for unreturned library items. The replacement charge is automatically removed from the patron account when the lost item is returned.

Seattle Colleges migrated to ctcLink in 2021 shortly after the passage of the new law about not witholding registration privileges as a debt collection tool.

Between the ctcLink migration, the pandemic, and significant staff turnover all over the place in the past 2 years, we never got around to formally setting up a procedure or policy for transmitting patron fines to ctcLink.

We also have an additional wrinkle in that we've got 1 Alma, but 3 different ctcLink student information systems and students who take classes at multiple colleges. The thought of trying to figure out which SIS to send which charges to has been more than my brain can handle.

That said, we're also extremely concerned about the fact that unpaid charges on student accounts are sent to collections on a frequent and (in our opinion) aggressive schedule-monthly, if I remember correctly.

Sending students to collections for an unreturned library book-ruining their credit and possibly forcing them into an unjust and uncaring court system-- isn't something we want to have happen.

At one point we discussed the option of only reporting outstanding fines to ctcLink if they exceeded a specific combined total.  $300 was the number we'd floated.

Again, we would have to report fines manually at this point. With all the staff turnover and other things going on, we simply haven't been able to do anything about this since migrating to ctcLink in 2021.

Instead of reporting fines to ctcLink, we currently block within the library system.

We have Patron Limits configured in Alma to block loans and renewals if patrons have more than 4 overdue items or if they owe $100 or more in replacement costs for unreturned library materials.

The reason for the 4-item limit is to deal with students who have autorenewing IT equipment (1 Chromebook, 1 Chromebook power cord, 1 hotspot, and 1 webcam) checked out from the start of the pandemic.  If we set the block limit lower, IT equipment won't autorenew for those students.

These Patron Limit blocks are set to be overrideable by employees with Circulation Desk Manager roles in Alma.

One library also has a manual block that prevents loans and renewals (without supervisor override) when patrons have unreturned Reserve items. (Side note: I learned we can set an Overdue and Lost Loan profile to activate this block automatically but I haven't gotten around to setting that up yet)

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.


It will be ok!

Kirsti S. Thomas (Hear my first name<http://namedrop.io/kirstithomas>)
Library Technical Services Manager & Systems Librarian
Seattle Colleges
kirsti.thomas at seattlecolleges.edu



From: wactclc-alma <wactclc-alma-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> On Behalf Of Nicholas Triggs
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2023 14:08
To: wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu
Subject: [wactclc-alma] Questions about your current practice re: fines and Ctclink

Hi, Everyone,

I am new to WACTCLC and would like to know what you all are doing regarding fines, fees, and Ctclink (please!).


  1.  Are you charging fines and/or fees?

  1.  If you are charging, and are using Ctclink to facilitate those charges, what Service Indicator Codes are you using and what does that process look like?



  1.  Are your institution's practices in line with HB 2513 - 2019-20<https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=2513&Initiative=false&Year=2019>?

Thank you! --Nick

Nick Triggs
he/him
Collection Manager
Library | library.spscc.edu<https://library.spscc.edu/>

ntriggs at spscc.edu<mailto:ntriggs at spscc.edu> | 360-595-5426

[cid:image001.png at 01D9F21F.34E79340]<https://spscc.edu/about/native-land>



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