In the past, when Pro accounts offered self-checkouts through their published library or through a kiosk, we just relied on the honor system to stop patrons from checking out more items than they should or for placing holds. The only way to really prevent this was to delete the patron completely, but that had the unwanted side effect of removing patron histories and current checkouts/holds.
Now we offer library managers the option to freeze a patron account. If a library manager chooses to freeze a patron, that patron will no longer be able checkout or place holds themselves. Instead, when they attempt to checkout an item, they will be given a notification that their account is currently frozen.
To freeze a patron account, login to the website and navigate to:
Lending > Patrons > Edit Patron > Freeze Toggle > Save (“Edit Patron” button)
This option is also available when adding a patron:
Lending > Patrons > Add Patron > Freeze Toggle > Save (“Add Patron” button)
When viewing your list of patrons, any patrons that are frozen will have a blue striped background as a visual indication to quickly identify.
This background visual is also shown when on the primary Lending page, and while you can ignore the freeze if you are checking an item out to a frozen patron, you will have the knowledge that the patron is currently banned from self-checkout and self-holds.
We’re excited to offer this new feature to our Pro accounts and hope it helps you out with your patron management!
