Claims Returned Items

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.

How to Mark an Item Claims Returned

From the Items Out screen, you can either right-click on the item in question and select Mark Claims Returned or select the item(s) and then click on Actions for Selected Items and select Mark Claims Returned.

You will be prompted for the date that the patron claims to have returned the items.

What Happens in the System

Overdue fines (if any) stop accruing as of the date chosen. (If this is back-dated, the bills that have accrued since the chosen date are voided.)

The status of the item remains Checked Out but the Stop Fines Reason is changed to Claims Returned.

The item will remain listed on the patron's account, but moves to the Other/Special Circulations section of the Items Out screen.

The Claims Returned Count on the Edit Patron screen is incremented. (This counter will only go up to 5 and then the system will not allow any more items for that patron to be marked as Claimed Returned.)

The item is NOT hidden from the online catalog.

Checking in a Claims Returned Item

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. Staff with Circ1, LibraryManager, or LocalAdmin permissions can manually update the Claims-returned Count in the patron edit screen.

If Another Patron Tries to Check Out a Claims Returned Item

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.

If the item is not checked in before it gets checked out to the new patron, the item will get stuck in the Other/Special Circulations tab on the patron account where the item was claimed returned.

Policies and Best Practices

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

Patron Communication

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.