Library Hours and Closed Dates

There are two locations within the Evergreen client to control which days that the system sees a library as being closed - the Hours of Operation settings and the Closed Dates Editor. These are important for each library system to set and maintain because any day that the library is marked is closed will not generate fines for the library's patrons and the library's books will not be targeted for holds.

How to Set Library Hours

If your library changes which days of the week or hours it is open, enter a Help Desk ticket and the PINES staff will update this setting for you. The hours appear in the library information pages in the OPAC as well as in the libraries' linked data pages.

About Closed Dates

Adding a closing has the following consequences:

During the closed dates (inclusive), books will not be due. If a closing is added on a day when books are already due, the emergency closure option should be used to adjust those due dates.

Holds will not target copies in a closed library. If you wish to pull holds while a library is closed, the “Target copies for a hold even if the copy's circ lib is closed” setting can be enabled.

Patrons will not be charged fines on closed dates. If the closing is added after the closed date has occurred, the closing should use the emergency closure option to void those fines.

How to Set Library Closed Dates

Please note - a 'Closed Date' should only be used for days that the library is entirely closed. These dates do not currently appear to the public anywhere, but overdue fines will not be applied, due dates will be pushed back to the next open day, and items will not be targeted by the holds targeter on days marked closed.

Log in as a Local Admin.

Click on Admin > Local Administration > Closed Dates Editor.

Select the relevant library location from the drop-down list.

Click the Add closing button.

A popup form will open (see below). Choose either One Full Day or Multiple Days for the Closing Type.

Choose the date(s).

Type in a reason (this is currently only available to staff, and not visible to the public).

Click OK.

If incorrect dates are entered, for example,the start date is in 2010 but the end date for the closing is in 2009, the dates will not work at all. Please check these carefully since the system does not alert you if you make this kind of mistake and it causes great confusion!

How to apply closed dates to all branches in a system

On the popup, select the system rather than the branch (ARL rather than ARL-ATH) and check the “Apply to all of my libraries” box.

Unexpected / Emergency Closures

The fines generator runs shortly after midnight each day. Prior to Evergreen 3.2 (installed January 2019), if a library needed to close for the day after the fines generator had already run, the library administrator would need to submit a help desk ticket requesting that the PINES System Administrator revert all of the fines that were applied for that day. The new Emergency Closing Handler feature improves this process.

Video: https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cYfootzl9h

Delete any previously entered closures that overlap the emergency closure you wish to enter. (Editing a previous closure to extend the closure dates will NOT work to change existing due dates that fall within that time period.)

Enter the new closure date range.

Check the “Emergency” box and the “Process Immediately” box - this will reset due dates for all items that had been due within the date range, and will void overdue fines that had already accrued if the date range includes dates in the past.

This process is very slow - let it run and check back later to make sure that all circulations and holds processed. When it is successfully completed, it should look like this:

If you are unable to log in, please contact the Help Desk with a request to mark your library closed. In the event that your network is down, keep in mind that you may submit Help Desk tickets via any mobile device that has Internet access or by email to help@help.georgialibraries.org.

Don't forget to inform your courier driver about changes!If you are unable to reach the courier, contact the Help Desk and the PINES staff will contact the courier for you.