Other Information
Other Information
Claims Returned (aka, Claimed Returned or CLAIMSRETURNED) can be applied to an item when the owning library system and the patron the item is circulated to are unable to agree on its current location, thus creating a temporary 'draw' or 'amnesty' for the item until it can be resolved.
Please be aware that not all PINES library systems opt to use Claims Returned. As with other types of item status and bill changes, it is good practice to only modify the items that belong to your own library system.
If an item with the CLAIMSRETURNED status is found and checked in, the system will update the item's status so that it can be circulated again. If there are no fees associated with the item, it will be removed from the patron's account. If there are fees, it will remain listed on the patron's account until all the fees are paid. The system will not remove a number from the patron's Claims Returned Count counter. This number may be changed manually if needed.
If another patron finds an item on the shelf that has been marked as Claims Returned and tries to check it out, the circulation staff will see an error stating that the item was marked as Claims Returned and it will not allow the item to be checked out. If this happens, you must check the item in first before it can be checked out again.
PINES policy indicates that a library may mark Claims Returned items as Lost after 45 days from the due date.
To follow up on these missing items, some libraries run a report to find items that have the Stop Fines Reason of Claims Returned and the Copy Status of Checked Out, then checks the shelves for those items. Those items that are not found after 45 days are then marked as Lost and the patron is billed appropriately. There is a Quick Report available that you can run for your library at:
Quick Reports > Quick Report Templates > Items > List of Items Marked Claims Returned
To prevent potential patron confusion regarding how the Claims Returned process works, you may wish to develop a local procedure not only for following up on Claims Returned items, but also for communicating the process with patrons.