Some PINES libraries contract with collection/materials recovery agencies to collect outstanding fines and fees or to recover lost materials. The following policies and procedures apply to this arrangement within PINES:

• Patron accounts in collections status must be paid at the referring library [2003.05]. (If a library inadvertently accepts payments on a patron account that is in collections, the library is responsible for immediately sending that payment amount to the library who referred the patron to collections.)
• A library may send any patrons to collections who have overdue materials as a result of transactions originating from the library in question, regardless of item ownership or patron home library [2007.05].
• When a patron is referred to collections, a Note should be added to the patron account to indicate which library took action. It is best practice to also bar the patron until the matter is satisfactorily resolved.
• Only the referring library may remove the collections status and may un-bar patrons in collections that are barred.